1771/B-Point: The Monster at the End of This Book

B-Point: The Monster at the End of This Book
Date of Scene:	15 July 2024
Location:	The Dark Kingdom
Synopsis:	(Content Warning: Death and Serious Injury) Having suffered heavy losses and overcome great odds, our heroes cross the final threshold, and initiate battle with the Demon Metallia. Under their combined force, the last of the Doom and Gloom Girls meet their end, with the extraordinary sacrifices of Guardian Shokupan, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, and Jolly Roger. Finally, the demon Metallia is pushed to her last legs... so why does the boss music come back on?
Cast of Characters:	Beryl, Madoka Kaname, Haruka Tenoh, Hinote Kagari, Ami Mizuno, Michiru Kaiou, Kazuo Saitou, Amanda Faust, Erika Shimizu, Bow, Usagi Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba, Katsumi Cora, Ren Morimoto, Makoto Kino, Coco Kiumi, Glimmer Brightmoon, Doom and Gloom Girls
Tinyplot:	Dark Kingdom Finale

---

Beryl has posed:
Darkness. Darkness. More Darkness.

And next? Even more darkness. Dark chasms, dark tunnels, dark caves, dark caverns, dark rooms, to say the Dark Kingdom is appropriately named is an understatement so profound it might as well be a sick joke. For hours, the heroes stalk through the darkness, lit only by their own dwindling supplies, their own dwindling energy. They left Japan at 5pm, and anyone who still has access to a clock can see that it's nearing 1am. Nearly eight hours of traversal through the darkness, facing bones set in walls and animated, facing rats by the hundreds and thousands, youma crafted from animate plants seeking to cut and tear and strangle -

Facing the Doom and Gloom Girls.

Facing death.

Culinary Guardian Daifuku. Bow, Techmaster of the Princess Rebellion. Jolly Roger. Jadeite. Rashmi Terios. Nicomachea. Chrono Harlaown.

Heroes, all, and gone to their deaths they have - as only some of these heroes know. Those who do walk on with haunted eyes, grim expressions. Those yet unaware are haunted too, by the things they have seen, the dangers of the mission.

They had come, one and all, to slay a demon. To save the world.

The demon lurking beneath Paris, beneath the Catacombs, beneath the Earth itself, here in the Dark Kingdom, welcomes them.

All around them are familiar faces, worn out faces - the separation the Dark Kingdom imposed so ruthlessly, splitting friend from friend, teammate from teammate, stranding them to face what would come in the dark, seems to be yielding now - the heroes are able to find each other, are able to see each other, because in the distance, still a ways away, there is a light - faint and red and ominous, flickering almost like candle-flame, inviting our heroes.

The video games must have gotten one thing right, at least: the final battle won't start until someone crosses the final threshold.

All this time, they have been moving subtly down. Now, their feet are on solid ground. They've hit the bottom, and the enemy lies somewhere in the distance.

Overhead there is the distant ceiling of a cavernous cave, stalactites dangling, the warped impressions of gargantuan skeletons and peering out. The ground is pitted with cracks and crevasses and stone hands that reach out to grasp at ankles and feet and try to tear at the living. They can't drag you under, but it's damnably unnerving.

The aura is, to put it bluntly, utterly rank, to those sensitive to such things - there is only darkness here, darkness and death and despair, hatred for all things living.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    It has been a long trip through the catacombs for Hope Witch and Homura. The two of them walk hand-in-hand through the impossible darkness, with seemingly no light of their own. At some point Madoka started focusing on using her magical senses and, establishing a telepathic bond with Homura via a Witch Sticker, the raven-haired Puella has started sharing the use of them too.

    Of course, this doesn't help their eyes much.

    When they reach the bottom and see the flickering red in the distance, they have to take a moment let their eyes adjust. Hope Witch squeezes Homura's hand and says, "Well... here we are."

    Homura responds, "Please, whatever you do, don't be careless. I shouldn't have to tell you..."

    Madoka places a finger on her lips, "No, you don't. You be careful too, okay? For Gretchen's sake, as well as my own."

    As the red light gets closer, the couple slows down their stride, looking both ahead and behind themselves for others. This isn't a fight they want to tackle with just the two of them, but they have no idea who else is even still alive.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Really, it's hard to have chosen a more fitting place to have an entrance to the Dark Kingdom than the Paris Catacombs. One way or another these walls would add more skeletons and bones to the surroundings. The darkness of the Dark Kindom bleeding in, animating opponents, and even just getting here was a struggle. That struggle is visible on the henshin outfits of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, scratches and marks, tatters in bows. Wherever they've been in this winding catacomb labrynth hasn't been any kinder to the paired Senshi of Elegance and Grace than the rest of the group.

    Uranus and Neptune continue to walk hand in hand, gloves gripped together. Their path is lit up by the gleaming light of the Sword of the Guardian of the Solar Wind - by Uranus' blade casting brightness against darkness, pressing the shadows back as they finally come upon the cave area.

    Uranus kicks one of the stone hands hard enough to dislodge it, sending it bouncing into the distance and echoing off the walls. With the gleaming sword like a torch, Uranus and Neptune will likely be some of the first and most visible of the assembling group - and it might be best not to startle them, given the firm look on their faces and war-weary features.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir is ragged. His coat is ripped, his pants are a mess at the bottom, but he's persevered to the end, along with the others. He's seen someone die. He's heard friends have died. So he grimly moves along with the group he's found, covering with his Tommy Gun the whole time.

Anxiety. He can feel an end coming. This has caused him to pull the brim of his somewhat now ragged fedora down. He still follows along as he looks over to Hope Witch and Homura. He fires at one of the grasping hands, gun pulsing out with a powerful jet of water at it as he draws closer with the group.

"I think we're almost there. I can feel it. But I think we all can by now." he says. He doesn't need his detective sense to tell that much.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury had seen more than she really wanted to consider, but not as much as the others had been through. Stoic, and grim faced, she enters with the other Senshi with her Mercury Visor glowing in the darkness. Even now she comforts herself with the familarity of the numbers that trace over her vision. Number that she could take on, interpret and deal with. Numbers did not lie.

Unfortunately the data that was being monitored steadily was also not the sort of thing that would bring good news. Moments before the utter stench of the area they were entering hits her she speaks in a calm yet tight voice.

"The signature is strongest here. I think, this is our destination."

In spite of her phrasing there was no doubt to her words. Just worry, and concern, and the deep down dread that came from the haunting memories of a past life reminding her how awfully this fight had gone last time. Which is precisely why she adds with a quiet confidence, "It will be different this time."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    One hand in Uranus', Neptune holds the Deep Aqua Mirror out in front of her, peering through it as they emerge from their long descent, its magic piercing through the illusions thrown into their path. The mirror's reflective surface catches the light from Uranus' sword, casting it around behind them. They are surely a beacon together.

    Rather than kick, Neptune hops and swerves, almost dancing next to Uranus as they make their way along the ground. She flows around the stone hands like the tide rushing in around stones on the beach. She may be tired. She may be beaten. But she's still as as graceful as the sea.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kunzite's uniform is frayed, patches of the cloth and his hair stained with darkness. Maybe ichor. Probably blood. He moves unerringly, all the same, avoiding crevasses and groping claws; the faint hint of red-tinged light is enough for him to see by, the gleaming sword a veritable beacon. There's a deliberate, polite cough when he approaches, before a last turn lets that light glimmer off his almost-intact cloak. There are ways in which he'd like to make that sword's acquaintance, but he needs his vital organs to get through this. And then there's Neptune. The fact that he doesn't know how she fights, or what that mirror is or does, means that he should probably be more worried about not surprising her.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    So many fallen.

    This is what Amanda sort of expected at the start of all this. Getting into conflict with supervillains and magical monsters, it was inevitable, right?

    But somehow, it didn't happen, and it kept not happening for almost a year. (Well... the continued existence of Witches means Puella Magi are dying somewhere, but it's never anyone she knew.)

    She got complacent.

    Damn it, these teenagers shouldn't have to go through this, as the adult, she-- she shakes that thought out of her head. No, they're all on the same footing here. Besides the many ways in which she is the same as the rest of them now, the life experience of an adult did not prepare her for this any better than them. They've all been on equal footing since the start.

    And now several of them are gone.

    "Listen," she told the others at some point. "It's better that I take a lethal injury than any of you, if need be. Not... not as a self-sacrificing thing, but because I can live through them. I can't take infinite damage or anything, but if it comes down to it, I'd rather lose some magic than lose any one of your lives."

    Despite herself, she shudders at the sight of the massive skeletons that seem to look down from the ceiling as they come into Metallia's Lair, and lowers her gaze to the ground. Such a stupid phobia. You can't let it get to you... she thinks to herself.

    "Listen, um... eh, fuck worrying about what's embarassing to say. Any... anyone for a last hug before..." she looks around at the others, having difficulty voicing that for some of them it might be the last chance to have that simple, positive experience in their lives.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    I am the master of me ship. Not Metallia.

    There is just one problem with that list of the dead...
    To all the haunted expressions and exhausted faces in the crypts under Paris, to all the weary and worn magical fighters that have made it this far, some might recognize the voice that calls into the chamber.
    "Well aren't ye all a sight for sore eyes."
    The pirate themed Mahou that comes limping in has a sneering smirk plastered on her face, a bandanna wrapped on her head to cover one eye. Her greatcoat is torn, she's covered in wounds and bruises, and she staggers in with the most swaggering of limps.

    I am the master of me fate. NOT Metallia.

    After a rough trek further into the depths of the catacombs, fending off more rats, more skeletons, and more youma, Jolly Roger looks like she's been through the ringer and back again, but she's still grinning like a fiend. "Here at last, we finally be... Comin' face to face with our hated enemy... 'Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul'."

    So I did what needed done...

    Even in the rank feeling of that dreadful aura of doom and despair, she staggers and limps in after the others, flintlock pistol in hand.
    "Right then. Who's comin' ta meet us? I'm ready ta keel haul 'em."

    I survived.

    "Aye, lass!" She calls to Amy. "I'll rightly take one hug."

Bow has posed:
Floating slightly behind Jolly Roger, Bow is holding his trusty violin. As she relates her story, he gives a firm nod of his head. "We've made it!"

But with the battle beginning, "Captain," he says with a salute of his violin bow. "I'm heading below to rally the crew! We'll be ready when you require us!" And with that, he sails down to head to the 'The Disaster's Wake' is currently hiding to start playing for the crew to put some pep in their step and to prepare them for the battle to come, those close to Erika can hear.

In the dead of night, 'neath the pale moon's light,
The Disaster's Wake sails with dread delight.
Her crew of bones, with souls so old,
Their tale of doom, forever told.

From the depths they rise, with eerie cries,
Skeletal hands on the ropes they tie.
Their captain whispers, a curse in the wind,
"To battle we go, let the fight begin!"

Through storm and tempest, they'll hold the line,
With spectral might, they'll heed no sign.
Against cannons loud and swords that gleam,
They'll haunt your dreams, this ghostly team.

So if you see her sails unfurled,
Beware the crew from the netherworld.
For in the heart of the ocean's roar,
The Disaster's Wake will fight evermore.

And when the battle's done, the victory won,
They'll fade into mist 'neath the rising sun.
But legends tell of their restless sleep,
Waiting to haunt the seas, forever deep.

Hoist the tattered sails, raise the anchor's weight,
We sail tonight, to challenge fate.
Metallia's steel, we'll shatter and break,
For we are the terrors of the sea, The Disaster's Wake!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon is one of those who emerges from the darkness with a group, flanked by the Inner Senshi and Lunar Knight. She's worse for wear, but not so bad off as some of those who have traversed this hellish land. She's breathing, after all, breathing and intact.

The glove that belongs on one hand is missing, long streaks of dried red clinging to her skin. The Silver Crystal glows faintly in the Crescent Wand, clutched in her gloved fist. There are tatters in her bows, tears in her skirt.

Her eyes are dark, but light shines when she starts to see the others, emerging from the darkness like hopes reborn.

With every new face, there is relief. Another friend who isn't dead.

Are there those who haven't heard? Should she tell them? Would it just damage their spirits, their morale, to know what can't be changed?

Sailor Venus puts a hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder, squeezes gently before crossing to stand beside Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, giving the pair a single nod of acknowledgement; her usual bubbly demeanor is far from this place, now, the seriousness of a guardian leeching the laughter from her eyes, the joy from her lips. So much has happened. So much has been lost. Her love-me-chain glows faintly golden, providing yet more light to see by.

Sailor Mars stays with Sailor Moon, at her side, waiting. The Mars Bow is in her hands, ready for what will come.

"Things will be different this time," she echoes Mercury, brings a smile to her lips, because she is brought everyone here and she will be damned if she lets Metallia give her despair. "We're going to win, for everyone's sake - "

And then there really is a reason to smile, more than spite, more than defiance - there is Jolly, Jolly Roger who was reported dead, Jolly Roger who was missing, Jolly Roger who is still here, and Sailor Mars grumbles to herself as Sailor Moon rushes forward to hug Jolly and Amy both. Jolly because alive, Amy because asked, of course.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tuxedo Kamen looks much worse than he did the last time Kunzite, Zoisite, and Nephrite saw him -- not too terribly worse than he did the last time Usagi and Makoto saw him. Still there's no mask, no cape; still his hands are bare and his hat never there to begin with. There's grime and blood and salt and dust all over him.

He's holding a glowing gold canister that anyone familiar with Rashmi in a fight would recognize as hers, and he's tense and careful with it, scanning faces in the horrible mixed moving lighting of the place, shadows changing even as the pervasive rotten aura grows and the floor grabs for people's ankles--

Mamoru sees Kunzite and starts toward him, but hears Amy as he passes her, and gives her a quick, tight, one-armed hug. "Try not to get so messed up you use up your battery before I can help you," he murmurs, then lets go to keep walking.

When he gets to Kunzite, by Neptune and Uranus, he briefly puts his head on the taller boy's shoulder and takes a breath, then another. When he lifts his head it's just to hand him the canister and say, "This is from Rashmi, she said it's full and you can use it."

Not just. He also lifts a bare hand to touch the side of Kazuo's face, and there's the lightest touch of a damaged, damaged boy's mind, and a silent 'I love you' in it to match the look in weirdly-lit blue eyes.

Then he sees Usagi with the other senshi, over there, and more of the tension in his stance breaks. He knew she was alive. He didn't know they were.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
@emit The light of the love me chain has guided another, as Guardian Shopukan is walking towards the group, a monkey made of sticky buns leading his way. "Hellow? he asks as he comes up on the group. "I'm with the Culinary Guardians. Has anyone seen them?" he asks, holding his summoning staff with one hand. "I'm almost out of summon cards, but I'll help as long as I can."

Ren Morimoto has posed:
It's damned unnerving, being drawn down into the deep like this. So much so that for a little bit, Ren can focus on that, the uncomfortable rolling in the pit of his stomach, and not... everything else.

Even that brief reprieve is heart-rending, though, because it just means confronting the reality of Chiyo's death again when his mind returns to it. The all-encompassing darkness seems to encourage his mind to turn to memories of her, filling in the gaps where his sight cannot penetrate.

His spirit guide's voice echoes in his mind, more encouragement than Umeboshi has ever been known to give.

So his steps are determined. And when Guardian Shokupan calls out about, it is Guardian Sukiyaki who answers: "I'm here. Guardian --" his voice creaks, but he carries on, "Guardian Daifuku has fallen."

A new wave of grief, fresh, passes over his face, but he steadies on.

Makoto Kino has posed:
The tallest of Sailor Moon's Guardian Senshi brings up the rear of their little group - behind Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus, behind Sailors Mercury and Mars. Sailor Jupiter's face is taut, not much softness to spare in her dark green eyes. It's been - rough.

But she's still standing tall and sturdy, watching the other girls' backs. She catches Tuxedo Kamen's look their way, and something like relief passes over her face as her eyes track from him to Kunzite. She knew Mamoru was alive, thanks to Usagi, but anyone else not directly in her line of sight has been a question mark.

It's good to have some of those questions answered, and not by lowered eyes and bowed heads.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The mermaid princess of the South Pacific is haunted by the worries for her surviving friends and the guilt for the one she has had to leave behind. The scene still replays in her mind, even if she repeats to herself that she has seen Roger survive much worse than that. But that doesn't really factor in the fact she had left her behind. And it is her fault for that.

She gives a weary smile to the others, glad to see familiar faces here, then she stares onwards with trepidation and determination to see this to the end. They have come here for one reason only, and the last threat is in front of her. Of course, she holds no hope that her song would sway Metallia's heart any. She is only one of 7 mermaid princesses, a far cry from the magnitude of purification their song reaches when their hearts are together.

Those last thoughts are washed away when Erika shows up in the flash and she slowly walks closer to her, the guilt clear on her face. "I am glad you are alive", she starts hesitatingly. "I should have checked you were there with us. I should have done better."

Beryl has posed:
There is a moment, when they are all together, when they have not yet passed beyond, and they can hold one another, speak to one another, let slip the things that should be said while they're still safe -

But the moment passes, as it must. They are here for a purpose, and the purpose will only wait so long. The threshold is both metaphorical and not - once they cross towards those red lights, they realize why they were so dim - there was a wall of stone blocking the way.

It's a narrow path, wide enough for three to walk through at a time if they stand shoulder to shoulder, and it gets hotter and hotter all the while as they walk that path, twists and turns, with skeletal hands of stone reaching out to clutch and grasp all the while.

Hotter, and hotter, drier and drier, that's how the air changes, as the heat grows from that of a sunny day, to a heat warning, to something near the roil of an oven, as the red light grows harsher and harsher, as yellow light adds to it, there is a sound that comes to their ears, roiling and bubbling, almost like the current of a Jacuzzi's jet -

And then they are out of the path. And then they are facing the enormous cavern, so large they can't see the walls, high, so, so, so high, and they can only gauge the height because of the enormous central pillar that stands at the center of the room, a stone face carved out of it - bulbous, bulging eyes that they will realize are blinking, ever so-slowly. A mouth, holding the pillar together, with fantastically large fangs - forget being the size of a person, each is the height of a two-story home.

At the very, very bottom, there is a throne. And in that throne is seated a girl with red fur and smoke-colored hair, and glowing, glowing red eyes. At her side, seated on the arm of the throne with one knee drawn up, chin resting on that knee, is another girl, purple-furred and brown-haired, and the two of them, with their long, curly hair, their fur, their wings, could be sisters.

The very last of the Doom and Gloom Girls, Drie and Chaar.

Separating the Mahou from these girls is a veritable army of animate skeletons and plant girl youma, and the red light, the heat, come from the flow of lava, spreading behind that enormous, monstrous pillar.

"So you finally arrive," Chaar says, and as she speaks the enormous mouth speaks as well, with a voice like stone and fire, a voice like death. "And here I thought I would have to kill so many more of your little friends before you came to me. Let's see if I still can."

And with these words, the army of skeletons and plant-youma race forward for the attack.

The skeletons are not-quite human - made of human bones, yes, but pieced together in unnatural, unnerving ways. Some run on all fours, too many vertebra, too many leg bones, sharpened tibia and fibula for claws. Others have more than one torso, more than one skull, their arms ending in femurs, swung like machetes.

The plantgirls are wrought from hogweed and rose, cactus and nettle, stinging and thorned and lashing out with arms made of dozens of vining lashes, seeking to rip, tear, strangle.

There are only two things to do: fight and survive.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus looks at the offer of the hug with a harsh glare and is almost about to say something, but thinks better of it. Anything that can help, after all. Even if the help is morale. But for her part she just squeezes her love's hand a little bit tighter.

    "At least it's a ghost and pirate I don't have to stab." she says, wrly, but perhaps coming off more coldly than is intended. Some of her tone is hardened now.

    "It's good to see so many of us made it down here..." she says, but again her vocal tone sounds like she's more worried about those she doesn't see. "... should be enough to do what we came here to do." She hopes. But she doesn't say that part. She just affirms it. They have enough. They have to. No sacrifices in vain.

    She hears Sukiyaki's announcement and tries not to wince. No sacrifices in vain she repeats to herself, mentally, firmly.

    It is especially good to see Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Mamoru, Kunzite, and Moon. Kunzite's cough doesn't get him stabbed, and there's plenty of people coming from that direction who she can be happy to see. But she doesn't see everyone and she has to not let her mind wander. She gives a nod to Venus, a firm look of determination to Moon and Mask.

    She has so much she could say, even should say, but she doesn't - she walks, steadily drifting closer to Sailor Moon and her group out of habit, out of ancient memories.

    But it's over, that moment, those words left unsaid as she sees the two remaining DG girls, and the army between them and their quarry. It's for the first time in some time that Uranus lets go of Neptune's hand - so she can step in front of her and grip the sword in both hands now.

    "Soon you will be dead like those you and your friends have slain, but the difference is... nobody will mourn you. Only celebrate your removal!" She points the glowing space sword at Chaar in one hand before returning it to twohand, as the blade grows, and Sailor Uranus does as she always has - she attacks, she leads, she starts cutting a path, both with the sword and with cutting waves of wind that follow its arc.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch looks back at Pulp and nods. "I think so. It's the moment of truth." She then smiles at most of the newcomers in turn.

    Homura, meanwhile, is quietly brooding and not being terribly talkative. Really, if she had her way, neither of them would even be here. Or if one of them had to be, she'd have preferred if Madoka had stayed behind. Yet at the same time, she knows better. One does not approach a threat like Metallia with half measures and kid gloves. The only acceptable outcome to this situation is complete destruction of the enemy, and the only way to ensure that is to bring as much force to bear as possible.

    Both Homura and Madoka glance towards Amy as she speaks. At the mention of a last hug, the two of them hold each other, briefly, before Hope Witch goes around offering hugs to others. Homura meanwhile stays back and watches with a strange light in her eyes. She knows a few of these people, but only Madoka knows her. That's fine. That's all she needs.

    Hope Witch greets friends and makes the rounds, occasionally dodging the things that grasp at her feet. However, she doesn't tarry long, and after a moment or two she returns to Homura's side.

    When it's time to make the final approach, one might notice that they never actually saw these two squeeze through the narrow corridors. They are simply there, in the next chamber, hand in hand. Did Madoka use her Labyrinth to get through? You never saw a portal. Maybe you lost track of them in the darkness?

    Either way, they are watching in silence as the last two Doom and Gloom girls await, with their armies of plants and skeletons. They glance at each other one last time. Each of them has a tiny Labyrinth portal next to them. When the combat starts, they move so fast that speed isn't quite the right word to describe it. They are here one moment, over there in the next. Spreading fire and magic arrows and explosions. Hope Witch leaves a small army of Familiars in her wake, each of them pushing back against the press of bodies. Homura's movements are unpredictable and it's hard to really keep an eye on her at all.

    What's more, the two of them are always together, so whatever is moving them around moves them both.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
"I made it!" Shokupan says cheerfully as he makes his way other to Sukiyaki. His uniform is dirty and torn. "There were some really nasty rats, they tore into my monkey bread." he says with a sigh. "But I should have enough to last the rest of the fight! Where are the other..." And that is when he gets the news on Daifuku. "Oh no. No No." he says sadly and he gives Sukiyaki a quick hug. "We'll avenger her." he promises his fellow Guardian. "Together." he promises.

And then Metallia makes her presence known with the remaining DG Girls and the army that stands in their way. "Let's begin..." he says nervously as the monkey runs to stand on his shoulder. Grabbing his recipe cards, he starts to cast. First, his own defender. "GINGERBREAD GIANT!" Behind him, an eight foot tall gingerbread man forms that moves to protect Katsumi. Then he starts on the next, "MONKEY BREAD!" Around him, five monkies made from sticky buns appear.

Then he follows it up with one more as he takes out one card... and flips it around. It shows a picture of a tiramisu. "TIRAMISU SHIELD WALL!" A tiramisu, a very large tiramisu made with strawberries appears. At least eight feet wide by four feet tall, it forms in the air and drops on a section of Metallia's army, crushing it beneath.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir goes a little wide eyed when Jolly Roger just shows up. A look of relief and annoyance crosses his face. "Jolly~! Good to see you, but thanks for making a mook outta me with the lying you're dead act." he says with a scoff.

But his expression hardens again under that fedora as they get to that that pillar, and the thrones. He terses his expression.

"Hey. If it isn't Hothead Mk II." he says as he hefts the tommy gun. "Gonna shoot your lights out." he says as he draws he gun forward, and starts firing pulses, jets of water into the strange skeleton army, the plant girls as he heft the gun deftly.

"Bonefaces and Botantical Betties." he scoffs. "I've about had it." he says as thorns rip through the outer hems of his coat as he moves to evade a moment.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury dips her head in greeting toward Uranus and Neptune as they all seem to merge up and meet. The offer of a hug from Amy is met with a momentary hesitation as her mouth opens, then shuts, head shaking. "I would like one, but I'm afraid I might break down if I get one, so I'll save such things for later. Once we finish this battle," she explains apologetically in a tired voice.

Then the trek begins. Down. Down. The heat was becoming unpleasant though her form allowd her to not become too hot at least. It was managable even if incredibly uncomfortable. The heat was nothing compared to the pillar of Metallia, and the Doom and Gloom girls lingering around the base. That voice was grating and unpleasant.

Thoughts best left for later.

As the fight begins she takes a step forward with one arm flinging out to bring her own magic to bear. The one attack that she always considered weak was now employed because it would be their best bet against such numbers. The energy she summons grows as she focuses with every bit of anger and determination.

"Sabao Spray!"

A flurry of bubbles spring out and mist forms over the area. It does nothing to hinder her allies: They can see perfectly through it whether Senshi or otherwise. The horrific skeletons ando ther attackers would find it difficult to pinpoint where they were though: It's the best she can do to help all of them at once even if the heat was difficult to work against.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Erika, Usagi, Mamoru and Madoka get and give hugs. Amy tries to focus on this simple, nice experience, once nonexistant in her life, and then plentiful, and savor it. "Good luck."

    She winces as the rest of Chiyo's team -- who Amy's not sure she's ever even seen before more than maybe once -- share news of Chiyo's death.

    And there is Coco! Amy runs over to give her a hug too. Life is too short for spending the rest of it worrying about... whatever's got Coco so down.

    And then they gather their party and venture forth.

    It's very hot. Hopefully they can get past without the Varia Suit. Amy thinks about how lava is always depicted this way in media when it really should, realistically, be burning anything this close to it. 'Realistically' has a rather tenuous relationship with the reality she's been experiencing lately. Case in point:

    This has never come up because why on Earth would it, but Amy's always been freaked out by living skeletons. Especially inhuman ones. As a small child, teenager, and even young adult, the monsters imagined in the dark in the middle of the night were always reptilian skulls atop many-vertebraed necks attached to--she refused to ever imagine the rest of it. As a child traversing certain rooms of the dinosaur wing of the natural history museum meant closing her eyes or looking at the floor and holding her parent's hands until they made it to another room.

    A cartoon skeleton or a plastic model isn't so bad. A 3d model enemy in a modern computer game is tolerable, usually. THAT ONE SCENE IN THE POWER RANGERS MOVIE almost made her shriek as she looked away.

    Amy's eyes widen in horror as she realizes that her ridiculously specific phobia of animated skeletons which, you know, aren't a real thing she would ever encounter in real life, are. Everywhere. And yeah the unnatural way many of them are assmembled does make it worse. She strangles a shriek.

    She can scarcely look at them as she fires explosive shells into the horde, but at least at first she doesn't really have to aim.

    She can only hope she blows them apart in ways they can't reassemble from...

Ren Morimoto has posed:
The hug from Shokupan comes as a surprise, but in the brief moment that they have, Sukiyaki envelopes the smaller Culinary Guardian in his arms and squeezes him tightly in return.

"We will," he says, and it's a promise. It's a vow. "We will."

Then they have the tense passageway must be maneuvered through, and they must face what waits them on the other side. It's a good thing that the fire of Sanbo-Kojin flowing through their veins, because it would be hot in here otherwise. As it stands, Sukiyaki summons his Giant Cleaver back to his hand and charges forward.

Unlike his fellow Culinary Guardian Katsumi, Ren does not have recipe cards. He has one tried-and-true broth that never fails, but otherwise it's just him and his wickedly sharp blade...

...a blade he intends to put to full use now! He jumps into the air and dives into a mass of plant youma, slicing and dicing (and juliene frying!) as he comes down towards the ground, his red eyes gleaming with something almost feral, the thought of Daifuku's death still plainly front and center in his mind.

Her death, and vengeance for it. He will settle for nothing less than.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
When Tuxedo Kamen leans his head against Kunzite, there's an unthinking shift to compensate, an arm absently around him to help balance, a turn of Kunzite's head to be able to watch his prince's back. The arm falls away when Tux straightens, only for him to need to reach with the other hand, to take the canister. Carefully. So carefully.

The tilt of his head into that bare hand is less careful. Silent support. Utterly unquestioning.

The news about Guardian Daifuku is taken and filed silently; if he is grieving, it isn't allowed to interfere. If he is grieving for Jadeite, for Rashmi, for any of the others, it is, still, not allowed to interfere. He's seen this fight before. The miracle is so that so many of them are still alive, this time.

And then they are further in. And then there is the heat, and the flood of monsters.

There is fire; there are explosions. And when a youma is destroyed, the fire that Hope Witch and her strange partner are spreading (not to mention Mars, or Amy's explosive shells, or anything else he can pick up and redirect the dregs from) vanishes from that one in a flood of shadow; Kunzite tucks the canister under his arm to free his hands to gesture, and flings the fire over and over again at another of the plant-monsters, one threatening Pulp Noir, say, or one beginning to orient on a Culinary Guardian. Keeping the flames from interfering with Mercury's protective mist ... and conserving ammunition. They'll need everything they can get in a moment.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    Neptune doesn't have much to say as folks filter in. But the relief is all over her face as she sees the others emerge from the catacombs. She offers nods to Venus, Kunzite, and Mask. Then a smile and another dip of the head to Moon, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter. It's good they're all here. Even if there's too many faces she doesn't see. There'll be time to think about that later.

    Uranus lets go of her hand when it's time for action. There's an army arrayed in front of them, and they need to carve their way thru it. While her love does that quite literally, Neptune takes a step to the side, spins the Deep Aqua Mirror around in her hand and holds it up, the reflective surface pointed toward an entire column of youma, calling out her attack, and sending a forceful stream of seawater gushing into the monsters, "Submarine Reflection!"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    And then, just like that, Jolly Roger gets more than one hug. The pirate's sneering grin is, legitimately replaced by a much warmer smile when Sailor Moon runs to her. She catches the sailor senshi in outstretched arms and Usagi gets a good friendly squeeze from the pirate themed Mahou.
    "Lass, ye look like ye've seen a ghost." She chuckles tiredly as she releases Sailor Moon and gives Pulp Noir a friendly pat on the shoulder.
    "I'd rather ye be a fibber than actually be dead, lad." She points out with a good natured laugh. "But I appreciate ye passin' on the message in case I ate it for real."
    "Oh no rather not be stabbed again, had enough o' that fer one day." She says to Uranus amid getting her hug from Amy. It is a good hug, warm and friendly. But she can't help but smile at Yellow Pearl Voice. The mermaid gets a tight hugh.
    "Lass it weren't your fault none, t'was me fer sealin' the path, if anyone's ta blame."
    But then pleasantries have to end. And soon she's limping along the path with the rest of the party into the next chamber. She's not even sweating from the heat though as the last of the Doom and Gloom girls send an armmy of youma at them.
    Jolly Roger raises her pistol and fires point blank into a plant girl.
    Before she tosses the gun aside, reaches over and...
    Nabs a fist full of tiramisu, which she starts nomming while drawing another gun from her tattered greatcoat.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter's eyes narrow dangerously as the army of bones and twisted plant-things bears down on them. They are so very outnumbered, here in enemy territory, but the Senshi of Courage lives up to her title; she doesn't flinch.

Her foot comes down hard on stone, a wide braced stance. The Leaves of Oak glow brilliant green against her hair.

She calls out a single word, voice reverberating through the hot, cavernous space:

"Stop."

As she speaks the word, she reaches out, closes a hand in the air. Yanks down.

In a broad swath, the plant-formed youma jerk to abrupt halts mid-charge, as though suddenly rooted into the ground - because they are, leg-like limbs sprouting roots that dig deep into any crevice or patch of something like earth they can find any purchase in, bodies unraveling from a mockery of human form to what Apollo might've seen when Daphne turned into a laurel tree before his eyes.

Sailor Jupiter brings up her other hand, curling her fingers in the air, and wrenches both hands wide apart. In time with the gesture, every rooted once-youma thrusts out branches and vines, snaring the bone constructs or outright tearing them apart, weaving into barricades to slow the enemy charge.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The canister's handed off, and there's attacking with enough room to swing a stick, so Mamoru shakes a cane out of nowhere and leaves it in his left hand to beat down anything that comes too close, and his other hand is free to throw the roses that break magic-- one to take down a skeleton here, one to take down a plant youma there, smashing apart skeletons with the cane all the while.

That is, until one of the rose youmas snakes a thorny vine around Nephrite while the other boy's in the middle of battering a couple of skeletons away from Mamoru's back -- at which point Mamoru grabs the vine bare-handed and makes it glow--

--and he pulls it back and away off of Neph and disappears his cane so he can fling the thing bodily into a mass of skeletons. It starts to grow out there, golden light crawling through its blossoms and grabbing at skeletons, tangling through their bones, using their ribs as trellises and blooming out their skulls.

Did we say Mamoru?

This is Endymion, smudged and dirty and bloodied, but fierce and furious, his grief fueling his anger. He draws his sword and finally, finally sees Jolly-- and near her, the spirit medium Prince sees the ghost of Bow and lets out an explosively ragged laugh. "Ghosts! Our friends will still help us!" he sings out over the din.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's a moment that's too short - taking the chance to hold one another, to comfort, to grieve - but then they are moving, and the voice that speaks from Chaar's throat is not Chaar's at all.

She knows, because it's the voice that called her a murderer, the voice that taunted and twisted, and Fem's blood is still on her hand.

There is no way to help these two now. If it comes down to it, their blood will join hers, because she will not lose anyone else!

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

It's an enormous circle carved into the air, and silver light glazes forward purifying everything in it's path -

And even in the chaos, Sailor Moon has been considerate, for the silver beams come nowhere near Hope Witch.

At her side, Sailor Mars shoots into the crowd, equally considerate - her bursts of flame never touch Mamoru. "Fire Soul!"

Sailor Venus is taking advantage of Sailor Jupiter's crowd control, of Sailor Mercury's bubble spray - like Mars, she snipes carefully, firing her "Crescent Beam!" rapidly, headshotting enemies as deftly as Usagi would in Call of Duty.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The advance towards the chamber where Metallia resides is just as problematic as the rest of the trek down there, where those hands protude out from the walls and try to penetrate the Live Stage, held back by Coco's singing voice.

She takes a deep breath once she finds herself on the other side of that troublesome walk, relieved that too is over and there is nothing in the way of the clash with that demon. She brushes slightly her yellow pearl, thinking of the light that ties them all together, and of the bonds she has made, and of why she can't afford to waver now. There will be a time to remember and recover later, but not now.

One of the DG Girls speaks, but in a way that sounds just as off as the stench of misery in the air. They aren't doing too hot either, she imagines, if that dreadful demon is possessing them. "Metallia, this is the day you stop hurting all these people. Even if we risk dying ourselves, your darkness won't get anywhere again."

Willing the Live Stage up away from the youmas' reach, she looks inwardly as melody fills her voice. "The Sound of the Bell of Hope ~Love Goes On~: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start! The mermaid princess sing of the story shimmering beyond the seven seas that leads all lives to paradise, of the lute's melody that on the beach at dawn reawakens the memory of that hometown's sweet lullaby, giving assurance than even when the sea is stormy, bonds and heartbeat will still be conveyed.

That song promises that before long, the sadness of the seven countries will become a song and cross the seven seas, becoming love by the time the large rainbow fades away, at the end of the dreams an overflowing rain of happiness.

Beryl has posed:
It's a slaughter.

Plain and simple, it's a slaughter.

Sailor Mercury's Shabon Spray makes hampers vision for the army of youma - skeletons blindly clash with each other as often as they do the Mahou, slicing and slashing haphazardly. Sailor Jupiter and Endymion turn the plant youma against the enemy, holding them and binding them as those with ranged weaponry like Puella Red, Pulp Noir, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Venus, and Hope Witch launch attacks from afar -

Skeletons fall, bones crushed beneath heavy blows and blasts of water.

Sukiyaki dices, slices, and julienne's plant girls alongside Sailor Uranus' flashing blade, and Kunzite throws the flames as deftly as Sailor Mars does, the flames spreading at the backline, burning enemies before they can hope to reach the Mahou.

Through it all, Yellow Pearl Voice sings a song of purification that wars with the dark nature of this very land.

Metallia-Chaar is amused, watching her enemies wear themselves out on these forces, and at the flap of her hand, Metallia-Drie stands and launches herself into the air, wings buzzing. There's more than enough space for those who can fly to do so, and she takes advantage -

By divebombing the enemy.

Hope Witch is the first to experience it - in the midst of her fight, with Homura at her back, the pair of them cutting a path through the enemy forces, there's a sudden weight, pressure, as Drie dives down atop her and literally drives her through the ground, leaving nothing but a dark hole in the ground where she stood.

The earth beneath their feet is hollow in places, it seems, because aside from breaking through the floor, Hope Witch isn't being used as a literal shove through the earth - instead she falls, with Drie pushing down, until she strikes the floor of a small room, barely four feet wide and seven high, and skeletal hands grasp at her limbs, trying to keep her down.

Drie smiles and her eyes are red-red-red with Metallia's power.

"Enjoy the accommodation, witchy one. Will you break in new and interesting ways?"

And then, in mere seconds, Drie has propelled herself up, out of the hole, wings gleaming, and the hole begins to slowly fill itself behind her. Hope Witch may be able to get herself out, with her Labyrinth portals, or perhaps someone will help her - before the oubliette closes, and she suffocates alone in the dark, surrounded by the living dead.

The plant youma, made helpless as they are, begin to quite literally burst in an effort to harass the enemy, spraying sticky sap and thorns.

But the Mahou are so effective. Even the reinforcements of more skeletons can only hold them off so quickly -

And Drie dives again dragging Sailor Jupiter in the ground, another oubliette opened beneath her feet, and skeletal hands drag at her, reach for her throat, for her hair, "Ah, the thunderous one. The havoc you create is truly sublime, little oak. It was you who ensured none of the hateful moon could live through my defeat. You have my thanks."

Sailor Moon's purification causes skeletons to freeze and collapses, nothing more than bones. Sailor Neptune's sea current grinds more to dust. Jolly Roger shoots and shoots, and Shokupan's monkeys create havoc, tearing away bones and throwing them far, causing the skeletons to dismantle and collapse when their joints are misplaced.

Perhaps those monkeys are why Drie dives down beside Jolly, dragging Shokupan into the dark of yet another oubliette.

"The dark won't bother you, little chef, but these creatures are ever so hungry - won't you feed them?"

There are no bones, waiting in the dark for Shokupan - only rats, by the hundreds, hungry and eager. They leap upon him, as Drie takes to the sky once more, laughing maliciously.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus moves like a dervish, the supernaturally sharp sword cutting through air and vine and bone with equal ease, and she knows who has her back - literally - as a wave of water pushes away enemies who were moving behind her, courtesy of Neptune.

    But at other moments, jets of fire and beams of light cover her, as well - while other enemies are held back and rearranged by Jupiter, caught in Mamoru's detonation, shot by Jolly Roger, blasted with remnants of magic by Kunzite, cleaved by Sukiyaki, blown into bits by Amy, missing from a mist, pummeled by water-cannon strength shots, crushed by bread monkeys, and shot by the other whirling duo, the projectile providers in pink and black. And through it all the song of Pearl Voice's cleansing song rings out, giving Haruka something just as important - a welling of hope in her spirit she can use to make sure her blows don't falter. A reminder constant and soft, but firm and true... that she has here, so many friends, so many allies, Senshi and Shitennou and so many others. It's uplifting. It's invogorating. It's allowing her to push through the exhaustion.

    And then the flying vile creature, Metallia in spirit even if mothgirl in form, divebombs her friends - her allies - and tries to take them out of the fight, tries to take them away from her, to snuff out their hope and their life. With the Earth.

    The Earth, Mamoru's earth, and the ground that she can bend to her will with the Solar Winds - oh no they don't.

    "NOT IN FRONT OF ME!" Uranus roars in defiance, planting her left foot and snapping out with her right in a kick with such violent force that a skeleton's ribcage turns to powder on contact. Clearing her area she leaps into the air, sword in her left hand and a violent ball of orange energy collecting in her right.

    "WORLD SHAKING!" She shouts, and as she lands she lets it go, the energy now a brilliant orange sphere with a ring, that whirls in a spiral, ripping and breaking the upper floor around Jupiter and giving her the room the one Guarded and Guided by The Wind knows the one Guarded and Guided By The Storm can use to break her way free of anything below.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
"Har har, Bow's been hanging' around hauntin' me like a spectre, aye." Jolly Roger says when Endymion takes note of the phantom Etherian that's been lingering from beyond. "Gone but not lost. Dead but not forgotten, he's by our side. Just like 'm sure the others are." She can't truly speak for the dead that haven't lingered... But... If there's anything she can do in this chaos and terror...
    Jolly Roger can hope.
    But this is a FIGHT. There's no time for gay and joyous shanties, no time for indecision. It's as Drie starts pulling people into the ground that the pirate-themed mahou scowls.
    "She's try'na separate us! Someone pull the others out!" She calls as she drops her spent pistols.
    Because as Drie swoops past her, Jolly Roger reaches into her greatcoat...
    And she pulls out a full sized SHIP'S ANCHOR.
    Which she proceeds to swing with the full force of a baseball bat to try and SWAT Metallia-Drie out of the air.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    While there may be some forms of Madoka who can see ghosts, none of them are currently present in this timeline. At least not yet. Despite this, Hope Witch takes some heart in the fact that the fallen are at least with them in spirit.

    Losing friends hurts, but... she will have to mourn them later. Now is the time to fight and ensure that they don't lose any more.

    As purification attacks get sent out, a bubble of darkness starts surrounding Hope Witch. She's not wielding it defensively, but rather venting it out to let Coco's music bleed it away without letting the song's magic touch her itself. As for Moon's escalation, just as the lunar princess is being sure to stay clear of her, Hope Witch is making sure to stay out of Usagi's way.

    The pearlescent locket hangs around Hope's neck, but she's hoping not to use it today. They aren't here to save Metallia, and if any of the DG ladies have a last-minute change of heart then well... Moon and YPV are right there to accommodate them.

    Yet that bubble pops the moment Drie grabs her, because for all of her power and practice Madoka still can't use dark energy worth a damn. As she's pushed down into the chamber full of grasping hands, Homura shrieks out her name, "Madoka-chan!"

    Surrounded by grasping hands, Hope Witch panics and wields her branch bow like a bat, swatting away the enemy as the hole closes in around them. The hole is closing, but there is already a Labyrinth portal linking her to Homura. All she has to do is widen it on both ends and hop through to return to her cuddle buddy's side.

    Once she does, Homura pulls a whole flamethrower out of her shield and unleashes her own personal inferno directly into the pit. Fire in the hole.

    Madoka's sad eyes look up at the offending moth girl as she nocks an arrow, firing directly at her with arrows that split and spread and saturate the air and wont stop following her target. Homura adds her own machine gun fire into the mix, because neither of these two are forgetting about Drie.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    The thing about water is it's just not the best tool to use in some situations. Neptune sees Drie drag her friends down below the ground, but she knows she is not the senshi to go after them. All her tools would just drown her friends, and she doesn't want that. And while her Submarine Reflection does shoot with unrelenting force, it's not really suited for shooting up at flying targets.

    But it is still a target rich environment, and now they have several objectives. So, Neptune brings her mirror up and takes some steps to the other side of Uranus, and sends another stream of seawater to grind through more youma off to one side where there aren't allies in holes in the ground.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy... is unfortunately keeping her head down, making her a prime target for divebombings as she fearfully shoots at the skeletons. And she has her own problems as the horde gets close enough to attack her directly. She summons and fires a cannon to blow through a line of the monsters, but... She has to back up, swinging a rocket launcher to try and knock the monsters aside as they claw at her. "No, no, no!"

    And then she hears the sound of the bell of hope, of singing, and realizes there must be a place she can retreat to to take stock of the situation: The Live Stage! She changes her armor and flies up, looking around, but gets distracted by something else before she can retreat: Drie is flying around!

    Amy fires rocket-bullets at the moth, and then realizes, with an 'oh shit' look on her face, that flying is a really bad position to get the attention of someone with gravity powers, and tries to fly towards the Live Stage to take cover for a moment.

Makoto Kino has posed:
The ground gives way under her feet; squared as she was, Sailor Jupiter has no chance to catch herself before the oubliette swallows her whole, hands of bone scratching and grasping at her to hold her down--

It's a place you put someone to forget about them.

But more than the darkness, the clawing hands, it's those terrible words that have her freezing for a split second, remembering the storm and the ominous cracking of the lunar dome.
Except - the earth shakes. The earth splits around her, letting light and air rush in, and Sailor Jupiter remembers herself. In the wake of Sailor Uranus's effort, Jupiter fairly explodes out of the broken ground, dirt and little fragments of rock flying in all directions as she launches into the air. "You're not getting rid of me that easily!"

From the air, she unleashes electricity from other hands, crackling threads leaping from every fingertip to strike at the enemy constructs. Everywhere they hit, they fork outwards, chaining from that youma to the two or three nearest, and from there to two more, burning through the ranks in the space between one heartbeat and the next.

As she catches her breath, Jupiter's eyes find Sailor Uranus in the fray, and she lifts a hand in salute. "Thanks!"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
There's a divebomb. Pulp Noir ducks and hits dirt as he grabs at the top of his fedora and looks upwards. He reaches into his coat to remove one of his pistols, tommy gun in his other hand as he starts tracing the flying DD Girl and taking shots at her, filling the air with strong pulses of water as he turns to his back.

He'll stand back up and start haphazardly firing the tommy gun and hand gun into the morass of youma as he grits his teeth.

Now he's covered in Dark Kingdom dirt. Ugh.

He continues on though, bolstered by Pearl Voice's singing.

"Take a dirt nap, filthy monsters." he says.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
A glance is spared to Drei when she takes to the sky too, her malicious laugh ringing in Coco's ears just after she has finished hurting people. "You wanted to reach the sky? How about you stay there?" the blonde girl says in a break from her song, the magical music preparing to conjure a Live Stage around Drei that will push her back if she tries approaching the confines of the sphere unless it's overcome with Drei's magic.

When Amy tries to reach her Live Stage in a panic, Coco has one better for her red friend, similarly bringing up a Live Stage to support the Puella in the air, without any of the restrictions she has added to the other Live Stage. Coco sends a questioning look Amy's way even as she sings, checking if she needs to get over there to make her feel the song's healing properties more.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's a fierce and toothy grin at Jolly Roger from the Prince of Earth, and the skeletonwar continues-- but-- but Drie's punching people down into holes in the ground?! Endymion's breath catches in his throat, and he sees Uranus helping Jupiter out in a TRULY clever way, and Homura's there with Hope Witch, but no one was watching Guardian Shokupan --

"Look out, monkeys!! Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber!" he cries out, free hand splaying wide and pointing a blast of white-gold power at the closed-over hole as soon as the digging monkeys are out of the way. It's not too long before the hole's open again.

"Hey kid!" Endymion calls down into the pit, "Shokupan, right? Grab hold of my cape and I'll lift you out!"

He yanks off his cape and clatters down onto an armored knee, holding the cape out and waiting until he's positive Katsumi has a grip before hauling the other boy out bodily.

"Ugh I hate these stupid dark energy rats. At least they don't have fleas," he says cheerfully, skewering a couple off of Shokupan with his sword and slinging them back into the ground as it closes up once more.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
As he's battling and preparing another spell to fire off, and when Jolly swings at Drie he fires it off. "Souffle Slide!" And among the Skeletons, a two meter by two meter souffle rises form the very ground that Drie is now pulling him down into. "No no..." he cries out in panic as the hands claw at his apron and robe to pull him down.

He's spent so much time in the dark, he really appreciates his sight and being entombed is one of his fears as s scream rises in blood-curling fashion as he lifts his staff above his as he tries anything to mark his position as he fights to crawl out.

A couple of his remaining monkeys run over to him, using their bread paws to try to help dig, but it's obvious that their little paws aren't gonna cut it. And the gingerbread giant is too damaged from protecting Katsumi from the vines to dig him out. The dirt clogs Katsumi's throat, nose, it gets in his eyes, his ears, it suffocates and gags, it crushes him. He's going to die here. Alone.

And then at the last second, a blast shakes the ground and a cape is offered. Desperatedly he grabs at it to get pulled out!

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Rescues accounted for. People are on the divebombing girl. There's a hole in the ground just there protecting one of Kunzite's sides for a moment, along with a Smoking Bomber to help. Which means that Kunzite has just a little time to calculate --

Crescent Beams are being used to snipe. Kunzite takes the time to catch their leftovers selectively for a few moments. One by one by one. And recombine. And focus --

And when he has an instant's view, he lets them loose again, aimed directly, if at a distance, at Chaar. Because why should she get to have all the fun, over there?

Ren Morimoto has posed:
In his fervor, Guardian Sukiyaki loses sight of his fellow Culinary Guardian. And this is a mistake. He rises from a pile of dismembered plant youma to scan the area for Shokupan, but he can't find him... just his monkeys, digging in the dirt.

What...? What could they possibly be doing?

Only for a beam of white-gold light to pierce the ground just there, with Prince Endymion sending his cape down to pull Shokupan free from the pit.

Immediately Sukiyaki rushes over, his cleaver beginning to flicker with flame as he cuts through the enemies separating them.

"I'm here! I'm so sorry!" he says, sounding desperate. To Endymion, he can only say "Thank you," before turning to his teammate. "Let's stick together now, what do you say?"

If it means getting to keep a closer eye on the younger Shokupan, it will ease Sukiyaki's fears. It's what Daifuku would have wanted.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"JUPITER!"

It's a shriek that bursts from Sailor Moon's throat as her friend is driven into the Earth not far from her, but Sailor Uranus is on it, breaking apart the trap before she can panic for too long and Sailor Jupiter rises to the air, wreathed in storm -

And Sailor Moon remembers how to breathe again, just in time for a cactus-themed explosion to go off. Sailor Mars dives at her, bringing the Soldier of Love and Justice down, and turning the back of her chest arm into something more akin to a porcupine, the longest of them pushing through to her back.

"Watch yourself, Moon-chan," she gripes, as Sailor Moon gasps and then pulls her to her feet, fretting.

Sailor Venus offers the two covering fire - and then Sailor Jupiter's branching lightning successfully fries the surrounding enemies.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
When Drei flies up to begin attacking others, trying to entomb them in the quaking ground beneath her feet, Sailor Mercury simply stands her ground for the moment. It's partially due to the quaking from Uranus' attack as she doesn't want to risk stepping somewhere she shouldn't.

Her attention and focus is split between the two DG Girls though. If one was attacking the other was free to come up with another attack, or plan, and that simply was not going to happen on her watch. Focusing on a distraction was a surefire way of getting sniped. Similar to Kunzite's thoughts no doubt.

"Mercury-" She begins, arms crossing at the wrists only to fling wide to her sides. Three spheres of water form and sworl around preparing her attack. One that tickled the back of her mind with old memories rising to mind.

"Shine Snow Illusion!"

The spheres of water rush toward Chaar only to freeze in mid air, and then jolt forward with a blur of light. Even in this heat ice can be heard cracking from them as they seek to impact, and freeze the other moth girl.

Beryl has posed:
Drie laughs at the screams of terror as friends turn to help friends. She's as far from herself - as can be, filled to the brim with Metallia's gleeful, vicious power, and she's ready to entomb more of these wretched brats, ready to see them suffer and die for the sake of her friends -

For Youko, Takako, and Noriko -

The thought of her friends is a distraction, worried, and a bubble of light catches her, wings beating in confusion -

"What foolishness is this?!

And then the anchor smacks her towards the ground WITH bone cracking force as arrows fired from Hope Witch and bullets from Homura and Puella Red striking, riddling her back and wings with holes and blood spills, and the souffle slide catches her, covers her in sugar and sweetness as she rolls to the ground.

The plant youma and skeletons are finally, fully, wiped out - between lightning and fire and water and beams and bullets and explosions and bladed weaponry, there's just so much firepower rained down on these poor little minions. There are only so many dead.

Well.

About that...

Chaar raises a hand, and the flow of lava behind her rushes forward, creating a bubble of molten heat that solidifies under the force of Sailor Mercury's attack, which then cracks to pieces under the force of Kunzite's. She grins, and her mouth splits, far, far wider than a human face should be capable of, even a moth-human face. Her hell-red eyes shine against the black of her sclera.

"Were you hoping for my attention, my old favorite? I'll even spare a strand of it for you, knowledge seeker. Save your allies, if you can."

Save them from what? The, ah, the lava. The lava flow, as the ground shakes, as the lava begins to make it's way around the central pillar and throne.

And the ground shakes for more than just those cracks. From the great ceiling fall enormous bones - the bones of titanic and unnatural creatures, fantastical beasts of bone twelve and fifteen feet tall, with feet the size of trashcan lids, and they begin to stomp and bite.

Meanwhile, Drie, laughs and laughs, as any who drew close enough strike her witness her wounds healing in purple fire, darkness boiling around her - her wounds stitch themselves shut with living, sucking darkness, making of her something even more monstrous than her moth form, and with a let split, a new pair of wings sprouts, as the pair torn and shredded by bullets and arrows dissolves into liquid flesh.

"Shouldn't have been so curious, heroes!"

And she flings her hands out, hurling balls of gravity - anyone that's struck will find whatever part of their body was struck captured in those roiling balls of ozone, floating uncontrollably some up, some to the left, the right, dangling by hand and foot and perhaps even head and torso.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus is able to breathe ever so slightly easier in the lava-hot room once Jupiter rips her way out of the impromptu tomb. And then the other allies get out too, and it's all so much better. No, they're working together. "Metallia... you have pawns and puppets, but the Senshi... have allies and teammates." she says boldly.

    Of course, then all hell breaks loose - in an almost literal form - as her ancient enemy brings down ancient bones and erupting fire from the heart of the Earth, or whatever unholy version of Earth they've marched down into.

    With Jupiter safe and giant size bones trying to crush everyone - and the rising tide of lava - Uranus retreats to the place she's most comfortable, even in all of this danger and death. Which is of course, Neptune's vicinity.

    She moves to the Sea Siren's side, and starts using her blade - with surprising force - to deflect the bones as they come towards her, from abovee or any other direction, leting them clang loudly against her sword but not Neptune.

    She gives the seagrass-haired maiden a look that means nothing to anyone else but is emblematic of the connection they share. This entire fight they have been on the same page, and now they are too, even without words. If there's lava coming, she's going to leave -that- to one of the two Senshi that can control a formation of water.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch senses the distortion of gravity in Drie's attacks, and decides to counter with her own spacial magic, for what is gravity aside from bent space?

    Madoka's magical will spreads out, creating a bubble of altered reality around her. In normal space she would be easily able to draw the entire field into her Labyrinth, but down here in the seat of Metallia's power her magic acts a bit differently, forming a sphere of Witchy magic instead. As the gravity blasts hit her zone, they distort the air for a moment before either being flung to the side or canceled outright.

    "Funny you should try that," calls out Hope Witch. "I was about to do the same to you!"

    Madoka floats into the air as her space-altering magic gives her a type of mobility that her legs simply can't. She flies towards Drie in an attempt to drag the moth girl into her sphere of influence and, should she succeed, overwhelm her with suddenly intense, chaotic gravity that spins and turns and twists and drags this way and that.

    Homura, meanwhile, stays on the ground and stays mobile, crossing the (relatively) cleared area in order to get a better shot. Whether or not Drie falls victim to Madoka's space-bending magic or not, there's a subtle effect that one might not notice until it's too late. All of Homura's shots curve to follow after the moth girl. In fact, any projectile headed her way undergoes this effect as Madoka tries to turn Drie into a gravity well.

    Twently rocket launchers suddenly appear at Homura's feet, and she picks up one, fires at Drie, then grabs another. Then the next, and the next, smooth and rapid as if she has done this a hundred times.

    The sweat rolling down their faces is only partially from the heat. The bones and fire rise up against them, but they can only focus fire on so much at once. All they can do is try to leap or fly away from the rest.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy smiles at Coco as a Live Stage appears around her, landing on it and giving Coco a thumbs-up. She turns to face the battle, and sees how the plants and skeletons have thinned out to nothing. What a relief...

    And then everything gets worse. Uhhhh... Amy is safe from the lava up here, but she's going to have to hope that Mercury and Neptune can handle stopping it. Her powers are not suited to that.

    And then.

    AND THEN.

    It's THAT ONE SCENE FROM THE POWER RANGERS MOVIE BUT SO MUCH WORSE BECAUSE THERE'S MORE THAN ONE SKELETON AND ALSO ALL THE HORROR HAPPENING AROUND THEM AND ALSO IT'S REAL AAAAAAA

    She curls up on the live stage for a second or two. Her brain is screaming NOT TO LOOK at them but she HAS to, she HAS to aim...

    Shaking, Amy gets up to her knees on the Live Stage, summons the giant artillery cannon, and fires at one of the dinosaur skeletons, timed to explode within or next to them if it doesn't hit a bone directly.

    She tries very hard not to look at the other things running around while making sure her attack did something.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Anytime!" Endymion says with a grin to the two Culinary Guardians as he fixes his cape back on, and then he gets hit with a gravity ball?!

It picks him up by his sword arm, which is awkward as hell because he doesn't want to drop his sword--! But he's winging up and up, and he scowls, catching hold of one of the bones that's forming into something and hanging on with one arm, then with arm and legs, and the bone is trying to be something's rib, but Endymion's got it and there's gravity stupidity going on--

--he contrives to knock it against another bone he's passing and use that burst of force to dangle with this giant bone!! over the skirmishes, then DROP the giant bone once he's directly over Chaar.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    There's just one moment to breathe. Neptune lowers her mirror and looks around. There are no more youma to shoot down. All her allies are above the ground, and the threat is crystal clear. She turns to see Charr directing the lava and the ground shakes, more lava flowing around the throne, flowing toward them.

    She glanced aside at Uranus and nodded. She needed to shift tactics. She needed to cool that lava down and fast. There was no way she could Submarine Reflection it all fast enough. No, there was only one tool in her chest that she could use here. She didn't like the idea of drawing out Marine Cathedrale amidst all this lava, but what choice did she have?

    Taking a step forward and stringing a confident pose, her mirror spun away into that place and her violin and bow retrieved into her hands. "You did not get to meet me before. Let's see your fires burn under the sea!" The violin comes up to her chin and she strikes a discordant note, calling out "Submarine Violin Tide!"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    With Drie smacked out of the air, Jolly Roger breifly sets her anchor down, propping a boot on it as she flashes that leering, swaggering, pirate grin of hers.
    "See how ye like that on for size, eh?" She says, cracking her knuckles.
    "I bet yer all wonderin' how I survived that nasty mess in the ossuary..." She says, picking her anchor up and limping towards Drie.
    "So there I was, surrounded by skeletons, fightin' for me very life with the livin' dead. Bones to the left of me, bones to the right of me, I was knee deep in the dead, fightin' for what felt like hours..." She says, dodging a flung gravity ball.
    "When all was said and done I was left alone to me thoughts in the sealed ossuary, after all the skelly boys were naught but broken bones and dust... So I had to form me a plan and I did..." Explained as she sidesteps another graviball, reaches out with her free hand and GRABS ONTO a *SKELETAL DINOSAUR THING*.
    Proceeding to scramble up its back, anchor in hand she continues to weave her tall tale while it tries to flail her off.
    "I fashioned me a chain from the bones and teeth all around and waited... Until TWO GIANT SEA TURTLES came in floatin' on the moonlight!" Said as she leaps off the skeleton as deftly as though she were swinging from the sails of a ship and aims to bring her anchor down as she lands.
    Aimed right for Drie.
    "I roped 'em up and made a raft to float me way out and now here I am. Sea turtles, mates~!"
    And she raises her anchor again- and brings it down. And raises it AGAIN- and down- and again- and down, just trying to savage the everloving bejeezus out of Drie in an attempt to out-DPS her healing factor.
    Right up until a gravi-ball hits her anchor as she's raising it and--
    Well there's a slight problem.
    Erika Shimizu is a very small and very light girl.
    She kind of starts to go floating away.
    "Awawawawawa!"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Oh god. The Lava is rising. And he can't fly. He raises his tommy gun to fire when a gravity ball encases it. It flies away. It didn't get his hand completely, as he draws it back reflexively fast as he curses.

Suddenly, giant skeletons. Giant, huge, monsters. He looks down at his pistol. He looks up at the monster and back at his pistol. "Gonna need the roscoe." he says as he reaches into his coat...

And produces what looks like a very large long barrel revolver. He starts firing at the giant skeleton with it. It's powerful, single bursts should take out big bones. He's aiming primarily at legs keeping these things up.

He's getting ragged, and he's running out of tricks.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Ah, there's the lava. The pretty, deadly energy source. Kunzite could pull heat from its surface, solidify a layer of stone and keep solidifying it, to channel it or keep it back. On one side of the pillar, anyhow. But he'd have to get there. Fast enough to keep the stone from becoming armor for Chaar. Normally, less of a problem. But the combination of the gravity-flinging and the bone monsters is a little of a problem; he won't be able to control his own trajectory properly --

And that's when Mercury catches his eye. It only takes an instant for him to understand.

He darts out nearly under the feet of one of the skeletons, using it as shelter from Drie's power, catching up his cape in a hand to keep it from being trapped under a claw as it smashes down. His shields flare in time to catch the Aqua Illusion she sends him, and he keeps moving, getting the angle he needs to take up --

-- oh, that's an interesting thing happening to space-time in Drie's vicinity. He recalculates again, shifts his aim --

-- there. Stationed opposite Neptune, so to speak. And from there he sends the magical cold to intercept the lava, to channel it aside and wall it off there. Mercury's hand at a distance, working in tandem with the Ocean to tame the molten tide.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
As Endyimon helps him back to the surface, Katsumi hacks and coughs several times. "Thank you!" he says hoarsely to him as he takes a moment to catch his breath. It only is a moment though, because Sukiyaki is there, and he is clutched. "I'm okay! It was really scary is all..." he admits, his eyes flashing with fear as he hears Metallia and the girls going off. "Sounds bad. And I'm running low on magic. But I have enough for a Kitchen God Mode. Let's do it?" he asks, and once it's approved by Sakiyaki, he slams his staff into the ground, "GOD KITCHEN MODE!"

After calling that out, the ground erupts around him and Shokupan's baking skills are put to more pleasant use in a large bakery style kitchen that connects to Sukiyaki's. Slipping on an apron, Shokupan mixes and rolls out the dough, watches it rise, and they starts to roll and fill the dumplings that will be used in Sukiyaki's soup. He goes with a pork filling, knowing that once the soup is done, they will try to clear a path as wide as possible with it.

Tossing in the dumplings when Sukiyai gives the cue, he watches the older boy cook, right up until their ingredients combine and he's pulled in with the other chef as their dish is completed.

When Sukiyaki lifts his staff forward, pointing it out. And with the gigantic pot completed, he calls out. "HOT DUMPLING"

Ren Morimoto has posed:
With the battlefield temporarily cleared, Ren pauses to readjust the grip on his giant cleaver. He shares a nod with Katsumi, and he cuts a slash mark into the very fabric of reality with a flick of his wrist, opening up his own entrance into the kitchen of Sanbo-Kojin.

As Shokupan rolls out dough and fills dumplings, Sukiyaki gets to work chopping vegetables while tending to a large pot on the fire. As the liquid begins to bubble and steam, he tosses in spices and other flavorful seasonings.

This all happens in the blink of an eye, everything in fast forward for anyone who spares a glance into the kitchen. When Shokupan and Sukiyaki reappear they are primed, and they share a glance before the giant cleaver rises into the air, held vertical in both of Ren's hands.

"...SOUP CYCLONE!"

Another slash in the air creates a massive torrential wave of broth, but instead of following the normal path of a liquid it begins to swirl as if stirred in a massive pot, rising into the air as it pours from Guardian Sukiyaki's sword. It becomes a massive, swirling cyclone, and the dumplings that Guardian Shokupan adds to the soup begin to enlarge and swell with broth until they are massive battering rams in the air!

The two Culinary Guardians send their attack out into the fray, aiming at the massive bone creatures!

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
As enormous bone beasts drop from the ground, Sailor Venus uses her whip to -

Yoink Sailor Moon onto one of the great beasts, the guardian of the Moon yelping as she flails about into a seated position.

Sailor Mars slaps an ankle bone, and the beast rears, and gallops off, with Sailor Moon high atop it.

Somehow? It's good positioning, as she fires off several overhead shots of -

"Moon Healing Escalation!" -

That rain purification down, dispelling dark energy gravity balls, freeing Drie's victims, and causing several of the other bone beasts to begin collapsing.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Hanging in the air, wreathed in storm and crowned with oak--

Sailor Jupiter almost doesn't notice one of Drie's gravity-spheres clipping her foot at first, but the sideways pull is impossible to ignore. She fights it for a few precious seconds, trying to use the wind to right herself, but it's clear it's only a delaying action. Wasting time, when time is something none of them have to spare.

She sweeps a look around, taking in the giant skeletons. In the next heartbeat, she zeroes in on the one Pulp Noir is working at taking out at the legs.

And she stops fighting the pull.

More than stops fighting - she accelerates, angling herself in the air until she's rushing at the huge bone thing boots-first. She hits it with the force of a wrecking ball, right in that central point of the upper mass where the framework for the upper limbs hitches up to the spinal column.

And as she hits, she grabs on, using all her weight and momentum and the force of Drie's gravity, helped along by Pulp Noir shooting the hell out of the lower legs, to bring the gigantic skeletal beast off its feet and crashing hard to the ground.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The lava doesn't do much to those who are flying, besides making them glance down in a worry about those stuck on the ground, and that's definitely what Coco does, but the huge bones falling down from the cavernous ceiling are a wholly different matter as the mermaid princess' face becomes substantially paler when she notices the predicament they constitute.

Which probably makes for a very weird spectacle, as the Live Stage she is in gets moved around in a frenzy, trying to dodge the unusual rain, prioritising the bigger bones as some of the remaining ones bounce off the Stage, some pass through, causing some small lacerations here and here, a wince of pain the only reaction Coco concedes herself as she pushes on with her singing, the aches of those wounds somewhat helped as her song feels like a fresh balm for her exposed flesh.

She sings on in encouragement, the purification bringing up the morale of friends that happen to listen in, as the melodious magic pushes back against the darkness that is being hurled around. ""Heartbeat ~Perfect Harmony~: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!".

Hit by the stormy sea, at this moment it seems we might lose
We shake it off, and gaze at the love in our hearts.

We'll stand up again, no matter how many times for the sake of that promise.
Bathed in the scorching light, a spray of water flutters.

Even hotter, hotter, hotter than the sun.
We'll raise our voices higher, higher, higher.
Now is the time, now is the time.

This intense heartbeat overflows with a melody of love.
In this speedy heartbeat, there is only one truth.
Reflecting in a cloudless mirror
The heartbeat we convey breaks out with the power of love.
And so we are born in this hot, perfect harmony.

I'll spread my arms out and accept everything of you.
It was painful, and it was the first time I knew what true love was.

Faster, faster, faster than the southern wind.
Crossing over the squall, stronger, stronger, stronger.
Now is the time, now is the time.

A harmony colored with everyone's heartbeats as they overlap
Will not stop ringing, and won't stop the sparkling.
We'll get back our Paradise
The heartbeat we feel breaks out with the power of love.
And so it spreads out into a perfect harmony of dreams.
This intense heartbeat overflows with a melody of love.
In this speedy heartbeat, there is only one truth.
Reflecting in a cloudless mirror
The heartbeat we convey breaks out with the power of love.

A harmony colored with everyone's heartbeats as they overlap
Will not stop ringing, and won't stop the sparkling.
We'll get back our Paradise
The heartbeat we feel breaks out with the power of love.

And so it spreads out into a perfect harmony of dreams.
And so we are born in this hot, perfect harmony.

Beryl has posed:
The chaos of battle can truly not be believed. There are giant beasts of bone, there are enormous clouds of steam, making horrid amounts of humidity as lava is rapidly cooled to stone, there's gravity balls catching people and then being dispelled by Sailor Moon.

Into the den, comes titanic crash sounds, as Sailor Jupiter suplexes one of the bone beasts. Another crash, as Pulp Noir's attacks break through the ankle bones of another, sending it to it's side -

And soup dumplings the size of motorcycles spinning in a cyclone of hot soup, battering away at the bone beasts - there are many of them, but not enough to handle this, what could possible handle this?

Some of the bone beasts catch the dumplings in their mouths, chewing and swallowing - which just causes half-chewed dumpling matter to rain from their hollow necks and stomachs, by the way. Look out below, that stuff is heavy!

Chaar has an enormous bone dropped her, and manages to catch it, dark fire blazing around her arms as Metallia empowers her, empowers her, empowers her, healing her tearing biceps rapidly until she manages to toss aside the bone. She looks very unamused, now.

Drie isn't particularly amused either, attacked again and again and again, healing what strikes and diverting what doesn't with her own gravitational pull, trying to spin out as much as she can -

She splits apart and knits back together in grotesque showers of blood, until Jolly starts to strike her with the anchor -

Strikes her to the ground -

Strikes her in the ground -

Strikes her -

She breaks through the ground, into an oubliette. The ground rumbles, fills, and the heroes might even think they've beaten her, they've done it, one more down -

And then she bursts from the ground, directly beneath Shokupan's feet. She grabs him by the throat, and flies high, squeezing all the while, squeezing tight at his throat, her savage nails biting into skin, spilling blood, and she jerks her hand savagely -

The crack of bone may not be heard over the din, but Shokupan goes still in her grasp, and a deep purple glow surrounds her entire body.

She flexes her hands and it's like the world turns against the heroes, as the force of gravity itself doubles, triples, quadruples - quintuples - sending them all to the ground, the physically weakest flat against the ground, the physically strongest to their knees.

Only then does she let Culinary Guardian Shokupan go, now that no one can stop his killing fall.

"I've let you have enough fun."

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
"DREI!" Glimmer's voice rang out. There was a flicker of pink light and then Glimmer was behind Drei. She chucked a ball of light at her back, before disappearing before the girl could fully turn. "How dare--" And this time over her, unleashing a small blast from both hands. "-- you hurt--" In front, another blast. "--the greatest--" Above, another blast. "-- man--" In front. "-- in--" And this time, she didn't teleport behind, she teleported right in front of Drei, her fist glowing with bright, pink light. So bright it was near blinding. And then punched her, the fist exploding with magic. "-- Etheria!"

She then teleported after her, lunging to try and grab her by the front and SHAKE her! "I TRIED with you! With all of you! I thought there was, maybe, something GOOD there! That if you were just showed some kindness you'd make the RIGHT CHOICE! I tried so *hard* to be the *nice* princess, to SAVE YOU! And you repaid me by becoming a demon and TAKING MY BEST FRIEND AND HURTING THOSE HE PROTECTED!" Then teleport up once more and form a blast of massive light, driving it down into a powerful explosion.

"I am *done* playing NICE!" she yelled, landing in front of her. Well, at least Drie now had something else to focus on than the rest of them. A pink, sparkly princess, tears streaming down her face.

Katsumi Cora has posed:
"Wow. LOOK AT THAT!" Shokupan says eagerly to Sakiyaki, "We did that! That's amazing! This is the first time I've ever..." he holds out his hand for a hogh five. Just a quick one, and he'll retreat to recharge, promie.

Except as he holds his hand up, Drie explodes from the ground, grabbing him so savagely that he drops his cards and staff. Up the go, the boy kicking and fighting to his last, unable to breathe, unable to scream.

And then Drie snaps his neck with such ease. His arms and legs drop, body going limp. They say that the last seven minutes after death is a replay of your life. All your memories show up vying for attention.

Drie doesn't give Katsumi... now that his henshin falls away. His staff turns into a large dog that starts barking angrilly at Drie, as she releases his body and he slams head-first, into the ground.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch's spacial distortion is strong, but it's not strong enough to avoid what happens next. She's dragged out of the air and onto the ground, her special space being pushed back by the overwhelming aura of oppressive darkness. It's not her physical strength, but her own magic that lets her rise to her knees, but no higher.

    Desperate to reach the pink girl, Homura crawls along the ground, determined not to let this be the end... Yet as she looks up she realizes that, for Sokupan, it is.

    Homura has seen death before. Many, many times. It has not gotten easier. She goes pale as she silently watches, understanding full well what this means.

    How many losses is too many? Is it already too late? She can't believe that, no matter what. She can't give up on this timeline as long as...

    Glimmer appears, targeting Drie. That might just be the break they need. Madoka might not be able to lift herself up, but she can decide that physical laws no longer apply to her. Hope Witch and Homrua vanish into a Labyrinth portal, and it floats up and up into the air completely unaffected. From the swirling, opalescent aperture comes a constant spray of machine gun fire, each shot infused with a mix of pink and purple energy, with Witch runes and tendrils of wild magic trailing behind.

    Death weighs heavily on Madoka's mind, but she has no choice but to push forward. Under her breath, she mutters a prayer for Shokupan. Wherever he goes, may he find peace.

Beryl has posed:
Drie is... not expecting to be attacked in the middle of her victory over the Mahou. Glimmer, teleporting in after the gravity wave has taken effect, is immune, and she attacks, again, again, again -

Drie can't hold her concentration, like this. Gravity surges, warping and twisting - a dozen shots from Madoka and Homura alike pierce her freshly, freshly regrown wing.

They're so sensitive, a bug's wings. Delicate. She screams, at the unanticipated agony.

And then her hold on everyone breaks and they are free to move again.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Free!! --in midair, which is suboptimal. Endymion falls, landing lightly on his feet near where Sailor Moon's mount's ended up, and his eyes are on Chaar, not Drie. The second time he's made the mistake of paying attention to someone who isn't Drie, but Jolly's got her covered, hasn't she?

...hasn't she?

The Prince's eyes go wide in alarm and he pulls a hand in to start his attack, but-- no-- Shokupan's head's not supposed to turn like that and he's gone still, maybe Endymion can still save him, can still get to him if he can catch him, it's again this is happening, again, and he abandons the attack and his sword and throws his center of gravity to start running--

--when again there is gravity and he falls to his armored knees and sees the kid he just helped smash to the ground. Headfirst on the stone.

Again. Drie is going to die. They were all going to die but now she's especially going to die, and Endymion climbs to his feet, blue eyes seeing a lot of different things at once and face smudged and bloody and salty again as the tears come unbidden, because one more hopeful kid...

"Tuxedo," he starts, then flings his glowing fist out in front of him.

"La Smoking," he continues, voice growing more strident, and then he opens that glowing hand and a growing ball of energy forms in front of it again--

--and then he yells out, the force of the laser blast enough to kick him back a half step, "Bomber!"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
When Jupiter knocks down the skeleton he gives a wave. "Good one, sparkplug." he says.

But then Pulp Noir watches Drie snap a neck. His eyes go wide as the body drops to the ground and he raises the revolver up at her and goes to fire when she shifts gravity and down he goes, firing into the dirt as he falls flat on his chest, his fedora smacking down onto his head after him as he curses this cursed place with a string of colorful expletives from a bygone era.

That's when Glimmer appears, that girl, again and ruins the DD Girl's concentration. He stands up when he feels weightless again and draws his revolver back onto target. Firing at Drie, trying for critical shots. The face. The Stomach. Places like that in rapid succession, hopefully before she can try that trick again and kill another one of them.

"TAKE A GOD DAMNN DIRT NAP YOU FRICKEN INSECT."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus parries a giant dumplingball fleck with her blade, though she also discovers that somehow a magic lightblade can still transfer vibrations up her arm, which is... highly uncomfortable.

    Not... quite as uncomfortable as what comes next, though. As she's driven to the ground - well, down to one knee, stubborn woman that she is, bracing against the flood of gravity with her sword - refusing to go to the floor, refusing to look down... which means she's watching fully for the whole gory spectacle of it all.

    Anger paints Sailor Uranus' face, anger and rage and absolutely tears as one of the people she just called ally, teammate, friend - even if she didn't know him everyone who fights at her side against this monster is clearly all of those - falls to the ground, life squeezed out.

    And then there's a moment of horror broken by a moment of confusion, as a pink sparkly girl shows up and goes after Drie, and the gravity is broken and Uranus can stand again.

    But who isn't standing? Guardian Shokupan. He's not going to stand ever again. Because of her. Because of Metallia. Because of this demon, this monster.

    She takes a step towards Drie, then another, her hands gripping her sword tightly enough it shakes. "You killed him. You vile monster. You killed him, you killed others, and you'll keep killing... for what? To get your way? You think life is just expendable? Then the only thing to do is take yours. No more sealing. No more binding. We're going to put you down." she says, and raises her sword. "Space Sword BLASTER!"

    But as she calls out the attack, she turns on her heel. Because Drie wasn't the only one she heard that voice come out of. And somewhere, in her mind, underneath the sadness and anger and rage, Guardian Uranus is still a bit of a tactican when it counts, and she knows there are TWO puppets that have to die. One is Drie. The other is the one she's sending cutting wind blades at. Her magma-controlling second Metallia puppet, Chaar. "I'LL KILL EVERY BODY YOU TAKE UNTIL I CAN CUT THE REAL YOU." she yells as she sends wind blade after wind blade at the other girl.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    Neptune plays several more chords, keeping the sea water high as it evaporates into steam on the hot lava. There's a nod given toward Mercury and Kunzite. It felt good to work together. To not be alone.

    Everything happens so fast. She's dodging a dumpling and before she knows it, Neptune is being pulled down to the ground. It is all she can do to keep Marine Cathedrale from being crushed by the intense gravity. An intense gravity that's suddenly different and shifting. She puts her bow in her other hand and struggles up to her feet, turning to reach for Uranus to help her up if she needs it. It's hard to keep her footing but she does her best.

    Then the gravity calms down. Neptune looks aside toward Uranus as she says all her words. All she has to add as she brings her violin back up to her chin is, "I always hate it when moths get inside." Then she draws the bow across the strings in several sharp percussive motions sending a sonic attack rippling through the dank, humid air toward Drei.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Though the Live Stage keeps her floating, the gravity spell still has its hold on Coco, making her movements much harder, so hard that she is basically stuck in place, putting an end to her dance, though it's a good thing that it wasn't a vital component of her magic. And then there is Glimmer coming in that breaks Drie's concentration and the spell dissipates as fast as it came.

Though that is little comfort when one of their own joins the numbers of the passed away, as her voice's volume lowers when that nasty method is carried out. She entrusts his soul to Aqua Regina under her breath before resuming her singing, going for a second round of trying to trap in with a Live Stage, singing her purification even harder.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
The torrential cyclone of dumpling soup spins onwards, continuing to ravage the enemies on the field, and Guardian Sukiyaki breathes out a single, solitary breath of relief.

Just one. And then he wishes he hadn't.

Shokupan is ripped from the ground right next to him so fast that Sukiyaki can't even reach out to grab for him, not until it's much too late. But his hand is there in the air as a shout of surprise leaves his throat as he tracks Drei's upward motion.

"NO!" he screams, when his fellow Culinary Guardian goes shockingly, suddenly still. It's a rage-filled scream, stricken with grief, not just for Katsumi but also for Chiyo, and the others that have been lost. For those that will yet be lost too, in this savage battle. His voice sounds ravaged.

If he weren't forced to his knees by the change in gravity he might have fallen to them himself, but with the adversity comes a challenge, and he struggles to stay upright. Ren's teeth grit and he drives his giant cleaver into the ground to use as a steadying force to keep him where he is.

Unfortunately it's not enough to get him back to his feet, but he hasn't yet been forced flat. He won't be. He continues to struggle against it, until Glimmer's miraculous reappearance. Ren's eyes widen as the princess that had disappeared from under his hand is once again here and present, and not only that but attacking Drei, freeing them all from her gravitational hold.

Prince Endymion sends a golden blast. Pulp Noir takes aim and fires. Sailor Neptune attacks with sonic waves. Yellow Pearl Voice tries to trap her. But for Guardian Sukiyaki, this is personal.

And what does that mean? Well, that means getting up close. So as the others attack, Ren bends down, gathering strength in his legs for a powerful upwards leap.

Up, indeed, he does go. So too does his giant cleaver, leading the charge, as he looks to follow up all of those energy attacks with something much more basic but just as deadly: a blade through the heart.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy steels herself to take another look at the battlefield. It's a mess! But the monsters are being beaten. She sees and hears Jolly Roger floating up into the air, though! "I've got you! Jolly Roger!" Amy leaves the Live Stage to fly over to the undead pirate and carry her safely towards the ground...

    But just as she's starting to move, Drei is snapping one of the Culinary Guardians' necks -- "NOOOO!" Amy shouts, unable to fire a weapon with her hands full of pirate -- and then gravity quintuples.

    Amanda isn't prepared, especially with the additional weight of Jolly Roger, to adjust the thrusters to compensate, but she does at least manage to slow their fall just enough that they are merely thrown to the ground painfully and uncomfortably rather than bone-crushingly.

    Now she's pinned by the gravity, though. It's so hard to move... "No... Urgh..." She grunts as she tries to position herself so the thrusters can even help lift her upright.

    Seconds pass.

    And then there are more of those sickening cracking and tearing sounds as her body moves unnaturally, like a puppet lifting into a standing position. She summons an artillery cannon on a cart at her side but remembers Drie will just mess with the projectile. Damn. Uhhhh...

    While she's thinking about it, Glimmer distracts Drie and breaks the gravity effect.

    Amy takes to the air again, flying towards Drie.

    The moment Glimmer is clear, she repeats her new finishing technique from their last meeting -- and then immediately follows it up with missile racks appearing on her armor and launching dozens of missiles which move so that a significant number of them will approach Drie from the opposite side from any black hole she makes, so that the jets of heavy metal plasma will just be drawn through her by the gravity!

    Boy, Amy sure hopes that works!

    The gem on on her left vambrace is accumulating corruption rapidly. It's already over two-fifths dark...

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kunzite has been saved from giant skeletal monsters ... by takeout. He's going to need to tell Chiyo about this --

Oh.

It's the wrong split second to be distracted. The very wrong one. There's no time to react to Drie's driving back up through the ground, no time to find enough concentration to armor Shokupan from a distance, and there's a sinking certainty that Drie would have been able to tear straight through them anyhow. And then there's sinking, and Kunzite falls like the rest, down at an awkward angle. Not completely flat, but not up on his knees, either, crouched in what seems like a struggle to rise, head weighted down by the mass of his hair...

The important thing is, beneath his cape, the cylinder is cushioned by his body. The cylinder is intact. Is it time to use it? It might be --

-- and then there is another weeping princess, and Kunzite lifts himself to one knee. (We'll stand up again, no matter how many times for the sake of that promise--)

Neptune's on Drei. Mercury is still picking herself up.

Kunzite reaches out with his power, the heat in the area around him diminishing a degree or two. Hunting for what Chaar is doing.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
For a moment it seems like they've turned it around - the bone beasts are falling one by one, Sailor Moon kicking the vertebrae out of the one under her just to make it fall, landing down besides Tuxedo Kamen, and she smiles at him -

She smiles at him -

And then there's a sound - wings, buzzing, and she's attuned to that sound, after Fem, and she turns, to see Drie with a boy in her hands and her eyes widen, tears already brimming -

And he goes limp - and he falls -

And Sailor Mars covers her mouth with one hand, horrified, as Sailor Venus grimaces, mouth tight, as Sailor Moon hiccups on a sob.

The sob doesn't stop her from joining in - Sailor Moon's Moon Healing Escalation and Mars' Fire Soul Bird launched at Drie.

Sailor Venus joins with Sailor Uranus, launching Venus Love Me Chain at Chaar!

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Things aren't looking up for Jolly Roger.
    Okay so she's floating out of control, that's kind of GOING up as she kicks and flails and-- IT'S AMY FOR THE SAVE. Just in time for Jolly Roger to watch... Another life be taken.
    "Blast it--! We- GAH!"
    The next thing she knows both she and Amy are going down, slammed by sudden forces of intense gravity, she hits the ground with a dull THUMP as she looks up, teeth gritted.
    "Amy lass- don't- don't push yerself." She says as the Puella Magi starts FORCING HERSELF UP.
    "AMY BELAY YERSELF." She Shouts, but then- Glimmer emerges.
    And with Drie's control over gravity broken, the pirate stands herself up.
    "Blast it I've had enough o' this." She says, drawing a full sized musket rifle from her tattered greatcoat.
    She takes to a knee and takes careful aim, intending to put the magical musketball into Drie as she squeezes the trigger, making the summoned rifle go off with a KRAK-BOOM!

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
There were very few things like a Princess of Brightmoon in fury. There was a reason they'd managed to hold off the Horde for such a long period. Magic was powerful.

And Glimmer unleashed blast after blast on the other girl. "You could have made FRIENDS!" Blast. "We would have HELPED YOU!" Another blast. "Instead you focused on a MONSTER!" A final blast.

Far away, in Tokyo, the Moonstone was beginning to glow brighter than it ever had before, likely making Takashi's day more difficult than it had ever been.

She teleported back, once more, as more attacks from the other mahou rained down on the other girl. She put both hands together, before pulling them apart. An arcane circle formed between her hands and appeared at her feet. While the other attacks kept her focused, she stored her magic into a single, arcane rune.

All of their attacks were unleashed on the girl, one by one. And she waited. She watched. And then, when it all seemed over... And Drei was cleared? Glimmer walked towards the wounded girl, standing over her. She then held her hand out and the rune went into the girl's chest, all of her anger and hurt and power forced into one point, brought on by the time the other warriors had given her. Nothing... seemed to happen. "I'll... never forgive you for taking my prince," she said those words, so soft. So gentle. None, save Drie, would be able to hear them. And even her it was questionable with so much going on.

And then there was light. A blinding, purifying, destructive light that rivaled that of the sun, enveloping Drei. And those who dared to risk their sight to watch it...

Would be able to watch the spell try to evaporate the girl, darkness and all. Until hopefully nothing was left aside from a small hole in the ground and a memory that left a foul taste in one's mouth.

And the memories of those she'd torn from them, the tears shed due to her cruelty.

Beryl has posed:
Attacks rain on Drie, more than she can handle, even Metallia's power fueling her. They see it, the heroes - with every attack, she heals slower and slower, bones broken, gouges taken, her body breaking by inches under the well-earned assault.

Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber strikes with enough force to crack every last vertebrae in her neck, body going limp - she nearly hits the floor herself before the healing finishes, fire igniting around throat and shoulder before she's upright and ready - just in time to be shot by Jolly Roger and Pulp Noir, blood spurting out from vital spots.

Fire Soul Bird cauterizes the wound, in time for Amy's missiles to tear them open again, in time for Moon Healing Escalation to burn away some of Metallia's Dark Energy healing, wounds re-opening all over again, all over her body -

Sailor Neptune's sonic attack confuses her senses, and she dips, jerks and then -

Sukiyaki sinks a blade into her chest. He stares into her eyes as the red fades, and her blood pours over his hand -

And then, weakly, she throws him away, him and the weapon too, and she's healing but sluggishly, and there is a scream -

"RIE! RIE, NO, YOU BITCH, LET ME SAVE HER-"

Chaar, screaming, in her own voice, eyes hell-red still, but the giant stone mouth doesn't speak with her, and her wings buzz and she flies forward -

Is caught by Venus' Love Me Chain, and is struck dead on by Space Sword Blaster. She strikes the stone mouth with a titanic crash that shatters one of the enormous stone teeth -

And Glimmer closes in on Drie. Draws her close. Blasts her, again and again and again and again, until she is sunk to her knees, and the red in her eyes drains away as Metallia leaves this battered, empty, broken vessel. Her henshin flickers. R
At least, after all of that, it's fast.

Chaar roars in maddened rage and grief, and the enormous stone mouth roars too, as Chaar's whole body glows, and the ground rumbles, and from beneath the earth on either side of the mahou, lava gushes, up, up, up, in a twisted geyser, straight from hell.

She spreads her wings, as a terrible force surrounds her, purple glow and hellish fire igniting along her body. A star-shaped crest forms on her forehead, as Metallia's shape overtakes her body.

The demon laughs.

"Now, die in fire, my enemies. Die, and give me your life!"

A wall of lava rises, separating Metallia-Chaar from the rest of them, leaving them with so much worse to worry about.

Lava is falling, after all, and they need to think fast.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The shadows Kunzite had spread shield him from Glimmer's light. He can see what's happening. Draws his breath to shout a warning -- and pauses an instant to glance back to Mercury, instead, even as he's pulling the shadows back to shield him, to keep falling lava from being able to splash onto him, or cook him from proximity. Eating its heat will make it falling rock, but --

Yes. Mercury sees it too.

"The star!" he calls. "Aim for the star on her forehead! Where the darkness doesn't touch! She can't shield that!" He gestures, and the faint echo of Glimmer's rune spotlights where he's describing, pale and pure against the red glow of the falling lava.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope and Homura both appear out of the Labyrinth portal after watching Drie go down. Blood for blood. Just like any other war. Just like it was back in ancient times...

    Madoka looks behind them and sees a giant wall of lava and exclaims, "Oh, shoot!" Things were already bad, and now they just keep getting worse.

    Homura grabs Madoka's hand, and the two... flicker for a moment. Anyone watching them would think that there was a glitch in the matrix maybe, as if a video they were watching jumped ahead. Both of them seem tired but determined, and they are both of one mind.

    Being able to stop time in order to strategize in the middle of a fight has certain advantages.

    Getting through the lava wall is probably suicide. They probably could' with Madoka's magic, but they'd be separated from all of their allies and basically be handing their lives over on a silver platter. Stopping the lava from falling on them would be very possible in just about every other situation, but not here.

    One thing they can't help but notice: Metallia is here, but Beryl isn't, and they somehow doubt that she's been taken down yet. Which means that they still need to save something for the last fight.

    Kunzite calls out critical information, and Madoka looks up at Chaar. "The star?"

    Homura holds up a handgun and points it at Chaar's forehead. "I see it! Painting the target!"

    With a firm nod, Madoka shouts, "Right! Arming and firing!"

    Madoka lifts one hand into the air, and another portal opens high above them all. From within, at supersonic speed, flies a cruise missile overloaded with pink and purple magical sparkles. It's locked onto Chaar, and it is not messing around.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon blinked a few times and... oh... oh wow. Oh, ohhhh no. Ohhhhh no this was bad. "E-everyone, g-gather up!" she yelled. Teleporting a bit nearer to them.

It was just like Mermista's tidal wave, right? But like. Made of fire. And rock. So nothing like it. She moved one hand up, one down, then spun them. Another magical circle appeared in her hands and a pink barrier began to form overhead. "G-get under this!" she called.

The pink magic was trying to make a dome. But it was slow, and... she was running low on charge. She needed to recharge. She didn't have that fury to fuel her, either. Drei was dead. But... she didn't want Bow's friends to die. But they'd need to get under the shield themselves. Worse, this wasn't the magic she was most experienced at.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy states: "NO MORE DEAD." When Roger tells her to stop. Although she does look mildly annoyed at the gravity breaking a moment later and realizing she didn't have to do that...

    Amy flies away from Drie as even more attacks rain in, and breaths a sigh of relief. Chaar's screams mean they actually got her. "You both had your chance. I told you to stand down, at the grocery store."

    Amy turns her head to Chaar. "I don't see you stopping us so that we can save our friends. Your words are as empty as your soul."

    She can fly, but she's not sure what to do about the wall of lava. Kunzite calls out a weak point, though, and in an instant Amy's firing an anti-tank homing missile locked onto that spot... only for MadoHomu to fire an EVEN BIGGER MISSILE. She wonders how much magic it would cost her to summon one of those and tries to brace herself in case a massive explosion reaches this far!

    If everything isn't exploded, only Chaar, she then tries to swoop down and grab someone who needs it out of the lava. Probably Erika again.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir watches Drie ... die. Minus the 'R'. He lowers his weapon a moment, and frowns. That wasn't a pleasant task. But that had to be done. After.... after well. You snap someone's neck? You take the big sleep. "Forget about it, Pulp, it's Chinatown." he tells himself again lightly.

But it isn't over. There's another one to contend with. And Lava begins to erupt and fall and he moves backwards some as he raises the weapon again as Kunzite calls out the big glowing weakpoint.

He fires from his big revolver at the head of Chaar as accurately as he can as he grits his teeth. He works to get under Glimmer's shield as he moves backwards.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus watches her wind blades eventually end up merely overtaken by the lava - one vessel, one puppet is down but one remains and now the monster has shown herself in true form.

    Before her form, too is separated from them by onrushing magma. Not only will they not be able to slay Metallia - Uranus, Neptune, and all of those who have assembled here will end up melted by the phenomenal heat radiating off of that wall. Uranus looks around the room - there's nowhere to escape, the back path is blocked off, the lava is flowing, and the cackling demonwoman is laughing so loud they can still hear it over the roar of the magma and the hiss of the liquid fire touching and melting things.

    Uranus thinks about the fact that, in moments, the downed Cullinary Guardian's body will be overwhelmed by the lava, perhaps, and sacrfice forgotten, and all of their work would be for nothing - no, that simply cannot happen.

    Uranus looks at the wall, at Neptune, and back at everyone. Then she gives a little smile to Neptune, and their eyes meet, and the sadness mixed with determination is mirrored in their eyes. They know the plan, once more, with only a glance, with no words.

    But for the rest of them, Uranus turns to face them. "Sorry, it looks like we won't be able to make the after party. So you have to make it a really good one. Or I'll be dissapointed." she says, smiling and winking.

    She gives Neptune a moment to say anything she needs to say as well, before the two of them stand, face to face, interlocking their fingers. They look up at the ceiling - or where it should be - then over to the lava flow as they call the attack out.

    "OCEAN GALE DUET." they yell, and wind rushes past everyone, swirling around the two of them in a sphere, before water comes along - both coming from seemingly nowhere, seeping from dry and barren rocks and the air itself - the wind a shell and the water makes a flowing loop around that makes the entire thing appear like a ringed planet - before it glows green and yellow and blue and then a rainbow of colors and shoots through the wall of lava - the lava closes behind them and the particularly visually acute can tell that they did not avoid the lava at all - it rushed in through the sphere but the two did not stop or break apart.

    On the other side of the wall, they take Kunzite's information into account and the energy does go, straight for the head. Frankly, Uranus was going to aim for the head anyways.

    They don't scream or cry out in anything other than anger and the battle cry of a final charge, but when the lava wall clears, there will be two senshi on the floor, having succumbed to the heat and the burns and the damage, laying on the floor, the only part moving are ever so slow creeping hands, until they can intertwine fingers one last time, before all falls still

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
    Sailor Neptune remains poised for just a moment as she watches her attacks ripple through the air, and then one after another attacks land on Drei until the moth is zapped by a bright light. But there's no time to even gather her thoughts before Chaar is roaring in her anger and grief and the wall of lava is bearing down on them all.

    Her violin goes away to the space where it lives. It can stay there forever. Uranus gives her that look and she nods. They know what needs doing. She looks to the others and smiles a sad smile. She looks about to say something, but then just laughs at Haruka's words. "It had better be epic," she agrees. Then she turns to her partner and they do what they do best. They break out the big guns.

    Laying on the ground after their attack landed, her fingers still laced with Uranus's, she takes one last gasp of air and murmurs just one final word, "Together."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There are a couple of things that Endymion can't really take right now, and too much fire is one of them.

But. BUT. This is it, isn't it? If they fail here, that's honestly it-- it's not just that the deaths will have been for nothing, it's that they'll all die, and the rest of the world won't have a lot of time left before it dies, too. The image of a roiling purple-black sky of flame with a face fills his mind's eye as completely as the death of Jadeite, the deaths of Chiyo and Bow, of Rashmi and Chrono staying behind to stop the flood forever, of Shokupan just now-- and oh god, Neptune and Uranus both--

Kunzite calls out the monster's weakness, the star on the forehead of the moth girl, and Glimmer makes a dome for them all to go under, safe from the lava.

Endym-- Mamoru reaches for Sailor Moon's hand and grips it firmly, caked blood and grime to dried blood, and they're under the dome, and he says, "Combo, right? The one we sort of half joked about-- it'll work, I'm sure of it."

And then he lifts his other hand, whole and hale but no longer even close to pristine, and he holds his fist to his chest for a second, then flings his hand out and his voice rings out in tandem with Sailor Moon's:

"Moon la Smoking ESCALATION!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's the end of the road, isn't it? Not for them - never for them - but this is the end. There is no running away. They win or they lose. They win or they die.

But they knew that when they came here, they would face death, and she did not want to die, and she did not want to lose anyone, but they have, again and again and again, over and over and over, they've lost people again and again and gain -

Attacks fly, and the lava rains down and Glimmer has made a dome and they standing beneath it, together, as Sailor Uranus and Neptune call -

"No," she cries out, "You don't have to -"

But they've already made their choice. They plunge through the fires and Mamoru is with her, has her, and they know what to do,

"Combo," she confirms, and holds his filthy but whole hand (and what a horror it is, for it to be whole) with her own blood-covered one, and then her voice rings out in time with his,

"Moon la Smoking ESCALATION!"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Drie is no more, then. Slowly, Jolly Roger casts aside her spent musket, the magical weapon evaporating to seafoam and glitter as soon as it hits the ground. But Chaar... Chaar and Metallia are still a problem.
    And so is that wall of lava.
    For a beat. For a beat and a breath, Jolly Roger stares at the oncoming rush of lava wall.
    "Hey." She says, standing by Pulp Noir.
    "I'm be to make an honest man out of you." She says, flashing a mirthless grin as she turns and starts walking away from the oncoming wall of molten rock as she reaches into her greatcoat.
    Slowly, the pirate captain draws her cutlass and takes a slow, steeling, breath as she raises her blade. A chill seems to float in amid the dry hot air of the Dark Kindgom's inner sanctum. And then there's the soft salty scent of the sea...

    "RISE FROM THE SEAS OF THE DEAD..." She booms. "ALL HANDS ON DECK, LADS! COME FORTH MY SCOURGE OF THE SEVEN SEAS, AND SET SAIL: DISASTER'S WAKE!"

    It is with this rallying cry that a great ship RISES from seemingly nowhere as though it had been dredged up from the ocean's depths. Ragged and tattered sails, rotten and barnacle infested wood, the ancient man o' war arises, heeding the captain's call. The spectral images of men aboard the ship man the steering wheel, raise the anchor, trim the sails and prepare for one final voyage.
    It is as Jolly Roger leaps onto the deck that she starts shouting orders.
    "OPEN HER UP, BOYS! FULL SAIL AHEAD!" She declares as she takes a stance at the ship's prow, leering. "One last ride into the jaws of death! ONE LAST RIDE INTO THE GREAT ABYSS!" She declares as the ancient ship wheels about and turns to face the lava wall.
    And thus, the Dread Pirate and her crew lift their voices in one last song for the memories..

    o/` "The king and his men... Stole the queen from her bed,
    and bound her in her bones.
    The seas be ours, and by the powers, where we will, we'll roam...

    Yo, ho, all hands, hoist the colours high!
    Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die!

    Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colours high!
    Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die!" o/`

    Swiping once at the air with her cutlass, the decrepit ship picks up in its course, SURGING in speed in the wake of Uranus and Neptune...
    "HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAR! RAMMIN' SPEED!" She shouts over the chaos, the ships taking on even more speed, prow lifting as-- it rams head first into the lava wall.
    When all is said and done... Jolly Roger's beloved hat flutters on the last vestiges of the salty wind, landing near to the fallen outer senshi.

Ren Morimoto has posed:
It was personal. But it was not enjoyable. Guardian Sukiyaki does not relish the taking of a life, no matter how much vengeance demanded it be done. He pulls away, grimacing as he looks down at his giant cleaver, and then turns as a new, even more dire threat is revealed.

There's not much left that Ren has to give. He's lost both Daifuku and Shokupan. For all he knows, Guardian Sukiyaki is the only one left, and he's so tired. That Hot Dumpling Soup Cyclone had taken a lot, and truthfully he'd just like to have a lie down.

The thought tempts, tugging at his sluggish limbs and heavy eyelids. But he shakes his head, as if to clear it, and then he spots something.

Guardian Shokupan's spirit guide in dog form, still barking.

Quickly, Sukiyaki bounds over, bending down to scoop the dog up under his free arm. Then he's making a mad dash towards the safety of the shield, but that's not his last task.

Instead, as he darts beneath it, he turns in midair to swing his sword a final time.

"BOILING BROTH TORRENT!"

With the last remaining of his energy Sukiyaki directs the flow of broth straight towards the called target on Chaar-Metallia's forehead.

Bow has posed:
Bow's ethereal violin echoed through the damp caverns as he harmonized his violin with the creaking of undead timbers and the distant groans of restless spirits. With each verse, he rallied imaginary crewmates to brace for the volcanic onslaught ahead. The ship surged forward, guided by Bow's unwavering determination.

As they hurtled towards a towering wall of molten lava, searing heat licking the ship's hull, Bow's eyes widened with realization. With a final, resolute cry, he ordered the crew to abandon ship. The vessel collided with the fiery barrier, a clash of elements and wills, before succumbing to the relentless advance of magma. Bow drew across his violin, playing nearly in time with Michiru as he did so.

"With sails unfurled and cannons aimed true,
They searched for treasures, gold and jewels too.
But fate had a twist, a tale to enthrall,
Of a pirate ship that slammed into a lava wall.

Onward they sailed, with courage aflame,
Through waters unknown, chasing glory and fame.
But looming ahead, in the depths of the sea,
A wall of lava, an infernal decree.

The deck shuddered, the crew held their non-existent breath,
As molten heat kissed the ship's very flesh.
But the pirates fought on, a defiant crew,
For their bond was strong, their spirit true."

Amidst the chaos, Bow was able to fly away, the catacombs swallowing the remnants of the doomed ship. He surfaced amidst swirling currents, the echoes of his shanty fading into the ancient darkness, knowing that even in the depths of Paris's catacombs, heroism and adventure would always find a way to ignite the spirit.

"With a mighty roar and a courageous stand,
They pushed through the wall, their fate in hand.
Though battered and scarred, they did not emerge on the other side,
A testament to bravery, on this perilous ride.

So raise up your tankard, and toast to the crew,
Who sailed through fire, and did not make it through.
For in every pirate's heart, through fortune or fall,
Lives the legend of the ship that slammed into a lava wall."

Bow, floating away from the ship, throws a tearful salute to Jolly Roger, unable to assist her, especially as he... "GLIMMER?!" he calls out, even if she can't hear her, he floats down and through her shields to be in the bubble with her. "You idiot! You were supposed to get to safety!" Probably a good thing she can't hear him. "You better save them all, or I'll never forgive you!" A pause.

"You tell her that Mamoru!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The lava can't reach you, it's safe here, there is not much occurring after those freaky bones have stopped raining down from above. Which is a good thing, because if she sees one more bone, she is going to steal a detailed maps of the catacombs and start a project to change it all out of sheer frustration.

She is proven wrong very quickly when it rises up like a geyser of all things. "Try not to burn up in it yourself", Coco glowers at Chaar, steering clear of the burning hot columns.

Her song extends the protecting of the Live Stages to the people she can see in the ongoing chaos: Madoka, that raven-haired girl she is with and Glimmer, even if the latter is also defending herself, accompanied by a tale of Bonds. There is really no room for uncertainty here, with all the people that gave their lives to get them to this point.

Beryl has posed:
Metallia's a larger presence than Chaar, but she's fully moved into her new body, empowering it, making it more durable, more powerful. The wings are thicker, and there are more of them, more than a moth should have and there is nothing left, of the girl she was.

Nothing but rage and despair and that is Metallia's bread and butter. She sweeps lava down, waiting for the screams of agony -

    But Glimmer's shield holds. But Yellow Pearl Voice's Live Stage holds.

The wall of lava incinerates Pulp Noir's shots, Puella Red's shots, explosions ringing out, but they aren't damaged.

Homura and Madoka's targeted shot makes it further through the lava, protected by their magic as it is, but this is lava, molten earth, and the explosion rings out, threatens to knock them off their feet -

    But Glimmer's shield holds. But Yellow Pearl Voice's Live Stage holds.

Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune bring together the realms of their power, wind and water, ocean and air, and they leap together through the lava, and they burn -

Oh, do they burn.

But their determination is great, and their power is great, and Ocean Gale Duet strikes the star-shaped sigil on her forehead, and Metallia-Chaar screams as the sigil cracks in half, her body roiling, falling apart -

Jolly Roger's ship comes to answer the call, and the ship crashes through the wall of lava, and her ship opens the path, cuts through the lava -

Boiling Broth Torrent strikes in time with Moon la Smoking Escalation, purifying light and purifying food, knife and power, and they land in the cracked star and the writhing demon and the lava -

Stops flowing.

And the girl wreathed in purple flame falls to the ground. And there is a moment where it seems it is over, and then the purple-fire reignites, and there is a scream, rage and hate and everything awful in all the world -

"THIS ISN'T THE END, I WON'T LET IT END THIS WAY -"

Beryl has posed:
Facing her as they are, with the lava cooled into stone that is even as they watch, breaking apart into a rain of simple dust, the gathered heroes have a perfect view of the moment that a pale hand punches through Metallia-Chaar's chest, a perfect glimpse of the organ even now shredding under the sharp squeeze of long nails. Red, red, glowing red eyes widen in shock, and blood trickles from Chaar's mouth, and her henshin breaks, red furr and wings one in an instant, leaving a perfectly ordinary girl in a school uniform rapidly staining red.

She gasps, but whatever words she has left, they are for her, and her alone, too quiet for anyone else to hear. The hand pulls back, and the body drops to the flood with a quiet thud.

The hand is attached to an arm. The arm is attached to a body, all too familiar to some of those gathered, emerging from a dusk portal in the air -

A woman, seven-feet tall with long, curly red hair, clad in a purple dress and headdress, and a cruel smile.

"You're right, Great Leader," she says mockingly. "This isn't over. Your power is mine."

And the heart, glowing with purple flames, the last remnants of Metallia's power, is devoured. There's a pulse, through the air, and the aura of the Dark Kingdom, already so heavy, already so powerfully and utterly wrong, becomes far worse, as Queen Beryl incorporates Metallia's power, and the witch queen who was once a sage in a golden kingdom becomes far worse than a demon.

Meet the Monster at the End of This Book.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Suddenly at Mamoru's back there's a presence; he can feel it, others may or may not be able to see the dishwater blonde in the yellow and navy blue fuku, standing facing away from him, translucent, etherial, all-but-gone.

    She doesn't say anything. All she does is press the hilt of a blade into Mamoru's hand before fading away entirely. She doesn't need to say more. He knows why he has the sword now. And who it's for.