1785/B-Point: Girls Night Gone Bad

B-Point: Girls Night Gone Bad
Date of Scene:	15 July 2024
Location:	Dark Kingdom
Synopsis:	Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mercury, and the Lunar Knight run into each other, sharing a moment of confession and relief. But when the rats attack, it's Miraculous Ladybug with the plan!
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Makoto Kino, Ami Mizuno, Naru Osaka, Marinette Dupain-Cheng

---

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
it's hours and hours after their teleport from Tokyo, late enough that even Paris is starting to experience afternoon, late enough that it would be approaching the dead of night, in Tokyo.

Sailor Moon winces to even think of death. She's walking with Sailor Jupiter, a pack on her back, a flashlight in land, a miserable expression on her face; one of her gloves is missing, though streaks of red are spread over it, as though she still wore it.

"I hate this," Sailor Moon is hissing, looking fearfully about. The stretch of tunnels they're in is as dark as the others here in the Dark Kingdom, though at least the walls aren't too close. The silently screaming faces watching from behind the stone aren't trying to trip them, for the moment. "Mamochan and Cat Noir were with us and now they're gone again, and who knows when we'll catch up to them!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter is - at least outwardly - more composed, keeping close to Sailor Moon and watchful as they make their way through the dark. Her face is pale, but maybe that's the light. The tautness of her expression... that's not the light.

"Mamoru-san will catch back up to us," she says, pitching her voice low like she's reluctant to let it carry too far. "He said he would, right? And he can find you wherever." Confident. She's doing her best to sound confident.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The path opens up a bit further down and if one were to glance back they would see multiple different entrances to this area. It's from one such that a figure in blue and white steps out carefully to explore the sound of voices she heard.

"Hello?" Sailor Mercury's visor is up casting a little glow of light that was aiding her in navigating the darkness as she follows the energy signature that they were originally tracking.

An energy signature that was still further away, and those that she comes across are familiar themselves.

A quick breath of relief comes as she blurts out, "Sailor Moon! Jupiter! I'm so glad to see you!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"They'll find us." Lunar Knight has utter confidence in that as she comes up behind the trio. She too got off course for a little while and has managed to find them, so clearly the others will. Sailor Mercury has! Lunar Knight has! It'll be Fine.

Her sword isn't currently out, and Lunar Knight seems to be working on navigating via a small flashlight. She's got Naru's satchel slung across her armour, clearly there's been some rearraning of stuff and things since they jumped over.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's not been too long, since Tuxedo Kamen and Cat Noir disappeared from their group, drawn away into shadows as though they'd never been, but it's also entirely too long. Only the fact that Sailor Moon can still clearly feel Tuxedo Kamen, somewhere in the distance, keeps her calm.

She tries not to second-guess their decisions, their plan, their coming here, so soon after they got him back -

And then Sailor Mercury appears in the darkness, and Lunar Knight nearby, one with a flashlight, one with visor light, and Sailor Moon's face cracks open with relief.

"Ami-chan! Naru-chan!"

They are both, immediately, hugged, Sailor Moon catching them tight about the head and shoulders. She doesn't cry, but there are tears in her eyes, hastily blinked back.

"You're - you're alright - you're okay -" her voice breaks. She tries to compose herself. "We were with Mamochan and Cat Noir, not too long ago, they're both - they were okay, but..."

She can't bring herself to say it.

And in the darkness around them, they're lucky, for the moment, because though faces press through stone as if reaching, as if wanting, nothing is actually attacking them, for the moment.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto hangs back only slightly - the space of a second, long enough for Usagi to glom onto both of the other girls first. But then Sailor Jupiter's hugging them too, firm and warm and brief.

"I'm glad to see you both okay," she says, green eyes skimming over first Sailor Mercury and then the Lunar Knight in turn, checking to make sure 'okay' is in fact the right word. A brief glance toward Sailor Moon, and something in the set of her mouth tightens.

"Cat Noir had to go puke, I think," she fills in, diplomatically. "And Tuxedo Kamen-san needed to check something, but they're fine."

Technically she only knows, thanks to Usagi, that Mamoru is fine. But she's choosing to believe both boys are as she last saw them.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury returns the hug easily and without any complaint. Spending time alone in the dark was nerve wracking even for someone as logically inclined as she was. Hearing that the others had vanished she pauses to glance forward as if her visor might give her some clue about their whereabouts. At least until she's hugged by Jupiter too. She gives up on trying to get information for the moment to just hug all her friends.

"I'm sure they're fine," she agrees with Jupiter only to pause, and stare with open concern at Sailor Moon. At the lack of glove and obviously dried blood caked on her bare arm. "... What about you though? What's happened?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
HUGS! So many hugs and Lunar Knight hugs Usagi tightly before including the others in her hugs as well. "We're fine, we're here. We're .. okay some of us are together." She looks around, and of the large group that started, there's just the four of them for the moment. These catacombs, man.

Her expression is sympathetic for Chat Noir's plight, and his hasty departure from the area. "Aww.. pooor guy. I hope he'll be alright." Lunar Knight looks off as if she means to go join him and then has a moment of realizing that he might want just a wee bit of privacy as he loses his lunch. "I'll see if I can find him to check on him in a little while."

"Are you guys alright?" Lunar Knight asks, eyeing both of them critically.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"He - did. After I did," and she feels guilty about that, but only a little, compared to the much heavier, sickening thing there is to feel so much guilt about.

Do they know? Have they heard? Is Usagi the one who has to tell them?

Usagi might be the one who has to tell them.

She pulls away, if only so she can look at them, and - "I'm o - I'm not hurt." To say she's okay is too enormous a lie. Her eyes brim - she has to blink away tears. "But there've been - but we've - casualties. Mamochan said... Chiyo-chan... Bow-kun... Tamakun... Rashmi-chan... Chrono-kun... they've all..."

A hard swallow, and with her gloved hand, she scrubs at her face. "The Moth Girls, the Doom and Gloom Girls, whatever, some of them have been - they killed them. And some of them died. And I - killed one of them too."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter moves to rest a hand on Sailor Moon's shoulder and give it a little squeeze. "She didn't give us much of a choice," she says quietly. "None of them are holding anything back... which means we can't, either."

She looks to Ami, and then to Naru, eyes dark and unflinching. A silent communication that whatever happened back there, she stands with Usagi's decisions.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury reaches out to take hold of Sailor Moon's hand in her own to give it a squeeze. Nevermind the blood, nevermind what she'd just said. She just grasps her hand allowing it to warm between her own as she gazes with complete sympathy over what she's learned.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help somehow," she begins. Begins, and pauses, as her head shakes firmly. "This isn't just the youma they used to throw at us though. This is the final bosses." Using video game terms wasn't great but it was a way to dissasociate just enough to deal with things. "They're fighting for their lives. They better," she adds, firmer, "Because we're going to make sure to pay them back for everyone they ever hurt."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Wait.. all of them?" Lunar Knight blinks and then steps forward and around the other two Sailor Scouts to wrap her arms around Sailor Moon again. "I hadn't heard of all of them. The Doom and Gloom girls were.. they were not screwing around. You did waht needed doing, as awful as that sounds."

"It feels as if we're firmly into the awful at this point." Lunar Knight sighs. "The dark isn't just a lack of light."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The lack of rejection? That helps. It's not like Sailor Moon had expected three of her nearest and dearest to reject her, but - when she's finally become the killer she'd been accused of being months before? The world feels... topsy turvy.

She relaxes, a little. It doesn't make it better. It doesn't erase the literal blood on her hands. But they're here with her, and the rest of their friends are still fighting, and they don't have time for a freak out.

"Pretty solidly in the bad stuff," she agrees with Lunar Knight, grimacing. "But at least there aren't ra-"

Something skitters over her foot. A lot of somethings, skittering over all of their feet, actually, as a swarm of tainted rats run through. Whistling starts, somewhere in the distance, sound both too close and too far away.

Pointing the flashlight downwards reveals... oh there are rats, alright. Hundreds of them, with tiny, glowing, red eyes.

Sailor Moon throws her flashlight at them.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Oh, come on!" Sailor Jupiter sounds really more aggravated than anything else for the moment - can't they get even five minutes to lean on each other and steady themselves?

Apparently not.

And then Sailor Moon has thrown the flashlight, and Makoto bites her tongue to stifle a groan. A different source of light takes its place - shivering and crackling, electricity arcing over the knuckles of her upraised fist.

"If anybody has any brilliant plans really quick," she says, "it'd be a great time...."

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Light. Light in the dark, the flashlight spins. Rats, everywhere that the light dares to touch. Then it flits over something with a different silhouette. For an instant, the light dopplering past, it almost looks like Cat Noir. But the flashlight spins past, it's too fast to really tell.

The catacombs were a place that she'd gone many times. She wasn't afraid of them. Not after growing up here, and even though you still get a chill from the stories told, there's still a familiarity. Something about being home.

The flashlight passes over it again, as rats swarm about. Female. Hard to tell in the dark.

She'd seen them pass, known that there was more down here than you should be going against. Even if you sparkled. So she'd followed. Quiet in the darkness, her kwami giving her the ability to do things, keep quiet. Not trip over every little thing...

The light spins to a stop, and a red outfit is visible. Mostly red, but with spots. Blue hair? She stands, feet slighly apart. Prepared and strong, she bends over and picks up the flashlight and taps it against her other palm.

"Really? You were going to do this without me? I'm insulted."

Ladybug lets her yo-yo slip loose, and lifts her chin. Though really she'd expected to go unobserved for longer. Dangit. "Get to high ground! Up, up!"

Though she's not really met these ladies, she does hope that her attitude won't make them think that she's the reason for the rats. That'd be AWK-ward!

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury shudders at the feel of something racing over her feet as she dances foot to foot momentarily. Once again she's very glad she has knee high boots instead of the fancy heels that some of the other Senshi had because she did NOT want to risk the yuck that rats bring with them. Being logically aware that rats were actually very clean didn't help much when you were underground dealing with WILD rats and not nice, safe, pet rats.

"We should run--" She begins when the light skitters to a stop showing off Ladybug who had been with them, but also seperated as the others were. Not a totally familiar face, but one she'd definitely heard about along with Cat Noir. "Right, yes, high ground!" If there WAS any in the catacombs.

As Jupiter begins to crackle with lightning she lifts her own hands drawing forth sworls of water that gather into a globe preparing an attack of her own. "I can wash them away but they can swim and might also get to high ground!" Speaking of... Knowing Sailor Moon's penchant for being afraid of creepy crawlies this was likely to get very difficult in a moment.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Oh /seriously/!?" Clearly Lunar Knight is of the same sort of irritated that Jupiter found herself in. "Uuuugh." She does not throw her flashlight, no she's found somewehre to clip that little sucker onto her armour as she draws her Big Freaking Sword.

"My brilliant plan involves a lot of slicing and dicing." Lunar Knight comments dryly at Jupiter's question. "High ground is a great plan.. but we're in a tunnel! Where!?" She looks over to Ladybug and there's a touch of a smirk. "Nice of you to join us." She swings her sword at a few, the swarm of them just filling in any gaps she makes. "I think they can swim, Mercury.. but ice maybe?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Throwing the flashlight was a bad idea, but kicking at the rats in frantic little motions, and scampering close to Sailor Mercury? That was a better idea. She wasn't going as far as racing over to Sailor Jupiter and trying to climb her, as she had Bow and Glimmer - she respected the risk of getting shocked way too much for that - but she's clearly considering it, when a strange voice rings out.

Lunar Knight's right - where is the high ground? But, tapping her foot, there is a slope in the ground - "We could run through the tunnel, screaming for our lives?" She suggests, not quite joking, Crescent Wand in her hand. "That whistling - the last time I heard it, there was a youma girl made of plants, summoning the rats. Maybe if we find her, we'll get rid of the rest of - OUCH!"

The rats, swarming, scampering, trying to climb, had bitten her.

The ones near Lunar Knight are bursting after one swing, and the ones near Jupiter are bursting after the smallest sparks of electricity, but there are just so many of them!

Makoto Kino has posed:
The instant Ladybug makes her presence known, Sailor Jupiter's attention shifts. Her eyes narrow, blade-sharp, and that electrified fist cocks back as though ready to strike.

It's the reaction, or non-reaction, from the others that checks her wary hostility - that, and the very real matter of the scads of evil corrupted rats. And with them the possibility that Sailor Moon might start climbing her like a tree at a very inconvenient time.

"High ground might be a problem in a tunnel," she calls back, but she's already looking to Sailor Mercury. "Can you get them in water that we're not also in? Because--"

By way of further explanation she holds forth her fist, still spitting and sparking with energy. Live electricity and water: two great tastes that taste lethal together!

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
Ladybug tilts her head, looking at Makoto. "I can probably help with that," she says as she lets her yo-yo start to spin. Faster, it gains momentum like crazy, humming in the air, then It caroms off of a wall, leaving a string stuck there, then bounces back across. Across, across, and back again, it leaves a trail of string at about head-level.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
When it stops, she hops up onto it and balances. It's ...strong! it holds her!

""How's that?" She glances at Ami, then grins and motions toward Makoto and her sparkling, electrical hands. "I think you all should be able to rise to the occasion."

Dangit, it's normally Cat Noir's job to make the bad jokes.

Pausing, balancing, she glances at Sailor Moon. "Maybe help her, I'm worried she'll fall off."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
It really only takes Mercury a moment to catch on to what Ladybug was suggesting. Her eyes light up as she risks putting an arm protectively around Sailor Moon who was edging toward her. Trying to calm her a bit. "I think I probably can," she agrees with a quick nod to Jupiter though she looks with concern to her girlfriend. Oh no.

"Moon, jump!" She suggests with her chin rising to the criss-crossing lines. Even if she doesn't, Mercury herself does and drags the panicking blonde with her. Once everyone is up here though? She throws her free hand down toward the ground where the rats were converging.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
Hers heavy stream of water gushes out toward the ground flooding just the lower portion of the tunnel, well away from them. "Your turn, Jupiter!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's a net now, and a whole lot of water rushing to where Lunar Knight is still standing. It isn't rocket science to hop up towards the net, aiming to get sort of behind where Mercury and Jupiter are aiming there one two combo.

Lunar Knight lays on her belly on the mesh, letting her arms and her Big Freaking Sword dangle through and starts using the edge of her sword to nudge rats that are running back towards the water. "No no .. in you go. Everyone into the pool."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A line is thrown out, high above the rats, and though Sailor Moon reflexively frowns at being told she might need help - she gets up there just fine! - she does end up needing a bit of Mercury's help to stay balanced.

Water covers the ground, and the rats do swim, squeaking and squeaking, and more of them come, until the hundreds are nearly a thousand, writhing little mice bodies, gnashing their teeth from the water.

"Oh, oh this is awful," Sailor Moon grimaces, and she closes her eyes, because she knows what's coming and doesn't need to see it.

The whistling that's been drawing the rats still sounds, haunting and echoing through the tunnels.

Makoto Kino has posed:
It's good that Sailor Moon has Mercury to help her stay balanced. Sailor Jupiter is channeling a little too much voltage right now to make for a safe support.

She gathers herself and leaps - and hangs in the air, lofted by a whirl of wind, rather than risk dislodging any of the others by landing her full weight onto Ladybug's improvised net.

At Sailor Mercury's cue, Jupiter brings her hands together long enough for threads of electricity to arc between them, Jacob's-Ladder-style...

...and unleashes the energy from both hands, bright white lines from her fingertips searing down into the flood.

The sound and smell are, frankly, indescribable.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
You just know that a Paris girl is going to be okay with losing a few rats. But, even though it was her plan all along, there's still a Marinette in here, and she closes her eyes when the lightning strikes.

I'm so sorry, she says to the rats. She just gives them a moment. Which is when she'd normally fall off, but Tikki's power keeps her balanced. Safe.

Too bad, it would have been hilarious watching her try not to fall.

Instead, as the sound of scorching rat and lapping water happens all about, she opens her eyes and looks at whoever's closest to her on the net. Lunar. Huh.

"So. Been in Paris long? You should check out other areas sometime."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury steadies Sailor Moon with a hand as she finds herself balancing as well. She wasn't exactly the best at balance herself, but she had the most sensible shoes for this. Chunky heels that could hook on the wire if necessary to act as a catch and thus, balance.

It's what she's choosing to focus on as Jupiter casts the lightning down to quite literally fry/boil the rats in the water. Her own head turns to the side with a grimace and for a moment she actually loses track of the almost constant data that runs across the Mercury visor over her eyes. Because she really did not want to see the data on a bunch of rat life spans being snuffed out.

"I can honestly say this is up there with the grossest thing I've ever done."

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's something to be said for laying on the net. Much less balance required! Lunar Knight ughs softly as she bops rats into the rodent soup that they're making. "This is /disgusting/." She agrees with Mercury.

"Uhh.. a few hours? I think?" Lunar answers Ladybug. "So far I've seen catacombs, and now.. more tunnels that are probalby somewhere even more gross than the catacombs." She swats another rat into the soup. "City of Lights, no so much so far."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's the screech of the rats, the scent of burning fur and flesh and the rats weren't exactly clean - and in the distance, an actual scream, and sizzle, like something boiling and popping, a plant on the fire, in the microwave -

It's a relief when the rats burst into Dark Energy, their little bodies dissolving into wisps of the stuff. This whistling cuts off, ominous, a story told entirely in screaming and then silence.

"Don't breathe the smoke in!" Sailor Moon calls out, trying not to think about that scream, comforting herself with the knowledge that it was probably one of those plant-girl-youma -

And then, the Crescent Wand is in her hand, as the thought occurs to her that they can do more than not breathe it in.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

The silver beams blast the wisps of Dark Energy, purifying them before they can harm the rest of them. In these dark tunnels, the last thing they need is taint.

"I, ah, probably should have tried that earlier, aha..."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Oh. Oh that was even worse than Makoto was expecting. She winces, screwing her eyes half-shut and wrinkling her nose against the smell. Nothing can block out the sound, and in more ways than one it is a relief when they dissipate into Dark Energy. Even despite, you know, the Dark Energy.

In the wake of the purifying blast that illuminates the tunnels, Sailor Jupiter hovers in the air a few seconds longer, before dipping down to touch the toe of a boot carefully to the still-steaming water. A cautious splash. Another moment, and she tests the depth, finding a place she can stand without immediately filling her boots with water.

"Probably," she agrees ruefully with Sailor Moon. "I think it's safe now, anyway."

Her eyes track back to Ladybug, once again watching closely.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has posed:
A Ladybug who's eyes are a bit blinded by the MOON HEALING FLASHYFACE is settling down extra-carefully, checking the ground before she puts her feet upon it. "Yeah, I can see that. Next time though," she says, as she leans up toward Mercury and Usagi, holding up a hand to help them down.

She glances at Lunar Knight, trying to help as well as she can, and finishes. "Next time maybe visit the Louvre." She's already started to reel in her yo-yo, eyes still a little bit sparkled. She pauses to check her feet, making an ick-face as she does. "I can show you some better spots."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury shivers at the scream that comes as well. A little unpleasant realization that her water had gone far enough to get the Youma that was also summoning the rats. Just as Sailor Moon had dealt with knowing she'd killed someone earlier, a similar thought flits through her own mind. She was intending to become a doctor. She'd just helped to kill--- It didn't matter. Right now was not the time.

The Moon Healing Escalation that washes through does clean out the taint that came from the corrupted rats that they'd wiped out.

"Awful as it is, that was a very smart idea, thank you." Of course she would probably have figured out something similar in time, but it was nice not having to constantly come up with plans too. There was so much on her mind right now.

Hoping down from the netting she lands lightly on her feet on the slightly damper flooring. "Thank you," she offers again at the hand down only pausing to look up at Lunar knight seeing if she needs help down, too. Moon probably managed. Right? Right.

"Is everyone all right?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Ugh." Lunar Knight hops down, managing not to land on her face as she does, and sheathing her sword. "That was a smell I hope to never smell again." She looks over to Ladybug at the offer and nods. "I'm hoping we actually get to see some of the sights. I guess it depends on how we're feeling at the end of all of this. Currently I'm not feeling super sightseey, y'know?"