1848/Jet/Shark Bait Rescue Op

From Radiant Heart MUSH

Jet/Shark Bait Rescue Op
Date of Scene: 09 August 2024
Location: Plot Room 4
Synopsis: Rashmi, Chrono, Amy, and Setsuna are all waiting for Molly to show up, when they get a distress call instead, and come to rescue her from a... jet bomber turned youma, with shark teeth? Perfectly normal day!
Cast of Characters: Rashmi Terios, Chrono Harlaown, Setsuna Meiou, Amanda Faust, Molly Skyline


Rashmi Terios has posed:
Not long after her drop-in at Casa del Outer, Rashmi had decided to call a meeting of involved and (probably interested) parties, to discuss upcoming plans for the summer.

The venue -- Okujoo Ramen, not least because it's run by the parents of one of the plan's likely participants.

Setsuna was naturally invited, as the primary patron of the whole enterprise. Chrono also, because it might turn out to be interesting, and because it would help amuse Setsuna. Amy and Molly, also invited, because it was Rashmi's judgment that they'd get the most fun out of the whole thing.

Rashmi hasn't said exactly *what* she and Setsuna have up their sleeves yet, being that Molly hasn't yet joined the gathering. But, there is ramen, and it would be *rude* to be at a ramen place and not *eat* ramen.

Also eating is a great way to pass the time while waiting for Molly to join them.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown didn't mind attending, after all. It was his girlfriend and unofficial TSAB operative and some of their friends. And if Setsuna and Rashmi were working together on something he assumed it would chaotic and worth it. Even if he was bound to have a headache of sorts at the end. Worth, after all.

For now, he just enjoyed his ramen, lightly coiling up some noodles with his chopsticks before it entered his mouth, relaxed, calm, pretending he doesn't feel the impending tidal wave of destruction that is the two people he is closest to on this world.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
After rolling in a few minutes behind Rashmi and Chrono, Setsuna off the clock is apparently feeling rather denim today...as she's wearing a blue chambray blouse and matching kneelength jeanskirt.

Seeing that ramen was on the menu, she ordered a large miso ramen with extra pork and tucked in as soon as it arrived.

She has plans to share along with Rashmi, but she'll be happy to wait until all have arrived so she doesn't have to explain multiple times.

While not exactly a 'messy' eater, she's definitely not as fastidious about it as Chrono is...but then again, being less fastidious than her notoriously wound friend isn't much of an ask.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The galaxy is vast and full of enemies. Defeating the snailien hivemind was only the beginning: At long last, the wormholes used by the interdimensional invaders attacking Earth have been stabilized; Fleets of hundreds of warships, precision-designed to counter the raiders, are followed by the finest elite genetech armies. On the other side of the galaxy, the assembled fleets of humanity and their uneasy allies, the warlike rockmen and the standoffish sparklefairy technocracy, fight through waves of marauder ships; if they can just reach the Khan's flagship, maybe they can put an end to them once and for all.

    And they'd better hope they do it soon: Another empire of ancient aliens next door, millenia ahead of everyone else technologically, has been marshalling its forces...

--

    Amy sips her soda as she sits in her office chair in front of her gaming PC; a game open on one monitor and Consensus in the other, where an online acquaintance is posting cute cat pictures. It has been a frustratingly slow game. She messed up her expansion, her neighbors took the only L-gate around, and it has been a long road to get things running again. She was gearing up to fight the fallen empire, misclicked, and now can't for a decade; she's got to wrap up the khan and raiders before then.

    And yes, she had the sparklefairy mod installed for a user-designed empire that didn't spawn this game, but she forgot the game will also use it for random aliens. There are four sparklefairy empires in the galaxy this time around and they're all xenophobes. Why.

    A DM pops up on consensus. Molly wants to meet? Sure, the galaxy isn't going anywhere.

--

    Amy steps out of the elevator, smiling and waving when she sees familiar faces. "Chrono! Rashmi! Setsuna!" She runs up to hug the girls. "Good to see you! What've you been up to this summer?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly is late. Not like, irredeemably late, but uncharacteristically late, particularly for someone who can do things like fly, when traffic is bad or the bus has a flat tire. But, she's also a fifteen year old who occasionally has equivalent braincells to a tree frog, so it's not like her being late is any particular concern in and of itself.

Molly texting Rashmi to say she's going to be late wouldn't be weird, either, except that the text doesn't say she's going to be late. It says:

<< HELP >>

Quite probably the fastest thing Molly could manage to send as a text. There doesn't appear to be any more context forthcoming; other than a follow-up text which is basically a request to share locations, which would show Molly exiting Tokyo at rather significant speed. (The fastest speed Molly can accomplish, as it happens.)

<< BIG YOUMA BRING EVERYONE >>

Rashmi Terios has posed:
*bing!*

Blinking, Rashmi sets her chopsticks aside to extract her phone.

Another, sharper blink, and Rashmi does not look cheerful at all. She pokes the screen, then blanches, shooting up from the table.

"Molly's in trouble let's go," is all she says, then scoots for the elevator.

Specifically, she scoots for the area between the elevator and the solid wall of the ramen shop itself.

Which point the sun-colored flash of her henshin is visible, followed by Nicomachea's voice.

    << FLIER FIN >>

The reason for the Device's speech is soon apparent, as a pair of yellow motes of energy speed toward Setsuna and Amy. Upon impact, little golden dragonfly wings sprout from their ankles.

"Let's go let's go let's go!"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown puts his food down, a curious look on his face. And that look... Chrono was already on his feet. A card out and...

He was already heading towards the edge of the roof, not even trying to hide what and who he is. Then again, he flashes his ID everywhere. The card was out and in a flash of blue magic, he was the TSAB enforcer they all knew and put up with.

A moment later a blue and red bird landed on the top of the building, reshaping into a... rather tall woman with long, blue hair and piercing red eyes. Chrono tossed her a card, which she caught in one hand and... then slid into his seat.

Listen, if Fenyx had to stay behind to pay the tab she was going to eat her boss's food.

Chrono leaped off the roof, flying off in the direction directed by Rashmi. Already in the air by the time the first 'let's--' left her mouth.

Well, at least they wouldn't dine and dash.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks at her phone.
    Oh

    The moment she's out of view, she leaps off the building and henshins, the orb of flame immediately being followed by a pillar as she goes into flight mode, further accelerated by Rashmi's spell.

    But as dramatic as that is, it's not like they arrive instantly, leaving a moment of awkward silence (well, wind rushing by) to fill.

    "She's going fast... is she in a car?" Amy wonders. "...Can everyone drive but me?!"

    Amy looks down at the cityscape flying past below.

    "...Okay yeah I can't complain when I can fly..."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
At the moment Setsuna hears Rashmi's phone go off, she blinks and looks over at the younger woman.

The odds of a text at the moment are pretty low, after all...as most of the people she'd imagine might text the redhead are either right here or would route communications through Nicomachea.

Thus, when Rashmi's complexion pales, Setsuna has a mouth full of noodles and pork...and she pauses eating for a moment to look at her, cheeks puffed out a little as she pauses mid-chew.

And then the news that Molly is in trouble.

Setsuna blinks, looks down at her still pretty full bowl of ramen.

While the others clear out of the way of the booth, she starts chewing furiously...and her bowl mysteriously disappears halfway through.

Dimensional pockets for the win.

Then she's up out of her seat and dashing off after Rashmi...her longer legs letting her close the distance in only a few strides despite the fact that she's somehow running in her customary three inch heels.

The moment she's out of view of any but her friends, she raises a hand and calls out 'Pluto Planet Power, Make-UP!'

One concealing wall of wind later, Sailor Pluto continues the stride forward, Garnet Rod in hand.

Just as she gathers herself for a massive leap off the rooftop...the Flier Fin spell hits her...and she blinks momentarily before GRINNING.

She's gotten to use this spell from the Device Mages a few times before.

More than enough to know more or less what she's doing with it, anyway.

Thus, after launching herself out into the open air with a massive Senshi leap...at the apex of her arc, she lets the wings arc out from her ankles and she converts to flying, soon looping in behind the more experienced Device Mages.

Molly Skyline has posed:
There isn't a massive amount of information to go on, really; just that Molly needs help (and might even be demonstrating a degree of growth as a magical girl by calling for it early, rather than waiting until she's half into the grave over it), and the pings from her cellphone showing her location, which continues to rapidly exit town.

Now, sent to all the people she was expecting to be meeting at her Mom's restaurant, she sends... a selfy? She's obviously got her phone out front facing back at her, and it shows mostly her, in flight, with her translucent purple wings on her back clearly working overtime. And something big is following her. it's hard to tell what it is, really, but its definitely got a big... mouth? Like a shark?

<< HURRY PLEASE >> Comes a text, now being sent to everyone.

<< IT'S AN *AIRPLANE* >>

And then, a few moments after that message is sent, and somewhere out in the industrial parks outside town, Molly's cellphone location just kinda winks out and isn't there anymore. As her friends get closer, those who can detect such things would get advanced warning; there's a Time-Space Barrier that's been erected, right where Molly's signal disappeared.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< ...OKAY SO SOMEHOW SOMEONE YOUMAFIED AN ENTIRE AIRPLANE GO GO GO. >> Rashmi sends out over a hurriedly-constructed telepathic net.

Banking toward their destination, Rashmi points -- probably redundantly -- to the Barrier set up in the air.

<< ...It has a *Barrier?!* Because I know Molly doesn't what the what... Okay it's not closed off from the outside *hurry!* >>

    << *BONG!* >> << GAMMA ACCEL -- BOOST UP >>

Responding to his Master's desperate need to *move faster,* Nicomachea summons a quartet of speed-boosting wisps, pouring on the speed as they close in on the Barrier. Rashmi sends a thought ahead of her, addressed to Starcrash. << We're here, Molly! >>

And she plunges in.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy tries to read her phone while flying, holding onto it VERY TIGHTLY. <<"A plane? A... shark plane??!">> Amy wonders.

    And then Molly's signal dissapears. <<"Oh, no no no... phew it's just a barrier!">> She puts her phone in her beltpouch and dives in!

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown narrowed his eyes as he approached the sight. A barrier? Well, then they'd need to get in. Well, he supposed for something like this he should... go in hard and fast...

            << Subzero Move >>

Now, his Stinger Move was for 'quick'. This move, was actually... just wrapping himself in a sharp layer of ice and then dropping down on the barrier, the sharp edge of the ice intending to pierce through it. He wasn't a barrier breaker, but hey, it was a lot easier to pierce something than to break it entirely and he didn't exactly have a Nanoha in his backpack. So ice battering ram it was.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto, upon hearing that they're heading into the Barrier, diverts slightly...by pulling up.

She spends her last few moments on approach gaining altitude and getting as high over the barrier in the time she has left...and then she inverts, noses over...and dives straight down.

She remembers hearing fighter pilots comment that 'Speed is Life'...so she wants to have as much of it as she can manage as she enters this new arena.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Going through the barrier is a bit like diving underwater, and then coming back up to the surface. Except, that when one breaths air once more, it's like surfacing in the middle of a warzone.

Inside the barrier, Molly is doing the airborne version of running for her life; she's still headed away from her friends, but is negotiating her way around some tall factory buildings and smokestacks. Pursuing her is a large youma, that looks like it used to be an airplane, certaily; and it's still got a metal body, outstreched arms that look like wings, a glowing jet on its back, and its head is... Well, it must've been one of those war planes you'd find in a museum. The ones that have the shark's mouth painted on the nose, because now it does have a big mouth with really big, triangular metal teeth.

<< IT'S BIG!! >> Molly emphasizes, sending the message through Starcrash now, either because the Youma was blocking it earlier or she just didn't think of it. And it is pretty big. But it's more than it flies and was made out of a jet.

As the Youma chases Molly, it opens up, rapidf-firing magic blasts at her and peppering both the shield she has up, and the buildings she's using to try and get some cover. As the last few blasts hit Molly her shield fails, and the final hit sends her careening into a building and smashing through the window, as the Youma speeds past and begins to come around for another run.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Ooooooh this is not good.

This is extremely not good.

<< We'll get it off your back, Molly-chan! >>

Having said that, Rashmi looks, wide-eyed, at Chrono and Setsuna, looking to experience to make the calls. Actually encountering a youma of a bomber is *not* something she had on her bingo card. For now, though, it's time to draw some aggro. << So uh... thoughts in tactics? >> she asks, as a seal spreads out beneath her feet.

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

When drawing the ire of a giant metal airplane monster, there is little better than rapid-fire magical tracers; golden fire-bullets streak across the distance of the battlefield, the ones that don't splash fire across the youma's body air-bursting ahead of it. While laying down the literal fire, she begins to strafe toward one of the other taller factory blocks.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown broke through the barrier and... huh. Giant plane youma. That. That was a thing. Not a thing he expected to see today, but welp. Here he was.

<< I believe our resident rocket mage would be most adequately equipped to deal with this kind of situation. However, for the current moment? I believe the opportune tactical makeup would be myself and Red going on offense, you continuing to work on defense and Pluto moving to check on Molly and get her out of the immediate vicinity if she is wounded. >>

            <<Stinger Blade!>>

Five blue swords appeared around him, before streaking along the air to attempt to strike the youma. Before he called out. "Ahem. Hey, youma? You have the appropriate orbital velocity of a tesla truck, and about as reliable."

Well, he didn't know much about them aside from them being garbage, so why not? But his trash talking needed work.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    She's in... water?! Amy didn't take a breath first, how long will this last? Although she supposes she doesn't strictly need to breathe, she hasn't put that to the test...

    And then she's through. And Molly is fighting a shark plane. Missile racks appear on all of Amy's armor pieces and fire an Itano Circus of minimissiles!

    "HEY! Pick on someone your own--! wait, that doesn't work here. Oh well, eat Mega-Damage! Molly, the cavalry's here!"

    What does work (hopefully) is the anti-tank minimissiles that home in to hit the plane youma from a wide arc of different angles!

    Yeah, she's feeling pretty good going into this! Her weapons do kind of specifically counter the defensive advantages inherent in 'being a large military vehicle' and no one puts reactive armor on a plane, right?

    ...Right?

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
The moment her vision comes back, Sailor Pluto pulls up again, trying to keep as much altitude as possible as she arcs her way over towards Molly, taking a few seconds to survey the battlefield as best she can while she does so.

Page Mage's question gets a response after a few moments:
    <<Well, typical anti-bomber tactics either involve guided munitions or instead just filling it's area with so many attacks that some of them are bound to hit, as aimed shots at something moving that fast are for the most part unreliable.>>

There's a pause, then she goes on:
    <<Well...if that turbine on it's back is in any way responsible for it's flight, flooding the area in front of it with small, hard objects will tear the everloving shit out of it and should ground it. That said, I'm on it. Turning to check on Molly.>>

At which point she puts word to deed, arcs around and comes to a skidding stop not far from where Molly appears to have come to rest.

Molly Skyline has posed:
The plane is still going after Molly; until, at least, Rashmi starts strafing the area around it, and golden fire rains down all around it. Some of them strike it directly, and bounce off its... shield? It has one of those?

<< It has a shield >> Molly broadcasts; her voice is sounding definitely haggard. << Sorry. Couldn't break it alone. Tried while I was running. >>

The Youma wheels around, having found itself a new target. At least it seems to need a wide area to turn. It's mouth opens wide, like it's preparing to take a bite out of Rashmi (A big bite, like it might only need one bite really) as it bears down on her, turbine glowing hot and spewing fire behind it, and sprays magic blasts in her general direction in a furious salvo.

Chrono's swords all slam into its shield, which flickers increasingly with each impact; it shifts targets, angling to refocus its magic cannons (Are they cannons?) on the TSAB agent, and unleash a furious volley of loud chatter at him as well, just in case he was feeling left out. It's shift in direction brings it into the path of Amy's rockets, and again its shield flickers under the impacts; the last couple of rockets get through and strike home, sending bits of armor plating flying in all directions. Smoke trails behind the Youma, as it shifts its attention once again, and from under its belly... it releases a rocket of its own. Just one, but a really big one, shrieking through the air towards Amy (with a big red >:| face painted on the front of it).

Molly, meanwhile, is laying on her side in a factory control room. Her barrier jacket is smoldering, and about half the armor plates are missing; doesn't look like anything is broken, at a glance, but half of her is probably going to be purple in the morning. She looks up at Setsuna, and shakes her head. "Ow."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR FLASH >>

Panels open up on the ribbonlike fins at the back of her belt, and with a brief thrust of golden energy the Mage speeds away at right angles to the oncoming threat. Downside -- she'snot really in a good position to attack it further.

Upside -- Chrono and Amy? *Probably are.*

<< *BONG!* >> << BETA BARRET -- BOOST UP >>

A pair of golden wisps of foxfire resolve into view on either side of her, streaking out toward Chrono and Red. With the two of them being best-equipped to take on an *entire fighter plane of evil,* she's gonna make sure they're even better equipped.

<< It can throw a Barrier, it has a Shield... Chrono is this making *any sense* to you? >>

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
<< About as much sense as any other magic on this world >> Chrono offered. He held out his right hand, forming a barrier. Though the blasts hit the barrier, bouncing off it. Bang. Bang. BANG. BOOM! Cracks formed in his barrier and the little pieces of magical debris broke through, skidding past him, tearing a small bit of his jacket away. He he was still standing. And now? He was amped up on Rashmi power.

<< Possibly an imitator of sorts. It might be designed to track device users, hence why it uses such magics. Possibly another ploy of Riventon or even Otto. >>

He dashed towards the plane, though, lifting his device up...

            <<Stinger Ray!>>

A flurry of shield-piercing magi-bullets would release, attempting to pierce through the shield of the great youma and hit the right-most engine.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    <<"It has shields?!">> Amy looks incredulous, then switches to a gyrojet rifle and fires a spray of homing rocket-bullets to test if the shield is regenerating, and also whether kinetic attacks seem to work better than 'energy' ones.

    Does it make any sense? <<"Yeah, it's magic bullshit! Fortunately, so are we!">> Amy replies.

    She tries to fly to a better angle as it shoots at Chrono, and then

    Missile!

    Counter-missile! Amy doesn't have time to say anything, she just holds out her hand and a missile -- the size she could have fired it from a shoulder launcher -- appears over her shoulder and streaks up to intercept the plane-youma's attack, detonating it.

    <<"Gh... it's got a lot of tricks. And so do we, but... See, the reason my weapons are good against vehicles is because there are sensitive components and crew under the armor. With magic? Monsters are just damage sponges, there's no 'critical' anything for me to shoot! Any ideas? If it's tracking device-users can you throw like, magical chaff to confuse its senses?">>

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto quickstrides over towards the smoldering Molly as she starts moving again, and holds a hand out to pull the shorter device mage to her feet.

She does a quick glance-over...making sure there are no open wounds or obvious breaks...and after she's assured herself that Molly is okay for the most part...if, understandably, going to be hating life tomorrow.

Looking back towards the sounds of jet noise and explosions, she sends across the mental network Page Mage has established:
    <<Molly's okay, if rather banged up. I've got an idea. Everyone pull in close to me. Page Mage can boost me and I can throw down a Garnet Ball. Force it to commit to an attack run and let Molly, Chrono and Amy hit it with their biggest, heaviest attacks once it does so.>>

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly stands up, groaning but not seriously injured. (She may need a few bandaids when this is all over though. Also ice. Rest. And a lot of painkillers.) She shakes her head to clear the cobwebs, and plants Starcrash on the floor beside her, held at her side.

<< My barrier jacket is compromised pretty bad, so I'm going to stick to being an artillery mage this time and refrain from tanking any more of it with my face >> she adds to the conversation.

The Youma certainly isn't done. It keeps spraying magic blasts as it comes; a couple factory chimneys get damaged so badly that they collapse, toppling over like tall people on stilts falling in slow motion, and kick up clouds of dust and smoke where they land. The missile coming for Amy detonates, and it's a big explosion; a release of magic that blows out all the nearby windows (and showers Setsuna and Molly with glass). The Youma rockets past, and wheels around to make another pass. Chrono's magi-bullets peper it, plinging and splanging off the armored sides and leaving holes all over it, while Amy's homing-bullets at first do likewise, and then -- with a bright flash -- a new shield crackles into being, surrounding it with a translucent globe that heats up and glows under the impacts. But, at least one of its cannons seems to be... out of action: It sprays magi-bullets of its own as it bears down on the three mages outside, directing its fire at all three of them in turn. Its belly opens up and a multitude of smaller, homing rocketes of its own also streak off towards Rashmi, Chrono, and Amy.

<< Wait did it just learn? >> Molly asks. << Can Youmas do that? >>

As the plane comes shrieking through the skies, it bares it's teeth, gnashing them eagerly for anyone who gets too close.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< The awful ones do, >> Rashmi mutters sourly through the link. While she does her best to juke and twist away from the worst of the fire, the sheer volume of attack magic filling the air means she gets clipped more than a bit, and takes a couple of bad hits that damage her Barrier Jacket quite visibly.

Hanging in the air to catch her breath, Rashmi's face sets into grim determination. << Seconding Pluto-chan's plan. Form up on Molly-chan and get to chargin'. >>

A seal spreads out beneath her feet, and despite Rashmi's weariness, she has the power to throw into *surety* that their quarry will fall.

    << *BONG!* >> << EPSILON BARRET -- BOOST UP >>

*Four* boosting wisps now streak out toward their targets, with Rashmi quite happy to briefly heavily increase her entire team's throw weight. Her job done, she ducks behind a smokestack, keeping it between herself and the *infuriatingly* intelligent youma.

<< Kick its ugly metal teeth in, you guys! >>

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
<< It seems so. Converging on point >>

Chrono had no problem moving into position. Sadly, while he didn't have a big 'finisher' style strike, he did have a wide variety of different styles and abilities to help with different situations. And, in this case? He'd be working alongside others AND be boosted up by Rashmi. So as the youma came closer, he'd gather up his mana. He didn't have a long range mega power destruction attack... but he did have a shorter range one.

He'd hold off, allowing the others to launch their own assaults, before sending his own.

            <<Blaze Cannon!>>

A destructive, short range flame cyclone to tear through the area in front, hopefully following in the wake of the other's attacks to help tear through its barriers and its hull in a metal shredding swirling vortex of destruction.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto plants herself just in front of a slightly to one side of Molly, then waits.

As soon as both Chrono and Amy tuck into formation, she calls out towards the youma to ger it's attention, "HEY LASER LIPS!! YER MAMMA WAS A SNOW BLOWER!!!"

Gotta respect the classics, after all.

Once it's attention is well and truly got, she drops down to one knee, spinning the Garnet Rod and striking the ground with the butt as she calls,

        <<<GARNET ORB!!!>>>

And then a huge dome of garnet-colored energy erupts to cover the group.

And as the youma's attacks lance out Page Mage might at first get a surprise from where she's watching...as the Garnet Orb starts to visibly weaken with each attack.

In fact, cracks start to obviously start covering the dome of energy if more power is thrown...making it quite clear that it's about to break...all it needs is just a little more power thrown at it...until, once the attack is truly committed to and there's no way the youma can maneuver away in time...it finally DOES break.


To reveal a completely undamaged Garnet Orb UNDERNEATH that one.

Power boosting for the win.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy flies towards the others. Homing missiles come out in a group and she's not sure she can individually counter them all! -- Amy detonates showers of chaff and drops flares behind her, which probably shouldn't confuse magic but maybe it will.

    Amy lands by the others and looks up at the oncoming plane. And she conjures a big shiny cannon on her shoulder, aiming upwards.

    Some people here will instantly recognize the distinctive appearance of the RG-14 Rapid Acceleration Electromagnetic Rail Gun. Which might raise some questions about how exactly this is going to work and if her powers can even do that--

    Amy glances at Molly. "Cover your ears." And then looks up at the oncoming plane, and a helmet appears over her head, sealed to block the noise as she fires--

    A couple of questions are answered, VERY LOUDLY:
1. It may look like a sci-fi weapon, but this imitation is a recoilless rifle -- the backblast makes that clear.
2. The backblast and the explosion itself are about as big and loud as that artillery cannon she normally uses, maybe a little more?
3. The projectile moving through the air, however, is hypersonic, but it's not actually that big OR massive, so probably more like a big, fast bullet than a jet fighter going by?

    What happens is flechettes moving faster than anyone can see hit and possibly pierce the shield, but they're only like a couple of pounds. She may need to tune this attack!

    What everyone sees is a pillar of fire between the end of the barrel and the plane. It certainly looks impressive!

    Amy looks shocked. "Holy crap, it actually fired?!

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly doesn't really have a finisher attack either; she hasn't yet been able to add anything to Starcrash's repertoire either, she's been stuck with what he came with when she found him (which is not a huge number of spells and almost all of them are either beams or barrets). But, she's gonna charge up anyway. "Starcrash, Stellar Pulse," she instructs, "Fifty barrets, maximum power."

<< ARMED >>

And now, Molly waits for the right moment.

The Youma rockets past on one side, flying almost to the edge of the barrier before it angles sideways and turns to come back, engine flaring brightly as it comes. Its cannons open fire, and it releases an absolute swarm of missiles; most of it all misses, of course, but it blasts the building around the mages into rubble and hammers away at the Garnet Orb, making it crack and eventually break... revealing another shield underneath.

"Fire!!" Molly casts her spell, and a stream of barrets, glowing brilliantly with the upgraded power thanks to Rashmi, streak through the air back at the Youma. They tear into the shield around the beast, making it crack and flicker, going all staticky.

As it keeps coming, committed to its attack run, its cannons keep blazing away, but at least it seems to have to pause between missile salvos. It gnashes its teeth in anticipation, heedless of the damage being done to its shield; as it gets closer and comes within range of Chrono's Blaze Cannon the fire cyclone lights it up, deforming and soon enough breaking its shield. The attack carries through, scorching the armor plating and causing it to warp and buckle.

When the RG-14 Rapid Acceleration Electromagnetic Rail Gun is fired, Amy is shooting at a now unshielded target, that can't dodge. The blast hits it dead center, and pieces of Youma go flying off in all directions. Something inside it explodes, and the jet turbines cook off and go out, leaving it just... flying, or rather tumbling, in the direction it was already going. Smoke billows out of it, and it screams as it comes crashing through the remnants of the building; one of its wings falls off, and its remaining cannons fail to fire. It screeches to a halt on its belly, unable to open it's bomb-bay to launch more missiles. As it comes to a rest, it opens its mouth and applies its teeth, scraping them over the layered shield Setsuna made, a strangely feeble attack compared to everything else that's been unleashed today.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Sometimes, a fight produces one hell of a lot of noise.

Peering around the smokestack once all the hellish sonic assault quietens down, Rashmi spends a moment, just... Watching the broken youma try to bite the shield apart.

<< ...Okay that is the second saddest thing I've seen this month. Chrono did I tell you about the youma that kidnapped Hinoiri-chan? Because that's the saddest. Molly-chan, d'you have enough left in the tank to cut this poor thing open? Feels like you deserve to be the one that finishes it, given how terrified you were at the beginning. >>

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown watched the youma fall to the ground in a blaze of destructive glory, the flames reflected in his eyes and...

<< There was another kidnapping? I've fallen a bit behind on the reports, my apologies. But... yes. Molly, would you like to do the honors? Maybe this'll give us some idea as to who, or what this... actually... >>

He did cast a quick binding spell on it, magic chains moving up to grab and hold it down. You know. Just in case. He didn't want someone to get mauled just because it was almost down.

<< I take it she's okay, though? I haven't heard of... wait. Was Hinoiri-chan the loud, angry one? That isn't a cat? >>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Now it's a crashing plane youma...

    ...Coming right for them! "Oh shit!" Amy struggles to move under the Boom Gun, as the youma crashes and... slides up against the shield, pathetically trying to nom it. Oh, okay!

    Amy dismisses her helmet. As it's mentioned Molly should do the honors, she switches to a weapon slightly smaller, and gunmetal-black instead of the mirror sheen the previous weapon had, but it's still too big and heavy to pass off. So then she summons a smaller version of that, scaled down to be fired by a person instead of a powered armor so it can be used without whatever effect makes Amy's weapons weigh like 1/10 as much for her.

    She then holds that in front of her with both hands and walks over to Molly, holding it out to her as well as a pair of very pink earmuffs. "Here, you can do the honors."

    It looks like a certain fictional weapon, but in practice, that's just the outer shape: Functionally it remains a man-portable one-shot recoilless rifle, albeit one tuned to fire a significantly smaller, faster kinetic penetrator rather than an explosive shell. Just aim and pull the trigger!

    "Oh, did you see her? Small and yellow?" Amy asks Chrono, and then watches Molly with interest, both to see Molly's reaction and hoping it works, she's never gotten to test if anyone else can use the weapon she makes. (There are potential issues, but in this situation it should work.)

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
The moment the youma is committed and unable to dodge...seconds after the Garnet Orb 'cracks', Sailor Pluto drops it, revealing everyone standing there with fuly charged, committed attacks, and she grins, "...light 'em up."

And then multiple kinds of magical hell are being flung at the flying attacker, shattering it's armor and eventually swatting it from the sky.

As it's on it's final 'crash', Sailor Pluto puts her Garnet Orb up again to guard against it's last gasp...until it comes to a pathetic stop nudged up against the shield.

Which she then lets drop and steps aside for her more offensively- equipped allies to finish off as she stands and absently dusts herself off.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly drops down on one knee, watching as the youma is busy trying to bite its way through Setsuna's shield, all with absolutely no success. "My how the mighty have fallen," she breathes, and she may not entirely be referring to the youma. "I am going to hate my life tomorrow morning."

Honestly, it looks like it really hurts right now.

"I got enough for one more big one," she replies, looking up in Rashmi's direction, "Should hve enoough after that for the flight back home. I-- Oh, hey, that's an idea." She accepts Amy's offer of earmuffs and puts them over her head -- the last shot was very loud, and she didn't take Amy's advice then -- before slinging Starcrash across her back (where it sticks, kinda like Captain America's shield) and takes the big (if scaled down) rifle from Amy. "Alright, this is gonna be the coolest thing I've done this week," she admits, as she hoists the gun up to her shoulder. "Starcrash, can you channel a Solar Barret into Amy's cannon?"

<< AFFIRMATIVE. ARMED >>

"Well alright then." Molly lines up the gun on the thrashing, snapping Youma trapped in Chrono's bind, and as Setsuna's shield comes down she pulls the trigger; a magic blast catches it at the front, passes all the way through and out the back, and causes a series of explosions down the length of the mechanical creation that leave it a smoldering wreck.

"When I got up this morning I wasn't expecting any of that," she admits, as she pulls off the earmuffs and hands them back to Amy, along with the gun. "And... I want to thank you all for coming to save me. That thing was faster than me and I didn't have the firepower to bring it down on my own, it would've..." She pauses, looking at the remains of its jaws, "I guess I was gonna be airplane food? That is so weird."

The purplenette shrugs her shoulders lightly. "Hey, Rashmi-Chan, you had plans you wanted to tell us about? I--"

<< COMPATABLE UPGRADE COMPONENT DETECTED >>

"...Oh well, how about that."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Yeah that's the one, >> Rashmi says in answer to Chrono. << Tried to turn off the sun. I'll tell you the story about the kidnapping when we get back, it was kind of hilarious. >>

Shading her eyes away from the beam, and the resulting explosions, Rashmi looks from Molly to Amy and back again, feeling faintly bewildered at the idea that Device Magic can 'team up' the way other magics seem to do easily.

"...So it wasn't my idea, but Pluto-chan's, and--"

'Upgrade Component Detected'

"--and I guess I've got some studying to do because *I'm sorry Starcrash, a What What What?!*"

Clapping a hand over her forehead, she slowly scrapes it down her face, then takes the time to put her glasses back into place.

"...So Pluto and I were wondering, who wants to go to Comiket in full cosplay?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy grins as Molly comments this is gonna be the coolest thing this week. When she talks to Starcrash, Amy clarifies, "It's a Baby Boom Gun. Or I guess, a baby Baby Boom Gun? Embrace your inner Shadow Boy."

    She cannot help but smile wide as the magically-enhanced shot is even cooler than anticipated, blowing up the youma nicely!

    The gun and earmuffs just disappear into pink sparkles when Molly holds them out. And Amy can't help bursting out into laughter at the 'airplane food' joke, morbid as it is. "Weird is our lives now!" Amy pats her on the shoulder.

    Oh hey, Molly got a rare drop! "Compatible what?" She looks down at the gem on the back of her wrist. "How come you don't get upgrades?" she jokes, then realizes complaining to her soul is kind of just dissing herself :/

    Rashmi brings up comiket and cosplay though, and Amy whirls on her, grinning again. "Do I?" And she does a twirl as her super mode outfit is replaced by blue martial arts pants, slippers, and a red vest with golden-yellow toggle clasps. Her hair ends up tied in braided ponytail at the nape of her neck.

    Amy gives a little 'tada!' pose. "I know it's simple, but they just announced it's getting a new anime!"

    She smiles and points at her eye. "And they even gave her red eyes in the remake, too..."