1893/Dream Kingdom Akanbe!

Dream Kingdom Akanbe!
Date of Scene:	26 August 2024
Location:	Dream Kingdom
Synopsis:	Lamya strikes again! This time she's attacking the children's center of the Dream Kingdom amusement park to suck all the Bad Energy from all the people there! Fortunately, Rashmi and Laura are there to stop her dastardly deeds! Plus there's a little bit of monologueing from the dragon girl.
Cast of Characters:	Mie Kitamura, Rashmi Terios, Laura La Mer

---

Mie Kitamura has posed:
    It's a sunny summer day that manages to be warm, but not too hot. A perfect day to go out to Dream Kingdom and enjoy oneself without the risk of heat stroke. At the elementary level play area, kids are running around and screaming in delight at a fountain area designed for kids to get wet and beat the summer heat. Parents nearby get a chance to rest by watching their children while lounging on benches covered in overhangs to provide them with some shade.

    Overhead, floating in the sky on jade wings is Lamya observing the goings on with a certain amount of scorn. "Tch," she scoffs with a turn of the head. "Childhood. It is because of these 'innocent' children that I am forever bound to this endless cycle of death. Their little minds will be perfect to siphon Bad Energy from."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Sometimes, Rashmi just likes to scout for interesting things. Before her enrollment into Radiant Heart, they would be 'things I would take friends to if I had some,' but these days it's a much more pleasant 'things that I think at least one of my friends would enjoy.' And given Tokyo's propensity forshort-term seasonal variants for just about *everything,* it's definitely worth trawling Dream Kingdom to see what's gonna be on offer for the end of summer vacation.

Which is how Rashmi ended up on this particular park bench near the kids' area, in summer-weight dress and floppy sun-hat, sipping from a multicolored slush drink.

Even by herself, just the atmosphere of the park is enjoyable enough that Rashmi is having a nice, quiet, enjoyable day!

Laura La Mer has posed:
After the incident with the Meanie Dokas creating a Layabout from a stolen sphere, Laura had decided to see for herself what the park is like when it is not being assaulted by some youma or the other. The atmosphere the three X-Charas had so catastrophically interrupted actually seemed a whole lot of phone.

That is why, armed with her Aqua Pot and accompanied by an equally joyful Kururun, she has paid her entry into the park, and started taking as many bubble photos as she could while she experiences the attractions.

For the occasion she has chosen to wear an azure sleeveless top that leaves her midriff exposed, accompanied by an azure skirt that ends in two differently colored layers slightly branching outwards, the top one cerulean and the bottom one white.

She is also wearing gold seashell-shaped earrings. The skirt is circled by a thin pink stripe with a yellow star on the left. At her feet she has two heeled sandals with three pink pearls each. What is unusual however is that unlike other times Rashmi has met the mermaid, she is now wearing a sea-themed azure ring with white decorations at the bottom and a purple gem at the center.

"Rashmi-san!", Laura yells and waves at the redhead when she sees her. "You here too, huhu? Where are you heading to next?" Kururun floats closer to Rashmi too, exclaiming in greeting "Kururun!" and raising her stubby arm as if to wave.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
As Lamya floats above surveying the landscape before her, the squeaky cry of a fairy catches her attention. She scowls at the thing, recognizing that a Pretty Cure must be in attendance so this will be a bit more difficult than she thought. "Curse those fairies," she mutters. "I'll show them!"

She holds up a tube of the Black Paint of darkness in her hand and bellows, "This world will be stained with the worst possible conclusion..." She squeezes her fist and paint squirts out from her fingers. "...A Bad End!" Opening her Picture Book of Darkness, she smears the paint across its pages. "The blank slate of your future will be clouded in darkness!"

A miasma seeps out of the book settling onto the play area, causing the children and parents to fall into a depressive haze. "I don't see why I should bother playing," one child maons. "I'm just gonna have to go home anyway." One of the parents laments, "I shouldn't have brought my child here. It costs so much money, and I can't afford the time off." Sentiments like this ripple across the area.

"I see you, fairy!" Lamya shouts, pulling out a round, red ball. "I won't let you have the advantage this time. Akanbe! Come out and play!"

With that, she throws the red ball down to the ground, and it absorbs one of the panda slides, turning into a giant clown-faced panda! "AKANBE!" it shouts, and turns menacingly at the fairy, pulling out a stick of bamboo from... somewhere.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hi Laura-chan!" Rashmi shouts, waving back, and as the pair approach, she beams at the adorable fairy. "And hi Kururun! Oh, I'm just looking around, honestly. I was thinking of coming back with friends before school started up again, so I was seeing if there was anything special happening this wee--"

'The blank slate of your future will be covered in darkness!'

Snapping upright as Nicomachea shouts warnings in her head, Rashmi looks around, horrified, at the depressive tumble taken by so many cheerful children and probably at least almost as cheerful adults. "Wh-- wait..." Her vision goes further up, the redhead scanning the skies for the source of this utterly trashed good time.

The dragon girl.

Letting out a long breath, she turns a wry smile at Laura. "...I'll be right back."

Luckily, as she dashes toward the nearest photo booth, the panda Akanbe makes its entrance, and earns *all* the attention it deserves.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"We could look around together", the mermaid offers after hearing of Rashmi's reason. "I just came off of the panda ride and was about to head to the sea life one", she adds in case the other girl is interested. That is before Lamya starts intervening and darkness sweeps their surroundings. "A Bad End?' Laura frowns at the dragonic girl. "There is no way I am letting you or anyone ruin my future! I am working hard to become Grand Ocean's next Queen, and I won't let you stop me!" she stares angrily at the Dark General.

"And if you think you can hurt Kururun, you have got another thing coming!" Seriously, having a bone to pick with Kururun? She can forget messing with her friend! She doesn't retreat elsewhere, with how much she has taken Lamya's words seriously.

"Pretty Cure! Tropical Change!", she announces as a pink sphere surrounds her.Taking off the Heart Swirl Ring and inserting sideways into the keyhole of the Mermaid Aqua Pact, she twists it upright and its seashell cover splits in half, revealing a purple base with white stars and blue waves on the left side and white hearts on the right side, surrounding a blue circle with a motif of crystals all around a white sphere.

The opened compact transforms her completely, enriching her appearance with make-up and her clothes as Cure La Mer. Jumping upwards with a splash of waters, finally Laura introduces herself. "The Shimmering Ocean! Cure La Mer!"

"Ahhh!", she shouts jumping towards the Akanbe with a fist at the ready.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
Red eyes are drawn towards Cure La Mer as she announces her right to be the Grand Ocean's next Queen. "Are you a ... Princess?" Lamya asks, with a hint of eagerness in her voice. "This must be my lucky day! Akanbe! Take care of that Pretty Cure!"

"AKANBE!" it answers, taking a swing at the incoming precure with its bamboo stick, like a baseball bat.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The problem with the photo booth Rashmi chose; you have to pay before the door will open. Uttering a loud and irritated sigh, she scrabbles for her pay card, baps it against the reader, then dives in.

*flash*

*flash*

*flash*

*FLASH!*

    << *BONG!* >> << SET UP >>

Streaking out of the photo booth on golden ankle-wings, Rashmi pauses in midair, a huge, armored book floating open above one hand, as an intricate magical seal spreads out beneath her feet. "Seriously?! What's wrong with just having fun sometimes?! Theme parks are *supposed* to be places you can forget about your worries for awhile!"

    << *BONG!* >> << TIME-SPACE BARRIER >>

A bubble of staticky green-black energy forms above the book, then explodes outward in every direction. Where it touches someone nonmagical, it phases them out of this battlefield, and -- with hope -- away from the miasma, leaving only herself, Laura, and Kururun to face down Lamya and her Akanbe.

"Cure la Mer, are you all right?"

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura's punch is blocked by the bamboo cane and the Pretty Cure somersaults away from the Akanbe three times. "I am all right, Page Mage! Good going with the barrier!", she smiles and gives Rashmi a thumbs up. "From now on, I will be actually fighting at your side!"

Looking towards Lamya again, Laura flips her her hair back proudly. "I suppose that wouldn't be wrong. The term is Queen candidate in Grand Ocean, but princess has a nice ring to it too.", she smiles as she considers the thought. Just briefly, because of course she has not forgotten where she is and what she has been doing.

"I am not going to ignore what you are doing here, though! People came here to have fun, not to be dragged into whatever you have against fairies!", she exclaims, pointing a finger at Lamya. "Who are you, and what are you doing all this for?" she switches the subject back to the damage the dragon girl is doing right now.

And to demonstrate, she immediately jumps back into the fray, kicking at the bamboo stick as it swings at her, before accompanying it with another kick at the arm without a weapon.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
Even though the innocent people are phased out, safe from harm, the Picture Book of Darkness still seems to be harvesting the Bad Energy coming from them. It's not a physical thing that's happening to them, rather, an emotional one. But at least they're not going to be hurt by any collateral damage that this fight might accrue which is a good thing.

A wicked grin touches the lips of the dragon girl as Cure La Mer admits her princesshood. "YES!" she roars. "Finally! I AM THE GREAT DRAGON LAMYA, DREAD WYRM OF MARCHENLAND, AND YOU SHALL BE MINE!" With incredible speed, Lamya races down towards the precure, attempting to grab her.

The bamboo stick the Akanbe is wielding is kicked back, setting the clownish youma off balance, and open to the other kick from Cure La Mer. The Akanbe stumbles backward and falls straight onto its butt, dazed.

"Why?!?" Lamya sneers. "I'm tired of humans and fairies always having a Good Ending. 'Happily ever after until the end of their days.' PFAH! Where is the Good End for the villains? The monsters? Without us, there would be no stories! Well, I'm tired of always meeting my doom. If I can't have a Good Ending, NOBODY CAN!"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As the Great Dragon Lamya announces herself and her mission, Rashmi is... torn. On the one hand, this girl is clearly determined to keep people from living in peace, and needs to be stopped. On the other hand... An *actual dragon,* that is *so freaking cool.

But then Lamya decides Rashmi's actions for her, by rushing down on Cure La Mer. That *cannot* be borne.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BARRAGE >>

A half-dozen fist-sized balls of golden energy blink into existence in a vertical ring around the airborne Device Mage, and launch one after the other. As each sphere launches, a new one is summoned directly behind it, and launched in sequence. The overall effect is rather akin to a machine-gun that shoots Punch Energy, and Rashmi sweeps the stream of Barrets from Lamya to the Akanbe, attempting to keep both off-balance and less able to respond to full effect.

"Who *says* dragons can't have good endings?! Have you *read* modern stories? Dragons are practically a *genre* by now!"

Laura La Mer has posed:
So, the problem Lamya has is... she is mad monsters don't lead a happy life after attacking people. That's rich, that's really rich. "I don't know why you are going on about stories, but people like you have attacked my home, voided it of its life and motivation, go on to further hurt people, and you are now acting like you deserve to walk away scott-free? Not happening!" Laura grits her teeth.

Then Lamya is apparently interested in kidnapping her!? What has Laura done to her? She can't be working for the Witch of Delays, else she wouldn't be declaring she is making Laura hers. "I won't be kidnapped again!", she yells determined, having actual powers now. Still, just as the Pretty Cure is about to go on the defensive, Rashmi attacks to defend her. "Thank you!" she grins at her ally, before focusing on the dazed Akanbe with a flurry of punches.

Laura La Mer has posed:
So, the problem Lamya has is... she is mad monsters don't lead a happy life after attacking people. That's rich, that's really rich. "I don't know why you are going on about stories, but people like you have attacked my home, voided it of its life and motivation, go on to further hurt people, and you are now acting like you deserve to walk away scott-free? Not happening!" Laura grits her teeth.

Then Lamya is apparently interested in kidnapping her!? What has Laura done to her? She can't be working for the Witch of Delays, else she wouldn't be declaring she is making Laura hers. "I won't be kidnapped again!", she yells determined, having actual powers now. Still, just as the Pretty Cure is about to go on the defensive, Rashmi attacks to defend her. "Thank you!" she grins at her ally, before focusing on the dazed Akanbe with a flurry of punches.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
Lamya crosses her arms in front of her, the machine-gun barrage of punch energy pummeling her back before she could get her arms on the princess who would be Queen. The Akanbe fairs no better, not even having the chance to get up, when the punch energy and actual physical punches knock it on its back. "Akanbeeeee," it moans, blindly swinging its bamboo stick in the hopes of catching the pretty cure.

"That!" Lamya says, recovering from the assault and wheeling back into the air. "That right there! Nobody bothers to ask why we do what we do. Nobody understands that we do it because we must! The only rhyme or reason given is that a story needs somebody for the hero to fight, and so humanity has dreamt up monsters."

She turns her gaze to Rashmi, eyes burning with rage. "You think a decade can undo millennia of stories being etched into myth? I am the dragon that Beowolf slew! I am St. George's serpent! I am Apep! I am Ladon! All came to our demise, sometimes for the crime of just existing? That dread gaze turns its hate towards Cure La Mer, "And you wonder why we lash out," she spits. "NO MORE!" she roars, and opens her mouth wide, sending a gout of white-hot flame towards Rashmi.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When a *dragon girl* takes in a deep breath, you know what's gonna happen next. Which is why Rashmi throws out her hands in front of her, and the book floating behind her shoulder chimes the activation of a new spell.

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

A disc of golden light forms in front of her, just big enough around to folly cover Rashmi from the oncoming dragonflame. Then, with a screeeeching *CRACK!* it becomes a shallow cone of golden ice, its surface festooned with spikes and irregular planes, all calculated to interrupt the flow of the stream of fire headed her way, attenuate it, and disperse it.

But dragonfire is dragonfire, and holding up the shield against the attack takes *visible* effort on Rashmi's part. Not to mention the cracking and 'melting' of the shield, as Lamya's intense fire degrades the structure of the spell.

She still has plenty of mana, however, and as she occupies Lamya's effort, Cure La Mer still needs some support.

    << *BONG!* >> << STRIKE -- BOOST UP >>

A wispy ball of light akin to foxfire rises above the book, then darts to sink into Cure La Mer's back. For a moment, power floods the Cure's arms, and a feeling of the summer sun warming the face, bringing with it a surge of determination.

"M-maybe not yet," she replies to Lamya's raging, gritting her teeth against the effort of holding back the fire of dragons. "But there are *so many people* that think a dragon is the most amazing thing that could ever exist! The idea that they don't deserve a happy ending is *horrible* to them! To *me!*"

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura crosses her arms when the Akanbe swings its stick at her, pushing Cure La Mer back and making her grit her teeth as her offensive gets blocked. This Akanbe isn't messing around certainly. "Your youma is a bit tough, I will give you that", Laura smirks as she takes a moment to recollect herself from the blow. "Take this!", she says, lifting a nearby rock and kicking it strongly at the Akanbe.

"I really don't get you", Laura sighs at Lamya. "You complain about your life, but you followed it complacently, attacking people and doing damage because that was the role given to you, then blaming people when they want to defend themselves and causing even more damage when you decided you didn't like it."

She takes a deep breath then yells. "Get a grip! If you don't like your destiny, strive to change it! Become a force for good instead of staying as the one people fear! And most. of. all.", she adds, punctuating each word.

"Stay away from my friend!" the angry Pretty Cure declares, stirring with her pen the disk at the center of her Compact, causing water to gather and move in a pattern of recurve spinning lines as it concentrates inside the Mermaid Aqua Pact.

"Pretty Cure Swirling La Mer Stream!", she shouts, a huge rotating stream of water erupting out of the Pact as she points her pen at column of fire attacking Rashmi, water raging in the Page Mage's defense.

Mie Kitamura has posed:
The Akanbe is, once again, knocked to the ground after taking a large rock to its noggin. "AkanbeeEEeeEeee..." it moans, its eyes swirling in circles. One could almost imagine little tweety birds circling its head as it tries to recover.

Lamya can't really retort when spouting gouts of Dragonfire, and when Cure La Mer adds her waterspout to counteract it, it frees Rashmi of the assault. For a while, there's a push and pull between the two opposing elements, a tug-of-war where both sides are equal, but when Rashmi boosts the pretty cure's attack, the water overwhelms Lamya and blasts her across the park, soaking her wet.

Lamya staggers to her feet, dripping wet, the water blast having cooled down the dragoness' rage. Cure La Mar gets a look that shows, perhaps, a bit of helplessness for the first time. "Where would I even start?" she asks in a weak voice.

Then she regains her composure, shaking her head which sends water flying. "No matter," she says, holding out her hand and the Picture Book of Darkness appearing in it. Snapping it shut, she says, "I have what I need. Akanbe! Return!" The Akanbe dissolves into light, and returns into its red ball, bouncing back into Lamya's hand. "Well, fought, magical girls!" Before she would suffer any more attacks or worse, appeals to her conscience, her form blurs as she returns to the Dark Kingdom.

As soon as she leaves the miasma disappears, and the affected humans slowly begin to compose themselves. At first, there are confused murmurs, but in moments it's like nothing at all happened to them, and as soon as Rashmi's barrier drops, all the damage is gone and the children start to play again.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Thanks, Cure La Mer," Rashmi breathes as the dragon is blasted across the battlefield, letting the half-menlted remains of her shield shatter into motes of light.

And then Lamya does the most damage she could possibly have done; she looked and sounded miserable and helpless, and it squoze Rashmi's heart *immediately.*

When the dragoness' takes her leave, Rashmi lets out a long, shuddering sigh, and looks to her current teammate. "Good job, but... I um... Think I'm gonna have to teach her how to people soon. ...Because nobody *that* miserable sticks around Obsidian forever."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura pants, taking a few seconds to recover her breath. The dragoness' fire was no slouch, and the two attacks were fighting without trying to give a cm to the other. Even so, things were done now. Lamya was gone, the people were well again, and neither of them was hurt. "Of course", Laura grins widely at Rashmi. "I couldn't really leave you alone. Besides, you had done the same for me", she comments jovially.

There is however a small frown when Lamya looks helpless before deciding that her path is still that of the enemy of Märchenland. Whatever that place is. Still, this is going to be far from the last confrontation they have on the matter, and she doesn't know if the dragon girl will be able to turn around, if she really believes in changing her ways.

"Good job to you too. Now you were having a problem with photos, right? I have the Aqua Pot with me. What do you say we explore the rest of the park together, and leave the photo taking to me?", Laura dissolves her transformation, smiling and blushing happily at the prospect.