205/Starfield Jellyfish Exhibition

Starfield Jellyfish Exhibition
Date of Scene:	05 August 2023
Location:	Yumegahama Aquarium and Marine Center
Synopsis:	The Aquarium runs a one-day special event featuring a rare breed of Jellyfish. The problem is that the Jellyfish are part of a youma. A huge mess is made, a doll and a vampire are made sad, magical heroines save the day, and Zoi walks away with bonus intel. RIP Ted, you will be always remembered.
Cast of Characters:	Lana Voselle Miata, Kureha Senkenzan, Miho Aiuchi, Norie Okana, Wako Agemaki, 93, Zoisite, Coco Kiumi

---

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    It's a busy day at the Yumegahama Aquarium and Marine Center. It's the day of the Starfield Jellyfish Exhibition, sponsored by Obsidian! Large hanging posters flank the main entrance, advertising the temporary display, featuring the Obsidian logo in the bottom right corner. Kids and teens get discounted ticket prices, which has made this an ideal spot for family gatherings. It's the middle of summer break, and the Aquarium provides shade from the heat and something fun to look at.

    The actual Exhibition is located some ways into the Aquarium itself, past the Penguin display and across from the reef tank. In a temporary tank for rotating exhibits just like this floats a bloom of jellyfish the likes of which you've never seen before. The rounded bell that serves as the main body of the fish somewhat resembles Moon jellyfish in shape, but the skin is nearly transparent. If not for the bioluminescent 'stars' that like the shape of the main body, hence the name 'Starfield', these jellyfish would be almost invisible in the water. Long tendrils flow from beneath the bell, also lined with bioluminescent 'stars', making for a dazzling display.

    There are tiny particles in the tank water which move along invisible currents. Some of these little specks are clearly being pushed around by the glowing Starfield jellyfish, but others seem to be pushed along by... nothing at all. That's strange. Is there something just out of sight, directing the flow of water? It's hard to tell, and most people just don't pay any attention to it.

    Lana Voselle Miata is here, near the Starfield jellyfish display. She's wearing a volunteer uniform, sitting in an info booth near the display, adjusting her glasses as she looks over... some incredibly dense document or other. There are pamphlets and fliers near her, and occasionally someone comes up to ask her for directions which she helpfully provides.

    A guest watching the display yawns and takes a seat on one of the several benches nearby.

    Back in the Staff Only area, there are several Obsidian employees monitoring the jellyfish tank. Normal eyes might assume that they're checking water levels, Ph levels, and other things like that. However, those in the know could also recognize that they're tracking the rate of energy gathering.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Some time ago, Kureha's fav- most tolerable attendant, Chisa, was injured in what the authorities have described as a 'costume prank turned riot'. The woman has been recovering quite well, but she's only just returning to her duties. Duties which are, as it happens, a bit more strenuous than they were before her short stay in the hospital. "Goodness, Kureha, you really can move now, can't you?" the woman says, walking briskly alongside her charge. The girl in the kimono turns up to glance at her briefly, then nods her head slightly. "It's been... nice," she murmurs, quietly. Chisa beams.

    Grasping for a change of subject, the younger girl asks, "So which way were these jellyfish?" Chisa taps her chin for a moment, glancing at the signage, before saying, "This way, my lady~," and leading the way.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    There's a short elementary-school-aged girl here with brown hair in a ponytail, wearing a lavender dress. Kurumi Aiuchi is peering at the jellyfish exhibition, frowning, an expression of intense concentration on her face.

    Well ... not that intense, actually; she's been here for a while (Miho declined the invitation), trying to pin down a nameless sense of wrongness she's been feeling. And for some reason, she's starting to feel droopy! Sleepy, even! She blinks a few times, visibly trying to stop herself from nodding off ...

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana... was gifted a ticket to this exhibit by her father who got it from work. She normally wouldn't come of her own volition, but it was another case of 'you're going out young lady to try to have fun and smile again' and she was most certainly going out but having fun or smiling weren't going to be in her cards this day. She hung out near the front near the information booth a bit, watching the penguins before she moved along, past the reef tank and staring at the sharks.

She used to like the aquarium, but ever since, well... this whole vampire thing she hasn't enjoyed much. Including this. Walking past, she'd make her way slowly to the exhibit, eyeing the staff along the way but not giving them more than a passing glance.

She notices a few tired people, but also thinks nothing of it. It is a hot day out, maybe the heat is sapping people's energy. She wouldn't know anything about that.

Still, soon she's near the tank and she's staring into it. It's beautiful. Awe-striking and--- Norie can't feel a single one of those wonderful feelings. Instead feeling something poke at her like a prickle. She doesn't have human energy to give. But she can still feel that pull of.. something. It kind of feels like the time that strange fire girl was harvesting energy with the big bear monster at the campground.

"Huh..." she mutters to herself, as she leans a little close to the tank.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako's been perusing the various displays with interest - an aquarium is something else that the island doesn't have to offer, and when she learned about the discounted admission, of course she had to come have a look. It's certainly a more welcoming environment than the museum was. Seeing the aquatic creatures gliding around their tanks is quite relaxing.

As she wanders her way to the star exhibit, she takes notice of the girl in the kimono and her attendant. The sight of them gives her pause; her head tilts as she tries to recall where she's seen this pair before.

Then it hits her. "Oh?" Risking a bit of rudeness, she adjusts her course to fall alongside the pair. "Sorry to just come up to you like this, but - you were both at the museum before, weren't you? I'm glad to see you both looking well."

Yochu (93) has posed:
    Yochu was taking her first tentative steps out into the world since the massive change in her life. At first she'd been wandering around aimlessly in the city, but like many others she'd seen a flier for the aquarium, and what young girl wouldn't be excited at the prospect of special, sparkly jellyfish? She'd wandered in, somewhat nervous by the crowd. She didn't have any money but those in charge of verifying tickets didn't even seem to notice her. A few people gave her odd glances, and it wasn't even because of how overdressed she was, especially in the summer heat.

    As she makes her way towards the exhibit some parents with their kids notice her.

    "Some kind of toy..? Is it part of the exhibit?" Their head shakes in confusion, "What do robots and Jellyfish have to do together? Maybe someone's kid lost their toy robot."

    Yochu didn't look their way, but she overheard it. She takes in a breath and lets out a little sigh. Like normal the vast majority of mundane people considered her a toy, the Veil hiding her nature from them. Even when she was at least sized like a normal girl was like. But Yochu wasn't a normal girl. She knew that. Those who could sense magical energy could likely tell there was something magical about her, and the sighs of Dark Energy were all there as well.

    She unconsciously rubbed her wrists on her visible dolljoints, just past the cuffs of her dress. Maybe she should ask Hotaru if she could get it tailored. To hide them... To hide what she was.

    Despite the somewhat morose mood she was in her expression changed to delight as soon as she sees the jellyfish proper. Her already wide red eyes widen further, "They're... they're beautiful! Look at all those beautiful sparkles..!" Unlike most people she recognizes them immediately for what they are; some kind of dark energy life form. She can even feel the tug of people's energy flowing away from them and to the Jellyfish.

    She doesn't seem bothered by this at all.

    It might be rude, but she walks right up to the glass, putting her hands on it and leaning in close. "I-I wonder... do you have a name? Everyone deserves a name, Mister Starfield Jellyfish."

Zoisite has posed:
    A very pretty person in some sort of military uniform is leaning against a support pillar across from the Starfield Jellyfish exhibit. Zoisite has his arms folded, one leg crossed over the other, and is toying with an elongated black crystal about 10 cm long. It's a bit of an unusual appearance, so of course there is a Glamour in place, changing the uniform to a sleeveless denim vest over a tight, black turtleneck sweater, with some designer jeans and knee-high black velvet boots. Honestly, with the addition of eyeshadows that makes his green eyes really pop, it makes Zoisite even more androgynous. Probably by design.

    He isn't directly affiliated with the exhibit, but he is here anyway. For reasons.

    Maybe he just likes jellyfish.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Today Coco is inside the Yumegahama Aquarium and Marine Center, having decided to check how the sealife is doing at the center. 'Oh, that's the same company that distributed the Black Jade', she thinks, recognising Obsidian's logo. 'They never refurbished the stocks after the demon's attack', she sulks a bit. 'They sure have a lot of businesses, though. A tech company couldn't be more different from marine centers.

Coco gets to talking telepathically with all sorts of sea animals, from seals to dolphin to sharks to penguins to clownfish and all other types of sea creatures. All of them communicate a relative wellbeing, though those that actually got to live outside of captivity denote how the tanks can't compare with the vastness of the ocean.

'You are so shiny!' she says as soon she reaches the tank of the Starfield jellyfish. 'Where are you from, and how is life here?' The jellyfish give no sign of having heard her however, leaving Coco to try again to start a conversation. 'Hello, is everything all right?'

The mermaid princess keeps staring intently at the glass, wondering what's going on with the starfield jellyfishes. 'That's really odd', she thinks. 'Any other sea creature would have answered by now.'

Taking a glance at the info booth manned by Lana, she goes over there, intending to ask the employee a few questions. "Excuse me, miss, I was hoping I could ask you a question", she says, waving at her with a friendly smile. "Are these jellyfishes all right? They are behaving a bit weirdly and seem a bit more inactive than usual".

The concern in Coco's voice is in equal parts about the oddness of the situation and the jellyfishes' wellbeing, but she counts on the latter motivation covering for her when talking with Lana.

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    There is plenty of signage for Chisa, Kureha and others to find their way. It's the Aquarium's Big Event for the day. As long as they're willing to navigate the crowds.

    Lana watches from behind her reading glasses as a small child, Kurumi, starts getting tired. For a flash of a moment, there's a smug grin, but it fades pretty quickly. However, there is certainly a 'wrongness' that those with magical senses can feel, and the source of that wrongness seems to come from a large empty space in the middle of the tank. None of the Starfield jellyfish seem to be swimming in that spot. In fact, some of the tiny particles floating in the water seem to be pushing away from that area.

    Which is odd. It really looks like there's nothing there. Yet if Norie feels the tug of energy, that's where the flow is going.

    Those simply watching the exhibit might feel a slight drain, but it's very light. If Lana has reason to believe that you work for Obsidian, then it doesn't affect you. However, once in a while, those with magical senses can hear a slight squish noises as if something slimy and wet had fallen a few feet before landing on something else. Someone might see motion out of the corner of their eye around the same time. A couple more guests get tired and need to sit down.

    Lana stays in her info booth. Yochu catches her eye. She puts down the page she was about to flip and crosses her arms. A name? Lana didn't think of a name. The dark spirit in her head keeps suggesting really weird answers, alien names from far off civilizations that Lana has no comprehension of. Instead she says, "That one is named Ted." She doesn't say a single word about stepping away from the glass.

    That name is lame objects Voselle, in the back of Lana's mind.

    Shut up. It was better than your ideas.

    Zoisite gets a glance from Lana, but she leaves him alone. There's no reason to bother him as long as he doesn't interfere. Whatever she might have to say to him gets cut off when Coco comes up to her.

    "Well, they just moved in. It's a temporary exhibit, so they get a little confused. They'll be fine once they settle in," says Lana, with perfect confidence despite the fact that she just made up all of that on the spot.

    Of course, none of that probably answers Coco's real question. The jellyfish aren't responding, even though every other specimen of sea life in the Aquarium is.

    Odd.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Kureha is content to just continue walking, no particular regard for the crowd - until one of them decides to approach her directly. There's a short-lived look of confusion, of looking Wako over as if to try and determine why this completely random person might be falling into step with her... but then the newcomer mentions the museum.

    Instantly, the shorter girl's expression hardens, before slipping into a mask of neutrality. The suspicion and wariness in her voice, however, remain completely unconcealed. "...thank you," she says after a moment's consideration. "Is there something we can help you with?"

    Chisa reaches out and gives Kureha a little squeeze on the shoulder. "Kureha, relax a little. She's just showing some concern." Kureha can't exactly speak aloud why she doesn't believe that; but it becomes irrelevant after her minder for the day suddenly lets out a yawn. "Mm, goodness," Chisa says. "Maybe I'm not quite as recovered as I thought..." She gives her ward an apologetic smile. "Kureha, would you be upset if we sat?"

    It's here that Kureha's mask slips, if only briefly. Worry. It's worry that flits across her face. "Th-that's fine. If you need to recover for a moment, the jellyfish aren't going anywhere." She's practically rushing Chisa over to a bench, though there's one last wary glance at Wako.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    (Kurumi would have found the energy to object to being called a small child if she'd been aware that comment! She's almost eleven, jeez!)

    She glances at Norie, frowning. She ponders that Miho would probably walk right up to that girl and ask if she was okay ... or, well, if she could get past her anxiety, anyway. Kurumi, however, is more inclined to stay in her lane --

    But then her attention is caught by Yochu. She openly stares at the girl ... doll? Girl? She's moving, isn't she? She ... she ...

    Kurumi yawns.

    "Am I seeing things?" she mutters, looking around. Oh, there's one of the girls from the festival, looking like she's ... going straight from getting right up in the jellyfishes faces (or ... whatever, you get the picture) to hurrying off to express concern for them. Okay, great.

    She jerks her head around at that ... slimy sound.

    That does it. "Ugh okay I need to take a break," she mumbles. She goes to sit down at the nearest bench, rubbing her eyes and grumbling. She happens to end up in Kureha and Chisa's general vicinity. "What the ..." She yawns again.

Yochu (93) has posed:
    At first Yochu is surprised. She turns her head over towards Lana and blinks those big red eyes at her. Did... did someone just acknowledge her existence and answer her like a normal person!? They did! "Ah! Ted-san... That's... A really good name!" She turns her bright smile back towards the tank, "Did you here that, Mister Starfield Jellyfish? Your name is Ted-san!"

    Now she's laughing, which has a light and musical sound to it while she stares into the large tank, eyes focusing more on the Jellyfish swimming around than that strange open space and the flecks of light moving towards it.

    She doesn't notice Kurumi looking at her, but she really does look like a walking, talking doll! Even if most people seem to be treating her very much like someone's toy that must have gone missing, though Lana does seem to have talked to her as well, so maybe everything isn't what it seems?

    "You're so big and pretty, Ted-san!" Her head tilts a tiny bit, "Uuu... I hope that tank is big enough though. It might be a little cramped, or... is... is it cozy instead?" She perks up, seeming to cheer herself back up. For whatever reason, Yochu doesn't seem to be paying much attention to all the people yawning and getting tired.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana can feel a pull from inside the tank, and then there's another feeling of something dark near her and she looks over to Yochu, and merely blinks a bit. She doesn't say anything though. She just looks back to the tank. "....Ted....is the lamest name for a jellyfish ever. I would have named it.. like. Xylar." she says under her breath when Lana becomes busy with Coco asking questions.

"Do you feel out of place here, too, mister jellyfish?" she asks the jellyfish as she sighs to herself. Not expecting a real answer. (Because really, WHO would?)

She wonders what's actually in the tank--- but she can't do much more without dropping her human guise. Maybe it's also not her business. If only she could.....

Then, She hears a squish and looks around did. Did she see something? She isn't sure. She starts looking around a little, seeing more people get tired. Ah..

Something is feeding. Like she does, she figures. She isn't here to feed, so she doesn't care about the prospect of somebody else stealing her lunch for the day.

She does wonder though, gently taking a few steps back away from the tank and looking around.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako's friendly expression quickly slips into concern as Chisa's energy flags. "My apologies for intruding," she says, offering the pair a polite bow. "Please take care." She won't press further - certainly not at the moment - and there doesn't seem to be much she can do but watch Kureha hustle Chisa over to the benches.

At a bit of a loss, she looks around her, trying to place the source of her growing unease. Unconsciously she settles a hand upon her chest, palm resting over the hidden emblem. The aquarium seems normal enough, people coming and going, enjoying the sights... and yet... and yet......

The more she looks, the more little oddities stand out. People yawning, finding places to rest. The doll-like girl talking to the jellyfish in its tank. The unpleasant sound at the edge of her hearing.

She drifts closer to the benches where Kureha and Chisa, and now Kurumi, have found seats. "Something's wrong," she says, voice pitched low and grave. "Can you feel it?"

Zoisite has posed:
    There is also a magical presence coming from Zoisite. Not his aura, which he's suppressing, or the Glamour, which is minimal expenditure, but the black crystal in his hand. It makes its own little tugs, not enough to interfere with or counter the existing magical gravity, but if it weren't running, it would become the focal point for an absorption field. On its own? Not so much.

    Zoisite just smirks at the continuing operation, as he watches humans growing very, very tired. He is tempted to start making 'squish-squish' sounds under his breath, but fights it off. Instead, he just emits his characteristic high-pitched giggle. Quietly. Even if it looks like some of the sheep are starting to take note of what's really happening. Well, that's what Zoisite is here for. Sort of.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is infact no satisfied at all with Lana's answer, but it's not like she can say this specific kind of animal isn't talking to her. She very much likes to stay out of a mental hospital. "I understand, thank you for your time", she says, moving away from the info booth.

'There is something weird going on here', she realises, deciding to stay next to the jellyfish tank for now.

As she hears of someone talking about the museum, she gets curious and indeed, she instantly recognises Kureha next to Wako. 'Interesting that we met again so soon', she muses, reminiscing of the odd lunch encounter with the rich girl and her staff, who today is a different employee from last time.

"Hello, Kureha, I see you get to enjoy the aquarium too." She then turns towards, Wako, waving at her. "I think I saw you at the museum too, with a glance, though. I'm Coco, nice to meet you", she tells Wako with a smile.

"Something wrong?" She repeats as soon the girl makes that observation, noticing the sleepy people around the room. 'That's like when Riventon and Sunbreaker were stealing everyone energy', she thinks, making the connection with the dark energy of the duo.

"That's the second odd thing I see here", Coco informs the other two. "The jellyfish are weird and unresponsive too", she states, obviously not specifying which kind of response she refers to.

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    Kureha and Chisa get a little bit of attention from some of the Aquarium staff nearby. One walks up to that group and asks, with all sincerity, "Is she alright? Is she overheated?" This one, notably, is not associated with Obsidian in any way and seems to be an actual worker here. Unlike Lana, this staffer is visibly concerned.

    Kurumi, Chisa and others might find themselves getting some company on that bench. More guests are starting to feel the need to sit down for a moment. Some of them are nodding off. Kurumi might notice that the person who just sat down next to her, a boy who is only 6 months younger than her, seems to have something in his hair. It's... almost completely transparent, but if she looks closely she can see the edges of the thing where the refractive index isn't quite the same as the air around it. It jostles as the kid moves, making very light slimy squishy sounds. Most people don't seem to hear them.

    Lana has seen plenty of weird things by now. She notices Yochu's joints, but she's not one to judge. However, the way Yochu speaks gets Lana to narrow her eyes a bit and frown slightly. She's not glaring persay, just a bit concerned. Whatever question she wants to ask, she keeps it to herself. One of the jellyfish responds to Yochu, floating a bit closer to her as if to say hi. The way it travels through the water seems a little unnatural in a way that might be hard to place. As if it was being tugged along instead of moving there itself. A current, maybe?

    Norie speaks. Lana doesn't notice it at first, but her ears are also Voselle's. The dark spirit chimes in at the back of her mind, Xylar was like my third choice! See? This girl gets it. Lana grits her teeth for a moment, before her face assumes its previous calm.

    As Norie looks around, she might see more nearly-invisible blobs like Kurumi did. Once in a while they fall from the ceiling, onto guests, dripping slowly so as to not be too obvious. Which is strange, because the Veil would be hiding them anyways, right? One of the nearly-invislbe blobs tries landing on Norie. If it lands on her, it tries to drain her, but it's probably not very effective at it. It wouldn't be very hard to pull it off or swat it away. Wako might notice them too, now that she's suspicious. As would anyone else who closely examines their surroundings.

    None of the strange slimy blobs dark approach Zoisite. Lana glances again in his direction, and gives him a halfhearted grin. She is, for the moment, content to share. She half-expects her plan to go belly-up long before they run out of energy drain victims. Though, it occurs to her that he might have other plans. She reaches up to the collar of her shirt, touching the spot where her pendant lays hidden, hanging around her neck.

    "Of course, have a nice day," is Lana's response to Coco. She has no suspicion that Coco might have magical reasons to believe that the jellyfish are weird.

    Lana is, however, starting to overhear people saying that things are weird, and she's starting to get tense. She is trying very hard to look calm right now. Everything is fine. Nothing is wrong. Please feel free to take a nap.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Kureha stays on her feet until Chisa has sat down with a soft, tired huff; only then does she sit down beside the woman. It puts her in a position to see Kurumi looking tired nearby as well. And... other people. A subtle frown finds its way onto Kureha's face; only to become a much deeper one when Wako speaks to her. "I can," she replies, her tone terse, quiet. "But it's got nothing to do with me. I'm just taking Chisa out of here-" And there comes Coco as well, turning the tiny girl's deep frown into an outright scowl. "What is it with you people from the museum, are you stalking me or something?" Anything she might ask about the jellyfish acting strangely is cut off by the approach of a staffer. "She got out of the hospital recently," the girl explains to him. "I think the trip might have been too soon, we need to..."

    Why is everyone getting so exhausted? Why does that kid have something squishy in his hair? "W-what..."

    It's here that she realizes Chisa has nodded off as well. "-Chisa?!"

    Hastily, the kimono-clad girl shakes her attendant - then reaches up and yanks the blob off her head, before looking up and around. "Okay, how do we fix this?" she demands of Wako, scowling.

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Kurumi's vision is blurry. She stares up at Wako. "Feel ... what?" she mumbles, sounding officially Tired And Cranky. Her gaze slides over Coco, then Kureha and Chisa, furrowing her brow and looking almost uncomprehending. She winces at Kureha's sudden shoutyness. "What's g ... what's goi ..."

    She looks like she's about to raise objections to the boy sitting next to her, but then she just barely makes out the ... the ... that thing. Her eyes widen halfway, and her mouth hangs open.

    "What ... the ... hell ...?" she mumbles, and promptly keels over.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"For what it's worth," Wako tells Kureha, looking apologetic, "I only came here to see the aquarium. It's starting to seem like every special event people put on in this city is a scheme of some kind, though."

She offers a nod of acknowledgment to Coco, brows lifting like she means to ask more about what she meant - but then Kureha derails the thought completely by yanking the blob-thing off Chisa's head. Oh. Oh, ew.

Her mouth twists, somewhere between frustration and resignation. "--I'm not sure," she says, "but I'm going to find out, right now."

And then, without even bothering to look for cover, she straightens up her shoulders and declares: "Apprivoiser."

Rosy light glitters around her, transforming her everyday hoodie and white miniskirt into a gold-trimmed white tailcoat with gold braid epaulets. Sunburst pins glitter at her lapels. As her gold-lined capelet unfurls, pivots on her heel and strikes a dramatic pose. "Brilliant entrance! Illuminating the stage! Ginga Otome!"

With a glance back over her shoulder to the others, she adds, "Don't worry. It'll fine."

Yochu (93) has posed:
    "There's nothing wrong with Ted-san's name! Ted-san is a very good name! E-", Yochu seems to get a bit choked up, needing to repeat herself a few times before continuing, "E-Especially if someone important gave it to him!" She looks over at Norrie almost as if she wants to glare, but instead just sniffling a little. Nevermind that she's obviously a doll and her eyes are completely dry and if she breathes there seems to be no actual impediment. Yet she doesn't seem to be play-acting, either.

    She turns her eyes back to the aquarium tank, "Don't worry, Ted-san, I think your name is wonderful, don't listen to them." As the jellyfish swims nearer to her she presses her hand back against the glass, as close as she can get it to where the glittering creature appears to float, or be pulled through the water.

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana is taken aback by the response she gets. "O..Okay, geeze..." she says, raising up her hands.

Norie Okana blinks when some nearly-transparent blobs land on a neighboring person's scalp. They...don't notice? Then they get tired. Oh. Yes. Something is feeding here. That's when one lands on her head and she blinks a little. She thinks. 'Awwww poor thing is gonna starve...' she says with concern as she picks it up off her head and carefully, places it down on another kid's head. This gets her a strange look for a moment and she reacts by backing off. "Ah--s-sorry! Confused you for someone else." she says as she scooches to the right and nervously just looks back into the tank.

Then she senses energy and she looks...directly at Ginga Otome as she transforms. "Oh." she says. "This is. going to be one of those situations, isn't it." she says as she steps back and frowns and sighs a little.

"Great." she says with dripping sarcasm. She doesn't find a place to shift further out of her disguise. She ends up somewhere near Zoisite in the process of backing up, and just sulks.

She doesn't want to get caught up in this fight. She might not have a choice, but for now... well she's going to shove her hands into her pants pockets. Lalalala, normal human girl, lalalalala. c.c

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I'm not stalking you. It's a bit of an odd coincidence, but we live in the same city: it's not that impossible", Coco replies on the defensive. "I came here to meet the animals too, I don't think that's so difficult to believe." She soon gives up on continuing the subject when she notices people falling asleep.

She looks around at the room alerted by the strange phenomena and notices the transparent blobs making their way onto people's heads. She bats a few of them out of the way, which to the people she helped looks like she just batted the air above them for no reason, but the minuscule energy drain she feels confirms the already solid suspiction she should take this seriously.

She glances uncertainly at Kureha and Wako, before the latter shows more readiness than her. 'She is Ginga Otome!?', Coco thinks, recognising astonished the ally that fought with her in the museum, against Carbonado and against Riventon and Firefly. The presence of an ally tosses away any esitation she might have had. Coco brings her hands to the sides of her locket, forming a curved cross with the arm.

The pearl within starts shining as Coco declares "Yellow Pearl Voice!": her clothes turn into a kaleidoscope of colors as her pearl starts shining. In their place appear yellow gloves and boots with flowy extensions, as well as a yellow blouse with a yellow skirt. Her pearl turns into her trusty E-Pitch microphone, its blue shape settling comfily into her hand, the jewel nestled safely in the head's center.

"Legend of Mermaid: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!", she declares, forming the Live Stage in complete urgency, the white sphere showing itself around here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ5oJI72bCA

The magical sound of her voice reverberates through the room, giving back energy to the affected, its music a sacred balm for tired souls. The peace of the seven oceans they represent fills the room, putting an obstacle to the transparent orbs' threat to suck everyone's energy.

Zoisite has posed:
    Flashes of light. Music and song. Stuff Is Happening. And there isn't much effort being made to conceal identities. Oh, this is going even better than Zoisite hoped. He was just planning to nab the life force when the goodie goodie squad inevitably appeared, he wasn't expecting to get a lead on his other project. Well, that will do for now. Even if the rest of it fails. Even so, it's startling how many of the Glitter Gals there are on-site already, and how quickly they noticed what was going on. More and more, Zoisite is realizing something: We need Midnight Tokyo if we want to succeed in the long term. Even when Obsidian sets the stage, the Magical Girls and Enchanting Boys and all the little leprechauns and talking cats and whatever else this world has to throw at them have the home field advantage. In order to succeed, that has be to taken away.

    Otherwise, every situation will turn out like this. Almost like both sides are drawn to each other by invisible cosmic strings. Not wanting to get caught up in the impending violence, Zoisite slips away behind the support pillar. The doll that smells of Dark Energy has him wracking his memories for if he knows her, or whoever manages her, but comes up empty for now. Norie may or may not notice the Very Pretty person making the wise decision to evacuate the dance floor, but either way, Zoisite is not hanging around if he can avoid it.

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    Lana watches as Kureha pulls one of the draining blobs off of someone and tosses it aside. She turns pale and immediately walks out of her booth. She goes through the Staff Only door and vanishes. She's long gone before Wako henshins.

    Once she gets to the Obsidian back room, she pulls her pendant out from her collar and says, "We need to start wrapping this up. Let's get this stuff out of here. Things are about to get hectic."

    The few interns and low-level workers with her start moving quickly. Packing up equipment, moving it out the back door and into a van. No questions asked, just movement. There's no reason for them to use the Dusk Zone when a normal vehicle will do.

    The person that Norie placed the blob on passes out a few seconds after. Apparently, that thing was hungry.

    In the main display tank, where the Starfield jellyfish reside, something large and nearly-invisible stirs. It started with Kureha pulling a blob off of Chisa, but Wako's henshin into Ginga Otome made it happen all the faster. The jellyfish all start to move in unnatural ways, as if they are being tugged along by invisible ropes. Each of them pulls back, and charges against the aquarium glass. The first impact leaves a crack, and the second widens it. Hit after hit, the glass cracks more and more, as something large seems to draw closer, pushing the water and tiny particles out of its way. A trickle of water comes out, and then a flood, as the glass wall of the tank is finally defeated.

    As the water drains, the large thing reveals its true form. It's a giant jellyfish, walking on its tentacles, stepping over the broken glass. Each of the smaller Starfield jellyfish are connected to its now-visible tendrils, held up as if they were hand puppets. It was never a group of jellyfish. It was all one, large, clearly unnatural creature.

    This is a Perfect Bit, Starfall Omen's personal type of youma. Apparently, its name is Ted now.

    It glows with empty darkness, and those who gaze directly into that light-eating aura might catch a glimpse of what true oblivion feels like. Its gathered energy seems to be drawn out of it, seeping through the back wall and into... some back area that normal guests can't see. All of the little near-invisible blobs also start glowing, sending their energy in a trail to roughly the same place.

    Ted pats Yochu on the head with one of its jellyfish hands. It doesn't sting, drain her energy, or harm her in any way aside from being vaguely squishy. Instead, it simply walks past her and towards Ginga Otome.

    When Coco henshins and starts to sing, Ted turns its gaze to Yellow Pearl Voice. The passed out civilians start to recharge a little bit. Worse, the little previously-invisible now-glowing blobs start to squirm around rapidly. They fall off of people and writhe on the ground. Some of the attendees start waking up due to the song.

    In the Obsidian backroom, Lana holds up her pendant. It glows with that same empty darkness. She tries desperately to transfer the energy from her Perfect Bit into her pendant. Time is now at a premium. This, alone, isn't a reason to panic. For Lana, this mission was a learning experience. Someone else might call it an experiment. There are lessons to learn here that she can apply later, assuming that she lives. One of those lessons is 'find a better energy transfer method'.

    Zoisite's crystal does, in fact, work as intended. A lot of the gathered energy is trailing towards him and his crystal, allowing him to capture part of it. Hopefully this doesn't draw too much attention to him. Lana doesn't have time to be picky about who takes the energy home right now. It just needs to be secured.

    Ted, the Starfield Jellyfish Perfect Bit, roars and lifts up its jellyfish hands. It lumbers towards Ginga Otome and Yellow Pearl Voice, before trying to punch them with at least 10 limbs. Are those things jellyfish hoods or boxing gloves?!

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Kureha's eyes widen at Wako and Coco as both of them just... transform. Right out in the open. "...you were both..." How did I not notice? Quietly, the tiny teen reaches into her kimono, drawing out a pendant with a magatama bead on it, and clutches the bead tightly in her hand. She gives the Ginga Otome a wary glance, then declares, "...I don't owe either of you anything for the museum. You got involved by your own choice. And I'm only doing this to protect Chisa."

    Abruptly, her pupils turn to vertical slits, and the crimson of her eyes is washed out by a color more akin to a bright sunset. Then, as if emerging from the pendant itself, flames erupt outward from between her curled fingers.

    A wave of fire seems to wash over her, a flowing torrent of them that whirls around her body. As if burning her clothes away, replacing them with a different kimono. Crimson and black, as a line of flames traces a bandage-wrap around her left arm. The flames seem to sear the inside of her very hairstyle, creating an underlayer of red, and then burn their way just up above her forehead... before burning outward, drawing horns into place from thin hair. A small puff of fire leaves an accessory beside her left horn.

    So transformed, Onihime gives one last look at the sleeping Chisa - already starting to look better thanks to Coco's singing - as well as Kurumi. But before she can turn and ask Wako what the plan might be, something slams on the glass. Again, and again. The tiny oni whips around to face it, then without hesitating hefts the slumbering Chisa up on her shoulders and bears her away from the tanks to a (slightly) safer bench.

    As soon as the attendant is out of the way, however, Kureha Senkenzan turns, flames dancing along her arms briefly. The instant the flailing tentacles begin, her arms come up to snag one with utterly inhuman strength - and then she yanks, trying to pull the Starfield Jelly-Ted into a followup punch with earth-shattering power behind it.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Well, that escalated quickly. Ginga Otome actually does a double take as Coco follows her example; she must have at least had reason to suspect that the other girls she was speaking with were magical, but clearly she had not made the connection to Yellow Pearl Voice until exactly this moment.

That, or she wasn't expecting anyone to actually be as reckless as she was herself.

In any case, this is no time to be caught flat-footed. As the tank shatters and releases Ted in his true... glory?... she winces and hastily brings up both hands in front of her, as though grasping at something unseen. "Zero Time!"

The barrier rushes outward, encompassing the whole building. As it does, the many non-magical bystanders - whether unconscious or merely bewildered - vanish. So do all the normal aquatic creatures in their tanks. It's too late to help the massive amount of water damage, but oh well?

"I never thought you'd owe me anything," she tells Onihime. "Either way, this thing has to be stopped!"

Norie Okana has posed:
Norie Okana doesn't notice the pretty boy escaping away from the 'dance floor'. But that singing is... she twitches and she decides to step behind a pillar. She hides there a moment and wraps her arms around herself. "What's with that girl's singing..." she says as she grumbles and lets her disguise drop a level into 'La Crima' territory, stepping back out from behind the pillar as she floats up to top of an informational display and sits down there.

"Ah..." she trails off. "So that's what was in the middle of the tank. An ... even bigger jellyfish?" she asks to no one particular.

"...I kinda wanna pet it now."

"...I don't think now's a good time to try to pet the jellyfish." she says gravely. "Maybe after it's done dealing with. Whatever. This is. Going on." she says.

"Goodluck, Jellyish-chan!" she says, a little worried.

Yochu (93) has posed:
    Yochu almost seems lost in her own world. Despite the fact two magical girls are transforming somewhere behind her she's standing there entranced, watching the Jellyfish. Then the 'jellyfish' begins pounding on the glass, and the four-foot tall doll flails, "Ted-san, what's happening?! Is something wrong?" She sounds panicked, especially as the glass begins to crack. The aquarium bursts open and she flails, stumbling backwards and getting knocked over by a wall of water and breaking glass.

    She'd be freaking out even more, except for the 'jellyfish' that pats her on the head. "You're... not hurt?" she asks cautiously, seeming not to have realized that Ted is just fine living out of water, despite having known from the very start that it was some kind of dark energy infused or manifested creature. It's only when it starts walking past her towards the magical girls that she even realizes they're there. She squeaks and flails a little more out of surprise at seeing them, from her seat in the puddle of water, her dress soaked and hanging limply off of her.

    She watches as the Perfect Bit makes it's choice, and begins attacking. "Is this what you wanted..?" she asks, voice a little strained. "We just became friends and... and... and now..!" She sees one of the other girls erupt into a burst of flame and transform and start to retaliate. As she does some water drips down from her white bangs, onto her upper eyelashes, causing her to blink which sends it rolling down past the corner of her eye. "Ted-san, please don't die!!"

    As Zero Time expands and all the non-magical people vanish Yochu is still there in her pretty dress, soaking wet and crying in place. Her sobs carry a bit more without the crowd to break up the sound, though they're probably muffled considerably the the sounds of combat.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco doesn't notice Lana disappearing into the backroom, though even if she did she wouldn't have paid it any mind, thinking of it as just an employee recognising something odd is going on and taking the wise decision of hightailing it. She does notice the song is having a positive effect on the victims, so she just keeps going, the only distraction for now being Onihime transforming right in front of her.

'Talk about a coincidence', Coco thinks, realising what weird machination of fate conspired to have the three girls to reveal each other their identity in the same place. Were she not singing, she would have replied she wasn't doing this to gather debts from people, but as things stand now, that will have to wait.

The cracks come next, but to Coco, they are drowned out by her voice, the song still doing its best to keep the blobs at bay and the people energised. That is until Ginga Otome unleashes Zero Time, bringing the civilians away from the blobs' grasps. Coco stops the song for a second, giving a smile to Wako. "Great job, Ginga Otome! That spell is always a lifesaver", complimenting her ally without reserve.

The flood comes next, washing around the territory of the Live Stage and finally turning Coco's attention towars the tank. The light emanating from Ted demands Coco's attention as the Perfect Bit gets out of the jellyfish tank, the oblivion hidden in it making it clear to Coco why the jellyfish weren't responding.

The mermaid princess tries to see if a cackling maniac shows themselves, declaring to everyone in the room Ted is their ultimate masterpiece or some such, but when none shows up, she goes back to singing Legend of Mermaid, directing the song's purifying power towards hindering the advancing power of the Perfect Bit.

Zoisite has posed:
    Lots of water. Giant jellyfish. Toy shoujo has befriended it already. Others seem to be likewise displeased with this turn of events. Hm. Could it be that the Magical Girls are actually... In the minority this time around? It might actually be beneficial to step in. As the dimension shift occurs, in line with the barriers of Device Users, or that other one Zoi has heard of, the Third of the Four decides to flicker and vanish in a swirl of pink rose petals, before reappering up above. The lost life force that Lana didn't manage to scavenge together but that is still floating around is either going to be sucked up into the crystal, or already has been.

    So, without further ago, Zoisite dismisses his Glamour. He'd just stand out more in a stylish outfit when non-magical people are all disappeared than in a mostly gray military uniform while floating above the action. With all this water spilled, the Dark General uses his cryokinesis make the ground freeze beneath the feet of the Magical Girls. Obviously, that may be ineffective on some, but it's a distraction that may allow Ted to to get some hits in or at least delay injury.

    Best of all, he can do this without making himself obvious. For all the girls know, it's just an ability Ted has. His high-pitched giggles he's trying to stifle might wind up betraying him though if he's not careful.

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    Ted's large spindly mass apparently mean very little to Onihime's overpowering strength. Mostly-transparent jellyfish monsters apparently aren't very heavy for their size. The tendril is grabbed, and the punch impacts Ted with a thundering squish. The giant jellyfish's whole form undulates from the impact, sending ripples across its entire mass, and the large monster seems to groan. Other tendrils start flailing at Kureha, trying to strike back against the offending oni.

    Zero Time happens, and all the civilians and innocent fish vanish. The glowing blobs fall onto the floor. For what it's worth, Ted was in an isolated tank, and no actual fish were harmed by this fiasco.

    To Norie's cheers, Ted raises two of his jellyfish-capped tendrils in a sort of arms spread 'hype' pose. Yochu gets a tentacle salute, for though it may end poorly this Perfect Bit must perform its duty. Never let it be said that Ted doesn't love the fans.

    Yellow Pearl Voice's song does more than just harm Ted. The purifying energy more or less eradicates the majority of the writhing blobs that remained, releasing their energy into the air. Fortunately for Team Evil, Zoisite is there. That released energy goes into his crystal, as he planned.

    Ted, between the oni punch and the purifying song, is now weakened. The tentacles it was using as legs start to collapse, and it lists to one side as it drops. The now icy ground allows it to slide forward regardless, getting closer to its magical enemies. Its once invisible body now suddenly lights up with the same bioluminescent patterns its smaller jellyfish 'hands' had. Lighting arcs around the Perfect Bit, sparking up and down its tentacles. Ginga Otome and Yellow Pearl Voice both get bolts of lightning sent at them from those spindly unnatural limbs.

    Yet there's a cost for Ted putting so much power into offense. The Perfect Bit has left itself wide open, and from the way it's clearly weakening it's clear that it was not meant for sustained direct combat.

    Ted is now Vulnerable.

    In the backroom, Lana curses. She hasn't gotten all of the gathered energy, but her Perfect Bit is running out of time. Hopefully Zoisite can cover what she couldn't get. It's only a matter of time before someone comes back here and barges in on her. Other villains might have the confidence be able to stay and gloat, but the only thing that Lana Miata gets to do is hide and fear for her life. At least, for now.

    She waits long enough for her fear to overpower her greed, and then opens a blue swirling portal to the secret dimension where the Fallen Dream Star dwells. She walks through, closing the portal and leaving Ted to his sparkly fate. Sadly for Youchu, Ted's time in this world likely wont be very long.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Kureha releases the tentacle the instant her punch lands, but a number of others decide they want to take its place. They swarm in, battering the magical oni, one after another, and where other magical girls might dodge, or parry, or otherwise demonstrate skill, grace and dexterity in defending themselves, Onihime does not. She probably couldn't if she wanted to, at least not to the extent of other magical girls. She might compare quite favorably to an untransformed human, but compared to other mahou shoujo, her agility is on the low end.

    Instead, the tiny powerhouse simply weathers them. Blow after blow, and she barely flinches, inhumanly tough. She just wades in through the blows, closer, closer-

    -until she slips on a sudden sheet of ice, falling face-first. "OW-!" There's instant confusion, and then a growl of frustration. "...I didn't know jellyfish could generate ice," she hisses irritably, seemingly having missed Zoisite's interference entirely. Instead, the Youkai Musume whips her left hand out and growls, "Douji Claw!" Flames erupt along the bandages, tracing the claws at the wrapped hand's fingertips, and the nearby ice simply begins to melt. Then, with that same inhuman strength, she begins to punch, slash, claw and burn her way in, flames dancing along her arm with every strike.

    Her aim is to get in close enough that she can give Ted one last, powerful, searing-hot punch.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako flicks Yellow Pearl Voice a cheerful little salute. "Always happy to help!"

Her cheer falters, however, at the sight of poor Yochu crying. Over... the jellyfish? Is Ted the jellyfish? Wako's not sure, but she can't shake off a pang at the doll girl's obvious distress.

Unfortunately, she soon has bigger problems. The monster has gone all in on Onihime and is throwing around lightning besides - and if that weren't bad enough, the water that's flooded the aquarium floor is turning to ice. Almost on reflex, the Galactic Maiden throws out both hands, generating a spherical shield of pink light around herself that lofts her into the air just in time to save her from becoming an unwilling fuse in a particularly unpleasant electrical circuit. Even so, she's left gritting her teeth as the energy crackles over her shield.

"...not good," she breathes, looking immediately to the other girls to see how they're doing. Onihime seems to be holding up, for all that she's the one tangling with the Perfect Bit directly - Wako swings herself through the air to range closer to Coco, ready to shield the other girl even as she fires a flurry of pink sparks of light from her fingertips to rain down upon the jellyfish creature.

Norie Okana has posed:
La Crima frowns when the Jellyfish gets assaulted. This makes her shift a bit. If this is what they do to Jellyfish that feed...what will they do to her? She already got that warning from Sailor V....

She still stays seated on top of her info board though, away from the direct combat, but some water... and now ice does make it close enough over to her as she looks down at it. She looks back up thought as she grits her teeth.

She wants to help the jellyfish but... this isn't her fight. And Yochu's distress is making her more anxious about it.

"C..can't you guys just leave?" she finally sputters out at the heroes. "It's a Jellyfish. It's not like...like it was killing people..." she tries to reason.

Yochu (93) has posed:
    As Yochu sits on the ground in a puddle the puddle freezes over into ice. She sniffles a little and her crying is interrupted. It doesn't hurt her so much as trap her, the doll peering down at herself. She... really must look pathetic right now. The thought is at least enough to snap her out of her funk. Ted is fighting, and going off to die, but... at least the Jellyfish doesn't seem especially perturbed by it. Maybe it will even embrace it's destruction, given the little bit of oblivion that seems to be at it's core.

    Going from sad to melancholy, Yochu lifts a hand and wipes at her face as if she were actually able to produce tears, though she does wipe some of the water off of her face. Afterwards she lifts her hands as if to hold something, a teapot appearing in one hand and a teacup appearing in the other. Carefully the doll pours herself a cup of dark, steaming tea. Above it a little cube made of innumerable tiny crystals appears, forming out of her magical essence, sparkling and shining despite being completely black. It drops into the tea and immediately suffuses the drink. As she lets go of the teapot it disappears, and Yochu lifts the little teacup to her mouth, sipping at first before drinking the entire cup of tea.

    A wave of dark energy suddenly bursts out from her, shattering the ice locking her in place in a wave of darkness that dissipates into a small spray of black feathers before disappearing entirely, though a slight aura of dark energy remains surrounding her. She releases the cup of tea and neatly gets up to her feet. She doesn't look like she's going to intervene herself, though she certainly looks more threatening with the aura.

    She looks over towards La Crima as she tries to talk to the heroes fighting Ted. "It isn't nice of them to hurt Ted just for trying to eat... but Ted attacked them first." She looks like this makes a big difference to her somehow. "Anybody would defend themselves after getting attacked. Even if Ted is probably just following orders." After peering at the vampire girl for a few moments and taking in the sight of her and her fancy dress the little doll takes a small step forward. "Would... would you like a cup of tea?" The teapot appears in hand again, warm and inviting.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The water freezing into ice doesn't do much as it washed against the Live Stage when it exited the jellyfish tank, leaving a circular block of ice around the sphere of white light's lower portion. 'Huh? Well that was that', Coco thinks The bolt from Ted is a much more pressing danger as the Perfect Bit's attack approaches the mermaid princess. The Live Stage narrowly avoids it for her, hovering just out of the bold's range.

Coco hears Yochu's lament too, only just now noticing the little doll crying for the monster. 'Is it her friend? Did she accidentally set the creature upon everyone?' She couldn't imagine that little crying doll doing it on purpose, and the familiarity with which she treats it makes her the most probable instigator in Coco's eyes. "I'm sorry, little doll, but that monster is dangerous", she says, deciding to up the power of her song a bit.

The bracelet on her wrist start shining, a halo of yellow light moving downwards from the mermaid princess's head: her clothes become more elaborate as it does so, gaining a flowing bow on her back and parallel frills on her blouse.

Coco grasps the E-Pitch even more tightly, about to put her everything into this song. "You, crying doll, and everyone else, a new songs from the seven oceans just for you, the true beauty of the sea and all the creatures that inhabit it. Let's go visit the aquarium properly together, ok?" She says in a soft tone, looking specifically at Yochu for the last bit, hoping to console her.

"Now, listen; The Tale of the Seven Seas ~Pearls of Mermaid~: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glNIksfPo7o

The Yellow Pearl's magical song spreads its splendor with renewed intensity, bringing vigour and energy to those who feel downcast, repelling evil with all its might, the magical song showing everyone's hearts the peace the mermaid princesses wish to protect with their songs, a beautiful paradise when nobody has to hurt.

Zoisite has posed:
    Right. It looks like this is the end of the line. The ripple of Dark Energy peaks Zoisite's interest, but it's time for him to prepare to make his exit. He doesn't know if he can teleport out of one of these barrier things, but he's doing so as quickly as possible the moment it goes down if he can't. And he commits to memory the people he saw here today. In any and all forms.

Lana Voselle Miata has posed:
    Poor La Crima might have good cause to worry, and Yochu might be sad about the impending violence on Ted's person, but any guilt regarding Ted's death would probably vanish the moment people found out what Lana was using this energy for. That's not something she's willing to advertise, either.

    As Onihime slips and falls, Ted pumps two tentacle fists in the air in celebration. Unfortunately for Ted, Onihime stands up. As the Oni punches, slashes, and claws; the spindly Ted lashes back with tentacles. Each punch is met with a block, each slash and claw is tanked by a different tendril, and there seems to be no end to the many limbs of Ted, but Ginga Otome's bullets create an opening. Ted can only defend himself against so much at once, and as those pink bullets tear through its form it loses the ability to really defend itself. Yellow Pearl Voice's song makes things even worse for the monster, and for a crucial moment Ted loses the will to fight.

    The oni gets in, past the flailing electrical tendrils, past the water that used to be ice, close enough to the Perfect Bit's core to deliver one, final, terrifying punch. There is something... wrong... about that last impactful squish, as if it was also a snap. Ted's jellyfish bell slowly turns black. Its many, many jellyfish-capped tentacles start to wither up and dry out. Lastly, the bioluminescent stars flicker and fade out. It sits still for a moment, lifeless, before breaking apart into millions of black flakes which fall to the ground.

    The Aquarium terror is over. Ted... is dead.

ELSEWHERE

    In her own personal pocket dimension, Lana looks over her shoulder. She's aware that her Perfect Bit is now gone. She felt its presence leave the world. It sends a shiver down her spine. They would have killed her just as quickly, she's sure, given the chance.

    Lana closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and waits until she regains her nerve to take the next step.

    Before her sits the Fallen Dream Star, her home and her ultimate weapon. A spikey mass of red and black metal and corrupted magic, currently the size of a house. A door opens at the base, and Lana walks through, placing the pendant down on a waiting pedestal. As the Fallen Dream Star drains energy from the pendant, new spikes grow into existence on its back, glowing with violent destructive magic.

    For what it's worth, this is progress. Another step down her dark path.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    The sound of La Crima's voice draws the fiery eyes of Onihime - which almost immediately set into a hostile glare. "It was hurting people. A lot of people. Including someone important to me. And when we started protecting them, it attacked us. So no, I'm not leaving. Not until my-" Here, she falters, just briefly. "...my minder is safe." She keeps pushing forward, keeps weathering the blows. And when that blow finally lands, a burst of force and flame, the oni girl holds her posture, her expression unreadable, until the remains of the creature at last disintegrate into nothing. The flames along her wrapped left arm die out, and at last she stands up straight, adopting a surprisingly graceful posture.

    Then, she turns, giving both La Crima and Yochu a last, brief glance, before heading back towards the Yellow Pearl and the Galactic Maiden. "So... how do we get out of here?" Onihime asks, before adding, "You're not going to hold me hostage or something, are you?" She doesn't seem like she particularly expects that; but it does need to be confirmed.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
In the wake of Ted's gelatinous demise, Ginga Otome lets out a breath and lowers herself - carefully - back to the icy-wet floor. For a moment, she seems a little at a loss.

Onihime's question has her blinking in vague surprise. "What? Oh - no, it's not like anyone is trapped here. You could probably just walk out... the barrier doesn't extend all that far. But--"

Lifting her hands, palms up, she recalls the Zero Time barrier. All of the people and aquarium denizens who'd disappeared before reappear as though someone just pushed a 'reset' button.

"We probably shouldn't just stand around like this, though," she says with a wry smile. "Maybe we can talk later?"

Norie Okana has posed:
La Crima frowns as Ted disappears down into black flakes. "...I see. I guess that's how it is..." she trails off, shifting in place uncomfortably. Besides yell at the group she hasn't done anything else here. She looks down to Yochu. "I'm sorry. I want to say yes. But. I don't think. I... or really, you too..." she says with a bit of sadness. "...Should... Stay here any longer. I'm leaving before they decide I'm worth attacking and that music is grating on my last nerve. Something about it hurts." she says. "M--maybe we'll meet again?" she asks.

With that, she'll disappear into a duskport away unless someone tries to stop her, with a little misty black smoke fade away effect to it.

Yochu (93) has posed:
    As Yochu is preparing to potentially pour some tea, Coco gets her attention and sings her a song. The melancholy that was settled in wavers a bit, but as Ted is annihilated by the combined attacks of Onihime and Ginga Otome the sadness she would have felt at seeing the destruction of a new friend isn't there, and no additional loneliness settles in her heart. She lets out a little sigh. "At least Ted didn't seem to be upset or scared about the end." That's something, right. How sad should she be for someone dying if they're not sad about it themselves?

    She nods to La Crima and releases the teapot, and it disappears back into nothingness. "It is a little grating, isn't it?" she agrees, only to lift a little hand and wave, "I hope so. I'm Yochu." Did she say it in time before the vampire teleports away? She can't tell.

    The barrier disappears and Yochu looks around a little. Suddenly there's a lot more people around. She also learns something new; she actually could have just gotten up and left the whole time! She'll have to remember that later. She'll do her best to make her way out, funneling through the crowd. As she passes a flier put up about the Starfield Jellyfish exhibit she takes it down, ready to crumple it up. Instead she folds it neatly, and puts it in a pocket. "Goodbye, Ted..."

Miho Aiuchi has posed:
    Kurumi is lying on the bench where she fell. She shifts her position, mumbling in her sleep.

    (... When she gets home, she'll still be relatively energy-drained and exhausted. It's going to take her a while before she thinks to ask Miho a few pointed questions about what happened in Adachi the other night; it all seems like it was just a bad dream, but something isn't quite adding up ...)

Coco Kiumi has posed:
After Onihime has incinerated the remains of the creature, Coco lets the Live Stage float down to the ground, emitting a tired sigh from the tension of the fight. Once safely on the floor, she lets the Live Stage disappear, the white light dissipating as if it were never there.

'So the doll didn't want to visit the acquarium together in the end...", she thinks, not seeing Yochu anywhere, a bit saddened by the fact.

"Nobody is going to hold you hostage, Onihime. And we didn't help at the museum to hold something against you either", the mermaid princess replies to Kureha. "I think we could be good allies instead, what do you say?" she adds, looking at her with genuinity in her eyes.

Turning to look at Wako, Coco says "Sure, my real name is Coco, nice to meet you for real", smiling at Wako and nodding at her proposal. "That sounds good, let's talk later."

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    As the otherspace of Zero Time fades, Onihime is already dismissing her transformation, smoothing her kimono out a bit as it takes the place of the other. "What do I say?" Kureha asks, looking between both Wako and Coco with a wary stare. "I say that those who claim the noblest intentions are the ones I can trust the least. I'm not going to complain about either of you assisting me, but I was protecting Chisa, no more and no less. I don't have any intention of getting swept up in... all this nonsense." She gestures around vaguely. "So, thank you, but... no."

    With that rather cold pronouncement, the girl sweeps past both of them, heading over to the bench where Chisa is just starting to stir.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako seems a little taken aback by Kureha's reply - but only for a moment. She bows again, as she did to Kureha and Chisa before all of this went down; as she does, her white and gold uniform dissolves into pink sparkles, leaving a normal girl in normal street clothes once more.

"Of course," she says. "In any case, thanks for your help against that thing."

As Kureha leaves, Wako offers Coco a smile. "Nice to meet you properly," she says. "We'll definitely talk soon!"

With that, she turns to head off herself at a brisk walk, already digging for her phone to answer the texts she knows she's gotten.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Like the others, Coco detransforms and goes back to her dorm room. She has a lot to talk about now.