2204/A Coronation and Blizzards

A Coronation and Blizzards
Date of Scene:	28 December 2024
Location:	The Snow Kingdom of Chanteur
Synopsis:	The Coronation Day has come and with Sharon is finally comfortable coming clean with the secret she has been hiding, and with it, her plans for her guests. No, her subjects.
Cast of Characters:	Laura La Mer, Usagi Tsukino, Angela Erickson, Chibiusa Tsukino, Amanda Faust, Mamoru Chiba
Tinyplot:	Chanteur, Land of Happiness

---

Laura La Mer has posed:
Earlier this day, Sharon had sent the frost fairies out again with another communication to the guests of Chanteur, informing them that the coronation is to happen today and that the frost fairies will lead them to the forum where the ceremony will happen.

It shows itself as an elevated platform surrounded by lush vegetation and divided in three section: stone seating tiers, the stage below and the royal tribune, empty for the moment, with a closed door at the back. Located between the tiers and the stage there are a U-shaped pool and a series of poles decorated with festoons for the occasion.

The reminder will have invited people to wear a white coat with a mint green Y at the middle of the upper body, delineated with orange lines on its overcoat, and paired with dark green fabric covering the shoulders, then to take a seat at the stands.

"This is wonderful!", Laura exclaims upon seeing the stage. "Finally I can sing on a stage befitting of my stature!", she smiles, taking a place at the stands for now. She still doesn't see any Chanteur citizen, but they will have to be here any moment, right?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's the day of the coronation and it's a good thing that the Frost Fairies can just conjure things up, because there's a dress code? A really specific one, too.

"I'm not sure why orange is so in at magical places, but Mina'd be happy," Usagi mutters to Mamoru as they find their seats. She's wearing the recommended coat, with a pair of dark green pants and a long-sleeved white shirt. To celebrate the occasion, she's put a few orange ribbons around her odangos!

"Maybe you'll be invited to sing, Laura-chan," she suggests cheerfully, "After the event, I mean. Sharon-chan seemed pretty excited when you guys talked about singing lessons for Hotaru-chan."

Angela Erickson has posed:
Angela Erickson came to see a royal coronation!

And by golly she's gonna see one. There's a dress code, and she's glad the clothes are provided because she isn't positive of the karmic ramifications of using transformation magic to look cool.

She'll ask Suki Later, who also has her own tiny coat!

"Hey guys, are you enjoying yourselves?" she asks the group. "I guess I'm bored as hell. There's like no one else here. Maybe they're afraid of something? Is it..."

"MY DAZZLING AMERICAN PERSONALITY!?" she says in Boston accent.

Crickets.

"I'm sure it's fine." she says as she adjusts her big coat.

"I dunno." says Suki. "The silence is deafening."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa Tsukino has only seen a handful of coronations in her life, but they were big enough events for her to at least partially remember, even as a child. She is, of course, here in the white coat, because it seems ceremonial for reasons that aren't entirely clear to her, but she's going along with it in order to be a good guest. The rest of her outfit is made up of greens and whites in order to match, giving her and overall minty look.

    She was going to go with matching green pants, but Usagi is doing that, so she goes for a mint green dress with a lining of white vines and roses instead. She's also wearing a white rose in her hair, tying one of her pigtails.

    She's trailing behind Usagi when she arrives, and when she sees Laura she smiles and waves. "I look forward to hearing you sing. Have you been looking forward to it?"

    To Angela, Chibiusa shrugs. "I don't know where they are. I guess we'll find out soon?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It's coronation time! Amy did bring an actual genuine princess's dress to wear for the occasion; it's red with intricate gold trim and decorations, kind of like a red version of -- TThe fairies make her hair look nice, too!

    Of course, then she finds out the coronation is outside, and is provided one of those fur cloaks for warmth, covering much of the dress anyway. She adds what she thinks are fashionable snow boots (they look kinda like uggs) underneath and gets a pair of plain white earmuffs and the yellows-with-a-purple-design-on-it-and-fur-lining-and-a-long-white-feathery-pompom hat she wore the other day by the springs to keep her head warm.

    Amanda cheers for Laura and then finds her way to the rest of the Earth delegation to sit with. She giggles at Angela's joke. "No, I..." She lowers her voice, "Something's a little weird alright, but... hopefully that's all it is, a little weirdness. She said we'd finally meet her citizens, today."

    Before sitting down, she turns to Usagi and Mamoru, smiling. "I didn't realize we'd be outside for this, but... look! A dress fancy enough for the occasion!" She lifts the cloak for a few seconds so they can see it clearly, before sitting down nearby.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Yeah... but, I don't like not wearing my colors at an official function," Mamoru says grumpily to Usagi, despite the fact that he looks perfectly fine, since his trousers are black and his boots brown, and they don't clash with the white-mint-orange theme of the coats.

He has tied an orange ribbon to one side of his glasses and keeps seeing it out of the corner of his eye and thinking something's too close. Odds that the ribbon will stay much longer are low.

(Shhh: secretly he is in his Endymion henshin under the coat, but the armor and sword and cape are all back in the room he and the bunnies have been staying in.)

With a glance in Angela's direction and raised eyebrows, Mamoru shrugs a little and smiles. "If something blows up, good thing we're here to help," is all he says.

Then he makes sure there's room for Chibiusa to sit with him and Usagi if she wants to. "Hey, tiny bunbun," he says to the pink haired child, "If something blows up, where are you going?" It sounds almost he's expecting a recitation.

Then Amy comes over and shows off her dress, and the prince's eyes widen, then sparkle. "I recognise that," he says, startled and delighted. "How--?? If you want me to tell you about the lady who made it sometime, just ask-- but how?"

Laura La Mer has posed:
"That's what we are supposed to do here, I believe, Usagi-chan", Laura smiles at the blonde girl once she comes over. "We are supposed to enliven the coronation for Sharon, after all", she looks at the stage with anticipation. "That's a lovely dress, Amy-san", Laura comments at the redhead's show of outfit. "Is there something special about that dress?", the pinkette looks at Mamoru curiously.

At everyone's arrival, Kururun briefly pops out of the Aqua Pot in Laura's hair to wave at the group. "Yes, of course, I have been waiting for this moment", Laura smiles at Chibiusa. "I initially intended to go with Aqua Prism, but it would be only fitting to sing Chanteur's own song, don't you agree?"

Once everyone has taken a seat, cheerful sounds of trumpets played by the frost fairies will fill the air, and the door at the back of the tribune opens, revealing Sharon in a white dress draping to the floor with two layers of overcoats, the bottom one gold-purple and the top one red with white fur and the hems and featuring snowdrops. She is holding a golden scepter.

"Whoa", Laura exclaims in admiration of her beautiful outfit. "She is really pretty, isn't she?" Despite yesterday's unusual encounter, she can't help but express appreciation for just how much effort Sharon has put in preparing the stage for the coronation.

"Thank you all for coming", Sharon speaks up, her stern gaze held up high. "The coronation ceremony will now begin." At the announcement, frost fairies holding a crown by their tail fly up to Sharon and place it into her awaiting palm.

Sharon puts the crown on her head and taps the stone ground with her scepter, and at the same time the flower-like decoration at the top of the scepter unfurls, revealing a glowing pink stone amidst its petals, smoke exhaling from it. "I hereby swear, as the Queen of the Kingdom of Chanteur, for my country, and for my citizens, to devote every last bit of my strength!"

A sad looks appears for a second on her second on her face, and the grip on her scepter tightens. "Today was supposed to let you show off your skills and be reserved to cheer and joy at first, but yesterday, I promised all of you the subjects of the Kingdom of Chanteur would have been here, so I am sure you are waiting for me to explain."

Sharon's lips become thinner, her face's lineaments looking more cutting. "You are the Kingdom's new citizens, and my new subjects. This is your new home, one you will bring joy back to. You may never leave this Kingdom!"

A sensation of dark energy coming from the stone accompanies her announcement, and grey clouds replace the azure sky, a chilly wind picking up to signal the onset of a snowstorm, the realm of Chanteur becoming sealed from the Earth.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa glances between Amy's dress and Mamoru a couple of times as she wonders to herself what significance that dress has. Sure, it's a very pretty dress, fit for a princess, but there's no shortage of that here. She'll have to ask Mamoru about it later.

    To Laura, Chibiusa nods, "Sure, that makes sense!"

    Chibiusa sits and watches as the ceremony starts. The trumpets play and Sharon appears, transitioning into the role of Queen with a simple symbolic gesture: putting on her crown. "Huh... so she puts it on herself?" she asks to those sitting close to her, the question itself being innocent enough. "Doesn't someone else usually do that?" Maybe things are just different here.

    Yet then, the thing happens. A betrayal, and a dangerous one. Chibiusa covers her mouth. The rose in her hair poofs and turns back into Luna-P, floating over her and turning into a parasol with a spiral pattern, and Small Lady grips the handle in order to shield herself from the wind. "Why are you doing this?!"

    As she feels the connection to Earth slip away, her eyes immediately turn to Mamoru.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
--and Mamoru's on his feet, having flung off the coat the second Sharon called them the Kingdom's new citizens, his expression dangerous--

But then there's a flood of dark energy and Endymion moves to shield Usagi and Chibiusa from it, his cape unfurling, and... that doesn't help, because Chibiusa is now watching him fall to one knee, one hand reaching to touch the platform, but even if there's dirt under it, there's no Earth down there, and it doesn't hear him, it doesn't sing to him.

He's in the dark.

It was tolerable before, as if he were swaddled in cotton wool, able to tell the Earth was there. By the look on his face, it's not tolerable anymore. Finally he takes a breath and rallies amidst everything else going on, and he holds his cape open for Chibiusa in the cold, looking up at Usagi with trust and love and pain all behind his eyes, and he says, "Henshin!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    How? Amy blinks at Mamoru, happy to have made him smile in recognition but confused by his, well, confusion. "You were there when I was trying them on, remember?" She thinks back, and isn't sure she actually explained... "So, the youma fight Beryl showed up after happened after school, and I had my backpack on me when I henshined, so when we got isekaied -- I mean sent to the past, I still had it... So I stuffed a few of those dresses into it to come back with."

    She lets Usagi and Mamoru explain further, as to why the dress is so special.

    There's the lady of the hour, in all her royal finery and splendor. She is pretty, but being at Radiant Heart has somewhat acclimated Amy to pretty people being everywhere. When she takes the stage, Amy awkwardly starts to clap at a few junctures, not sure when she's supposed to.

    Yes, she is eager for the explanation of what happened to the people of Chanteur. Are they, perhaps, cursed into the fairies around them or frozen in ice somewhere by a wicked sorcerer they will all go together to fight?

    She half-expected some twist, but not that one. Amy sighs and holds her head in her hands.

    "[Ohhhh, god damnit.]"

    She isn't particularly concerned about having to fight their way out, with all of the mahous gathered here -- she's pretty sure Chibiusa is the only one that isn't a magic warrior, even if she's never seen Yokina henshin yet -- nor is she concerned about their ability to escape, with Mamoru here linking them back to Earth.

    Amy's already assembling a speech in her head, but she does just barely hold herself back from reacting like a D&D character with the confidence of a powergamer assured they can win (not without difficulty) against anything the DM throws at them and has multiple emergency contingencies prepared. (She doesn't herself /have/ an emergency win button other than blasting with far more magic at once than other mahou can field, but she figures that between the others assembled they've probably got a couple more, like Sailor Teleporting back to Earth through the portal.)

    She'll look to Usagi or Mamoru to set the tone first before speaking up.

    'Henshin.'

    No speech, huh? Amy does so immediately, and the flames leave her standing and pointing at Sharon, her cloah billowing in the cold winter breeze. "You cannot keep us here. We wanted to help you, to be your friend, and you can still stand down now. But if you don't... Do you know what I am? This body is a biomagical war machine designed to kill otherworldly monsters."

    Okay, good start, now think of a snappy-- ah, perfect!

    "I don't want to start a fight. But I will finish one." She glares at Sharon as icily as she can manage.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Angela Erickson is waiting around and on comes the princess. Yay! Let's find out everything they've wanted to know. Such as how this works, why they're wearing silly coats and where are the citizens?

Oh...oh it's getting chilly suddenly, and then they find out where the citizens are.

Nod. Nod. Angela and Suki both nod before a comedy delay where they open their eyes wide and go. "WHAT!?" both at the same time.

Suki cowers a little. "I don't like the feel of these energies!" she says as she raises her tiny bouquet.

Angela calls out. "My Own Heart, Unlock!" and her and Suki merge. There's an elaborate transformation sequence here. It involves a bright white light, a girl being put into a wedding dress, arms being thrown back as fingerless gloves, long to her elbows form and she places a finger to her lips and winks to a non-existent camera. "Wedding Bell!" she calls out, as her and Suki merge into a transformation.

Wedding Bell! Now resplendent in bridal finery, stands up to the general windy chill better. "Princess, I am about to rain on your freakin' parade." she says, American Boston accent thick. "Stop this!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oh, that's my dress! That's right, you were able to bring it -" Honestly she wishes she had done the same. "Ah, Laura-chan, that dress was mine a lifetime ago, but I gave it to Amy-chan to wear as a disguise, in kind of another dimension? But oh, Amy-chan, it was Endytan who was there when you wore it that first time."

Mamoru had wisely stayed outside of the portal, been the grounding they could use to get home... But now it's time to pay attention, because the festivities are starting. Sharon looks absolutely lovely in her dress, and everything is going so well, until a promised explanation is offered and -

"Ah, Mamochan was right instead of me," Usagi grimaces, as Sharon reveals the secret is that they're supposed to be trapped, instead of that she's a giant snow fairy and she lied yesterday out of embarrassment. Dark Energy surges, and Mamoru is Endymion is there, only then he's going down, and Usagi's hand goes to her broach.

"Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

A surge of light and a swirl of ribbons, and Sailor Moon stands there, glaring with fierce eyes.

"Let us go, Sharon-chan! This isn't the way to revive your home!"

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura La Mer says, "That is weird, usually the previous ruler or a steward is supposed to put the crown on the new monarch, that's how we do things", Laura replies to Chibiusa, biting her lips at the anomaly. It's admittedly weird, and she can't think that's how it's done in Chanteur either, what with the citizens still not having appeared.

"A lifetime ago, huh..." Laura repeats interested. There is clearly a story behind this and Usagi's kingdom, but now that Sharon is about to throw her speech, it's certainly not the time.

"Sharon, what's the meaning of this!?", Laura gets up, her brow furrowed. "Were you just lying all this time?" The Snow Queen shakes her head in response. "Not at all, Laura. I still intend to keep my promise to you, but some things just can't change. If this is the only way I can make Chanteur prosper, I have accepted it. This is my purpose and my duty", she speaks plainly, looking at Chibiusa as she speaks the last sentence.

"If you think you can win, I dare you to try it. Show me the power you have", Sharon stares at Puella Red and Wedding Bell, her eyes as icy as the snowstorm that surrounds them. The scepter glows brighter, and the frost fairies all around blink out of the stage, replaced by 10 feet tall frost youmas.

"There is no way other than this, Usagi-san. I can't waste the second chance that has been given to Chanteur. Now then, everyone, let us create a kingdom overflowing with smiles", Sharon grins, her eyes shining ferociously.

"Sharon!", Laura calls out, taking out her Mermaid Aqua Pact. "Pretty Cure! Tropical Change!", she announces as a pink sphere surrounds her, her body changing to her human form with a dress made of blue energy as the giant bubble pops. Placing the Heart Swirl Ring 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.

"Let's put on make-up! Shine!", she declares spinning a pen with a glowing blue tip in her hand and rotating the circle as it turns pink, a water pillar rising and whirling before dispersing in 2 pink, 1 red, 1 lavender rose and 2 yellow spheres. "Face!" The pink spheres land on her cheeks, giving them a pink blush. The yellow spheres then briefly make her eyelashes glow yellow, adorning them with three pearls and making her eye colour turn pink with the exception of the blue heart at the bottom of her irises.

The red sphere lands on top of her hair, making it grow much more voluminous and colouring the middle section blue, then 2 giant pearls land on top of head's sides, the pink hair above twisting itself around them. Finally the lavender rose sphere lands on top of her lips, colouring them with the corresponding lipstick.

Another rotation of the Aqua Pact's circle and Laura calls out "Nails!", passing her pen on top of her left hand's nails, painting them azure while those on her right hand automatically change to match, before moving it to her toenails and painting them pink.

"Dress!" One more rotation and she draws a pink outline of a star vertically in front of herself, that then spins around rising above her head and descending to her waist before duplicating and the two stars move in opposite directions transforming her clothes into her magical outfit and placing the Mermaid Aqua Pact in a small pink bag appended to her waist.

Jumping upwards with a splash of waters, finally Laura introduces herself. "The Shimmering Ocean! Cure La Mer!"

A silent exhertion of Sharon's will and the dispatched youmas are sent towards the mahous, some attacking with fists, others with energy beams out of their glowing pink eyes."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    "Mamoru!" calls out Small Lady. She hides behind him at first, but the moment he collapses she's looking at him with eyes full of concern, and fear.

    This isn't good. She can't be here. She can't stay here forever, and she can't let Mamoru stay here, either. Sailor Moon, she trusts, can survive for a bit, but Endymion...

    She accepts the invitation to hide under Mamoru's cape. There isn't anything else she can do. She holds up the Luna-P parasol to cover the rest of the gap. It's not nearly enough by itself, but it is still magic, and she's mostly relying upon the cape.

    'This is my purpose and duty.'

    Chibiusa winces and shuts her eyes, then reaches for the necklace beneath her dress, pulling out the Time Key, gripping it tight. She mutters under her breath, "Work this time... please... work for me!"

    ... and yet the gate refuses to open.

    Everyone is henshining around her, and all she can do is hide. The Silver Crystal and the Time Key, even now, both refuse to respond to her.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Wedding Bell is about to charge the stage when these snow creatures appear and she frowns a little hard. "This isn't a good look for your kingdom, you know!" she yells as spins her bouquet and raises it skywards. "Bridal Shower...!" she calls out.

ays of energy rain down from the sky towards some of the snow youma and paaf them into wisps of snow as she keeps this up for a bit as she looks over to Mamoru and Chibiusa. Oh. Oh those two aren't going to be able to help. This is gonna be a problem.

She frowns. "Hey this isn't cool. NO pun intended." she says.

"HEY GUYS, WHAT'S THE PLAN!?" she calls out.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
As if they're not facing enough trouble, with Sharon wielding Dark Energy and declaring that it's her duty to keep them trapped? The cute snow fairies become giant youma. They're more than twice her height!

At heart, Usagi's alway been kind of a scaredy-cat, and though Sailor Moon has gotten much, much braver over the year and change that she's been Sailor Moon...

Being surrounded by enemies that can easily tower over her is definitely putting some rabbit jump to her heart rate.

"We've got to get out of here," she calls to Wedding Bell - she thinks this is the first time she's ever seen the other girl in combat, and her wedding dress is lovely, brings a smile to her face, even in the grim situation they're in. "We're surrounded like this, and she can probably just keep calling in more of them! Maybe if we get to the portal, we can find a way out?"

She doesn't know for sure - but she does know that this stage has left them sitting ducks, and Chibiusa is in danger, and Endymion is reeling. With a flick of her wrist, she summons the Spiral Heart Moon Rod, and turns in a quick rotation, transparent pink hearts of various sizes beginning to appear and spin with her, as she calls calls out -

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

And a giant pink heart, nearly as tall as one of the snow youmas, appears right in front of her, spinning rapidly as it speeds forward, ramming through the snow youma in it's path.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Somewhere in the back of her mind, Amy feels things as Laura henshins. Those are... expressions of femininity she's yet to try, herself...

    No other way? "Are you stupid?!" Amy blurts out. "You don't have enough people, and the gender ratio is messed up!" Some part of Amy is still the rational problem-solver, and when the rest of her mind catches up it tells that part to stop that train of thought immediately.

    It jumps the tracks to a more productive line: "Why us?! You could have found plenty of people on Earth who'd take this deal! The poor and opressed number enough to make as big a kingdom as you want, if you can really provide for them all!"

    An idea for the future, certainly, but right now, there are ten-foot-tall snow youma.

    Amy rocket-jumps into the air -- there isn't really telegraphing it, she just moves herself into position and her launcher is suddenly there just as the explosion happens and she's arcing through the sky -- And she tries to just shoot the boss instead of the adds, to test Sharon's defenses, but in the snowstorm she just

    completely

    misses,

    the high-explosive round just exploding a chunk of the stage instead. "I missed?!" Amy exclaims, more as a reflexive tactical update to keep allies apprised of the situation -- if they've played together Usagi has absolutely heard her say it the exact same way in games to let her know the target is not going to be neutralized for at least several more seconds -- but also with a fair bit of incredulity and disappointment mixed in.

    Oh well, she'll just have to try again. Hopefully there aren't a ton of snow goons where she's about to land.

    Uh... was every fairy in Chanteur secretly a snow goon...? Usagi, you had it backwards, Sharon was the only one that wasn't a giant snow fairy!

    Amanda's reply to Sailor Moon is similarly tactical: "Roger that. Let's go!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"What makes her think being kidnapped makes people want to smile?" Endymion grouses a little, just for Chibiusa to hear -- if he's grousing he can't be that worried, right? -- and glances at her as he does, only to see the glittering in the child's hands. He doesn't say anything about it. He's too reconfiguring his senses.

Finally, just as a couple of the monsters start coming in their direction, he takes a deeper breath and pushes his free hand up off the ground. It starts glowing. He pulls it up to his chest as it gets brighter, and as Moon Spiral Heart Attack crashes through one youma, he yells out "Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber!" and flings his glowing hand out between cape and parasol.

A big blast of white-gold energy flares from his hand, shooting directly into a snow goon and exploding it into more snow (some of which falls into his collar aaaaa).

"We can't go back yet," Endymion yells, wind making him hard to hear. "We're cut off from Earth! She sealed the portal!"

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Ahhh!", Laura shouts, the youmas attacking her crumbling rapidly as she responds to the assault with punches and kicks, the flurry of attacks making them crumble to the ground. Right after, she plunges through the thin layer of ice that has covered the poor, swimming rapidly through youmas that were hiding in there, crashing through another spot of the ice layer with a fist raised after taking care of those.

Sharon doesn't blink as the shot Amy has tried to send towards her misses completely, shaking her head as the redhead tries to find a hole in her plan. "I was expecting more people to accept my invitation, but that's not much of a problem. Once I have made you accept your situation, I can send out for more."

At seeing all the youmas she sent out defeated, Sharon points her scepter outwards, recreating them all. "You aren't going anywhere, Usagi-san. Endymion-san is right, the way out of Chanteur is closed, and like this unending blizzard of snow, my snow creatures will continue to appear over and over again." She doesn't seem to care about Chibiusa hiding, or what is and isn't cool.

"Your resistance is futile", she speaks calmly. "I see you possess a magnificent power. Would it have been enough to avert the disaster that befell Chanteur?" she ponders to herself, yet loud enough for everyone to hear. "What do you mean by that, Sharon?" Laura looks up fiercely yet alarmed at what Sharon is saying out of nowhere.

Sharon sighs as she closes her eyes for a moment, and then she looks at the group again. "13000 years ago, Chanteur was a prosperous country. The flowers bloomed, and the songs of the citizens echoed through the land. It was called a utopia, overflowing with smiles. However...", Sharon sighs, letting terrible memories flow in her mind.

"By some cruel coincidence, on the day I was to become Queen, a terrible calamity bore down from the Heavens, and Chanteur was destroyed. On the very day I was to become Queen, I lost my kingdom. We scried it coming from afar, and yet there was nothing we could do", she frowns, her eyes closed in mourning.

"I was so distraught... And the comet that destroyed everything cursed me with an ironic fate. The power the calamity that destroyed my kingdom held... also revived me from my long slumber. I want to create a kingdom overflowing with smiles. That is what I wish for. And to that end, I will have all of you become my subjects! This is the beginning of a new Kingdom of Chanteur! I will not suffer any who oppose me!"

Laura looks dismayed at hearing the tale of what Sharon has just gone through. No wonder her heart is frozen now. "How terrible..." How can something like this have happened to her? Can they change her mind? She knows that destroying the stone would put an end to it, and yet... she can't bring herself to do it...!

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    "Amy is right! There are plenty who would stay here willingly," calls out Chibiusa, still hiding under Mamoru's cape. "People who have no home, and people who like the cold, but that can't be us! We have important duties elsewhere!"

    She thinks to try the Time Key again, but it's not that simple. Using the full incantation in front of all these people might have dire consequences later, and even if she did it probably wouldn't work. It's a foreign key, meant for a different door. Small Lady drops the key back under her collar, where it rests next to the alternate future's Silver Crystal.

    No, now is not the time to panic. Everyone else is fighting, even if she can't, and maybe she can talk Sharon down a bit, or at least hear her reasoning.

    "What do you need us for, anyways?! If all you wanted was a people to rule over, you could've gotten anyone!"

Angela Erickson has posed:
Wedding Bell frowns hard. "This is not Ro-ro-romantic at all!" she says, tone filled with mellodrama as she listens to the backstory of the kingdom. She scowls. "Sure, we're smiling right now. Lemme tell you a secret princess."

"I'll never smile for you as long as you're this way!" she says, pointing a finger as more snow youma form. Oh dear. This is going to be a long and drawn out affair isn't it.

Wait Earth is closed off!? That's double bad!

"Catch!" she yells as she spins and bouquets fling off her into snow youma, exploding into purifying light against them.

Before she points the final bouquet at the stone and fires off a quick purifying blast of light like a laser from it with no call out. It's not strong. But she's testing.

"My marriage prospects are...." she looks over to Amy and squints. She looks to Laura and squints. Sailor Moon and Mamoru get squints. "....okay not HORRIBLE but not OPTIMAL here like this!" she yells.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    We're cut off from Earth! She sealed the portal!

    Amy feels a chill that isn't the winter air. She doesn't stick the landing from her jump, stumbling and falling in the snow. "You idiot!" she screams, though in her voice is desperation and rising panic rather than condescension. "I'm a ticking time-bomb! Without grief seeds, I'll eventually turn into a Witch!"

    Visions fill her head of a future of the group trapped here, trying to get by, as Amy's soul gem slowly ticks down, until one day they must fight what she becomes...

    No, knowing she's trapped and waiting for it to happen will probably plunge her into despair long before her magic runs out.

    It's small consolation that, honestly, the others here should be able to take a Witch. She probably won't kill them.

    '...I can send out for more.'

    The gem on the back of Amy's wrist, which was dimming just slightly, shines with hope once more.

    She rises to her feet and walks towards Sharon, blasting snowmen who try to stop her. If a bunch try to take her at once, she'll summon explosives to match and blow them away, but corruption starts to tinge the edge of her gem...

    "Open the portal... or else." the Puella Magi warns in a threatening tone, levelling a giant shoulder cannon at Sharon, legs unsteady under the weight.

    But she can't hold that bluff. Without Sharon to open the portal, will they be trapped here?

    Her voice fills with desperation again: "You have to open the portal! This isn't the way to make a kingdom of smiles!" Her tone is still desperation, not a threat. "Come to Earth, learn of its troubles, learn what its people need! You could do so much! Don't let it end this way!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It's already closed?!" There's a note of worried panic in her voice, at the thought of being trapped, and then she says a word that Small Lady has definitely heard from her mother before, and been instructed to forget. That word is: "Fuck!"

And it's an appropriate word, as they throw themselves into taking out the youma near them. Amy makes several good points, and Sailor Moon is quick to add - "There's not a chance in hell that Mamochan is helping fix your population problems!"

Look, she's seen repopulate the species type manga advertised! This is not becoming a harem anime! "Other girls are off-limits!" That is a scream to be heard from the heavens! There will be absolutely no efforts to rebuild a population from her Mamochan!

Laura is demanding answers, and Sharon shares a tale of woe that is... honestly? It's familiar, except that it's a natural disaster, an unavoidable event, instead of someone's hatred and cruelty, bearing down, and Sailor Moon... almost envies her, that. Almost. She can still empathize, with the pain and loss that drives her, but -

Amy's voice rings out, fearful and earnest, and Sailor Moon stands tall.

"Sharon-chan, more than anyone else, Mamochan and I know what you're going through. But this is not the way. We aren't your people! We're people who could be your friends - but like this! If you want people, there are hundreds - thousands - probably millions of people who would want to come here... but none of them are us."

And she draws a shimmering circle of light in the sky.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

And beams of silver purifying light fly for Sharon.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"A comet," Endymion repeats, but-- well, he's about to say something, but then Usagi starts losing it and Mamoru almost laughs, but he values his life. In fact, his bomber hand-- he bites the back of it to keep from laughing. But then she's got her attention on the fall of a kingdom again, and she's very much better at being sympathetic than he is, right now.

A comet. And now she's-- oh, she's just not right in the head. Amy and Wedding Bell and Laura are also all doing a better job of talking and of threatening than he could, too.

That's okay: he has a job. A job that occasionally means there will be sudden loud next to his head, and he flinches when Chibiusa yells, then laughs quietly.

He shifts his weight to better support being on one knee and shielding Chibiusa from wind, snow, and monsters, then murmurs behind the parasol, "They'll talk her out of it. Don't worry."

Laura La Mer has posed:
"I already said I am going to send out for more", Sharon sneers at Chibiusa. "If people don't want to come here by invitation, then I will get them here one way or another. You at least have accepted my invitation, that's the only reason. Should another calamity from the Heavens come, Chanteur will have more chances than it did back then."

The Snow Queen squints at Amy at the mentioning of turning into a Witch. Images of Amy becoming a wizened old hag course through her mind, causing in Sharon a feeling of irritation. "You better hold your tongue. If these grief seeds are what you need not to lose your youth, I will send out for them too. I will provide for anything you need. You will enjoy it here", she taps the ground with her scepter imperiously.

An aggressive look is given at Amy once the threat is made to Sharon. "I will not suffer any of you resisting! Make good on your word, and I will see to it that you won't try again", she orders coldly. "The ones I will retrieve after you will be enough to solve any population problem, but I need your strength too, Usagi-san. I don't want to watch helplessly as a disaster befalls Chanteur again. That is why you are to stay here. Forever", she addresses the blonde girl with no emotion.

In other circumstances Laura would have countered that she is far more than not horrible a marriage candidate, but her thoughts here are completely focus on the snow-haired girl in front of them. 'Sharon', Laura thinks with indecision as she watches the purifying beam from Wedding Bell come closer, memories of how happy and kind Sharon had been with her flashing in front of her eyes.

"You can't!", the Pretty Cure shouts, jumping in its way, being hit in place of the stone and thrown aside from the beams, the impact scratching her lightly, but otherwise not actually hurt thanks to the purifying nature of the attacks.

"Thank you, Laura", Sharon looks down at her dispassionately while the mermaid covers her eyes with a complex flow of regret swirling inside her. "Resistance is futile", Sharon repeats, creating many youmas, a lot of more than before, to the point there are more of them than the falling snow from the blizzard.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa frowns at Sharon's response, then looks at Amy. She'll turn into a Witch if she stays here? It's probably a good thing for the poor child's sanity that she's never actually seen a Witch before, and that there are no such thing as Puella Magi where she's from. She'll probably have to learn that particular Horrible Truth some other day. For now she's only processing the betrayal that's happening right in front of them.

    When Endymion comments, Chibiusa looks up at him and, after a moment, understands why he'd want her to quiet down. She gasps and covers her mouth with her free hand while saying, in a much lower and now muffled voice, "Oh no, I'm sorry!"

    So... she wants magical folk to be here in order to protect her kingdom from future disasters... but, it's not like the Earth and Moon family has a great track record of stopping kingdoms from falling.

    Chibiusa decides, in a rare moment of tact, to keep that last comment to herself.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Usagi's train of thought finds the track Amy's was on several seconds ago -- technically, this gender ratio is probably ideal and also EWW NO -- and shouts that this is not how to fix Chanteur's population problem! Amy hasn't seen repopulate-the-species manga as such, but ending up in a harem anime is something she would categorize as a Bad End, yes... Amy doesn't want to think about that right now.

    The portal isn't closed forever, they just have to get Sharon to open it! Unfortunately, Sharon has mostly the wrong idea about Amy's more immediate concern of Witching. "You don't understand! You can't just get grief seeds, they come from Witches! I don't mean hags, they're eldritch horrors!"

    She wonders if Sharon would welcome Kyubey here. What's the sacrifice of a few civilians and Puella Magi, to ensure you always have some Puella Magi around to fight threats?

    But, it's clear that the optimal play here is to wait for another chance to escape. Sharon has said she will be opening the portal again, and she is critically underinformed about their abilities. Plus maybe there's a small chance she'll decide it's a bad idea once she learns what a Witch actually is. Amy tries to let the others know her plan telepathically, but nothing happens. Kyubey isn't here. Hopefully they'll pick up on it.

    "You're right, we won't win this fight." Amy dismisses the cannon. Her poker face is terrible, but maybe Sharon expects a defiant glare from defeated heroes rather than resignation. After a moment's thought, she also de-henshins, to more clearly signify that at least at this moment she intends to stand down.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Wedding Bell yells. "Shoot!" when her attack hits Laura. She winces a little and frowns. "Why'd you do that!?" she yells as she continues to fight. Can they keep this up forever? No. Something about a Witch!?A

Amy, a Witch!? She imagines Amy in a pointed black hat, cape and pale green skin and laughing evilly over a cauldron that bubbles and toils, much like Sharon does.

This is not reality, as Angela Mind Theater ends and snow paffs her in the face in the form of an evil snowball and she's sent to the ground, scowling a little.

"Any reasons why I SHOULD NOT shove a giant bell in this girl's face raise your hands now!" she says as she swings her bouquet at an encroaching snow monster.

She gets back to her feet.

"WEDDING BELLS ARE RING--eh~" she goes as she catches herself as Amy stands down.

"Huh!?" she goes, stopping her own assault for now.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"It's okay," says Endy reassuringly as he puts rose-shaped earplugs in one after the other. "Usako got these for me months ago. You can yell now!"

Literally all of this is going on, and all of this yelling in the background, and he's putting earplugs in.

Anyway then he frowns because he saw that!!!

"Laura-san," he yells irritably, "that was dark energy! Let the gentle ones hit her so she's saved! Because you are really not helping--"

Endymion looks over to Amy, then glances toward Usagi, then considers Chibiusa, and he stays in henshin. He also considers-- and looks down at the pink-haired smol who knew the portal was closed. Who looked to him the instant it closed, before he started falling.

Hm.

Another look up. He experimentally throws a rose at the stone.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon would just like to point out that they could. They really and truly could fight Sharon, and with Mamoru, they could even make sure they didn't hurt her permanently.

"She's using Dark Energy, Laura-chan," she calls instead, "There's no way we're talking her down, not like this. And we're not staying in this world, because I'm not going to use my power to defend this kingdom! My power is for the people and places I love, not the ones you love, Sharon-chan! You can't just change people's hearts that way!"

But then - Amy drops her henshin. Which leaves her vulnerable.

And there are still so many youma.

"Amy-chan," she hisses, "What are you doing?!"

Laura La Mer has posed:
All that Amy gets by undoing her transformation is the snow youma surrounding her stop paying her attention, just standing there guarding her, positioned in a way that she isn't able to walk anywhere without brute forcing her way out.

"I am sorry, I...", Laura's voice quivers reflecting the hesitation of her heart. She can't bear to oppose Sharon just as much as she can't bear to watch others be hurt. These conflicting emotions paralyse the mermaid, looking away from the group shamefully.

After Laura has intercepted the attacks herself, Sharon's guard is up, and two of the snow youmas ensure there won't be another successful attempt, blocking the rose with twin energy beams from their eyes. "You don't have to do anything anymore, Laura. I can take care of these now", Sharon remarks coldly, observing her paralysis.

"You can say that all you want, Usagi-san, but you don't have another choice. You will serve Chanteur forever", the girl with the frozen heart remarks, offering her an uncaring smile.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady waits for Endymion to put in earplugs, then smiles and gives him the 'okay' sign, before turning back to Sharon and cupping her free hand around her mouth. Her other hand is still holding up the parasol, defensively, though it wouldn't do near as much work as the cape would if Sharon really decided to test it.

    Then Amy starts to power down, and Chibiusa is blinking. She's... giving up? But... heroines don't do that. Do they? She's not supposed to give up she's supposed to fight and win and...

    Now others are stopping, too.

    Chibiusa's mind can't accept failure here. Such a thing is impossible. It can't be real.

    That stone is the problem, and people are attacking it. Endymion threw a rose at it, but... it seems like Laura is protecting it for some reason? Why would she...?

    "Is that stone like..." Small Lady doesn't have the vocabulary to ask if it's like a Soul Gem, but she does remember what Mamoru said about the Silver Crystal. "... is that stone her soul?"

    Chibiusa thoughtlessly reaches again to just below her collar, clutching the necklace underneath. Sharon's cold words send a chill down her spine.

    Then she starts yelling again. "We need to run! We can't stay here!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy hears Wedding Bell -- WHO IS APPARENTLY ANGELA, THE WEDDING-OBSESSED GIRL oh that checks out yeah -- stop her attack, and Usagi say this is dark energy they could purify away, and wonders if she made a bad call...

    'What are you doing?!'

    She cringes slightly at that. She's heard that sentiment, and that tone, more times than she can count in her life -- although not so often, this past year and a half. Maybe even not ever in that time. Still, there's only a flicker of a pleasing look -- please understand -- at Usagi before she looks away in shame.

    At least her prediction that powering down would get the youma to stop attacking her bears out.

    Chibiusa screams that they need to run, which surprises Amy as she hadn't considered that. She furrows her brow in thought. On the one hand, the additional chaos resulting from that gives more chances for Sharon to mess up -- on the other hand, she's sure not opening the portal again while anyone's on the run.

    Amy doesn't think it hurts the plan significantly enough for her to try and interfere, though.

Angela Erickson has posed:
Angela Erickson will be right back, having a conversation with Suki in her brain.

'LET'S RUN!' they both say.

Okay, Angela's back, and that means Wedding Bell is fleeing now, she'll run with the group, but overall, spins around daintily through the air a moment.

Her bouquet ripping through some snow youma on the way.

"I'm with small pink here. Let's run!" says big pink.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Whatever," sighs Endymion at Sharon. And then he turns his face away from her, turns it so that everyone else can see him exaggeratedly wink, but Sharon can't. "Surrendering is probably warmer, right?"

He shifts around again so he can pick up Chibiusa as he stands up himself. "I guess it's time to go..." he says with a sigh, and Chibiusa can feel that the way he's tensed up means he's about to--

--JUMP!

He and Chibiusa sail out of sight into the storm, and he calls out to Chibiusa over the wind as they zoom through the air, "Those snow fairies are everywhere! We can get away, but where will we go? The castle is her home, the land is hers-- it's *hers*, Chibiusa-chan, it won't talk to me. We might have to go back and temporarily surrender."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a petty part of Usagi - a very petty part - that wants to say oh, you think you can use my power? You think you can make me work for you? Try it! and then de-henshin and plop her merry little behind down and watch Sharon flail about, trying to get anything out of her.

But that part of Usagi is, fortunately, not the dominant part, especially when Chibiusa is around and actually yelling, actually worried, and Amy is giving her that trust me look, and she does -

"Take care of yourself," she mouths, as Endymion turns away and leaps into the sky. Seconds later, Sailor Moon follows him, super jumping as high as those long shoujo legs will go. "We've just got to keep moving - maybe we can get ourselves lost in the woods? Those little fairies are a lot less quiet now that they're huge and scary."

Laura La Mer has posed:
When Amy makes it clear that she doesn't want to fight back anymore, the glow of the stone intensifies and a pink cylinder surrounds her, before it sinks into the snowy ground with her, transporting her to a cell in the castle. Meanwhile Laura is shaken out of her paralysis by Chibiusa's call to run.

The Pretty Cure immediately does so, her turmoil causing her to glance at the point Amy was last in and then at Sharon, jumping over the wall following behind the other mahous.

Sharon just watches calmly, not at all perturbed by seeing them run away. "I will not let you escape. You are all my new subjects after all", she mutters, confident in her victory.