2389/Jinja Snaps

Jinja Snaps
Date of Scene:	06 March 2025
Location:	Hikawa Shrine
Synopsis:	Calaveras of the Black Moon Clan attacks Hikawa Shrine on the same day the Senshi Cohort (and friends!) are planning a studdy day. The battle is rough, but worse is Rubeus' mid-fight arrival, and revelation that he's gained a number of their identities. Our heroes are left with pits in their stomaches and a body on the floor... CW: NPC Death
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Minako Aino, Kazuo Saitou, Glimmer Brightmoon, Zoisite, Amanda Faust, Chibiusa Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba, Veronica Perenna, 280, Rei Hino
Tinyplot:	Black Moon Clan
Tinyplot2:	BMC: Rabbit Hunt

---

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The afternoon sun shone across Hikawa Shrine, and the tall staircase leading up to the shrine practically glittered with puddles - there had been late snow, perhaps the last of the season, just the day before. Being that it was an old shrine, there were no accessible ramps for making the trip up to the shrine, to seek the wisdom of the Great Fire or receive a blessing from the Shrine Maiden rumored to be genuinely blessed by the gods.

No, everyone who made their way to Hikawa Shrine did so by ascending the steps, no matter how wet they were.

And oh, there were so many steps.

Usagi Tsukino has climbed these steps before, and she will climb them again, and every single time, she will do exactly what she's doing right now:

"Hhhhh, these stupid - stairs - are too - tall -"

Gasp desperately for breath and guzzle down the water that Mamoru brought for the climb.

"Studying here, when there's so many steps, is just - hhhhh why did we agree to make studying worse than usual?"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino looks toward Usagi with concern as she watches her friend practically double over with exhaustion. Even though she was Usagi's body double, when it came to physical exertion she wasn't *quite* that bad.

"Just think, when we get to the top we can have some tea and snacks!" Mina suggests cheerfully. Nevermind that her suggestion doesn't include that 'studying' thing. She did have her bag with her for that reason, just... UGH.

"Maybe if we keep everyone talking we can avoid studying," she asides to Usagi.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo says nothing about how much of the weight of his satchel is books versus how much of it is snacks. Nothing. At all. He just keeps patiently ascending stairs a few behind Usagi, so that if she slips, and Mamoru slips catching her, at least he'll be able to brace to try and keep them from reenacting any unfortunate nursery rhymes.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon was in Obsidian tower, because of course she was. She had a cauldron bubbling lightly, as she tossed in random... things. The liquid inside was thick and purple, the spell... just not going how she wanted...

"Come on..." Glimmer muttered. "Seriously, Shadow Weaver. Could you just once in your miserable life have given someone some good advice?" she asked, before stroking her finger nail along the liquid, drawing an Etherian Magic Circle. It fizzled for the moment...

Ugh... She wished she had more Etherian ingredients. Or any, really.

Zoisite has posed:
There was no real reason for him to be there. Well, no logical reason. When it came to studying, he has been quite on schedule. Even pushed himself to read ahead when he got enough time and it wouldn't cut into more important things--such as music, battles and other recent developments. However... He was not in the mood to entertain Minako being too close to Kazuo for a study session, even if they were in better terms now.

Green eyes glance over to the Goddess of Love as he keeps close to Kazuo, hearing her mutter something to the Moon Princess. Small roll of his eyes.

"What's the point of coming to a study session if you're not going to study..." Mutters under his breath, not noticing his own hypocrisy. He didn't have to be there, but he was anyway.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's coming along to the study group this time

    And like Usagi she is so smol and there are so many stairs.

    In response to Usagi's complaints, she opines, in English, "[I *huff* warned you about stairs, *puff* bro! I told you dog!]"

    She sits on the steps for a moment to retrieve her water bottle from her backpack. "[It keeps happening!]"

    She barely holds herself back from outright guzzling the water, remembering hearing somewhere that you shouldn't do that. Letting out a satisfied sigh as she lowers the bottle from her lips, "Aahhh!" She turns to Usagi, "Hey, d'you think maybe we could discreetly henshin and go the rest of the way up like that?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa climbs the stairs next to Usagi, and by 'climbing the stairs' we mean that she plants two hands on the next step, pushes herself up, lifts a leg around the side and then follows up with the other. As if she's actually climbing a mountain.

    She also seems entirely unfazed by this, or rather, she tries to pretend that she's unfazed by this because she's trying to get one up on her alt-mom. "Something like this is no trouble at all. I don't know what... you're complaining about!"

    Her voice cracks for a moment as she lifts herself up, giving away the fact that she actually is straining herself a bit. At least Luna-P is having an easy enough time, bouncing up the stairs in the way that a ball really shouldn't.

    Up in the trees are a pair of small witnesses. Black crows, turning their heads to the side in order to get a better look at the new arrivals. One squawks, and then then the other, before flying towards the entrance of the Hikawa shrine.

    Out from the doorway emerges one particular fire reading miko, graceful and silent in a way that would make her seem serene to anyone who didn't know her. She holds out her hand as the attempted murder lands in them, pecking small bits of seed from within. Not a word is spoken between the three, but Rei Hino smiles as if she had just heard a joke. Then the avians scatter, leaving the priestess to turn her attention to Usagi.

    "They aren't that tall. You just need to get in better shape!" she calls.

    Wait. Did she hear that? There's no way she actually heard that. She wasn't out yet.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's actually not the only one complaining. "This is taking so long! Can't we just henshin and jump up?" Unspoken is the fact that he can, and has, henshined just to teleport. So has Zoisite. "How about next time? I mean..."

And Chibiusa is showing Usagi up, so Mamoru's mouth shuts grumpily. He's out of water, which is fine, he's uncomfortably getting sticky beneath leather jacket and hoodie, which is not great, and then. All this effort. All this effort and Minako wants to get out of it.

"You didn't have to come, Minako-san, if you're not going to try," he says crossly.

Then there are crows, and Mamoru watches them fly away, and he looks up the steps to Rei and waves.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica has not been been around the Hikawa Shrine much, but she has been told that the real Mars lives here, so this could become useful to better act like her in front of the Black Moon Clan.

And a study group with friends is always a good enough reason to tag along with others. She is well ahead on her own study material, but that is more boring anyway.

"Now, now, Chibiusa-chan", there really are quite a bit of stairs", Veronica lightly chides in defense of Usagi, though her smile really doesn't convey much seriousness.

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
Calaveras knew all about Hikawa Shrine, but that was hardly impressive. All the Crystal Millennium knew of its hallowed ground, blessed less for it's Great Fire and more for the brazen claim Sailor Mars had made to the land and it's buildings.

The Soldier of Fire and Guardian of Passion had declared centuries ago that Hikawa Shrine was hers.

The 21st Century is unlike the 20th Century they had prepared for in many ways, but the Senshi are still here. Sailor Mars is still here.

Which means that this is the perfect place to lure out the Senshi, as Commander Rubeus has asked of her.

Today, Calaveras is blending in with the crowd of those visiting the shrine, dressed in modern clothes with her hair loose and falling over her face to hide the symbol of the Black Moon, her trademark yellow bow fashioned into a kerchief about her throat instead, adding a splash of color to her pitch black clothing.

She's pretending she gives a flying fuck about love charms when all she truly wants is to bring blood and death to the Senshi.

She'd advocated for doing whatever they wanted. She'd advocating unleashing their hatred, for acting as they pleased.

The result is that she is the last to stand, and for the sake of her sisters, there will be death... as soon as she's gathered enough power. The hallowed ground of Hikawa Shrine has no resentful spirits for her to draw upon, but the same can't be said for the surrounding area.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Chibiusa-chan, you have long legs - and arms - and ugh - energies..." Never mind that there is no world in which fifteen-going-on-sixteen is old, the mere fact that Chibiusa has to put so much effort into climbing proves that her daughter is actually just more willing to put in effort compared to her mother.

Even if that effort is mostly for the sake of spite.

Amy and Mamoru are both suggesting henshin, and Usagi is bordering on ready to surrender and give in to that request, when -

"Ahh, Rei-chan, you're so mean to me! I'm in great shape, these stairs are just too tall! Do you really go up and down them every day, or is there some kind of - super secret easier exist that you use, huh?"

It's a ridiculous thing to say, but arguing with Rei has given Usagi the strength to do the impossible: rapidly climb to the top of the stairs so she can put her hands on her hips and pout at her dear friend.

Somehow, she's not even out of breath anymore. Truly, the things we can do when we're arguing with friends.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy, having just turned to talk to Usagi, sees Chibiusa climbing up past them.

---- Many years ago... ----
    Mallory, though full of energy as a young child, became more sedentary over time as most outside activities involved other children, who were mean to him, or being out in the hot and humid with mosquitoes and allergens, or long periods of walking with nothing to do or occupy his brain with. Which is to say that while technically in the prime of his life at 25 his body was not prepared for getting pressured into hiking up a mountain with his dad.

    It's not that there were challenging cliff faces to navigate, or rocks to climb over, or anything. Just that a steady, unending upward slope is draining to walk on, for even a few minutes let alone a few hours. Which is why only a few minutes in, he is exhausted and sweating and panting and trudging and--

    A small child who can't be more than 4 or 5 freaking runs up the mountain past him. "Are you *pant* KIDDING ME?!"

    Some time later, the same child runs back past him the other way. He didn't make it to the top and back already, did he?!

    Even later, Mallory has still not even reached the treeline and the child runs past him up the mountain a second time.

---- Now ----
    Amy looks through Chibiusa with a thousand-yard stare. Memories of a past hike collide with memories of watching Kodocha. "Kindergarteners are passing us..." she mutters.

    At least Mamoru agrees with the henshin idea. "Right?!" And Hino-san is shouting from the top of the steps, at least they're almost there... Amy looks to Usagi again, "How did she hear that?! *pant* ...Oh, she just knows you that well, huh..."

    Amy puts away her water bottle, shoulders her bag, and stands with a groan before trudging upwards again. Just a little farther!

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Ask any kindergarten teacher about how much energy her charges have," Kazuo notes to Amy. He's staying out of the argument. Why? Because if he says one word about how easy or not-easy the stairs are to climb, he will be accused of cheating by having longer limbs.

He does say two words on another topic: "Socialization, apparently," is muttered back to Izou.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino glances over toward Mamoru to simply POUT in response to his dig about why she was here at all. "Because I'm supporting my friends, of course! ... And I need some new charms. Rei-chan really does sell the best ones," she adds indignantly.

At least she doesn't say 'Because you know who is here'. She does however notice Zoi's eye rolling, and responds by sticking her tongue out in his general direction.

But then, Kazuo actually hits on the real answer to why she came along. Her expression gets serious as she grips the straps of her bag and promptly jogs the rest of the way up indignantly, hair swaying behind her.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
They get to the top, finally, and Mamoru holds a hand out to Chibiusa. "Thank you," he tells her gravely, "for not offering to carry her yourself."

Glancing back down the stairs to where Amy's coming up, he almost says something about the crows, then remembers he should ask before saying anything about someone else's psychic friends personal area network.

Instead, he settles on watching Kazuo and Izou climb up the stairs for a moment, smiling at them, and then looks back up and over to Usagi. "Going up and down them every day does make it easier, Usako," he says mildly.

Zoisite has posed:
Well will you look at that. Seems like the Princess had enough energy to go up the stairs after all. He doubted she'd have enough to study, with an enabler by her side. Eh, it didn't matter to him so much, the grades were not his.

Hand brushed over some of his soft curly locks, seemingly not breaking a sweat at that moment. A light jacket was all he needed for the climb, and water was in his messenger bag if he felt like having some.

Minako earns a pout and a returning tongue out before ignoring her--not angrily.

Izou then leans a little closer to Kazuo at the muttering. "Should have just called it a hang out then. Not a study. Gives everyone the wrong idea if they really wanted to study."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa finally reaches the top of the stairs, and pauses to turn around and stick her nose into the air. She turns to Veronica and then starts bragging, "In the 30th Century we have lots of stairs. There's a really tall tower that goes way up and my momma climbs it with me every day."

    This is, most certainly, a lie. No one who climbs a staircase like what Chibiusa is describing would have a single bead of sweat on their forehead right now, unlike Small Lady. More likely this is her way of teasing Usagi.

    When she takes Mamoru's hand, she gives him a mortified look at the mental image of trying to carry a young lady like 3-4 times her size. "Eheh... well... even I'd hesitate at that."

    Rei Hino waves back at Mamoru, and then starts doing a headcount of who all showed up. Sure, there are others here at the shrine, but it's pretty clear which people are here with her friends and which ones aren't.

    Rei calls out, saying, "There's no shortcut or hidden path! You just have to keep pushing! It's metaphorical."

    Is it actually metaphorical or is Rei just saying that to sound cool? Considering that there are others at the shrine, it might be part of the image that she has to maintain. She glances off to the side to notice a woman looking over the charms for sale at the wooden booth, and then calls back to the mahou friend group. "Just let yourselves inside, okay? I have customers."

    Rei immediately starts walking to the wooden booth and sits behind it, starting to present her charms to the woman whom she doesn't know is Calaveras. "Interested in a charm? We have many for looks, career, finances, family..." she briefly glances towards Usagi and Minako. "... studies."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica giggles quietly at the sudden burst of motivation Usagi gets to reach the tops of the stairs. The type of person to work better when others prod her along, probably? "Good job on the climb, Usagi-chan", Veronica smiles, taking out a bottle of water for the blonde girl.

"Really impressive. But you are also saying that your momma turned it around and really solved her issues with the stairs with great gusto", Veronica points out to Chibiusa. She doesn't exclude something like a henshin might be involved, but how exactly she did it is not of great importance.

Veronica spends some time studying the various charms being sold. While it would do no good to actually bring replicas with herself, she should get to practising them. You never know when it might be required of her.

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
There's someone coming towards her, measured steps, calm demeanor, a girl who speaks in platitudes and mysteries - a shrine maiden. Calaveras turns at her approach, head held high, shoulders back.

"What about luck?" She asks, glancing over the stock. "Or for that matter, why not vengeance? If you'll claim to help people with their looks, as though you could carve them a new face, or their career, as though you'll clear their path, surely you have something for those of us who want to avenge their family."

This is all the warning Rei gets before she's struck, not with just a fist, but Calaveras' signature whip, coiled about that fist to give the blow extra weight.

An ominous energy spreads from Calaveras, then, her hair rustling in a summoned wind, revealing the upside down crescent on her forehead, as a flash of energy transforms her ordinary clothes to her usual gold-and-leather armor.

"The Shrine of Sailor Mars," she says, spiteful, "Will burn. Let her weep at the irony."

And from the base of the stairs - no, from the base of the hill at every angle - come rushing up a bevvy of spirits, chilling, rattling things, that fly through the bodies of those on the stairs, those in the Shrine, those browsing, grousing, and more.

They chill to the bone, and they drain energy, but more than that - as Calaveras stands, she thrusts a palm in the air, calling out - "Dark Dome!"

And Dark Energy spreads across Hikawa Shrine, encasing the grounds in a shell of darkness.

From the shell, descends dark purple dust - Dark Energy, in infectious, powdery form.

Standing unnoticed in the shadow of nearby trees, Crimson Rubeus observes, ready to interfere if needed, but principally waiting to see if this plan would work - and if Sailor Moon would, indeed appear. Once she did, all they would need to do is force her out of henshin...

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Glimmer Brightmoon let out a growl and barely, just barely, resisted the urge to FLIP the cauldron... How hard could it be to FIND Horde Prime?! To spy on him?! Even if he was in the tower! He was her enemy, her foe! HE WAS A PRICK! SHOW ME THE STUPID SPACE MAN, CAULDRON!

But, nope. Her attempts to scry had NO effect aside from making her more frustrated. She was about to give up entirely, when her spell rippled. And... huh. A shrine? Why would it show a shri--

Oh. Hey, that didn't look nice. Ugh. Whips. She did NOT have the best--

That dark symbol. She gripped the rim of the cauldron, eye twitching. The crescent moon. Her hands shook as she remembered...

Sara.

Having to talk with her friend.

Oh. And they're BACK. They decided to come back and attack SHRINE MAIDENS and CIVILIANS! Right, where was it?

... A place! She could... vageully get a feeling... right. She held out her hand and a Etherian circle appeared under her. She missed being able to teleport around like a sugar rushing hummingbird, but she could at least go in hard and past. Dark energy didn't work as well on them, but that was fine. She was a brawler.

So there was a sudden sparking of... shadowy... sparks? In front of Calaveras. Moments before a furious looking girl in red, black and pink appeared in front of her and tried to SUCKER PUNCH her. Much like she had a certain shrine maiden a moment ago.

"Heyyyyyy. Long time no see. You're supposed to be like, Sailor Moon's fangirls, riiiiight? Well, I know I'm not the moon princess you're looking for, but good news! At least one of us is here to *show you our appreciation!*"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Chibiusa-chan...your Mama must be an amazing woman," is what Usagi has to say to this revelation, totally buying that her future self must be as cool as her daughter says, but having absolutely no idea how or why she would be elegantly climbing towers every day. Is it to have killer glutes and calves? It must be, right? Isn't that why people use the dreaded Stairmaster?

"I'll keep pushing in the future, Rei-chan, but for now - ugh, I can't believe you really do just climb!" A metaphor! Metaphors are for books, not like! But Rei is having to go deal with an actual customer, so Usagi turns to Minako, ready to lament. "All the study charms in the world won't help if we don't finish these worksheets Ami-chan made us."

She actually is going to study - she always studies when Mamoru is on the study trip, even if she does take plenty of breaks.

They might have gotten further into that, if not for the fact that suddenly, things with Rei-chan are going off-script. The customer isn't picking out a charm and walking off, she's -

"Hey! How dare you hit Rei-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa fuuuuuuuuudgesticks."

(Yeah, she's still going to have to put something in the swear jar. Guess she's buying an extra charm for it!)

They're in broad daylight, in the open at the top of the stairs, but what's she supposed to do, just watch Rei get attacked to protect her identity? Usagi's hand goes to her broach, and she's got the first syllables out when the ghosts come up.

"Moo-aaaAAAAAA COLD!"

And the glittering light that would have been her transformation falters as the ghosts race through them, and the darkness spreads overhead, blocking out the afternoon light.

"No, no, no," she hisses, and tucks her face into her shirt - "Everyone, try not to breathe it in!"

Where's Chibiusa, she's right here, she's got to get out of this - sure, she has a henshin now, but that's not to be in the thick of it, especially with Dark Energy literally raining down! "Chibiusa-chan, you've got to get to cover, you can hide in Rei-chan's house!"

There are ghosts swooping all around, draining, sliding through her skin, and she clenches her teeth and grabs her broach again.

"Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino flashes a smile toward the Shrine Maiden that greets them all but otherwise she hangs back. Others were still coming up the stairs, and her attention had shifted breifly to the woman over by the charms. Or more importantly the charms themselves as she had mentioned considering a few new ones for herself.

Not that it would really help with the studying so much as she'd *feel better* about it. That alone helped at times. Sometimes. At least not when... "Ami-chan made them!? Oh nooo. I'll be stuck here for hours then." She couldn't NOT do them if they were made by Ami.

Her attention shifts to the smallest of them to smile at the description Chibiusa gave, even if fake, with a laugh. "I'm guessing she's not the one who decided on the design then." It wasn't said to be mean, really! Just. Stairs were so evil! Even someone as athletic as she was could agree with that sentiment.

She might have said more but the commotion of voices raising by the charms draws her attention back JUST as the whip comes out. Whip. She knew that whip! Alarmed she reaches for her own charm to transform! That wind, and the spectres that come with it, were unexpected and she's left breifly hugging her arms around herself with a shudder. Her cry of, "AAAAA COLD!" mimics Usagi's rather well even if she didn't get interrupted mid-henshin at least!

The darkness sprinkling down ... She had to focus! She'd been through this once before, and at the very least it had just made her want to fight more. Not TOO bad. Right? Right.

She finishes her transformation and braces for the worst.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"...don't panic," Mamoru whispers as he takes his hat out of nowhere and pops it on Chibiusa's head over the bunny odango and twintails. "Kunzite has a shield, remember? And Zoisite can teleport." Whisper whisper whisper. Then louder, "Got her, Usa!"

And then he looks over to Kazuo and Izou, sees the way Kazuo's moving, and locks on Izou's eyes and lets his gaze flicker down to his future daughter, and finally he picks up Chibiusa and kisses her cheek -- just as the vengeful spirits pour into the area. Okay, right, okay, fine-- "Hang on, baby girl," he starts to say and chokes on as a ghost swans right through him.

As soon as Zoisite's there, he hands off the smol pink in the top hat to the redhead and says, "Campus. Tamaki."

The second it's safe, whether or not he's under a shield, Mamoru hangs on tight to exactly what he used when dealing with his former ghostly apprentice: nice solid dissociation. Sure, it makes his attacks less powerful, but it also means he can function and fight the effects of the dark energy on his emotions.

"Earth Prism Power, Make Up!!!"

He changes in a swift crackling line of transformation over his person, cape unfurling gracefully behind him. And then he doesn't move away from where he is, relatively close to Usagi-- and he doesn't call an attack. His hands close into fists, and he starts emitting a soft, almost foggy aura, and he hauls back a fist, and

tries to punch a ghost.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Y'know," Amy observes as they get close to the top, "Due to the square-cube law, for the same build, weight increases with the cube of your height, while muscle strength increases with the square of your height. So children may be weaker over all, but it takes relatively less of their available strength to move their bodies."

    And then just as she's catching her breath at the top, there's the crack of a whip and everything goes to hell.

    Amy glances around for a couple of seconds, but spirits and monsters are rushing up the hill and there is no time and nowhere to go hide, so she transforms on the spot -- a ball of fire-orange light engulfs her, her silhouette still visible inside, and then vanishes, leaving her wreathed in swiftly-dissipating flames which reveal Sailor Chalcopyrite!

    She points what looks like a pistol down at the spirits, but hesitates before even putting her finger on the trigger -- there's too many people down there, and can she even shoot ghosts?
    Exhasperated, a little exhausted from the climb, and stressed, she forgets to even pretend she's using Senshi magic and just conjures a disposable launcher to shoot Calaveras, the CRACK of the firing resounding out and a tiny fraction of a second later the similar explosive sound of the high-explosive anti-tank round going off as it tries to punch a hole through Calveras. Fragile objects at Rei's stand might break, sorry!

    "You again?! When will you learn, there's nothing for you to achieve by attacking us! Just, like, rob some stores and then live your lives! You're free to do that, you know! Is hurting people in this timeline who never did anything to you really worth getting killed over?!"

    Usagi warns to not breathe the dust in, and 'Sailor Chalcopyrite' is engulfed in a pillar of fire that leaves her in completely different armor than the other Senshi, including, crucially, a helmet and, this time, an air supply, a little pink tank at the back of her neck or something.

    "Who needs masks? I... think I can conjure those!" And she should switch to telepathy. << Will filters work or do they need air supply? >>

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"If they call it a study," Kazuo murmurs back to Izou, "there's some chance some studying might actually get done. And if no studying actually gets done? Usagi-chan's mother will have vengeance upon all of us." He sounds fairly amused at that last possibility, honestly. Possibly because 'all of us' may well mean 'mostly Mamoru,' fairly or not, and there are some things the Shitennou don't feel obligated to guard him from.

Some. Annnd there may be no studying today after all.

"Earth Power, MAKE UP!" Kazuo echoes Mamoru. And a bare instant after Kunzite's transformation - "RADIANT DARK EMBRACE!"

The second shell of darkness that rises, beneath Calaveras's Dark Dome, is designed specifically to intercept that dark purple dust. He can't protect everyone, especially not if they spread out to prevent area attacks. But he can shield the largest concentration of mahou, at any given time --

No. No, he can shield, specifically, the concentration around Sailor Moon. If they can keep her purification in play, if Zoi can keep Chibiusa safe, if Tuxedo Kamen can - punch ghosts - they have a chance.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa wants to keep teasing Usagi but Veronica's good naturedness makes it hard to keep up the spite. Besides, Usagi actually did make it to the top and that deserves some encouragement at least.

    ... and then Usagi starts humble bragging about her future self and Chibiusa gets annoyed again. Yet before she can give her dorm roomie any sass...

    Rei Hino's was excited to deal with a customer, but mood goes from 'friendly platitudes' to 'oh it's one of those people' in a very brief span of time. One might wonder why someone who doesn't believe in charms, or doesn't at least want to buy into the superstition for a moment, would approach a shrine for any reason other than to cause trouble. Then there's a whip-punch, and the graceful Rei is sent rather rudely into the wall of her shrine's main building, where she lives, and slides down into a slump.

    "How dare you... attack my shrine," she mutters as she weakly stands up. Henshin pen in hand, she raises it and says, "Mars Crystal Power! MAKE UP!"

    There are flames and heat, and where once sat a crumpled miko now stands Sailor Mars. "You've got one thing right. This shrine is my territory, and you dare bringing your wicked ghosts here. In the name of Mars, I'll chastise you!"

    She produces a ofuda from seemingly out of nowhere, though the truth is that she simply has those things on her at any given time. With a slide of her thumb, she reveals that one talisman is actually several, fanned out in her hand before she throws a spread of them not only at Calaveras but also the ghosts themselves, and the shrine grounds all around them.

    "Evil Spirits, Begone!"

    Chibiusa, meanwhile, is a bit less brave. She hasn't done the training yet, and is immediately hiding behind Mamoru from the Last Spectre Sister. Luna-P gets blown away, and bounces off into the bushes.

    Don't worry about the catball. It will be fine. It's the Rabbit who's the target, and Chibiusa goes from clinging to Mamoru to clinging to Zoi in a hurry, once she hears Mamoru's planning.

Zoisite has posed:
All he wanted was to hold hands with Kazuo while doing his homework, maybe kick Minako under the table during. That was it. And green eyes glanced up at Rei as she spoke down to the rest of the group catching up, then disappearing. Charm sales. Perhaps he should get one for himself and Kazuo. The thought of it made him blush a little with a smile on his face. Yeah, maybe he could stop by Rei and snag one now that he was at the top--

Suddenly, the dark falls upon them as a hastily setting sun, covering over the shrine and the land it sat upon. The air was filled with dark energy, making the hairs on his nape stand on end, pupils narrowing as he could almost taste it.

An alert glance to Kazuo, Chibiusa, then finally to Mamoru, and he wasted no more time as he knew what he should do.

"Earth Power, MAKE UP!!" A flare of burning cherry blossom petals swirl around him in bright embers, silvery uniform hemmed in spring green matching his bow and icy blue gem.

Zoisite swiftly covered his face with one hand, trying not to inhale the dark energy quickly spreading around them as he runs over to Mamoru and the little princess. Just a shared look, a shared touch where his thoughts only sucked in the information given before asking 'when I return, take off my leash.' It was a plea. But first...

"Small Lady." His voice was calm and gentle, no different from when he met her last after he lost his own heart, holding her protectively. "Let's pay a visit to Tama-chan." A flurry of cherry blossoms covered them from the dark energy trying to seep through, his mind focusing as much as he could on campus and Tamaki.

In a flash of light, they were gone and back in the light. Tamaki was getting ready to start fencing when Zoisite ran to him, carefully gave Chibiusa over to the last Shitennou and whispered Keep he safe with your life. I need to go back."

Again, he was gone, this time appearing next to Kazuo so he's able to have a good view of the situation.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica blinks at the sudden harshness of the woman Rei is serving behind her. Talk about cranky. "I would say you are really reading too much into it, ma'am", Veronica turns towards her, tilting her head slightly.

"It is really poor manners to slap a helping hand away like that, and positive thinking and healing are paramount here." Really, vengeance? The loss of a family is a harsh thing, but she is feeling more enmity from this woman than grief for a loss. And who comes to a shrine to pick a fight?

The Black Moon Clan, that's who, comes the realisation when Calaveras reveals herself. They are hunting down the Senshi in their home now!? It is with unprecedent hurry that Veronica turns her heels around to find a hiding spot, quickly.

But the ghost are there to put a wench in that idea, and two pass through her giving Veronica a taste of their cold and drain, while she filters her air with an handkerchief. Not going to stop her show though. Clustering light takes the shape her of her calling card in the palm of her hand, and the brunette tosses it above her, commencing a shower of sparkling white moonlight down on her.

"Paint the sky with a burst of moonlight,

My heart transforms in the glow of the night.", she sings, the feline visage of the Princess of Sarek replacing her figure, culminating in a partial bowing posture, and her hands on her cane and top hat.

"This is quite the wrong way to ghost us", she leaps around, dodging a few more of those ghosts. "Is this your practice for the real thing? We aren't even that close yet", she mocks her, before pointing her cane at Calaveras's face. "Blinding Glare!", she shouts, a thin beam of moonlight going straight to the woman's eyes to temporarily blind her.

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
The Shrine Maiden is knocked flat by the underhanded punch, and Calaveras is feeling pleased with herself, when then are shadow-like sparks crackling into existence before her, solidifying into the shape of -

A punch throwing figure in red, pink, and black! Sucker punch for sucker punch, it's a good blow, but Calaveras shifts enough to catch it in the arm, just before a thin beam of light catches her in the eyes.

She shrieks -

...but it's in laughter.

"You think I need my eyes to defeat you?! Spirits, writhe with fury! Take their energy and live again!"

The ghosts do, indeed, writhe, launching a renewed attack - three dive for the space that was occupied by a smol pink in a lorge hat, only to dive through the ground when the girl disappears in a flurry of sakura blossoms.

A dark shield goes up, around Sailor Moon, Kunzite, and Tuxedo Kamen, and though the ghosts pass through the shield unbothered, the dark energy dust falls around it, rather than sinking through.

Those ghosts nearest Calaveras shriek and burst into puffs of energy when they're struck with the ofuda, and Calaveras stiffens for the barest instance, before peeling it from her face.

"You will need more than that, Mars," she sneers.

"DARK STRIKE!"

The crack of her whip, directly in front of her, catches the shot that Amy fired, causing it to explode in the air in front of her.

Tuxedo Kamen punches a ghost, catching it in the shoulder with his dimly glowing fist. It works. The ghost he'd landed a punch on utters a thin, wispy wail, and tumbles away from him, launching itself through Sailor Venus instead.

It drains some of her vital energy, to be sure, but transformed, there's so much more energy available.

More ghosts emerge, flying through Red and the Princess of Sarek, seeking the vital energy of their magic.

And in the darkness of the tree cover, Rubeus murmurs to himself, "Well, that didn't take long at all."

So that blond haired girl with twin-tails was Sailor Moon - and that fluffy-haired boy was the young prince. He's seen them before, at other attack, and now, it's so obvious.

He's seen the boy on that protected campus, with the Rabbit, through Petz's eyes. All he needs is a record of their students, and he'll have them.

Exactly what his prince wanted, ahead of schedule.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Dark Glimmer let out a low growl when her punch didn't do nearly enough. Ugh. This was so frustrating! Why couldn't she just sparkle blast them anymore?! She missed her moonstone! More annoyingly, her comments didn't earn any notice from the girl, either, and--

Oh. Huh. Sailor Moon was actually here. That was... convenient?

What was ANNOYING, however, was that this girl thought she could just IGNORE her?! Or, well, not focus on her when they were fighting? RUDE!

She was just as bad as Catra, she swore. More annoyingly, she couldn't teleport around or... Huh. Although, there was that one spell, could she do it? Shadow Weaver did it and electrocuted the crud out of... Okay, she probably couldn't.

She she wasn't really able to fight dark energy as well with... oh, screw it.

She time she ran in, and she punched AGAIN! Except, her fist was amplified with dark energy when she did it. She didn't expect it to do much, admittedly...

Except when her other hand struck out and she tried to grab the end of Calaveras' whip.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Zoisite's silent plea is answered instantly in Mamoru's head: Yes.

The ghosts-- Mamoru looks absolutely delighted when his punch connects, and he takes out his cane and starts whipping them away from Moon with it, and oh, oh how he considers Tuxedo la Smoking Crater but Mars might never forgive him and he probably wouldn't forgive himself either, tbh.

But then, in a moment where Glimmer's in Calaveras' face! "Tuxedo," he starts, then flings his glowing fist out in front of him.

"La Smoking," he continues, voice growing more strident, and then he opens that glowing hand and a growing ball of energy forms in front of it again--

--and then he yells out, the force of the laser blast enough to kick him back a half step, "Bomber!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Zoisite disappears with Chibiusa, and Sailor Moon breathes easier -

Literally, breathes easier, because there's a shield of energy, dark in color but not in force, rising and it's welcome, for it keeps her away from the darkness and the darkness from her, and the best thing to do in this moment is disperse the corruption.

A circle of golden light is traced in the air, silver light threatening to spill forth.

"Moon Healing,"

And the light floods the circle, silver mists bursting free -

"Escalation!"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa vanishes with Zoi in a flurry of pink petals and all of a sudden the world is a bit less scary for her. Like, sure, there's always a chance that the people she cares about will get hurt but that's very different than her being in a place where she can be directly targeted.

    As for Sailor Mars, her fight has just begun, because her very own home is under attack by the enemy, there are evil ghosts everywhere and she's very grateful that she has friends here to back her up in the fight.

    Even so, she can't really shake the feeling that something bad just happened. Her eyes glance in a direction, and she doesn't actually see anything, but it's kinda spooky how she just so happens to look towards the spot where Rubeus is hiding. Fortunately for his stealth checks, she doesn't actually have time to figure out where exactly he is.

    The ghosts are everywhere, and people are getting drained, and Calaveras feels like the obvious source of the problem. It's not every day that Mars has to deal with a hostile psychic other than herself. "Haven't you had enough? We wont let you ruin our future, and we wont let you harm Small Lady!"

    She points a finger to the sky, then moves it counterclockwise around herself as fire trails from her finger tips, forming a blazing ring. She declares, "Burning Mandala!" as the circle forms into eight spheres, and each sphere turns into a spread of fiery rings meant to buffet both the Black Moon Sister and her surrounding ghosts.

    She keeps her fire attacks to the area where the stonework is. No need to let the fire spread to the plants.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Ghosts fly through her. Cold! And it drains her, like that freezing water did, but not as much, and she hits the deck to try and be less of a target.

    They're surrounded by civilians and a shrine they really don't want to blow up. She can't do anything against ghosts.

    "Dumbasses! If you kill me, I'm not letting you leave here!"

    I become a Witch here... how many people will be hurt before they stop me?

    It's not a good thought for any type of magical girl to be having, but thinking it makes the red of the Rocket Girl's soul gem dim just a little.

    << What do we do about these ghosts?! Even if you have enough ofuda, how can we take them all out quickly?! >>

    Tuxedo Mask managed to punch them, but he has a connection to the healing energy of Earth. Amy hasn't really got anything like that... has she?

    She's desperate. Amy tries to imagine the power of cuteness filling her hand, and punches a ghost!

    If that... somehow works, or if it doesn't, she calls forth the two swords Ahmya blessed, cosplay props enchanted to be almost serviceable weapons that might be able to do some damage to a solid object before breaking... does spider magic work against ghosts? Amy imagines cuteness power flowing into the swords and takes some swings at the ghosts with them, desperate!

    Which also means she's stumbled into the range of Moon Healing Escalation, the silver light coating her soul gem and helping her resist the energy drain, at least!

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kunzite drops down on one knee, the better to shield himself with his cape to the extent he can against the ghosts. It's unlikely to stop them, but it's likely to slow them down, slow down their attempts to drain him, buy time to keep his shields up and let the others do their work. And if there's a buildup of ghosts around him, trying to get through or around his protections, then there's that many fewer on Moon and Mask.

Minako Aino has posed:
Sailor Venus could be headstrong at times. She certainly had been in various not-good-for-herself ways lately which had resulted in a long, long talk with Usagi. Head in the game, girl. That meant even though her intial thought was to dismiss 'a little bit of dark energy' as okay, she had to avoid it. Do the smart thing. Don't make it harder for everyone else.

Quick steps lead her closer to Kazuo taking up a defensive position nearby with her Love-Me-Chain coming out.

"Can you make that bigger like last time?" She asks over her shoulder while watching Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon attack along with the others. Zoisite's re-arrival is met with a firm nod.

Even as she digs her heels in she gets that itchy back-of-the-neck feeling of being watched...

Her gaze sweeps around searching out the source. Before she can lay eyes on it however, she lifts a hand to POINT at a cluster of approaching ghosts:

"CRESCENT BEAM!"

Eat light, ghosts!

Zoisite has posed:
He's up against Kunzite, watching Calaveras pointedly. Remembers her, the tacky shoes, the stupid looking hair, and the pair of dangling, black crystal earrings.

Yes, Mamoru had whispered back to him before he left. He had permission to do whatever his cruel little heart desired, and this time, Zoisite wanted to be sure that witch would remember what this feels like to come close to his prince and the Shitennou. The whipping given to Jadeite was not forgotten, nor the screams of children in that classroom.

Fingers grip at Kunzite's cape, a little pang, hoping he would not disappoint, before letting go.

Another flurry of cherry blossoms, and only to appear behind Calaveras. No thoughts, just his target. If this worked, he hoped it would be worth it. Hands reaching out to grab and hopefully rip off her earrings--

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"See, this is the positive attitude that would have served you well earlier when it would have been a good show", the Princess with the hair of moonlight quick back without missing a beat. And a Calaveras without sight is better than a Calaveras with.

Still, the ghosts make good on Calaveras' threat and immediately converge on the Phantom Thief, who has to dodge through some as they make it hard for her to repeat the earlier maneuvers with their number, getting passed through and drained by the others, causing her to stumble backwards briefly, ears twitching in annoyance.

She opts for something more physical now, and she strikes at the ghosts, with her cane, moving it from one side to the others, trying to get as many as she can with it.

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
Another punch - but this time, with Calaveras blinded, she can't deflect it so easily - it catches her in the chest, even as Glimmer goes for the whip.

"You aren't worthy my time," Calaveras sneers, and the whip lights up with a crackling burst of Dark Energy that will force itself into Glimmer with an after-effect that leaves her hand tingling and faintly numb. "Broken as you are, forced to rely on our energy, when it makes you sick and weak -"

She's a psychic. She can see these things. She may not know exactly what Glimmer is, but she can feel the way the energy crackles wrongly around her, the way she resists it. With every moment that passes though, Glimmer is breathing more Dark Energy in, more of it sticking to hair hair, her skin.

Calaveras isn't out of the woods yet though, and she's still blinded, her sight nothing more than splotches of darkness and faint after images of color for the moment. And there's more than that to contend with - the heat of fire racing towards her as Mars fires off her attack, the blaze of light that must be Tuxedo Kamen, the silver death that is Sailor Moon, come to steal her mind -

And then, hands on her ears, gripping at the Black Crystal earrings.

She screams, as the attacks strike, one after the other, and then -

Zoisite, with his hands around both earrings, will find himself abruptly slammed to the earth, pavement cracking beneath him, as Crimson Rubeus piledrives him into the ground.

"Not today, little butler."

Calaveras is wounded - her injuries cauterized, her body damaged, but she screams in wraths and a pulse of Dark Energy blazes from her.

"Dark Pulse!"

The Darkness has a physical force and weight.

And the ghosts are knocked back by Venus' beam, holes parted in them by the light of her power, but they rebound, coming for her - but focusing away from Kunzite, Moon, and Mask, now.

The Princess of Sarek's cane does little to disrupt the ghosts, but they do seem to take fascination with dodging it, leaving fewer of them to actively drain her.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Rei's eyes widen and she takes a step back as Literal Fn Rubeus suddenly shows up and piledrives the other flame user. She makes a sympathetic wince at the fiery shitennou before taking note of what exactly he was going for.

    The black earrings. Right. Those are important, aren't they?

    The darkness is starting to get to her, soak through her henshin, and affect her personally. She's not in a good angle to actually get purified via friendly fire, so instead she takes an ofuda and places it on her own forehead. It should, at least, keep the bad thoughts at bay while she fights.

    The Dark Pulse knocks her off her feet and sends her rolling across the stone path, but at least she's in henshin now. She lands in a three point crouch, which turns into a sprint as she starts trying to get closer to the whipping girl. Making a gun shape with her hands, she channels a ball of intense magical flame that gets launched at Calaveras, specifically her head, specifically the side of her head to get at that black crystal.

    "Fire Soul!"

    Rubeus is a threat, and she'll likely have to deal with him eventually, but for now focusing on the weaker of the two dark generals seems like the better tactical choice. If they can just take one out...

    Luna-P, meanwhile, is hiding in the bushes. Watching. With her unchanging smile and the flames dancing in her eyes.

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Dark Glimmer coiled her fingers around the whip and... Gahhhhh! Ow ow ow ow ow! That HURT! A LOT! It felt like SHE got electrocuted by Shadow Weaver, not the other way around.

She didn't let go, though. She growled, her eyes narrowing. Even as Sailor Moon's purification glanced her as it headed towards the target. "Yeah... you're right... I can't use *my* power right now so I'm stuck using dark energy like *yours*. But you know what? I'm far stronger than you'd ever imagine. The only reason you even have a chance right now is because this energy can't compare with what I should have. And if you think a bit of sparks will slow me down, you really have no idea who I am."

She pulled back a bit, refusing to let go of the whip even as her other hand formed an etherian circle. She could do this. She WOULD do this.

Electricity crackled and then shot down the whip. Just like Shadow Weaver. And...

... It likely only tingled in comparison. She just, sadly(?), didn't have the hate that Shadow Weaver did.

WAIT THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE OF THEM?! "YOU!" she yelled, before looking back to Calaveras... And then gripped the whip in both hands.

Good news! She found the hate! The next bolt of magical etherian electricity was MUCH stronger. But still, tainted with dark energy as it was, likely... not nearly as effective as it could be.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Not significantly, without doing something egregiously stupid," Kunzite admits back to Venus. With the ghosts off of him thanks to the Crescent Beam, though, he bends his head and concentrates, and expands his own dome as much as he can. Can't cover the entire shrine. But he can give the maneuverable ones room to -

There's a grip at his cape, and even with his head bent, there's a little smile.

And even with his head bent - perhaps especially with his head bent, with his hair veiling his face somewhat - his eyes flicker, scanning as much as he can of the area Venus had been twitchily looking toward. Only to see movement --

His head comes back up sharply, and he lifts both hands, bringing them together the way he does for a laser attack. But this time, for the second time ever, there are words. "Silver Sandstorm!"

What spins from his hands is not pink energy, but a tightly controlled blast of ... glitter?

No. Dust as fine as the dark purple contagious evil falling from Calaveras' dome; but Kunzite's is silver, brightly glowing, the moonlight brightness of one of Usagi's Escalations. And as the leading edge reaches Rubeus, any that scatters off his protections forms a burst of brightness about him, a dustcloud, a sandstorm returned to its original sender. Purification dust isn't likely to give Zoisite or Tuxedo Kamen any trouble seeing. Rubeus might be another story.

(Good thing Glimmer stayed on Calaveras.)

Zoisite has posed:
From hands to her ears, earrings secure in his grasp to--

World upside down, feeling the weight of the world crashing down on his shoulders and chest. The ground cracked beneath him, oxygen leaving his body for what felt like an eternity--And he gasped out, shrieked in fury and pain, but that was good. He could feel his limbs and he wanted nothing more but use it as fuel.

Hands gripped firm fists, blood soaking his gloves while gritting teeth. He was in no real position to do nothing more but focus on what actually made it to his hands--both earrings.

"You really should've taken me out to dinner first." Zoisite grinned, giggling. In both hands, fire started to concentrate, the heat cracking the earrings before slamming both hands together, splintering both black gems into pieces as the fireball grew in size and was launched at close range to Rubeus' face.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Even aside from not wanting to piss Rei off, there are still civilians here, so Tuxedo Kamen can't just explode the ground beneath Calaveras. But there's Zoisite going for Calaveras' earrings, and oh that will make things much--

"NO!" Mamoru yells all of a sudden when Rudeus comes right the hell out of nowhere and piledrives Zoisite right into the sidewalk. The prince instantly nyooms, superjumping sideways, still glowing, barrelling right through ghosts, aiming to knock the Dark General offbalance or over or out of the way just long enough to yoink Zoisite out of the hole in the concrete and keep going.

"MINE!" he yells, all teeth.

Okay, well, only a little dark energy seems to have gotten him with all of Kunzite's help--

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a little cut off shriek of horror, as Sailor Moon realizes what Zoisite has done, and had done to him, and there's Kunzite, sending dust that she recognizes as her own purification, and she thinks of purifying -

Thinks of Esmeraude, the woman in green, casually turning away that purification -

And she thinks of a certain boy with flaming red hair and a radiant smile, willing to deck his own father because it was what he both wanted and needed to do.

Sailor Moon grips the Spiral Heart Moon Rod, and turns in a single, decisive spin, snapping the Rod forcefully.

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

The bright pink heart that forms is smaller than some have been, the size of Chibiusa, instead of Sailor Moon herself - but size seems to have been sacrificed in favor of speed, for it jack-knifes forward towards Calaveras and Rubeus.

Zoisite will be fine. Friendly fire is disabled, right?

...Right?

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Rubeus. You definitely like entrances in style", Veronica glowers at his piledrive. Has he really just been waiting in the shadows to hit low at the best occasion? They must really be more careful if Black Moon spares no trick. "Your friend there really gave a nice speech on revenge when all she was given was a helping hand. Why do you insist on making your situation worse?"

These ghosts aren't as physical as the attacks of the others made her presume, a shame and she bites her lips as they start treating it like a game. Can you do things consistently, you weird magic apparitions? The Princess of Sarek disappears from sight when she becomes ethereal, a phantom that for a limited time moves just like the wind.

Despite the crimson guy's presence, the Princess of Sarek is aiming for the source of the ghosts, to clear the shrine as soon as possible. She doesn't know how many civilians there are, but she has no doubt they don't care at all. Time to get a surprise attack on Calaveras.

Unseen and untouched by what's physical, she moves through the ghosts, and she tries to get them out of her way with a punch if they oppose her, but she stops behind Calaveras, and with a snap of her fingers, she becomes visible again, and the floor under them ripples with illusionary water, the reproduction of a moon shining bright from there.

"Moonlight Masquerade", she announces, a gigantic illusionary hat emerging with a rumble, trying to sweep her up and seeking to dissolve anything that they can from their enemy.

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
Puella Amy has a unique gift among the Puella Magi - the power of cute. And while this is usually a passive effect, preventing scarring, bad hair days, and generally maintaining appearance and clothing... channeled forcibly and with intent, when she strikes the ghosts, they gain a faint glow, the same color of her soul gem -

And then with a little poofy, they loose their fearsome shapes, becoming soft, round little shapes with smiles very familiar to an American who grew up in a certain age -

Casper, the Friendly Ghosts.

They float away from her rather peacefully.

Minako Aino has posed:
Sailor Venus tears her gaze away from the temporarily halted ghosts when she spots the movement of Zoisite's flowers indicating he teleported again. Right over to Calaveras to clamp hands on her earrings and-- "YES!"

Wait, "NO!" He got the earrings, much to her elation, but then her feeling of being watched was confirmed in the most horrible way. Kunzite leaps to the rescue just a quickly as Tuxedo Kamen does leaving an opening on the now earring-less Calaveras as everyone rushes to save the Shittenou.

That wasn't a pang of jealousy there. Nope. Not one bit. At least she has something to attack!

Light swirls around her with one arm raised above her head. "Crescent Beam Barrage!"

Rapid fire bolts of light energy shoot out toward Calaveras to join in Sailor Moon's purification attack. Hers did not purify though!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's fist makes contact with the ghost and--

    --she feels a mental sensation she likens to sliding a key perfectly into a lock--

    And the ghost is [Cute]d, becoming, like, a little casper the friendly ghost, with a little pink bow.

    Honestly this is an even more harmless form than the redhead in a hoodie she was for some reason picturing.

    Amy looks shocked, then smiles.

    "Yaaaaaah!" She charges at some more ghosts, punching them, more little cartoon ghosts with bows or dresses or the like, and the Moon healing Escalation washes over her, helping shield her soul gem from further drain, and...

    Yeah the ghosts are a problem and she is on a roll, she summons that cosplay wand -- the long golden stick with a big pink heart on the end and a big red bow tied just below it -- and runs around smacking ghosts with the power of cuteness!

    When Rubeus appears, she winces at what was done to Zoicite, and points the wand at him accusingly. "You again!"

    The Dark Pulse knocks her on her ass, but she's quick to stand again, brushing dust off her skirt. "Gh... Why are you two so damn stubborn about ruining people's lives instead of living your own?!"

    She continues swinging her magical girl wand at ghosts, even while talking at him, though!

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
Zoisite went down with two earrings in hand, and in the clusterfuck of everything that happened, Calaveras didn't even notice. The pain in her ears was negligible compared to the pain in the rest of her body - but then, the Dark Dome -

Fractured.

The slowly falling purification dust stops, leaving the ground littered with dark energy dust, but no new amount falling, and there's - Calaveras screaming -

As, without her Dark Crystal earrings, she is weakened, and Glimmer's electric crackle of hatred sets her nerves ablaze. The first one wasn't all that much - but the second?

There is agony, and then, there is far worse than agony - there is Fire Soul and Crescent Beam Barrage.

Calaveras is blasted in the face with flames and light, two Senshi blasting her with full force, after she's lost the power increase of the Malefic Black Crystal, and then, suddenly, there is a shout of surprise, as the moon shines bright beneath her, before a giant hat descends upon her.

"What - what Moon trickery is this - RUBEUS-SAMA-!"

The Dark Energy is lifted from her, absorbed into the hat as it begins to dissovle away at her, tearing away her form -

And then the Spiral Heart crashes into her abdomen, and she goes flying back, striking a wall with an ominous crack.

She slides to the ground, leaving a stain of blood on the pristine walls of the Shrine, leaving it stained with mortal blood and death. Hikawa Shrine will most definitely need to be cleansed.

The Dark Dome splinters into shards of nothingness, and the afternoon sun once more shines through.

Amy is going absolutely ham on the ghosts, while Calaveras dies, and this is critical, because before long she's managed to hit every single one, leaving nothing more than a crowd of friendly ghosts, each copying her in bopping their compatriots on the head, doing no harm whatsoever, but laughing silently nonetheless.

Meanwhile, as all this is happening, Rubeus stands above Zoisite, having driven him into the ground, and he's reaching for the earrings when they're suddenly set ablaze, causing them to crack -

"You idiot -"

And then they are smashed together into a fire ball, launched directly into Rubeus' face, just as Tuxedo Kamen body-checks him as he breezes by, Zoisite caught in his arms, and Rubeus stumbles back, only to allow himself to fall back into a one-armed flip and right himself in the air, one leg crossed over the other.

Silver Sandstorm glitters into his face, purification bright and ready and -

Just as Esmeraude had casually brushed aside Moon Healing Escalation, with a swipe of his hand, Rubeus sends the glittering dust towards Glimmer, letting it purify her instead, before wiping a stinging hand irritably.

"You really gave it your all, to kill my underling," he notes, glancing at Calaveras' limp form. "But of course we're willing to give our lives for the cause. We are loyal to our prince - and our hate."

He claps his hands together, for a split-second appearing as if he'll pray - and then opens them.

An orb of Dark Energy grows between them.

Continues to grow, as he spreads his hands.

"Sailor Mars claimed this shrine, and revealed herself to be it's miko," he says, as the dark energy continues to grow, larger than a human head now, "And Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Moon, Faux Sailor Chalcopyrite, Sailor Venus... Butlers. You've all handed your identities over, oh so readily. All it took was threatening your friend, and you transformed right in the open."

The orb is as large as a watermelon, and his smile is all teeth.

"We'll see you again soon. Perhaps we'll make it a family visit... a number of them."

And then he thrusts the Dark Energy at the ground beneath him, and it mushrooms, expanding to the size of a standard sedan before exploding out in a wave of Dark Energy that rattles the buildings, the trees, and most certainly, the mahouhjin.

When they regain their footing, Rubeus is gone. The (Now) Friendly Ghosts are gone.

Calaveras' body remains.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Calaveras is having a really bad day. A really bad last day, even, and one very particular bouncy catball is there to witness it. While Rubeus is making his threats, while he's revealing his murderous intent, Luna-P bounces out of the bushes over to the shrine, towards the fallen Spectre Sister, and watches the light leave her eyes.

    Well Calaveras? Do you fear death now?

    (Why does Chibiusa even have that thing?!)

    Mars, meanwhile, is surprised to see the enemy psychic fall that quickly. It's only until she looks at Zoisite, and what he has in his hands, that she finally puts two and two together and... wow.

    She killed someone. She's not sorry she did but... damn. That wasn't a youma. That was a real person.

    Her blood runs cold as she hears Rubeus's threat. The idea that he could attack their families, any one of them, and she doesn't even know which ones...

    Especially considering how brutal they have been. She heard about Junichi.

    The whole thing leaves a cold, sunken feeling in her gut. She immediately turns towards the shrine and says, "I'll... I'll do a fire reading. Try to figure out where they strike next. If..."

    She balls her hands into fists and says, "Sorry. Don't worry about the mess for now. We have bigger problems."

    Then the miko of fire starts to head inside. Her back is turned to the rest of the group, but those who know her probably don't need to see her face to tell she's worried.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy doesn't even notice that when she unlocked [Cute] attacks, her outfit changed to something a little more fitting! Usagi saw it before, when Amy was facing down Sailor Eclipse the first time... Fortunately, it still covers almost all of her body, so she's at no more risk of dust exposure than the Shitennou.

    She hears purification attacks go off, glances over, Rubeus isn't even phased, Did he deflect it like that woman??? Amy wonders. "For the cause?! She shouts back at him. "Your cause is back in another timeline! Everything you're doing here is useless and doesn't benefit you at all!"

    Oh, that's... okay, the orb of dark energy is not worryingly big, but it is taking worryingly long to charge. It's probably powerful.

    And she winces as being called faux Sailor Chalcopyrite means he knows-- and then her face falls as he knows more than that. He saw them?! Their civilian forms?!

    It is a small relief that this identity has no family whatsoever. Most of her friends do! Usagi's family is so nice! She did New Year's stuff with them!

    When he is clearly doing something with that orb, Amy dives behind the corner of the shrine, but it doesn't matter. She grunts as the wave of energy knocks her back, rolling her.

    The darkness is gone. Rubeus is gone. The (cute, friendly) ghosts are gone.

    Amy stands up and walks back around the shrine to the others. "Hey, is everyone alri--"

    She freezes as she spots a body. And hears civilians recovering nearby. There is about to be a problem and there is no Devicer to put it in storage or Madoka to put it in her labyrinth. She looks at the others, wide-eyed, wondering if anyone has any ideas.

    "I could... burn it...?"
    

Glimmer Brightmoon has posed:
Dark Glimmer was left panting, in the end. Clutching the whip. She looked down at it, then at the girl who it... had once belonged to. She growled, before her magic coursed up it and tore it to pieces, leaving it to evaporate into black dust on the ground.

Only for a wave of sparkles and purification to wash over her. She grked, a hand moving over her mouth as she rode the waves of 'Dark energy, less dark energy, dark energy'... Ugh. She hated this stuff, she was going to throw up sparkles again, she swore. She had to stand there, counting to ten, to regain her composer.

Glimmer then turned towards Sailor Moon and... "You have the *worst* fans, you know that?"

She then glanced around the shrine and... "Oh. Uhhhhh... Errrr... So... if not obvious... Obsidian doesn't have any alliance and what not with these people, so ummm... anytime you run into them? Feel free to hit one of us up. Cause like... pay back is fun and all that. Tee hee?" she said, trying to sound like she was totally in this for the 'fun'. And like she totally felt 'perky' like her normal self. Which she didn't feel at allll... And she couldn't even keep it up for more than a few seconds. "Right, does anyone like... need anything before I go? Because... I really don't wanna be here right now..." A hand covered her mouth again. "Guh... Why does dusk porting have to feel so wrong? Only slightly better than taking a bus..."

Zoisite has posed:
It hurt to be carried. Nape of the neck down to his spine, his nerves tingled and grew numb with sharp shocks of pain. Like the worst headache creeping from the back of his skull, towards his forehead and the back of his eyes. Yet he gritted his teeth, fingers clinging tightly around Tuxedo's shoulders as he looked back at Rubeus, grinning sharply as the man spoke threats and more.

Called him an idiot.

Cast a ball of dark energy, and all Zoisite felt like doing was making sure Rubeus saw him flip the middle finger before the dark general disappeared, dispersing the energy.

Zoisite went a little limp then, not trying to hide how much his spine was hurting anymore. "Mamoru... Put me on the floor, please--"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Because dark energy is bad for you full stop. But sure. I'll call Riv-kun, I have his number," Tuxedo Kamen calls tiredly over to Glimmer, setting Zoisite down extremely carefully and taking off a glove. "Sorry, sorry," he murmurs, "that was very well done. Here, for godsake--"

And then Mamoru's bare hand is on Zoisite's face and his expression is detached for a moment, concentrating, as a soft gold glow emanates from his hand: the pain is always the first to go, a gently careful anaesthetic so that the prince can take his time without it hurting.

Muscles, bones, skin, nerves; soothe, knit, push the lymphatic system like a stage mom--

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Mars makes it to the door to her shrine, but then turns to Amy and says, "Don't. If it comes down to it, I can burn it down later, but don't do it right now. If you dispose of a body improperly here it's going to make things worse for me." She waves her hand dismissively and says, "I know the proper rites. Don't worry about it."

    Then she'll head inside if no one stops her.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica nods as Calaveras panics at the sight of the Moon. A small price to pay for the terror they had caused on Tokyo with their incursions.

"Just a sign of your own sins, brought forth by yours truly", she grins, and as her hat returns info her waiting hand, she places it back onto her head with a wink and a bow, her other hand traveling to her upper body's right side.

Her face doesn't betray a reaction when Rubeus announces he now has the means to go after their families, but she is unsettled and angry at the threat, as much as it's just them living up to their reputation.

At least her own family should be safe in England and Amy should be similarly fine, but Usagi and the Sailor Senshi have family here, and while she doesn't know much about the -ites, she goes with the assumption they do too.

The Princess of Sarek's eyes seek those of the others after that wave of dark energy has passed and has allowed Rubeus to depart, looking for her friends' reactions, and for what they want to do next.

And Calaveras is dead, due to them. She doesn't know who dealt the final strike, but it matters little, as they have all contributed to the snuffing out of a life. It doesn't feel good, but she knows it was necessary, especially with that parting threat.

"Thanks for the help", she looks at Glimmer. "Whose side you are on matters little if you really wants to help. Would you have a number we can call, for any other time? Possibly with a name. Mine is the Princess of Sarek" she asks, offering her introduction first.

Minako Aino has posed:
Sailor Venus shudders only a moment seeing Calavaras die in such a brutal manner. Somehow though it wasn't just their attacks that did it, it was the removal of whatever earrings that Zoisite managed to get she was fairly certain... But unlike Mercury she couldn't get readings on the flow of energy signatures from people to confirm her suspicion.

Instead they're left with Rei storming off, civilians waking up, a wounded Zoisite being princess carried by Tuxedo Kamen, a potentially about-to-be-very-upset Sailor Moon... and civilians waking up to see all this.

Head in the game.

Flipping out her disguise pen she calls upon it's power to subtly change from Sailor Venus into the masked Sailor V. While the others recoup she strides proudly to the center of the area raising her fist to cough into it.

"Ahem. Ahem!" Cheery voiced she throws up a victory sign as if she had a spotlight on her suddenly. "Thank you so much for being here today, everyone! You've all been treated to a surprise sneak peek at the new action-packed trailer for the Sailor V web-series! Sailor V: Heart of Darkness, Revealed!"

Leg kick out to the right, strike a pose, and grin! "We hope you enjoyed yourselves with this little surprise the Hikawa Shrine so graciously allowed us to host here! Since we need to clean up from our special effects now, we ask that everyone please make your way to the entrance of the shrine. It will be open again tomorrow! Thank you!"

Over to the stairs she steps sweeping her hands down to press against her skirt as she bows respectfully to each potentially confused civilian that starts to exit. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    If you dispose of a body improperly at a shrine that'd be really bad. "Oh shit, right." says Amy, who just fought ghosts.

    A lot of her understanding of the world has been completely overturned in the past couple of years. She will trust the experts on spiritual matters!

    Veronica brings up the possibility of getting Glimmer's contact info, since she offered. "I guess that wouldn't hurt, yeah. ...How did you end up here, anyway? You just happened to be visiting the shrine the same time as all of us...?"

    Amy shakes her head and waves her hand dismissively. "You know what? If it's Obsidian business, since you helped us, I'm not gonna pry. Thanks for that, by the way."

    "...I forget if we've been introduced, but I'm..." she smiles and poses with one hand on her hip and the wand held up and to the side, "Magical Rocket Girl Red, or sometimes, Sailor Chalcopyrite. And... I know that you're Bow's friend, but you've..."

    Her mood falls at the thought of someone trapped with Obsidian. "...You've got something you've gotta do, in Obsidian."

    And then Sailor Venus gets on providing a distraction, and Amy turns to her and stares. She points the wand at her.

    "YOU'RE SAILOR V?!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Calaveras dies, and Sailor Moon wants to look away, but there's Rubeus, Rubeus speaking, threatening, and horror spreads over her, as she understands his words, as she realizes what she's done, what she's finally let happen, being so careless, and -

The attack goes off. She goes rolling, tumbling until she just barely avoids flying right off the steps of Hikawa Shrine, and clutches the ground.

He... saw her. He saw them. He saw them transform. He knows her face.

He's going to find her family, he knows her face, he saw her face -

The fact that there's a body left behind, again, almost goes unnoticed.

She contributed to that. She helped make that happen, the five of them - Zoisite removing the earrings, Venus and Mars with their respective elements, Sarek with her devouring hat, and her, with the crashing strike of that unforgiving heart, and she's practically ignoring it, because all she can think is that he knows who she is, and even if he doesn't have her name, he has her face, she's wearing a school uniform, they knew her old school, they could find her -

When Amy suggests that she could burn the body, Sailor Moon turns green and gags, grateful beyond measure that Rei puts a stop to that.

"What am I going to tell my parents?" she whispers to herself.

She barely even notices Minako making up a very good cover story.