2413/A Golden Touch

A Golden Touch
Date of Scene:	17 March 2025
Location:	Underground Mall
Synopsis:	Seriss is back, with another experiment; underneath the mall, a place where money changes hands she raises a monster name Midas to fight the Mahou. Also they find out what happens when she takes something personally.
Cast of Characters:	Molly Skyline, 281, Hinote Kagari, Amanda Faust, Usagi Tsukino, Rashmi Terios, Coco Kiumi

---

Molly Skyline has posed:
It's been two weeks since the Mahou of Tokyo last encountered Seriss Nyx and her terrible creation, Socrates. The latter, of course, lies broken in an abandoned factory (or what little is left of it, that is), but Seriss is still very much alive. Is it a good thing, then, that she's been so scarce? Or perhaps not?

The heroes would feel it at around eight o'clock in the evening. A shockwave of dark energy that radiates out from a point in the middle of the city's financial area; amongst the skyscrapers, where the thrum of commerce never, ever stops. Well, unless there's a major power-outage of the like that follows the shockwave, as lights flicker and extinguish across an expanding area of city blocks, soon leaving a significant portion of the city in total darkness, but for the blinking red of malfunctioning traffic lights and a few buildings that have managed to keep emergency lighting going.

This time, the origin point isn't an abandoned factory. It came from the basement of a crowded mall; the sort of place that never actually closes, and it's full of shoppers even at this hour, leaving scores of people in darkened stores and foodcourts, all wondering what's going on.

Entrapta (281) has posed:
The grumpy face on Enissa von Trapp (entrapta) suggests that no, she does not want to leave the electronics store for later. "I can do so much more in there!" she insists, again, as she's drawn past the tech giant. "You're setting science back years, years I say! And I already own pants!"

This was a part of a conversation involving many people; Entrapta only owns purple clothing. The people who care for and about her have decided that she needs to see other shades of the colour spectrum. She insisted as a counterpoint that as an alien she was not able to see other shades, which was revealed to be a blatant lie meant to keep her in purple. Entrapta, losing an argument.

Entrapta, in the shopping mall, being shown clothing outlet stores. Sigh. "You know I wouldn't be long in there, I could just grab something ooh that's cute..." Now she's staring at an automated sprinkler system. It's like herding cats sometimes.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari was in an electronics store getting his phone repaired. He'd dropped it from a rooftop and had to explain that damage to his parents. A 500 foot drop doesn't look like a 5 foot drop. He sighs as he sits in the chair and drums his fingers along the edges as he waits for the repair or replacement when zort.

The power goes out and he feels strange. Something is wrong. He looks over to Tracy, who pulls up a tiny flashlight and turns it on as Hinote Kagari sneaks out of the electronics store. He frowns a little as he finds a darker corner. "My Heart: Unlock." he goes, as he and Tracy merge to become Pulp Noir. Pulp Noir starts to investigate, that pulse felt like it came from...over there?

He sneaks in the dark. Into the crowd. Nevermind the masked detective in the coat, folks.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy is having a good evening -- Sometimes she's just so happy she got the chance to end up in this body -- when a text comes in about helping Entrapta get clothes, and clothes shopping trip?! Hell yes! She is down for it! This will be an opportunity to see how normal people shop for clothes and decide what's fashionable and all that!

    She came running to meet them all, in one of her favorite T-shirts (a red one with that one cute tiger design on it) and her uniform skirt, and is drawn into the Purple conversation.

    "How do you know it's purple, if you can't see other colors? I mean, if you're colorblind, then you'd still have either the yellow-blue opposition channel or the red-green opposition channel... even if the frequency response is different and focused on purple things, you'd still have... I don't know, sort of a, purple/orange or purple/yellowish-green opposition process..."

    Amy holds a finger to her chin thoughtfully, "Wait, but if you can see different hues of purple so well, then you'd have to be able to sense other colors to pick up on the differences between slightly bluer and slightly redder purples..." It is perhaps this line of questioning that leads to admitting she can only see purple was a lie.

    Anyway, Amy is smiling eagerly as they approach the clothing stores, "Look. Sometimes other colors go with purple. Even if you want to stick with monochromatic, you can mix it with black and white and grey, right? And different hues and shades of purple. You could find styles that look cool, and then get them in purple..."

    Ooh that's cute! Amy's head whips around with curiousity to see what clothing Entrapta found oh it's a sprinkler system.

    And then the power goes out and she can feel the darkness, and nooooo, her clothes shopping trip! ;_; "Oh, COME ON!"

    Amy sighs and looks around. "Entrapta, we've got a problem. Seriss Nyx may be very close... I don't suppose you have like, a drone you could watch the fight through? You might be able to help us figure out how to take down whatever crazy stuff she's got this time..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The only way to get through things is to keep moving forward, right? Her family is on a trip, the packing and moving company has already put tarp over the roof and the holes and started packing things - Usagi had spent most of Sunday, packing things, too, with help from various relatives - and now the only thing to do is let the people her grandparents hired do their jobs.

Now the only thing to do is try to keep moving on. Everyone's been healed - physically, at least. So now it's time for the emotional healing.

And what could be better for emotional healing than dragging the unwilling out shopping?

"I am willing to set science back if it means you try other colors," Usagi says ruthlessly, and she actually has her hands on Entrapta's shoulders, and is pushing her down the hall of the shopping mall. "You look great in purple, but just think of how you'd look in blue, and green, and oh, you'd look great in orange, some people think orange and purple clash, but those people are cowards! Cowards, I say!"

A lie is spoken, about not being in the electronics store too long, but that lie is ignored - at least, until the lights go out, and Usagi stops, still gripping Entrapta's shoulders, blinking in the dark to try and get her night vision -

"A power outage? Serious - oh no. Oh no, that feels wrong - uh, Amy-chan, what do you mean Seriss Nyx? Who's that?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Faster faster faster.

Rashmi was visiting Aloisia when her Device detected another Dark Energy-enhanced EMP burst, and only waited to take to the air until she could find a balcony on the nurse's floor. Then it was toward the shopping centre at her maximum possible speed -- highway speeds, sadly, but still much faster in the air than on the road -- and the moment she reached the centre's coordinates, her first order of business was to filter out the possibility of civilian danger.

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

One of the first things she did when recompiling Nicomachea's grimoire; retune her Barrier to more closely align with her mana signature, thus making it more efficient to maintain. What this means for those who cannot see the Pagemage in the air is, the staticky bubble that seems to just wipe away the presence of all nonmagical peoples in the area is gold-tinged, not green, and thus the world is painted with a warmer cast.

Only *then* does she send out the telepathic net, searching for allies in the area, her mental voice panicked.

<< Hello? Sound off if you can hear me! Does anyone have eyes on Molly-cha-- I mean, Seriss? >>

That alone might answer Usagi's question, though in the chillingest way possible.

Molly Skyline has posed:
The Time-Space Barrier radiates out from Rashmi; the civilians wink out one by one, and perhaps this has happened just in time. From the middle of one of the food courts comes a deep rumbling, as the floor buckles and bulges upwards, straining as a sickly light radiates through the cracks before finally exploding, blasting tile and concrete and all the foodcourt furniture upwards powerfully enough that much of it just goes straight through the skylight. The blast destroys all the nearby food kiosks, and as broken glass rains down from above like a shower of crystal, from the depths rises Seriss Nyx, clad in her Barrier Jacket and born aloft on translucent red wings.

She rises slowly; her wings bear her aloft at her leisure, until she's up high enough to drop down to a crouch on the edge of the up-turned crater she's just created, and regards the people approaching her position; Entrapta, Hinote, Amy, Coco and Usagi; with Rashmi racing in to join.

Excellent. A much better turn out than for poor Socrates.

"So good of you all to come," she observes, as she rises and settles Cygnus Lich on her shoulder. "I have a fresh experiment almost ready for all of you to do battle with... but, the key word there is 'almost'. And I don't think I'm particularly interested in you breaking my equipment early, so for the next minute or two, I will be your opponent. Are you ready?" She smiles, watching on her Battle Visor as the names of the assembled heroes appear in little red tags, listing them with targeting information like range and velocity. "Let's keep this simple, Cygnus Lich. Charge Dark Pulse, five hundred barrets, rapid fire."

<< ARMED >>

"Fire."

An openening salvo is unleashed in the form of a torrent of barrets, glowing purple and boiling with as much dark energy as can fit into the unstable orbs, that rocket through the air as Seriss opens fire on the heroes; the attack doesn't seem intended really to do a great deal of damage, however, it's a lot of barrets sprayed into the area the Mahou are coming from, and really seems intended just to slow progress and keep heads down. This time, at least.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Pulp Noir feels the barrier go up in the dark as the people around him vanish.

< Oh. Is this.... > says Pulp Noir into the telepathic channel as he hears the ground rumbling and he jumps backwards, foot touching the top of a 'You are Here <-' map and behind it as he hides from the bursting debris.

He winces as the sign takes the brunt of it as he peeks and..oh.

Oh it's Molly.

He keeps behind the sign as barrets slam into it and he tenses and gets ready to dive downwards....

Which he does just in time, grabbing his hat and ducking for cover as he flips around and fires back shots from a pistol, magic blasts firing through the air backwards.

"I'm sorry Molly-chan. But this is for your own good." he mutters to himself more than outwardly.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Purple and orange? "I could see purple working instead of black for a Halloween theme. Or in addition to it."

    Who is Seriss Nyx? "The bitch who took ovr Molly's body. She's got weird... necro-tech stuff, last time she threw a giant part-skeleton part-robot at us."

    When a barrier goes up, Amy henshins, and pulls a mini-maglite from her belt pouch to hand to Usagi before conjuring a road flare for herself. << Amy here. >> She answers the telepathy. << Not yet. >>

    And then the floor explodes. << Do you see that?! Where are you?! >>

    Five hundred barrets. And she doesn't have Rashmi's buffs, this time. Amy runs for cover, getting caught by a few of the barrets just before she makes it around the corner. Ow, it stings...

    << Screw that. I'm gonna see if I can find a way down there. >> Amy announces to the others, and runs for the nearest stairs or elevator. They're in a barrier; She can just destroy any locked doors and such blocking basement access...

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Pausing where she is, Entrapta looks up. She says, "Just a hunch, but I don't think I'm going to need a drone to see the situation." She's still looking up, when she says it.

Still. I mean, never turn down the chance to use technology. She's turning toward the tech shopwhen her face shows up in Seriss' screen. She's not even watching the missiles, locking onto her skull. Her fragile, purple haired skull.

"I could probably do something with the stuff in here, I mean it's all boxed up though. That's both a bonus and a hindrance, but I mean. Lots to work with."

Wow, she's going to die. Not even trying to evade. Woo, easy kill shot!

She does notice Rashmi's messages, it's not like she totally forgot that was a thing, shut up. << OH HEY YOU MADE IT! >> she sends back, her voice WAY TOO LOUD. It's just possible that she's not had practice with telepathic communication yet. << I GET TO STEAL TECH FROM THIS STORE TO HELP! >>

She sounds so proud.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Eyes on Molly - Seriss is Molly?! But - but Molly-chan is dead!

Dead doesn't always stay dead. Hadn't they learned that from the Spectre Sisters? And then Amy is confirming it, that someone took over Molly's body, and she's staring in disbelief in the vague direction of darkness, when -

Explosion! Down she goes, looking for cover, flare dropped so it can't highlight her - look, the last thing she needs is more people with her identity - and there's a whisper of her transformation phrase before Usagi Tsukino becomes Sailor Moon, who... still can't see in the dark, so back to the flare it goes -

"FIVE HUNDRED?!"

Oh come on! Who needed that many -

"Entrapta-chan!"

Oh no, oh that's not good -

"Moon Tiara Action!"

Barrets aren't dark energy, so purification wouldn't help, and if she tries Moon Space again she won't be able to do anything else, so this is what she has - her tiara, flung from her head, metal transformed into cosmic energy, as it flies in an arc around Entrapta, destroying the barrets that would have otherwise hit her.

Of course, that leaves Usagi open, but she's fine with getting peppered with barrets if it means Entrapta isn't.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
    << *BONG!* >> << AREA INDEX: SOLAR SHIELD >>

A Mid-Childan seal spreads out underneath Rashmi's feet, and she slots a module into her Device as Seriss -- who she well knows is using a telepathically disadvantaged Device -- calls out her attack intentions. And while Sailor moon ensures Entrapta has cover, that leaves the rest of them woefully ill-equipped to defend themselves... which she is about to remedy, if briefly.

A Fairly large bubble of golden light enfolds the rest of the combatants under its protection, holding up surprisingly well under the part of the initial assault intended for them... at first. Under such a massive phalanx of attacks, the shield was always going to break down... but it gives her friends time to find better cover, to take a breather, and most importantly... greatly eliminates a respectable portion of the forces arrayed against them. Each Barret intercepted by the Shield before it shatters, is one more that won't hurt someone she cares about.

<< That's excellent, Entrapta-chan, >> Rashmi says as she starts her defensive flying, trying to avoid the Barrets assigned to her while giving the impression of trying to clean out a mental ear after a voice just yelled into it. << Be *so careful* though, this is not an enemy you want to dazzle with your brilliance. Just look what she did to Molly-chan's Device. >>

While Nicomachea boasts an excellent sensor suite, and has tracked many more projectiles than this on her Meister field trial... predicting the paths of flying debris is less of a tall order than finding the perfect flight path to avoid an entire fleet of homing bullets, and Rashmi takes over a dozen hits as she tries to shake off her pursuit.

When the final Barret slams into an advertisement for It's Food! brand pudding-adjacent nutrient paste (collagen flavor!) she slows to a halt, staring balefully up at Seriss, clutching an arm wounded by a particularly brutal direct hit. "...You do realize that makes us just want to blow it up *even more,* don't you?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Seriss keeps up the assault, until finally the barrets run out and steam is hissing out of the vents on Cygnus Lich's haft and all down her spine. She witnesses the aftermath of her assault; Mahou diving for cover and massive damage to the mall and shops in the line of fire. There are fires that have started up, holes in walls, and debris everywhere. She watches Rashmi throw up a shield to absorb some of her attack, and Sailor Moon throwing out a defensive spell to protect Entrapta.

That one certainly seems to be... the weak link, in her estimation.

The purple-haired witch laughs; not the mad cackle one might expect but a well-reasoned chuckle. "My dear child," she answers Rashmi, "That's the point." She bends her knees and pushes off, leaping upwards and letting her wings carry her up into the space the skylight used to occupy, while from within the crater there come a series of loud bangs. "Lich, overcharge Stellar Buster. Maximum kinetic and dark output. Disengage safety protocols." She pauses, "Target the purple-haired one in the back."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. ARMED >>

"But before you destroy my creation, you'd all best protect your friend. Are you ready? Best get ready. ...Here it comes...!"

Seriss pauses, slowly and deliberately aiming her staff at Entrapta's general vicinity. "Fire."

A crackling, unstable beam of energy lances out of Seriss' staff; and where it hits, there follows a very significant explosion.

As she's firing, the bangs from the crater stop; and a huge, golden hand grasps hold of the edge, followed by a second.

"Arise, Midas," gloats Seriss as she drifts backwards, away from the Mahou, while a horrendously visaged monster of amalgamated metal and flesh with fists the size of small cars makes its way up into the ruin of the foodcourt. "Arise; Arise and meet your subjects."

"Destroy them."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    In the basement, Amy makes -- by force if needed -- her way to where the monster is. She hears Seriss threatening Entrapta and has to trust someone else will handle it, she's down here on her way to sabotage-- "NO!"

    It's already moving. Amy throws thermite 'grenades' at it, but at this point all she can do is start melting holes in its feet.

    Which is perhaps not nothing, but she was hoping to have free reign to damage it before it started moving. So... She conjures a grenade launcher and starts firing explosive grenades at where it's climbing up through the hole in the ceiling. Maybe she can at least get some extra hits in while it's stuck climbing through the hole!

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Entrapta isn't insane, nor is she blind. The shining lights and explosions make her sit up and take note. This might not be the best place for random science. It's directed science that this situation calls for!

But as she ducks into the technology store, she's faced by the one problem of her young life: she isn't actually as smart as she likes to make people believe. She stares at the technology on display and, if given a week or two, she could possibly << do something with this, but there isn't enough time or tools and I don't know what to do! >>

She's not yelling anymore, but she is kind of panicking. Faced with enough tech to build a giant robot, she would need the one thing she can't get right now. Time.

Then she pauses. It feels like there's a sniper dot on her chest, for some reason. She pauses, then looks down. No, no dot there. Why does it feel like I'm being targeted by a giant kittycat or a nuclear sub?

Oh. Right. "Ack?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is just lost. She was just doing her own things a second, and walking into the mall, there is the feeling of both dark energy and magical warriors fighting, and she walks in, trying to make sure, she doesn't alert a response from something she is not aware of.

And she sees Rashmi, Usagi and Amy fighting, not just against a simple youma, but against the monster that has taken over Molly's body. All the more, Entrapta is there too, and with people firing everywhere. Rashmi must have been doing a terrific job if Nyx hasn't already hurt her.

Transforming rapidly, she takes a deep breath and starts singing her song, and at the same time as the melody that purifies, promotes positive feelings and dispells fatigue she is known for, a Live Stage appears around Entrapta, coated with magic that will push in the opposite direction if an attack starts approaching the white sphere.

<< Is everyone alright? >> She asks with worry, instantly availing herself of the communication channel the Page Mage has set up. Even if she came late and all.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon looks at Seriss Nyx, when the barrage ends and the ouches - because oh, there are some ouches can be felt, and decides, she really doesn't like her.

"Don't talk to her like that," she snaps at Seriss Nyx, hating her condescending tone, "And what do you - HEY! You can't do that!"

Of course she actually can do that, but what Sailor Moon means is that, she's being especially fucked up. Targeting the most defenseless person there - it's like the Black Moon Clan. It's nothing Molly would ever do.

The Spiral Heart Moon Rod appears in her hand and is snatched in roughly, a golden circle carved into the air in a swift gesture. If she stole Molly's body, maybe she can be forced to get out of it, and stop all this nonsense -

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

The purifying beams - silver blasts of light that burst from the carved circle in the air - are not aimed at the hideous Midas creature, but at Seriss Nyx herself.

And the very second that's done, she's shouting mentally, <<Rashmi-chan, you're the only one here who can do any shielding, you've got to try and cover Entrapta-chan ->>

And then there's that song, the melody that purifies, and a Live Stage appears around Entrapta. Relief makes a laugh bubble up from Sailor Moon's chest.

<<Never mind. Coco-chan, you're a life-saver!>>

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"ENTRAPTA-CHA--" Rashmi's panicked yell is cut off, as the familiar bubble of a Live Stage surrounds the mad engineer -- mad *scientists* only *theoretically* play god, after all -- and pushes back against Seriss' devastating attack.

As Midas lurches upward, Rashmi glares after Seriss, and slots a second module into Nicomachea, as ten Barrets blink into being around her.

    << *BONG!* >> << BIND INDEX: SOLAR BARRAGE >>

Turning to the lumbering hulk, Rashmi holds out both hands, and the Barrets begin their assault, firing and resummoning and firing and resummoning, each Barret carrying the payload of a simple Bind spell, a golden band encircling whatever point on the monster her Barret hits. Easy enough to break on their own, but as more and more Binds are applied...

...Well, the motto of the Light side of mahoujin *is* 'stronger together' after all...

<< Moon-chan, *do not engage!* She might take it personally and frankly I am *terrified* of how much power she can bring to bear. She's not on Beryl's level, but... >>

...But, invoking that witch as a *comparison* should say enough.

Molly Skyline has posed:
The Moon Healing Escalation hits Seriss; she had a shield up of course, but the assault overwhelms it and burns Seriss, leaving her Barrier Jacket smoldering as she drops to the ground on the far side of the crater. Her hair is signed, her exposed skin burnt, and the gold of her jacket is blackened. And it takes her a moment to clear her head, and for her Battle Visor to stop showing her static.

"Ahh, so that's how it's going to be," she muses, straightening from her crouch, and letting her wings carry her upwards once more. The smoke is still clearing where her last assault slammed into the side of Coco's pearl colored sphere; a sphere that held, though it may have been a very near thing. Seriss brushes the back of one hand over her lips, and looks down to see blood on the back of her hand. "Very well then. Lich, charge Solar Beam; forty second duration, maximum thermal output. Target Sailor Moon."

<< ARMED >>

"Fire."

A beam of superheated energy lances out at Sailor Moon; and oh boy it's hot, cutting through debris and metal signs and the like, as she targets it manually, seeming to be equally interested in seeing if she can slice Sailor Moon in half or just seeing how fast she can run. Either is good, really.

Midas, meanwhile, pulls itself all the way up out of the crater, and hammers its golden fists against its chest like a gorilla before it charges; a few thermite grenades go off on its legs, blasting away chunks of flesh and making it stumble as it bears down on Rashmi. It does nothing to defend itself against the binding barrets, though at first they do precious little to actually slow it down. It roars, running forwards and leaping up, raising both massive fists over its head and bringing them down hard, aiming for the mage and her newly rebuilt device.

but the binds are certainly starting to build up. Midas is strong; but it's already slowing down.

Just the same, it grabs a large chunk of concrete and hurls it in Amy's direction, and then grabs another to fling towards the Live Stage. Because everyone should get some attention.

Entrapta (281) has posed:
Inside the Stage, Entrapta is safe. Honestly it's super impressive, and she's glad to have the opportunity to witness the higher level magics of Coco's group. Didn't get to see those during the interview. But the pause has given her time to think.

'"...You do realize that makes us just want to blow it up *even more,* don't you?"'

'"My dear child, That's the point."'

She's uncertain what this all -means-, and is stuck in that logical loop for a bit. Does that mean that there's a feedback loop in play? Energy transfer situation? Social norm she's not aware of? A systemic emotional play of some type that is allowing for non-allowable actions? Something else?

To be honest, it's hard to tell without further data. But she is able to do one thing: she takes notes.

Note one: you are not a fighter, Entrapta. And the tactical issue at hand seems to be that you are making this harder than it needs to be. Resources being used to help you, when you are squishy and likely taste good with ketchup.

Logical suggestion? Ask Rashmi later. Or read more books about tactics. Or both.

She circles the last choice, and then goes back to taking notes. You can never have too much data.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    << She's not Molly! Just a parasite moving her... corpse. >> Amy reminds, recalling the comment earlier that Molly would never do this.

    Uh-oh, it sounds like things are getting messy up there. Amy hopes she made a difference down here. As Midas stands on the floor above she takes aim, but then it's charging... and then it's *throwing a huge chunk of Mall at her*! She dives out of the way and it misses by inches and smashes some of whatever's down here and damn fighting Seriss Nyx is going to require having ready defenses against big chunks of stuff being thrown at you, apparently!

    << Entrapta! Get out of here! Is whoever she shot that at OK?! >>

    Amy, for her part, superjumps out of the hole, and in midair keeps firing grenades -- now she's switched to incendiaries, aiming to splash burning powder across Midas. Cold worked better last time, but Socrates didn't like heat either... right? Shit, Amy wishes she had a better memory sometimes!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
While she doesn't feel right with the fact she is coming in out of nowhere and she has let them just there, and she watches the Live Stage hold against Nyx's attack, and it's very close with all the energy that she must have been capitalising on. << I am glad you are doing well! >> is her response through Rashmi's channel to Sailor Moon.

But then Seriss Nyx has switched tracks and is targeting Sailor Moon instead, and Coco has to follow suit as fast as she can, forming another Live Stage around Usagi and using her song to give it that very same repelling power.

She is really keeping up the purifying focus of her songs to ward away the dark energy, an effort that should at the very least come across as grating to that demon, and potentially even hurting her with that pushback against the dark energy she is made of.

"What are you even doing here now, Seriss?", Coco says with disdain. "Were the cushions of your home not soft enough?" She is really having it up there with the demon, and the Live Stage she is in brims with energy strong enough to block that mass of concrete and keep it suspended there for future considerations.

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

The advantage to a huge, lumbering enemy hampered by Bind spells is, it doesn't corner very well, and thus is ripe for the same kind of trick Rashmi routinely pulls against hard-hitting foes; flash-stepping *toward* and *past* an enemy committed to the attack, and reorienting to bring them under fire again.

...Only to see Seriss hit by Usagi's purifying attack, and upon seeing the Live Stage close around *Sailor Moon,* instantly decides her next move. She is not, after all, an attack-type Mage, but a supporter.

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

While Coco is concentrating on keeping the rest of their friends alive, her efforts and the constant song have to be annoying Seriss enough that she will inevitably come under attack next. Thus, a spiky, irregular Shield globe of golden ice encloses the mermaid; plenty of room to move, and mostly easy to see through -- unless the light hits just wrong, because ice -- but built to withstand heavy impact, and mess with the forces governing the movement of fire in air.

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

But she hasn't forgotten about Midas, and eight balls of fire streak out toward him, four each aimed at the monster's 'knees.' Tuned for maximum impact, if they hit their target they will *hurt,* and worse, spread clinging, magical flames.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It might be a little late for not engaging. Sailor Moon had, after all, directly launched a purifying attack, only thinking about the hope of getting Molly her body back, and not the risk of provoking the clearly murderous being in charge of that body -

But despite the attack being impulsive, she can't entirely regret it. They had to try, right?

It doesn't have quite the effect she hopes for, if only because Seriss burned instead of leaving Molly's body, but still -

She can't respond to Amy. Because this is telepathy happening through Rashmi's spell, and she can't be so callous as to ask the question she needs to ask through Rashmi's spell, to Rashmi's face, in a fight like this.

But the question will be asked, soon, for it is simply... 'are you sure?'

Seriss looks like Molly but older, not like Molly turned into some horrible, shambling monster, her corpse being defiled.

A question for another time because there's a beam coming because oh god that monster is angry -

<<Coco-chan, life-saver,>> she breathes, eyes huge in her protective shield, and then - <<Fine! The monster gets it first, and then the other monster.>>

Inside the Live Stage, Sailor Moon spins, translucent pink hearts appearing all around her, until she thrusts the Spiral Heart Moon Rod up, and commands -

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

And a giant pink heart, the size of a pick-up truck standing on end, rams Midas with all the force of a wall.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Coco's shields reflect damage back at the person firing on them. This is what Seriss learns, when some of her steel-melting heat is sent back her way. The Barrier Jacket absorbs most of it, naturally; but she herself looks more... burnt than she did a moment ago.

"Deploy Void Shell," she instructs, and the Cygnus Lich complies, snapping a globe of energy into place around her, as she casts her gaze in Coco's direction, letting everything else happen around her. "Assistive defenses that reflect damage? Interesting. Noted." She quirks an eyebrow. "Lich, augment shielding with Aurora Barrier."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. DEPLOYED >>

Seriess continues to hover where she is, and instructs Cygnus Lich to charge a Solar Barrage, dark shifted, four hundred barrets; but she doesn't fire, content to watch what's going on with Midas, with rapt interest.

And what is going on indeed. The monster receives a furious assault from Amy's explosions, Rashmi's barrets, and Usagi's Spiral Heart Attack. It's struggling against Rashmi's binds and it drops to its knees as those are hit. It's body gets blasted by Amy, and it leaks ichor all over; and then Usagi's Spiral Heart just... up and severs its right arm.

For a moment, it looks like this might be over; until it stands, growling as it flexes and smashes its way out of the binds, just to seize its severed arm by the ruiined bicep and swings it around like a flail. It smashes at Coco, then leaps to try and hit Usagi, and then swings it overhead to try and hit Rashmi.

"No no no," calls out Seriss at last. "Focus your target. Kill the red one."

Midas turns to face Amy, with smoldering eyes that flare with hatred; its nostrils flare as it gazes at her, heedless to its ruined face with exposed skull, partly made from metal like the rest of its skeleton.

And then it leaps, crossing the intervening distance with an alien scream, still operating its severed arm like a massive flail as it brings down a furious assault.

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

This time the quick-move carries Rashmi straight up, beyond the arc of Midas *wielding his own arm as a club what the heck what the heck.*

A very soft *ping* sounds from Nicomachea as she resolves back into solidity, and Rashmi glances down at her arm. At the completely full gauge.

Yeah. Time to end this.

Slotting another module into her book, she takes a deep breath, and utters aloud; "Verbal command: Accumulator Purge."

<< *BONG!* >> << COMMAND INPUT EXECUTE. PURGE CHANNELS GREEN. ALTERNATE GRIMOIRE LOADED. AWAITING COMMAND. >>

The module slots into place with a soft *click,* golden light spilling out of the seams in its construction, as a spell seal spreads out beneath her. << I'm tired of playing with this jerk and her ugly toys. Let's end this, everyone! >>

    << *BONG!* >> << AREA INDEX: SOLAR BLESS >>

While it might be a waste of mana to catch so few people in so wide an area, there are others who have way more striking power to bring to bear, and in the end... the choice between her little beam and greatly empowering the others... is no choice at all.

Golden light bursts out from above Nicomachea's pages, suffusing her allies with greater strength, speed, shooting power, and adds a touch of her own magical fire to their own mana, along with the determination to see this fight through, and the burning hope that somehow, some way, they can overcome *any* force set against them.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Focus on your target. Kill the red one.

    Amy's eyes widen. Why do people keep wanting to kill her? Well, it does mean she's going her job effectively...

    "Uhh... I'm not red." She lies, pink sparkles changing her outfit to the vaguely gothic lolita one from the 2023 Cultural Festival. Which still has red trim and shoes and bow in her hair. "Uhh." Pink sparkles change her to some baring-way-too-much-front-torso anime character cosplay in various shades of blue. She feels kinda ehh on that and on second thought changes her mind and pink sparkles change the outfit to the navy blue midriff-baring sailor fuku with black duster and long black handless gloves costume, although there's still some red on the outfit, like the scarf. Also her hair is still red.

    She's out of time. The armflail comes down and Rashmi's boost kicks in and she barely dodges, again and again and again, barely staying ahead of it. She's had to regenerate what was left of the damage Rubeus did last time her luck ran out, and regenerate the barret hits earlier, and thank goodness she did, and that she got boosted, or either the pain or the lag would undo her here.

    She doesn't have time to aim precisely at anything but the arm swinging at her -- maybe that will be enough, if she can cripple it. After the flail crashes unto the floor inches beside her, she aims up at the arm swinging it with her finger, and words from an old anime pop into her head. "[REI GAAAN!]" (Spirit Gun. It's a pun.)

    BANG

    It's the same attack she used on Socrates, the explosion in front of her hand firing a wider-than-usual streak of piercing orange light, but this time on the arm and with Rashmi's fire instead of ice -- hopefully, piercing the arm and spilling fire and burning metal inside it will do something, if she aimed it well enough!

    Especially since the force of her own supercharged blast just slammed her into the floor. Oww... If it swings again, she's in trouble...

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Focus on your target. Kill the red one.

To say Sailor Moon sees red after that? It would be an understatement of the century. She is so tired of people trying to kill the people she loves, for stupid, petty, cruel reasons. She is so tired of the people she loves being in danger, being in harm's way, being targeted.

Midas is swinging and Sailor Moon is spinning, light concentrating at the end of her Rod, and then Solar Bless takes hold, pushes her energy up, her speed and strength and power up, all with the blazing, warm power of fire, and fire has been such a mixed bag in her magical life, but this fire -

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

And this time? The heart has doubled in size. It's the size of a tank, or a small battleship, and it's spinning, and it's flaming, a real hunk of burning love, and with one commanding swipe of the Spiral Heart Moon Rod -

Onwards it flies, directly for Midas' core.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Her Live Stages don't really reflect damage so much as bounce it away from them, but if Seriss Nyx has happened to find herself in the line of fire of what was bounced away, Coco certainly is not about to correct her on that even if it wasn't her intention for it to come across that way.

All the same, she picks up on the fact that the closest they come to use the enemy's power for their own benefit is with Noel, who has a barrier of aurora as well, for the purpose of turning attacks into being healed. That might not be much, but it's a weird parallel to their current situation.

<< You said it, Rashmi! >> Coco eagerly agrees with her friend, her spirit reacting strongly against that threat Seriss Nyx has just made to Amy.

Calling upon Aqua Regina's blessing and accessing her Super Idol form, her clothes brightening and becoming more elaborate, accompanied by the growing of corals and the patterns of water ripples throughout.

Bathed in a white-golden glow, rhythmic pulses of light anticipate her singing, showing the warm embrace her songs are going to give to her friends soothing all the fatigue and pain and push away the darkness.

For her however? Purifying the dark energy that she contains is going to hurt as badly as can be, a consequence of removing that noxious power she is running on. "The Tale of the Seven Seas ~Pearls of Mermaid~: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Finale!", Coco sings of embracing a dream: the journey to find the story that leads all lives to paradise, a treasure that is surely shimmering beyond the seven seas.

The words of the mermaid princess call back to a lute, whose melody that resounded at dawn was similar to a sweet lullaby from her hometown. The enchanted melody shows everyone's hearts the peace the mermaid princesses wish to protect with their songs, the realisation of a beautiful paradise when nobody has to hurt.

At the apex of the song, purifying hearts fly out in all directions, the reach of a big circle of love that won't end. "Fine Heart Pitch!", she concludes the performance with a serene smile.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Midas is doing its best to flatten Amy, but swinging its own arm around as a flail isn't exactly the most precise of military instruments. it comes close again and again, but luckily for Amy, never quite finds its mark. Rashmi's blessing goes unnoticed by the monster.

Amy blowing off its other arm does not.

Relieved of two of its limbs, the dark creation leaks ichor from the gaping wounds; and still it doesn't stop, as it lurches forwards and just aims a kick at Amy. Mid-stride, the Spiral Heart Attack hits it, and blasts away all the flesh (or what passes for such) off one half of its body, exposing it's skeleton; and still, still it tries to lumber forwards.

Coco's finale reverberates throughout the battlefield, and finally destabilizes what's left of of Midas. It crumbles to its knees and finally just... dissolves, evaporating away in a cloud of gritty black smoke, leaving behind nothing but a pair of golden fists.

Seriss herself rides out the wave of Coco's finale, with most of it redirected away form her by the Void Shell. Even so, she grits her teeth; but she's gritting her teeth, and... grinning, as she couches Cygnus Lich against her shoulder so she can slowly clap with both hands.

"Well done, bravo," she calls out. "You destroyed my second creation. Oh I can't wait to see how you fare against the third one, it's going to be a treat. ...But in the meantime, stay in school; you've got grades to attend to, afterall."

Seriss holds her staff in one hand and snaps her fingers with the other, disappearing into a flash of purple light and reappearing up in the sky, above the ruined skylight; and from there her wings go into action as she flies away, leisurely heading towards Obsidian Tower.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As Midas is blown to *literal smithereens* by the power of explosions and flaming hearts and the raw purifying force of Coco's song, and Serris smugs for some unseen camera before taking off, Rashmi slowly lowers to the ground, eyes first sweeping over the assembled mahoujin... then she turns around, staring after Seriss' wings.

"...I never thought I could hate somebody before," she says softly. "But I think I might make an exception for her..."

Squeezing her eyes shut, she shakes her head quickly, turning back. "Is everyone okay? That's why I said don't engage, we need a *big* group for her and *holy heck* Yellow Pearl-chan I am so glad you were here.*"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It's still going. The mecha goes for a stomp attack, and Amy tries to move, too slow-- Sailor Moon knocks it back, and the DPS aura of Coco's song finally finishes it.

    At Seriss's talking about school, she just holds up two middle fingers, and then drops her arms back to her sides, laying on her back on the floor. "Thank you, everyone. I'm sorry you had to deal with that." She groans. "Man, does she just have, like, necrotech mad science labs hidden all over the city?!"

    Amy does the standard after-battle ritual of purifying her soul gem, but is pleasantly surprised. She smiles, "Thank you, Coco. Your song..." She holds up the gem in 'egg' form so the mermaid princess can see the little bit of corruption in it. She barely even spent one wolf, thanks to Coco's song pushing away despair!

    Anyway, she then purifies it and puts soul gem and grief seed away. Then holds up a thumbs-up. "And I'da been squished without you two. I wonder why she singled out me?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi wisely says nothing about hate, because she most certainly has hated, and she is not surprised anymore, about the things that trigger that hate. Of course Rashmi hates Seriss Nyx.

"Sorry, Rashmi-chan. I didn't realize how strong she was... but... I thought it might work, at least a little. Maybe if we got a bunch of us purifiers together, we could get her out of Molly-chan's body..."

She shakes her head, and shuffles in close to just hug Rashmi, tight and long, before releasing her.

"We're going to get her back."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Something about you destroying things", Coco replies uncertain, watching the spot where she disappeared. She had complimented them about it towards the end so that doesn't seem very likely, but that's what she had heard still.

"Everyone alright?", she checks out even if she hadn't seen anyone particularly hurt today. "That would be worth a try", she agrees with Moon. She would try to get here the other Mermaid Princesses so they can help, but the chance of her being able to take them away from their kingdoms even for a brief time isn't high at all.