2421/Seira's birth

Seira's birth
Date of Scene:	09 March 2025
Location:	Kingdom of the Indian Ocean
Synopsis:	Coco and her friends go to the Indian Ocean to celebrate Seira's birth. Things take a bad turn with unexpected meddling.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Madoka Kaname, Cho Konishi, Amanda Faust, Niji Dasshu, Usagi Tsukino, Sara, Seira, NPC-Michel

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
The ruins of the Kingdom of the Indian Ocean, scattered across the ocean floor. A few years ago they were a beautiful and happy realm, but now are the sole proof of the grief that had once consumed Sara, leaving only remnants of its former glory scattered across the ocean floor. The towering structures that had once risen proudly from the sea floor are now crumbled and broken, faded by the passage of time and the destruction that had befallen them.

Only two things had remained untouched by the fiery storm that had awoken after Sara's pain broke through. The Pool of Vows of the Indian Kingdom, even now a serene underwater fountain whose waters flow pleasantly, shimmering faintly in the muted light that filtered towards the deep. Atop the fountain rests a shell conch with a large glowing pearl, bathing what remained in a soft glow.

Not far from the pool, the Indian Kingdom’s throne rests in solemn silence. Time seems not to have passed for it, and the orange colours are as vibrant as ever, while the base proves itself to have remained soft after all these years. It is now a kingdom of stillness, and yet, in recent times lights have begun dancing across the desolation, heralding its revival.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Right after Gaito's palace sank, Coco had gone back to the South Pacific, staying there for a full week to take care of Seira and give the proper burial to Sara (to which she had invited her trusted friends in case they wanted to be there). The official motivation for her release would have been the death of a dear friend, and besides sending messages, not much would have happened until the 9th, that would have seen Coco show up again in the proximity of the Shed.

When she comes there, the plan isn't empty, and an orange glowing figure stands in front of the small building. The yellow mermaid's breath is cut off for a second, lingering on the woman in front of her, a sad smile on her face, and an awkward expression on the ghost. "Hello, Sara", Coco tells her. "It's good to see you one more time", Coco tells her. She wants to come closer and hug her, but she knows that's not really possible. "You know why I am here, right?", the apparition speaks faintly, resisting the temptation to avert her eyes.

"Of course, you are here to lead us to the Indian Ocean and see Seira off. She is a nice girl, I am sure she will make a great heir", Coco replies to her dead friend, and in front of her continued silence, she adds "I am going to call my friends now, so you can lead us there. I miss you", she smiles again, and extracts her cell phone, starting to make a few calls to see who would be willing to come with her, explaining that Seira is now ready to be born and saying where Coco is now, waiting for them to show there. Sara looks at Coco with clear eyes, seeming to want to say something, but only nods slowly and glows more intensely, opening an orange portal laced by rainbow hues leading into the Dream Corridor and then into the Indian Ocean Kingdom.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka Kaname wouldn't miss this for the world. Coco was there for her and her Chara since the beginning, and was even considerate of Gretchen when really they should be considered natural enemies. Plus, after the fight with Gaito and death of Sara, she figured that the Mermaid Princess deserved some kind of happy ending and she wanted to be there for it.

    Madoka's been living out of her dorm for months by now, so it's not that far of a trip to get from there to the Shed. Brai, Lydian and Kamiko follow along, though the divine Chara is currently napping in her Chara Egg, which itself is hovering behind Madoka like a duckling following its mother.

    Upon seeing Sara, Madoka hesitates for a moment. Then, quietly, she approaches the apparition and walks up next to Coco. "Hi," she greets, bowing politely to Sara and then smiling at Coco. "After all that... I guess it's time, isn't it?"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi had, for once, not bothered Coco during her time away. She'd stayed at home, made sure the otters were fed, anything that needed cleaning was cleaned, the place was good... Because, well... Coco deserved to be able to grieve. Gaito was grieving right now with his friends in his damaged castle, Coco deserved to return to her home and mourn that which she lost.

Of course, when she was called she was GONE! ZOOM! Zoomies! Wuwu was even on her back, PROMISING to behave just this once, as a treat.

When Cho saw Sara? She took in a sharp breath, giving a small wave to her. "H-hey. Uhhhh. I'm... Cho. Err, nice to meet you at last. I uhhhh... heard a lot of good things. Sorry about..." Dying? Yeah...

A hand quickly reached up and covered Wuwu's mouth before he could say anything...

... It was probably going to be 'Heh. Mortality.'

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It sure has been a week. They lifted the curse on Veronica. Amy had a talk with another mermaid queen go awry. Calaveras tricked them into revealing their identities to the Black Moon Clan and was slain for it. They finally saved Aloisia and ended the threat of the Prinzessin.

    And Amy's not been sure what to say to Coco. She thinks there was a partial misunderstanding, and Aqua Regina seemed to understand her, and Amy is truthful and will not lie and say she's wrong to an extent she does not honestly believe, but it's easy for someone to interpret that refusal as a lack of any contrition at all, and

    Well, all that happened, and time passed, and it's a week later and here they are.

    Amy waves to Coco, uncertain how she'll be received, but is shocked to see Sara. "Sara?!"

    But it's explained: This is a last visit, a sendoff, like Madoka gives to the girls who became Witches.

    "I'm glad you're at last free of the darkness. I..." her eyes tear up, "I'm... my condolences that... this is what it took." She takes a breath. "Is there anything you want us to pass on to Taro-san?"

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    After she helped defeat Gaito and save the shorelines and more of Tokyo from the threat he posed, showing up for this was a no-brainer, and the rainbow-haired girl had been trying to get more connected to people outside of henshin anyways - so she'd assuredly bne there when Coco asked for her presence.

    Plus, on an objective level, how many people get to be present for the present for the first days of a new mermaid! That was cool stuff. And she wanted to be where that happened.

    So the girl appears, everything about her standing out from the standard Radiant Heart Academy uniform, an overfull bag of sports supplies from likely several different sports hanging off her back that she's stuffing a baseball into. The baseball is really trying not to join all of the other stuff in the bag as she walks up, but she finally crams it in and zips it up with great difficultly, then she takes stock of everything.

    "Hey there, Coco-san. And everybody else!" She pauses, not sure who here had seen her out of henshin, and shrugs. They were Coco's friends, called by the mermaid to be here at this time, so she can trust them. And when it comes to Sara... She's quiet. She's never good at goodbyes, and it's not even her goodbye to give.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It had been to Usagi's great regret that she was unable to help in the fight against Gaito, but then, it was just three days ago that the Black Moon Clan finally found her identity, among those of many others, and the Moon Princess is starting to look more than a little worn down about it.

For the last three nights she's either been sleeping at home or doing very late night patrols near home, to keep an eye on the threat, fearful that any lapse in attention could spell doom for everything and everyone she loved. It's not been a state of mind that lent itself towards being very useful to anyone else.

But Gaito's been defeated, from what she understands, and just as importantly, as Coco has just confirmed - Seira can be born now!

So Usagi comes, with the white pearl that Coco had given her carefully mantled to a necklace dangling now where the Silver Crystal used to dangle, before it entered her compact. When she sees the ghost woman, she blinks, and then her expression softens with sadness and she does a little bow of greeting. She might not have known Sara, but she had been Coco's friend, and that's enough for her to have Usagi's respect in death.

"Hello, Coco-chan and Sara-san," she greets the two, "Thank you for inviting me."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Sara bows politely in turn to Madoka, the Veil stopping her from recognising the girl she fought against on a Christmas Eve that seems long gone. Would she have had a different reaction? Not really, but she would have recognised the one she is now treating like a complete stranger.

"It's no problem", the ghost woman replies to her with a second bow. She had never met her, and it was Coco anyway who had called for them. She had no part in the new bonds the yellow mermaid had grown, and it's extremely unlikely she will be back after today.

"Please don't mind it", the orange princess tells Cho placidly, looking at her softly with her nervousism. She has a vague inkling of who she is, but she doesn't say anything more than that.

"Coco has already taken care of talking to Mitsuki", Sara tells the redhead on her offer. Getting to know what exactly his role in the events after her death had been a struggle, but she can only hope the man can find his own happiness now.

A nod is given to Amy, and a smile to everyone else by Coco when they come up. "Thank you for being here. Seira is about to be born, and even if the seas are at peace, I am glad you decided to come anyways."

She looks at Sara for a second and then back at the group. "So, the previous orange princess usually comes back to see her heir, and Sara has already opened the Dream Corridor so we can reach the Indian Ocean kingdom easily", she turns towards the swirls of colour. "Please follow me."

The two princesses get inside, and they slide forward in the dream place, splashing into the cold sea waters of the Indian Ocean once they get on the other side.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
So is it that when one Mermaid Princess dies, it's up to her spirit to appear before her heir so they can be born? Or is the Orange Mermaid Princess special in that way? Usagi will ask Coco about that later, but for now she's curious.

Still, over the course of her Mahou career, she's done a lot dumber and worse than follow a friend into a glowing portal to see a mermaid be born, so - oh wait.

"Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

aAfter her henshin, she rubs the back of her neck sheepishly and says, "I'm not a great swimmer, so I'd rather be in the stronger form, you know?" And then Sailor Moon follows Coco and Sara through - and squeaks as she splashes into cold water.

"Ohhhh, it's cooooold," she shivers a little, giggling nervously as she tries to tread water.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods as Sara says Mitsuki has already been addressed.

    She follows through the dream corridor, desperately trying to hold herself back from asking questions about how this works or will they be able to breathe or how will they be able to get back or-- "Aah! COLD!" Presumably magic is making her able to breathe.

    She decides to follow Sailor Moon's lead, and henshins -- since she can change costume at the same time, and she abruptly has to picture something but feeling like she shouldn't just go school swimsuit, she ends up in a black-with-white-accents matching set of trunks and cropped rashguard, and the low twintails tied off at shoulder-level to try and keep her hair out of her face.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi blinked a few times when Sailor Moon was... there. Whyt did she need to hens... oh. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. She, however... had an idea. She grinned, pulling out her compact and the sticks. Before... "Mermaid sticker!" Cho yelled.

And she was a mermaid.

... On land.

... She should have thought this through. "A-ack!" she shrieked, face planting for a moment. "I-I'm okay... I've got this..."

She kind of... flopped... flailed... wiggled and shimied her way INTO the portal. And made a mental note. Next time? Do it AFTER she goes in the portal.

... She really, really hoped there wasn't a next time like this, though...

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Niji Dasshu -is- a great swimmer... but she's suspecting that Coco didn't just invite her along for sightseeing. And even if she didn't, sometimes people were jerjs. And EVEN THEN, swimming in an open ocean was dangerous in its own right - at least if you didn't breathe air like Niji is pretty sure actual mermaids do.

    So when Usagi transforms... Niji decides that's a good idea. "You uh... might wanna cover your eyes. Not because of a secret but because you like being able to see." Niji suggests. She knows that on the average you can probably see her henshin from space. Maybe literally.

    And then she mumbles something very fast that includes the words 'Geode Girl Loyalty' and that warning is apt. After a sudden spray of colors, Niji is replaced by said Geode Girl Loyalty. The hair is... even more vibrant.

    "I can swim..." she begins "... but I'd rather be able to fly if it comes down to it, too." she says, gesturing at the wings on her back before... snickering at Cho... helping her out maybe a lil', and going into the portal herself.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka watches as Usagi transforms, and then glances towards Brai. "Eheh... she's got a point. You're the competence Chara, and Kamiko is... actually a bit busy."

usy resting, but resting is a part of work, and right now her work involves around-the-clock surveillance of the Tsukino household. Granted, that's kinda what Familiars are for, even if Kamiko is rightfully hesitant to leave the benotafraids to their own devices.

    Brai, clasping her hands behind her back and nodding to Madoka, says, "Alright. Together, then?"

    "My Heart: Unlock!"

    A moment later, Brai has merged with Madoka and now Hope Blossom is skipping towards the portal. She leans forward to take a peak inside before deciding that she doesn't want to hold things up too long and then slides down. Kamiko's egg follows suit, because the divine Chara really wants to see a new mermaid princess being born and probably won't get another chance unless something disastrous happens.

    Lydian, meanwhile, is watching Cho's struggles and cheering her on with, "Do your best! Don't give up! You can do it!" until she eventually gets through, and then Lydian follows suit.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Nostalgy and melancholy fill Coco's gaze in equal measure, her heart squeezed by the ruins around her. She remembers that it was in terrible conditions at the time, but to see the consequences of Sara's pain again is not something she had considered.

She was still sorry for being unable to do anything. "It's in the past, Coco", Sara sighs at the obvious tells. Coco had always done a terrible job at faking things. "And you had done everything you could", she lands on an awkward note. She knows that she must be saying more, but she isn't really all that great at this.

Even with the kingdom in this condition, the enchantment that allows human guests to breathe and see without hindrances has started to restore itself amidst those spheres of light, although only for those gifted with magic at the present moment. Who are really the only ones who would ever come here anyway, barring situations like Mitsuki's.

Once everyone has gathered, the ghostly princess looks at her hold throne. "It is time, Coco. Please put Seira in her right place", Sara tells the yellow mermaid, who listens and gets the orange pearl out of the second shell locket at her neck. "Soon enough, you will be born", Coco breathes out happily.

On the shell throne, the orange pearl starts shining, and a sphere of orange light expands from it, growing larger and larger until Seira's spirit can be seen sitting on the throne, tail gathered to her chest. The two orange princesses exchange a glance, and then Sara disappears, leaving Coco to mouth a silent goodbye at the empty space.

"Hello, everyone, long time no see!", Seira smiles with the radiance of a sun, and then she notices the two people she had never met before. "Oh, you must be Loyalty and Sailor Moon!", she waves at them. "Coco told me a lot about you! I am glad to be finally meeting you!" Meanwhile, the spheres of light have started to gather around Seira, recognising the presence of the new princess.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy can't help but laugh a bit, despite covering her mouth, at Mermaid Cho flopping. "Okay, okay, let's go!" She leans down and tries to help push the landbound mermaid into the portal!

    Amy is, briefly, happy at the novelty of breathing underwater and being able to swim around without worrying about breathing, then she's surprised to see ruins... but she supposes it makes sense, if Sara was working for Gaito for a time.

    She swims with the others over to the throne, and is so fascinated watching Seira appear, she doesn't realize Sara is vanishing until she's gone. "Oh. Uh... g'bye..." she sayts, awkwardly.

    And then Seira awakens, and Amy smiles back and throws up her arms and kicks out her feet, "HAP-PY BIRTHDAY!"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka and Kamiko's egg are respectfully quiet as Coco and Sara exchange words for what is probably the last time. It leaves Blossom in a melancholy mood, but at the same time this is somewhat lucky. Very few people get to actually say good bye to their passed on loved ones in such a way.

    All the same, in spite of everything, watching Sara fade out is a little gut wrenching in a way that Madoka wasn't really expecting. She almost doesn't make eye contact with Seira at first.

    When the newly born princess speaks, Madoka does force herself to smile for her sake. Lydian comes in a moment later and cheerfully waves at Seira with both arms, calling out, "Hii!"

    Madoka spares another moment for the passing of Sara, but... then focuses her attention on the new orange princess. This a bittersweet moment, and it was always going to be. "It's nice to finally meet you in person, Seira. Welcome to... being alive I guess! I hope you have a lot of fun here."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi managed to make it through! and, only barely, managed to avoid going 'Vic-tory!'

Instead, she swam forward, solemnly, watching Sara... And watching her leave. "I'll take good care of Coco..." she whispered under her breath as the girl faded out. "She won't be alone... I promise..." And she meant it, too. Coco... wouldn't be alone, not like that, not again.

And then Seira was there. "Hello!" she called out to her... moving back by Coco... and placing a hand on her back, giving her a little one armed hug. She wasn't alone. No matter what.

Then looked over towards Seira and grinned. "Hello, Seira, welcome to the world!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Breathing underwater is nice - but the sight of the ruined kingdom is a bit of a gut-punch, even without the sight of Sara, as she instructs Coco on what to do here. As the former Orange Mermaid vanishes, Usagi finds herself whispering little prayers of well-wishes, and hoping for peace in her next life. She has no idea if mermaids have next lives, but -

And then Seira is born, and Amy is wishing her a happy birthday, and Usagi swims closer and waves warmly.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Seira. I hope Coco-chan's only said good things." Her smile shows that she's teasing, that it's all kindly meant.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "Yeah... Yeah I'm Loyalty." the rainbowhaired girl says. She's occasionally opening her mouth, letting it fill with water, and letting the water out. The whole breathing water thing, she doesn't dwell on it - but it's neat. And she's decided being Loyalty isn't so bad, as long as she drops the first part off her actual name.

    She does let her eye drift over to Amy when she shouts, and sort of lets a slow smile out. She's not entirely sure what she should do or say - one princess leaves, and another is born. She... understands, truly, that it's a big moment, but it falls slightly out of her usual realm of experience, and Amy already has exuberence covered.

    "Yeah, good to meetcha." Loyalty says. "You're orange, there's orange in my hair, we're gonna be good friends." Simple as that, right?

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Thank you, Amy-san", Seira replies to Amy at the celebration of the redhead. In a way, it really is a proper birthday celebration, although the one today and the one next year would probably have a different feeling to them.

"Are you alright?", Coco surmises what has happened when she sees Cho emerge as a mermaid. At least she is now here, despite the embarassing circumstances prior to now. "If you really wants to experience everything a mermaid does, I can teach you how to keep your balance", she smiles to her roommate lightly.

"Hi!", Seira beams at Lydian, and then she speaks to Madoka. "I will have to be hard at work restoring the Indian Ocean, but I am sure I will find ways to have fun too!", she tells her relaxedly. The other princesses have already confirmed their support to her, and she believes won't disappoint, Seira thinks.

Coco silently approaches Cho when she hears those words, squeezing her friend's hand, and she returns that one-armed hug. "Thank you, Cho", she tells her. Seira lets them have this moment, waiting to be sure the timing is good before speaking herself. "Thank you, Cho-san."

"Oh, yes, she has", Seira confirms to Usagi, and the new mermaid laughs at the tease of the blonde soldier. "She did, yes", she replies with a serene, smile . The yellow mermaid has been telling her several things of everyone's participation, and the young mermaid is eager to find out words. "I promise you will have all you need, Seira, and welcome to your first birthday", Coco smiles.

Before any further words can be said, a white radiance shines above the magical warriors' heads. Unlike Niji's henshin, nobody has been kind enough to give out a preemptive warning. And there are about five seconds of blindness before they are able to see the new presence.

Clad in a long, flowing white dress, a figure of an androgynous beauty, with pale green hair and blue eyes stands above them with a confident smile, arms crossed while one hand grips a flute. But especially notable are the four large white wings that grow from his back.

"So this is why I was feeling such a strong mermaid presence. A new princess is about to be born... Eh eh eh...", he speaks with a melodious voice. "Who are you? What are you looking for?", Coco becomes tense at the light of the being.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Blossom hears Loyalty's logic, glances up to her hair, and says, "By that logic you must have a lot of friends, huh?"

    Of course, being a Mermaid Princess would be a lot of work, and Madoka is... honestly surprised at the fact that Seira will be in charge of restoring an entire ocean. She shouldn't be, really, because Coco told her all of this before... but hearing and seeing are two different things. "Eheh. Wow, that sounds like a lot. At least you'll have your sisters to help you!"

    Blossom and Lydian are all warm smiles. Kamiko's egg cracks open and the tired divine Chara peeks out from within. Briefly, she pushes aside the top half of her eggshell and floats out, long pink hair trailing behind her in the water. "Hii! We met before at the hotel I think. I'm glad you were able to be born on time."

    Then the new face appears. Madoka doesn't know them. Coco seems tense around them. The pinkette tilts her head at the androgynous person and asks, "Hm? Are you here to see the birth of a new princess, too?"

    Hope Blossom, Lydian and Kamiko are also getting tense, because if Coco is then there's a probable cause for it.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy smiles and nods as she's thanked.

    First birthday... "It's probably easier if you count it as the zeroth... then again, I'm thinking in human terms..."

    And then there's... an angel? Amy looks up at them curiously. "Uhhh. Not about to be. Who are you?" She asks in sync with Coco.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi nodded, grinning down at Seira. She'd intended to tell Seira that she'd have help, to listen to her big sister Coco, she was wise and generous and all of that...

She'd intended to. Except, instead?

... Explosion.

She looked up at the bright, flashing light, a bewildered look on her face once she was able to pull her hand away so she could properly see without being blinded.

Unfortunately, it just left her more confused. "Is... is that an angel?" she asked softly.

Then slooooowly her eyes turned towards Madoka... And Kamiko... "Friends... of yours?" she asked.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She's got to fix an entire ocean? Usagi looks around and then blinks, eyes wide - "Well, if you need help, you've got more than just your fellow princesses to help! Or, well, I guess technically I am a princess, but -"

She gets it, right? Right! Of course she does. And everything is so nice, "Ah, I should have brought a gift! It's your birthday after all, I'm sorry Seira!"

She should have thought about that - and then? There's bright lights, and she cries out, covering her eyes, blinking rapidly behind her hands -

And when her eyes finally clear, there's an... angel.

An angel?

"Um - did you say... you were sensing mermaid presence?" Her eyes are wide, but hopeful that this is still going okay... "Um, well - yes, Seira here was just born? Are you going to wish her a happy birthday?"

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "Work? But weren't you just born?" Loyalty asks. "Seems like you could spend some time figuring stuff out before they put you to work but I guess I'm not a mermaid..." she says, shaking her head and then shrugging.

    "Well, it at least sounds like mermaids know a lot more when they're born than human babies do." Loyalty adds. Then she turns to Madoka and grins. "Well, that's the idea, anyways." she says with a wink. "Friends are teammates, teammates help you win at stuff." she says.

    This is all followed by the new presence and an "Agh my eyes!" from Loyalty. "You could at least blind me with more than one color..." she says, and there's a bit of grit to her voice. "What's up, feathers? You here as a well wisher or a trouble maker?" she asks.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Before the angel's appearance: Coco gives an amused look at Madoka addressing them all as sisters. She can see why she would, and they do share a special bond, and she is not really in a hurry to hash out the technicalities. Nor is Seira, by the looks of it.

Both of them instead would have smiled reassuringly at Usagi about her agitation. "I wasn't expecting such a huge welcome, Sailor Moon. I regard this as a good gift already", she gives her a friendly look.

"The orange mermaids are going to come and live here again now that its Mermaid Princess has come back", Coco smiles to Loyalty. "But don't worry, she won't have to do it alone. I will be here, and Rina, Hanon, Noel and Caren too!"

Lucia was still being kept unaware of her true identity, but it probably won't take long before they find her pearl again and tell her the truth now the seas are at peace.

After the angel's appearance:

Seira stares intensely at the new being, her expression completely unlike her joyous demeanour from seconds earlier. Neither her not Coco recognise who this angel is supposed to be, and nothing like this should be happening right now.

The angel smirks confidently at the group. "Don't fear, Mermaid Princess. My name is Michel", he replies to Coco's question, and then sets out to answer both her and Madoka. "The time has come to end the world of those bland human beings and restore that of us superior creatures."

"A trouble maker? Quite the opposite. I am here to solve all the planet's trouble before humans reduce it to a wasteland", he regards Niji alone for a new seconds. That many colours... why should he need them? As pure white, he is the sum of them all.

"Long ago there were many beings of different species and there were wonderful creatures like us", he starts narrating, looking at Seira's spirit, at Coco and at Cho, who gets lumped in with the the first two. An analysing glance is reserved to the others, thinking what to regard them as. Not mere humans, but still part of the trappings of humanity.

He speaks up again. "But, of the many, human beings have placed themselves above all... The way things have become today, they are disgusting. To achieve a shining paradise, ally yourselves with me! This is the word of God", he extends his right arm down, towards the group.

Michel tilts his head at Usagi with a smile. "Not quite born yet, but of course, a happy birthday to her. And I have a gift for her as well, given the... state of her kingdom", he looks at the various ruins.

"When I will solve all the problems that plague the planet and restore it to the pristine environment it once was, I will be sure to help rebuild her kingdom as well. As part of our new alliance."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Blossom and Kamiko look at Cho and shake their heads in unison. Hope says, "Never met them before."

    Then he introduces himself as Michel and talks about ending the world of humans. Kamiko chimes in, "Definitely not our friend."

    Madoka narrows her eyes at him and crosses her arms. End the world of humans? Really? "Nuh-uh. No! We're not doing that. No ending the world or wiping out humanity. No!"

    Kamiko crosses her arms too, saying, "Word of which god? Because like... I can name three off the top of my head, and two of them are a lot cuter than you and the third one doesn't know what a button is."

    Lydian glances at Michel, and then glances at Seira. "Seira-hime, is this person bothering you?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    End the world? "Wow. Buddy, what are you, Necron?" She crosses her arms. "Gaito was the bad guy and we got to the end and we defeated him. If you want to be the bad guy, you have to start at the beginning and actually have your story. Work your way up to things. You can't just say you're here to end the world out of nowhere. Also you are like, at least third in line on that one, we already have someone planning to end the world."

    She holds a hand to her chin. "I admit, I can't necessarily say you're definitely wrong that the world would be better off without humans, but... merfolk seem like they have troubles too. I mean... Look around us." She gestures at the ruins. "Humans didn't do that. What about you, angel? Is your kind without sin, you who would cast stones at us?"

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    "That was a lot of words but it just sounds like you're here to cause trouble for me and my friends." Loyalty says. "And you know, since I became a magical girl, I've pretty much been made aware of two kinds of people who call themselves Gods..." she says, taking a few steps forward.

    "Well meaning folks who live a long time, have some powers, and need our help to keep things running..." she says.

    Then she holds out her hand and her trusty bat shimmers into existence in her hand, a diet-store-brand version of Kirakirafantastica magic and the only thing Hinoiri was really ever able to teach her with any luck. "And a bunch of puffed up losers who think they're better than they really are, or who want to run things, or end things... who still need our help... but for them, it's to bring them crashing back down to reality." she says.

    "So you might wanna rethink this, 'cause it's my new friend's birthday and you're ruining it by being a doofus." she says, pointing the bat at him.

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cho Konishi blinked a few times and just... stared. And this... this was already looking not so good. And he wasn't Kamiko's friend, either. But he was an angel, how bad could he--

Oh, nope, he just kept talking. Yeahhhhh...

"There are a lot of species out there, though... just not... definitive..." she mumbled gently. "They don't talk... at all..."

"You're barking up the wrong tree, Michal," Wuwu said as he did a kind of... backpedal mermonkey swim, arms crossed behind his head. "Mortals are just like this, but they're a lot of fun. Heh."

"... Speaking of... fun..." Cho pulled out her device and, with a flick of her pen... Cure Wukong was herrrrre! And neat, she still had her mermaid fin. And she yanked out her staff. "So, ummmm... that, actually. If you're going to be nice and say hi to the new mermaid, please feel free. If you're announcing your arrival... kind of egotistical to do it on her birthday, but... fine. If you're here to cause trouble? We're... going to have to beat you up and those wings look VERY breakable so I'd advise against that route."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The angel says some very un-angelic things, and Usagi's eyes practically pop open wide with surprise. When Amy says what she says, she shoots her friend a look and says, "Well I can say you're wrong about the world being better off without humans - we humans are just as much a part of the world as anyone, and it's not ruined, you jerk!"

She stomps her foot, but like, in the water it's not very.. effective...

"Look, if you're going to help Seira, then do that - but if you just want to preach like, killing all of humanity then you need to go. This is a birthday celebration, not a day to declare war on humanity."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
It was hard for Coco to get a read on Michel. He offers to restore Seira's kingdom, which is nice, but he also seems only to extend that regards to mermaids. The way he speaks of humans... That's definitely the kind of talk that unsettles her, and not the kind of peace that they are sworn to uphold.

"That's not possible, Michel", Coco replies, ignoring his "God" claim. "There are many problems right now that need to be solved, but you are not going to do that by overturning things completely. Humans are as much part of planet as we are, and they are trying too! I will never join you for something like that!", she rebukes him.

Michel looks increasingly displeased as he receives similar denials. "Rebelling to God... What fools..." His wings start to shine, growing larger and larger. "Let me address a few things. I don't know and don't care what other gods you have here. I am the supreme God and rest of them are nothing", he speaks with disdain. By his clothes, he doesn't look to be very savvy about buttons himself, though.

At the word Gaito he furrows his brow. Is that supposed to be relevant to him? "You speak of the Panthalassa? They were but one of the two species we taught how to protect the Earth a long while back alongside mermaids. If the Panthalassa are no more, that explains a lot of how things could have gotten to this point. Such a deplorable end..."

Loyalty showing him her bat makes him laugh. Is that really supposed to do anything to him? "Stand aside, child. You don't know what you are talking about. Regardless of the kind of gods you have met, none of them matter."

Amy is earned a scornful look. "Did you not hear me, you brazen child? I am going to create a shining paradise the likes of which you couldn't have foreseen in your best dreams. There will be no destruction here. To doubt the purity of God..." he looks down at the redhead with enmity.

His shining wings extend towards Seira. "Then I will begin with that child!", he shouts, enveloping her spirit in his wings. "Seira!", Coco screams anguished, but in a matter of seconds, when the wings retreat, only the orange pearl is there, and many orange spheres have appeared on the angel's wings. There is zero trace of the soon-to-be-born mermaid.

"Wonderful... So much energy is accumulating in my body... So this is the power of the Indian Ocean Princess? Now I will also absorb this Orange Pearl...", he laughs pleased, but before he can do that, Coco swims there at speed and rapidly snatches it from the shell throne.

With a snap of his fingers, several small purple pixies brimming of energy appear in the water around them, and they fly at Amy rabidly, all of them ready to tear at every part they get a hand on. At the same time, Michel's flute turns into a whip, and he with immense strength, he swings it at Cure Wukong. That is going to hurt.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Kamiko hears Loyalty's explanation of the 'two kinds of gods' and she raises her hand excitedly. "Both! I'm both. I've been either at some point or another."

    Then Michel asserts himself as the Supreme God and Kamiko says, "Rude!"

    Hope Blossom rolls her eyes. She doesn't really think that this is the time to get into this. Just to be safe, she cups the divine fairy in her hands and says, "Maybe you should go back to your egg for now." The pouting divine fairy obeys and hides in her egg. Lydian cosses her tiny arms and glares at Michel, though.

    Then the unthinkable happens, and Michel goes after Seira to get her orange pearl?!

    "Is she... on her very first day?!" asks Hope Blossom, shocked, horrified, and then glaring with her pink eyes at Michel. Her branch bow immediately appears in her hand with a quick burst of pink flame.

    This isn't the first time she's decided to remove someone who went after a child. Immediately Hope Blossom fills the water between herself and the angelic interloper with a torrent glowing pink arrows. "Guess I'll be burying you, too!"

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong gave a sigh when he just... kept... going... He was the only god that mattered, huh? Talk about ego... She was Cure Wukong. Pissing off gods was kiiiind of what she did best.

But at least he wasn't--

And then the unthinkable happened. He lunged to Seira. Cure Wukong lunged forward and...

And she wasn't fast enough. The kid... the new mermaid... she... she was GONE?!

"G-give her back!" Cure Wukong yelled, before swimming at her and swinging her staff with all the force she could muster. Which, with her and the magic stick? Was quite a bit.

... But in this situation? Nowhere near enough. Worse, she was panicking slightly. How? Was that pearl...

... Had... had Seira died on her very first day? That wasn't fair... that wasn't RIGHT!

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Loyalty had heard enough from the guy before he even started attacking - long before. But since he seemed to have some connection to Coco, she let him keep talking. But then the talk turns to actions, and hostilities, and nobody can accuse her of starting this.

    "We'll see how long you can laugh at me!" she says, moving her bat to a she two-handed grip.

    He's attacking Amy and Wukong, but she trusts the two of them to handle things, and he's got wings, and she's got wings... oh, and they're both underwater so probably anybody could go up there and fight him, she realizes, as she's already moving in a rainbow-trailed blur towards him, moving her bat to a two handed grip.

    There are times she feels bad about swinging full force at enemies who have human shapes, but when they've called humans trash and threatened to remake the world without them, a lot of those concerns are easy for her to shift by.

    So moving at her incredibly rapid speed (even in the water), she charges him, swinging that bat with all of her might - hopefully while he's busy being a jerk to others.

    "Sorry, buddy, but nobody in this room is just a human!" she adds.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Rebelling against god... what fools... "Literally an atheist! Also that's what my videogames were about, it's heroic tradition at this point." To some degree, she's being extra flippant to annoy him, since he seems like the sort to care that he's given unearned respect, but also, ideologically, if a god that wants and sanctions this exists it's obviously her moral duty to oppose them, but she'll spare everyone here the moral philosophy speeches, for now.

    To doubt the purity of God... she just laughs. The idea that any god that would demand this deserves deference from those it would destroy is laughable!

    But instead of going against any of the people opposing him... he ganks the innocent. "HEY! She was just born!" Amy protests. "It's her birthday, you asshole! Give her back!" But before she can decide how to attack him, she has to defend against pixies. She tries to swim backwards away from them with her feet, but is not very fast, and her eyes do widen with concern at the approaching pixies -- the mini-torpedoes, on the other hand, that appear around her and fly out to conjure the pixies are reasonably fast. "So... you're an angel who feeds on mermaids and summons piranha pixies? Your mythology is all over the place..."

    She's still being a smartass but sounds a little less confident...

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
All of them reject Michel, as she knew they would, Sailor Moon readies herself for violence - no one ready and willing to threaten the fate of an entire species would just back down - but she's not expecting him to go for Seira, not after saying that he helped create the mermaids.

"Seira!" she shrieks, swimming towards her, but it's too late, and her form dissipates, and she screams -

But not in fear.

No, it's pure rage and protective fury, as he goes to steal the pearl, and she throws herself into a spiral, pink hearts appearing around her and spiraling faster and faster, the water beginning to form a miniature whirlpool around her.

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

And the giant pink heart flies for Michel, managing to miss any freinds going in for the attack.

"Let her go!!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The rain of arrows sent forward by Madoka only gets a smirk out of Michel, and it is but a strike of the whip that allows him to erase all those arrows like they were not there. "Bury me, with just that?" he asks mockingly.

"She hasn't died, child", Michel laughs at Cure Wukong. "She is just part of me now. The same way all of you are going to be when you are done playing", he smirks, his whip lashing and curling tightly against Wukong's stick, before sending it (with owner if she does not let go).

Loyalty's bat does hit Michel, but the angel doesn't even flinch, and just sighs as he turns towards the rainbow-haired girl. "That's what makes it all the worse. You could have joined me in the making of my paradise... This is such a waste."

Amy's mini-torpedoes do make the pixies stop, thrown back by them, but they don't seem very hurt, more confused, and they just look up at Michel, as if awaiting further orders.

His wings shine again and this time they lunge for the Moon Spiral Heart Attack, once more leaving nothing as they are done.

In the wake of the hurt with having lost Seira, having failed both her and Sara, Coco transforms in a blink, skipping two stages at once right into Super Idol. "Mother Symphony: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!", the mermaid princess shouts, glaring at Michel.

While the beloving hands protect us,
The power to live on overflows

Those who shut their hearts..
Those who don't want friends..
One day, you'll all turn back to the same sea.

Feel the awakening pride! Believe!
Throw away the scars from your heart, turn back to love!
Those hearts filled with truth
Will become the seven sounds,
A mother's wind symphony.

The purifying magic will leap at the angel's essence, trying to get to the source of his enmity, and at the same time, a Live Stage will close in around him, manifesting light that binds and paralyses him. At least, that's what would happen. Michel's own light bursts outwards, making quick work of Coco's prison, and the purification doesn't affect him either.

"You really think I can only absorb mermaids? Let me show you", he sneers at Amy, and next his wings lunge for her, an unstoppable force that would envelop her completely, but before they reach her, a pulsing sound makes the angel groan in pain, and he wraps his wings around himself, becoming a sphere of white light and disappearing.

Coco stares shocked at the now empty spot. What just happened?????? He went away and... Seira! He has Seira with him...!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Blossom has known Michel for less than a day and already she is tired of his crap. Sadly, he's not so easily felled. The initial volley of arrows didn't get through, but before Madoka could decide whether or not to draw on Kamiko even further, when she's already done so much... Something weird happens and Michel just vanishes.

    So now they're left to deal with the fact that Seira is just... what, exactly. Gone?

    Madoka covers her mouth, to stop herself from vomiting. Lydian has put her face in her hands and is trying hard not to cry and is only really succeeding at keeping her sobs quiet. Kamiko is peeking out of her eggshell and just... staring.

    Hope Blossom tries to speak. "This was... this was... supposed to be--"

    Lydian whimpers, "This is so unfair!"

    Kamiko blinks. "So like... he absorbed her or something? What does that mean for the pearl? Is she still alive, or..." She pokes her head out of the egg and at the ruins of the Indian Ocean. "I feel sorry for the orange mermaids who are supposed to live here."

Cho Konishi has posed:
Cure Wukong was tossed aside like garbage, hitting the wall and then, well... not moving for a long while.

Ow.

Eventually, her eyes opened and... she pushed off. Trying to flap towards him annnnnd... he was gone?

HE WAS GONE?! Oh no. Nooooo no no no NO!

And then she looked to Coco. What could she... What...

... What could she do? Her staff shrunk down to a toothpick and moved behind her ear. And then she did the only thing she could do.

She hugged Coco. Tightly. "We'll find her..." she whispered. "I don't know how. But we WILL find her. I promise. We won't let whoever... that jerk was, win. He's a big angel man. Like, there's got to be a way to find him. He says he's a god, maybe ask the other gods. Wuwu!"

"What?" Wuwu asked.

"... You KNOW what!" Cho snapped at him, glaring.

"Fine, fiiiiine," Wuwu said before disappearing.

And well... for now? All Cure Wukong could do was hug and comfort... so she did.

Niji Dasshu has posed:
    Loyalty's bat impacts, and instead of rattling him - it rattles her. That's what happens when you swing a heavy object at something and it doesn't take the impact, after all, and for the first time ever, Loyalty's glad that her super speed doesn't impart extra oomph to her swings, because her whole body jostles instead of the angels' - it's like she swung it into something else metal.

    She doesn't cry out in pain - it just pisses her off - but she's also concerned about the mermaids and everyone else and the casual, obnoxious way he batted away attacks.

    Before she can try her actual called attack, so many things happen, there's a noise and he pops off. She's left with a lowly glowing ball of light in her hand - and she looks to where the Orange Princess should be and it just makes her angrier and she throws the unformed purification orb in the air and bats it to let some of the anger out, the rainbow ball sailing off into the distance.

    She lowers back to the group and rubs her right shoulder with her left hand, the bat dragging on the ground.

    "What is it with people and stealing mermaids!?" she yells angrily. "Fine. Whatever. We'll kick his butt." she says. But given how he just dispersed their attempts to do that, there's a little less confidence in her words than usual.

    But then she sees Coco... and. "No, we're gonna kick his butt and get the mermaid back." she says, firmly. Much more clearly. "You all know we are. Nobody shows up and ruins a birthday party and steals a mermaid and doesn't get their butt kicked."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The Moon Spiral Heart Attack is devoured by Michel's shininng wings, and Sailor Moon can only clench her fists in helpless fury, before she thrusts the rod forward again, preparing to try again, unwilling to give up at all -

She's halfway through the incantation, shouting, "Moon Healing-", when Michel breaks free of Coco's Live Stage prison, doubles over with his wings, and just - vanishes.

"W-what?" Her eyes are wide with disbelief, her body trembling with horror, because he's just - "No, no, this can't be - this can't be happening."

But it is. It really is. It's Seira's birthday, her very first day, and she's just - she's just gone. Once again, a little kid in front of her was just - just -

Lydian is crying and Kamiko is speculating and Cho is asking Wukong to speak with the gods and Niji is declaring that they'll get her back, and Sailor Moon... feels helpless. But she won't be that way for long. They can't. So she swallows, and asks, gently as she can, "Coco-chan - you saved the Pearl. Is... is there any chance that she's still in there?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    She's just part of me now. "Oh, eww." Amy says, because at this point she wants to deliberately keep hitting this guy with disrespect, but she's starting to wonder if it's still having an effect. "Dude... the others here would make a way better paradise than you. You want it done right, return-- ah the heck with it, you're not listening."

    Despite her words, it's kind of worrying that her mini-torpedoes didn't actually take out the pixies. And then there's a song, and her spirits are buoyed... But as she's trying to think of what attack will work here, suddenly he's reaching for her. She shouts back in fearful alarm, "You idiot! You think I contain Paradise?!" All she can think of is him absorbing the power of her Witch -- and while it might be kind of darkly hilarious for the guy who thinks he can build a pure paradise free of the influence of humanity to absorb an eldritch being constructed from the psychic scars of being othered and seeing the human imagination dehumanize countless times, obviously, she'd be dead if he drains her to that point and also, the thought of that being turned on her friends alongside this guy's other powers is something she cannot allow!

    As the wings close in she explodes, a dozen or so point-blank anti-tank warheads going off at varying angles to try and pierce the wings--

    And then something drives Michel back and he disappears. "Uhhh. Hey, wait, he took Seira and ran?!"

    Amy looks around in alarm to make sure everyone's okay, then turns to Coco. Angry, but not at Coco, seeking an explanation: "What was all that about??? How do angels come into all this? They're where mermaids come from? What?"

    Seeing Cho offer her a hug, she does the same -- although maybe Coco hasn't forgiven her yet. "This is messed up. We'll fight him, but... what was this all about? What's even going on...?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco lets go of her transformation completely as the crushing realisation hits her, that she has been unable to defend Seira when she needed her most, that she was only able to stand watch. And the only thing to show for it is she still has the Orange Pearl. Yeah, good deal, but Seira is just gone! And you were supposed to be with her all the way and show her the way!

She can only stare down and berate herself until she finally remembers that they cannot stay here forever, brought back to the present by Cho's hug. "I am a failure of a mermaid princess", she sighs in her embrace, hugging her tightly, then looking at the Pearl in her hands when Kamiko's questions reach her.

It was no longer that vivid, shining orange, instead it was now spent and faded. "This is like a severe version of what happened when Hinoiri got my powers. There is nothing in there now, all the powers it had are gone with Seira."

She grits her teeth. "I don't know how we are going to fix this when we couldn't even touch Michel, and instead he was just going to absorb us, power and all. I don't even know who he is supposed to be", she admits to everyone, trying to come up with anything that might even be a start. But she has nothing.

Cho does have an idea, and right now, that's probably the best bet they have. Going to Aqua Regina was the obvious thing at least if Coco can manage to get to her, but compromising one of the Pearls is compromising her as well, so it will be hard.

"Even if I cannot get to Aqua Regina, I definitely need to consult Noel on this. I don't think she is going to know anything directly. She has never mentioned something even vaguely similar to this, and it would have been a big deal, but the Arctic is the biggest library of the seven seas, so we might have something there.

She takes a deep breath and takes a moment to feel for the Orange Pearl when Usagi asks if Seira in still in there, using her own Pearl to try and get a response. "I don't know. There is still some sort of connection with my Pearl, but I don't know if Seira is so weak that she needs time to recover, and he definitely seems to think Seira is with him."

She is annoyed at Amy not realising what Michel was about to do to her, on top of everything else. "What this is about is he was going to absorb both you and your power, Amy. Why would you even think he believes you contain a paradise? he was going to take your soul!", she just stresses to the redhead the importance of what was going on.

"And if he can take Seira's soul from the Pearl, I don't think the Soul Gem would have protected you! You would been stuck in him, just like Seira seems to be!" she sighs, pacing back and forth.

"Let's just go back and try to collect ourselves", she nods at the others. Luckily for them, the Dream Corridor Sara has opened is still standing, even if she cannot tell for how long. "I am going to put a notice in the Shed, and then try to find out as much as I can. I will let you know if I find something."