535/Deadliest Prank

Deadliest Prank
Date of Scene:	01 October 2023
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	(TW: Belief of impending doom) The 'death curse' placed on Molly is making its way through her system, forcing her to go for help... Can one TSAB agent, a magical dessert cook and a pilot of space, time and Pluto save her? Hopefully... At least, if she was in actual danger.
Cast of Characters:	Chrono Harlaown, Molly Skyline, Chiyo Sakai, Setsuna Meiou

---

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono's phone had been... busy.

<PHONE> A text from Molly Skyline: Chrono OMG I made a mistake I met Sunbreaker in the street and I was boiling mad about what she did to Rashmi-chan and I picked a fight and SHE CURSED ME AND NOW I HAVE SIX HOURS TO LIVE pls help ASAP OMG HELP

<PHONE> You text Molly Skyline: Wait, WHAT?! A curse? A death curse? Describe it to me. I'm in room XXX at the dorms, get over here now. I'm going to gather everyone I can.

<PHONE> You text Setsuna Meiou: PLUTO! Emergency, who do you know who can deal with death curses? The message arrives late at night, almost 10pm.

<PHONE> A text from Molly Skyline: HOW SHOULD I KNOW NEVER BEEN CURSED BEFORE

<PHONE> A text from Molly Skyline: Sorry!

<PHONE> You text Molly Skyline: It's fine, it's fine, we'll figure it out. Wait, no. Have your device scan you, send me the readings and THEN GET OVER HERE!

<PHONE> A text from Molly Skyline: It's a black snake on my arm like a tattoo. I can feel it moving up my arm. Sunbreaker says when it reaches my heart it'll kill me.

<PHONE> A text from Molly Skyline: How do I even do that? I'm not sure Starcrash can do that! Starcrash really only cares about dishing out damage.

<PHONE> You text Molly Skyline: I'm sending over scan protocols. Inform Starcrash that if anything happens to you because it refused to perform basic user protections it will be lucky to be installed in anything more advanced than a earth VACUUM CLEANER WHEN I GET A HOLD OF IT!

<PHONE> A text from Molly Skyline: Starcrash admitted it already had them it just doesn't like doing it. Sending over the scan results in a few minutes and I'm on my way.

<PHONE> A text from Setsuna Meiou: None of the Senshi have curse breaking powers. Your best bet is getting in touch with Guardian Daifuku, her magic can heal and purify. If that doesn't work, it will probably at least buy you time. At which point you either find a curse breaker, try to kitbash some kind of ritual, or go track down the one who threw the curse and introduce their face to the nearest bulkhead repeatedly until they undo the curse. (Response comes back about five minutes after the text to her)

<PHONE> You text Setsuna Meiou: Apparently it was some girl named Sunbreaker, the one who hurt Rashmi. In six hours, well. More like five hours now, it'll kill her. I have some scans, but they aren't conclusive. The magic isn't like anything I recognize. I'm reaching out to people I know. I don't know Guardian Daifuku, can you contact them?

<PHONE> A text from Setsuna Meiou: She's onboard. Where do I have her meet you?

<PHONE> You text Setsuna Meiou: My room. XXX.

<PHONE> A text from Setsuna Meiou: she's on her way. Keep an eye on outside.

<PHONE> You text Setsuna Meiou: Thanks. If you have any other ideas, please let me know. I know it's late, but well... time crunch. I'm doing what I can from here.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Setsuna had also been busy, aiding where she could.

<PHONE> A text from Setsuna Meiou: I hate to bother you, Miss Sakai, but there is something of an emergency. Apparently, someone had had a death curse laid upon them. You're the only person I know with any kind of purification magic.

<PHONE> Chiyo responds only after a few moments: It's all right. I said I'd help with such things if you needed me to. Where do I need to go?

<PHONE> A text from Setsuna Meiou: This dorm room. Warning, it's on the boys side, so you might want to be sneaky about it. (Gives Chrono Harlown's room number)

<PHONE> A text from Setsuna Meiou: will you be coming from inside or outside?

<PHONE> Text from Chiyo: Outside. I don't stay in the dorms. I'll be there quickly though, I'm not far from the school.

<PHONE> A text from Setsuna Meiou: Got it. I'll let them know to keep an eye out for you.

<PHONE> Text from Chiyo: All right. I'll be there soon.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Which all led... to now. Chrono had left the window open and his roommate had departed in order to find some help of his own, though it was unknown if he'd be able to. Chrono was going over those scans with a fine tooth comb, trying to find a way to break the spell over the poor girl, while simultaneously sending out the occasional message with others. He, unfortunately, hadn't any idea WHO to turn to in this situation and was in the midst of... no, a panic wasn't the right word. Determined focus.

It was... honestly, the kind of situation he was fairly good at. But now he just needed the two to arrive and come through the window. They had... upwards of four, almost five hours to crack this case. Molly WOULD NOT DIE. He wouldn't allow it.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Luckily, Molly can fly.           That's about the only thing she feels lucky about right now.

The purple-haired teen arrives through the open window, and collapses on her knees just in side.

"OKay, I'm here," she gasps. Already, she sounds utterly exhausted. Well, in fairness, anyone who's got a death curse on them with a six hour timer would probably be pretty worked up about it, and it's late in the day to compound the problem.

"Why didn't I just ignore her? I *could* have ignored her," she babbles. As if she could possibly have. Back home in England if a bully had picked on one of her friends would she have let it slide? No, never. Even if she'd known she'd get her ass kicked she'd have picked that fight, if for no other reason than to let everyone know that there'd be a fight. So that's what she did with Sunbreaker.

And look where it got her.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
It's hard to tell from outside what windows to the dorm led to which room. While it was nice they all had windows to let in natural light there was also the fact that it made it all the more difficult to actually pick out the correct window. It's the only reason that Guardian Daifuku lingers a bit debating if she ought to change again so that she can just enter like a normal person---

"This is wasting time," she decides with a sigh of annoyance. "Bonito, you know the room number. Go alert whoever is inside to signal from the window so I know where to go. Changing back then changing again is going to take too much energy."

The request is given to her spirit guide who promptly sets out to do just that. Up to the door he goes pausing only to listen at the door momentarily. Molly had just arrived so he knows from what he overhears this is DEFINITELY the right door. With a deep breath he thumps a foot to the door, intoning in his deep bass voice, "Hey. Open up. We're here to help." It's all he says from the hallway side of the door so as to not alert others who may not know what's going on as he waits for the door to open.

Once it does, the tubby white and orange tabby cat with flaming orange eyes gazes up impassively. "Good, you're here. Guardian Daifuku needs you to let her know which window to come in from."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown nodded and glanced towards her and... "Sit on the bed," Chrono said in a firm, commanding voice. Despite the fact he uhhh... was very small, he was also in very black, very commanding outfit. And also he had the tone, and look, of a soldier. A soldier who was in action.

"What happened, happened," Chrono said firmly. "We cannot change that. What we will do is change the future." He held out his staff to her and started running his own scans. She could feel the magic washing over her, alerting her that she was being scanned. Which was pretty obvious. He was already hard at work, trying to identify the curse.

And it was a doozy. Of a type of magic he didn't recognize. Aside... from the dark energy.

Aaaand then the door. He walked to it, opened it and... huh? Left. Right. Up... then down. And sigh. "Daifuku-san?" he asked. Of. Course.

Guh. Even if he didn't... like... this... he could suppress those feelings. For now.

Of course, once he knew WHY the cat was here, it was simple. He held out his staff and a small, blue orb appeared. It then flew out the window and circled a few times, alerting Daifuku where to come. Meanwhile, he moved to Molly's side and continued his work.

"Did she mention any ways to break this curse?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly looks to be a mix of embarassed, defeated, and terrified, all in one expression. She sits on the bed, resting Starcrash across her legs and gripping the staff tightly with both hands, as if somehow that's going to help (which it isn't). When Chrono gets up to answer the door and sends the beacon out the window, she waits patiently for that, too, even though it's really hard to be patient when you've got less than five hours to live.

"No," she replies, with a rapid shake of her head. "No, she just... kicked my butt, then held me by the throat and told me she was basically sick of us interfering in her business and cursed me. Told me I'd die in six hours, or, whenever the snake reaches my heart but she said about six hours, or maybe less, and then said she hoped me being dead would serve as a warning to everyone else to leave her alone."

"Which we absolutely cannot do," Molly babbles on, "Because she's evil and she does evil things and we have to stop her!" She pauses, face flushed as she looks at her knees, "Or, you and Rashmi-chan and other people like us do if I'm not... still here tomorrow morning."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The lorge Bonito merely nods a single time. While not invited in outright that doesn't stop him from walking in purposefully to stride over toward Molly where he stops, turns, and flumps down near her feet with his own feet tucking under to become a proper loaf. One ear twitches a single time and his eyes half-lid as if dozing peacefully, a furry landmine in Chrono's room minding his own business.

Outside, the light that flits out the window alerts Guardian Daifuku properly. There *were* a few other open windows, some lit, some not, so she hadn't been a hundred percent sure. This was without a doubt obvious. A single jump brings her up to the windowsill with a little creak of her shoes on the edge. If the figure of a purple haired girl wearing a kimono top and a traditional waist-apron weren't enough of a clue she clears her throat.

"Hi. I'm Guardian Daifuku. I heard there was an issue?" She looks between Molly, and Chrono, with only a hint of recognition on seeing Chrono. Molly was a new face entirely.

Gingerly her legs swing in through the window letting her land properly on her feet so she can pat down her skirt before anything might show.

"I've fought Sunbreaker before but I didn't know she was capable of curses."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown nodded to Molly, his focus on the readings. "If she believes threats like this will get us to stop interfering, she really knows nothing about this world. And if she thinks we're going to just let you die, she knows even less," Chrono muttered.

Unfortunately, he had no idea where to start. So... he started at the beginning. Trying to identify and undo whatever this... thing... was on her. "We won't stop. Ever. Those of us who defend this world won't allow our resolve to be broken like this. We will save you, Molly-san."

He tried to be determined, to be calm. To not show how worried he was. They still had hours. If.... if he made no progress in a few hours... he'd... focus on his failure, on ensuring whatever message she wanted to the world was given....

He nodded to Daifuku and then motioned to the snake-like tattoo coiled around Molly's throat, down her shoulder and to her arm. Slowly making its way up said arm, about to the elbow now. "She's been cursed. Apparently when the snake reaches her heart, it will kill her. we're... doing what we can in the meantime."

Molly Skyline has posed:
"And there's not much I can do about it," Molly mumbles sullenly. "Starcrash is great, but it's... pretty single-minded about offense? It really doesn't have muc more than the basics for anything else. Kind... how I play a sorceress in Dungeons and Dragons, honestly," she adds, trailing off a bit at the end.

Maybe she should rethink that.

For a moment Molly is just sitting there, distracting herself by thinking about spells in her favorite RPG. Is Grease a good spell, actually? I mean all it does is make people fall down, but what if that's actually good? It'd give the rogue and the fighter advantage, afterall, and between sneak attack and action surge that could be pretty lethal.

Lethal. That's a word that brings her thoughts right back to the moment.

"It's really uncomfortable, too," she adds, "It feels like I can't breath very well." She pauses, biting her bottom lip. "I mean... I guess I really never thought a death curse would feel nice, but... still."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku approaches slowly so as to not get in the way of what was apparently being done by Chrono with his own device. While she wasn't a Device user herself, she had met a few already so knew that they were capable of things. "Can your device heal your injuries, as well? I met another Device user who could do that, but I had to help him regain his strength so it could happen. He said it also helped to recharge his device enough to allow it to aid in physically healing him, too."

Lifting a hand she pauses only to let her gaze flit toward Molly questioningly. "Can I touch your arm to inspect it?" It might not make a difference but she was wondering if this was similar to the Dark Fire burns she'd gained from her last fight with Sunbreaker. Only somehow condensed into this snake curse thing.

Her eyebrows draw together thinking. "I may ask some odd questions. I promise they may help though," she assures quietly keeping calm herself. There was still time. "Did you have a favorite candy or dessert when you were younger? Something that you love, or haven't had in awhile? Maybe something you had during a really happy memory in the past?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown just continued to scan her. Well... he... could figure out something. there was certainly SOMETHING in it. A payload. And at the current pace, it would reach her heart in about four hours, forty-two minutes and... It'd likely release that payload.

Could they shield against it? Maybe? But he didn't even know what kind of payload it was, aside from dark energy. "When this is over I'll look over Starcrash to see if it has suffered any damage in its programming. A device is supposed to help keep its wielder safe, not ignore their wielder's defenses."

The seal on her arm, at least, if Daifuku touched it... DEFINITELY dark energy. A lot of it. Powerful stuff. It seemed Sunbreaker had gotten stronger. Not quite the same as the flames, though. Those were dark energy burns. This? This was active magic... Dangerous magic.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Also, it's tender, and any time anyone touches it, Molly winces. She doesn't react quite like she normally would; her responses are certainly muted, as she's stuck in this situation with absolutely no idea how to deal with it. It's not like she can just chuck a twenty-sided die and hope for a good roll. This is the real thing.

"Uhm." She looks at Daifuku, and takes a moment to piece together what she just said. Or rather, what was asked. "Uhm. Sorry. ...Turkish Delight, I love the stuff. It's uhh, a popular treat in England." She uhms softly. "You know, like in "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe." If anyone here besides her has ever read it. Maybe she should get Rashmi a copy. If she's still alive tomorrow.

"Starcrash is extremely focused on offense," she mumbles. "It only does defensive stuff if I tell it to. Though I mean I kinda thought... that was how it worked for everything." She gulps softly. "So, like, do curses like this happen a lot?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Turkish Delight," Daifuku repeats while her fingers gingerly and gently brush against the arm feeling that little off sensation of dark energy. She steps away after a heartbeat or two confirming it was indeed just as awful as she thought. She didn't have scanning devices like the other two though so she just crouches down a moment to run her fingers through Bonito's fur a time or two. "We better prepare," she informs him only for a little sigh to come.

It's quick. It's magic. It's almost over in the blink of an eye, or the flicker of a candle. When Daifuku stands again she has a very long handled wooden mallet in hand that looked as if it were very much meaning 'business'... But there's no sign of a cat anymore. Maybe to Chrono's relief.

"Okay. Turkish Delight. I've heard of it but never made it before." Which meant she had to do some research first and quickly. Her phone is pulled out to send a quick text to Sailor Pluto hoping she might get some more information before she attempts to just Google it.

"What I can do is use my powers to cook desserts and they have the ability to restore, purify, and heal a bit. Given it's a rather powerful thing we're up against, I want to make sure it's going to pull at as deep a memory as I can. I could just cook random things, but ..." She wanted to make sure. Her lips purse as she starts to focus on her little search.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown didn't understand any of those references. Not a single one of them. All he could thing was... how did it matter? Maybe it didn't. Maybe it was all a matter of Daifuku trying to get her to focus on something other than her possible demise. He didn't know. He didn't want to think about it, either way. Instead, he focused on what he could do. In this case, helping her.

And he felt oddly powerless. He'd... felt like that a lot lately. "No, they're quite rare," Chrono said. The truth was he didn't even know they were POSSIBLE. He'd seen delayed magic. But.... "I'm going to try something. Don't worry. It's a spell for dispelling."

He held out his device and...

            <Struggle Bind!>

A blue magic circle would appear under Molly, moments before ropes of magic lifted up, wrapping around her. She could feel it, stripping away her magic. Or, at least, trying. If she'd had any enchantments on herself, they would have likely been torn away. However, a moment later the binds were gone... but the snake remained. And he, once again, had that focused look on his face.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly sits still, letting Chrono cast his bind. Starcrash is, clearly, unhappy about it but doesn't utter a word of complaint. (Molly have have passed on Chrono's earlier threat verbatim.) She sits through it while the bind siphons her magic; she didn't have any enchantments up. She's probably unaware that's a thing you can do.

Chrono still looks concerned enough afterwards, that Molly almost doesn't bother to look at herself to see if the snake is gone. But she looks, and it's still there, of course.

"So... back in England," Molly mumbles, looking back to Daifuku and the mallet that used to be a cat, that she somehow didn't find hte presence of mind while he was sitting beside her. "I grew up in an orphanage until I was just starting to be a teenager, right? So there was always lots of kids around, and we played make-believe outside a lot. But one day it had been raining outside super hard for a week, and we were all bored, but one of the adults showed up with some beat up Dungeons and Dragons books and some of us started playing. And we played all day, like, we were level three by the end of it, I was playing a sorceress -- a tiefling with white hair, wild mage, and I still have her character sheet, too -- and we'd spent the last three hours before bed in this big fight with an undead knight and his black unicorn." That last bit feels oddly familiar right about now but still.

"Anyway, it was awesome," Molly finishes. "And we were munching on candy for the whole fight, I ate like... all of the Turkish Delight 'cause I was greedy. But anyway, it was awesome, and we won, and... and it's one of my favorite memories. All five of us still keep in touch all the time."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Unlike Guardian Daifuki, Sailor Pluto HAD memorized the room numbers from the outside.

Well, not EXACTLY...but she was familiar enough with the school and the room assignment pattern that the difference was academic at best.

Thus it is that she needs no guide in to make the direct leap through Chrono's open window to land on the floor just inside the room.

All four and a half feet of her.

SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than the last time Guardian Daifuku had seen her, for certain.

The moment she lands, she plants the butt of her staff, then leans heavily on it, taking deep breaths as she catches her wind.

In between gasps she says, "...sorry I...took so long...getting here... ...this was...far easier...when I was...taller."

After about a minute or so of getting her wind back, she manages to recover enough to reach over towards Daifuku and say, "Hold out your hands."

And as soon as the other magical girl does, she twists her wrist in a certain way, and a small box from a famous confectioner falls into the waiting hands, "That's some I picked up as an example...and I looked up a recipe that looks pretty good on my phone on the way here."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku didn't know what it was that Chrono was attmepting. This wasn't her sort of magic, after all. So she watches with keen interest to see how this 'binding' works only to find her senses unable to really grok what it was doing. There was some lessening of power in the room she could tell but just barely. It was only from her hands around her hammer that she could feel thrumming, as if the vibrations of magic had shifted somewhat and it was reacting. He was reacting? It seemed her spirit guide *was* her weapon after all. Or at least had taken the guise as such for now.

Carefully she keeps her expression neutral when it becomes apparent the attempt hadn't worked so that she doesn't risk lowering Molly's spirits further. At least she's thinking of those happier times. The story is listented to with avid interest in her golden eyes fixated on the other girl. "That sounds like a wonderful time," she agrees easily.

The urge to look down at her phone again is ignored while she pays attention. All the more reason she's glad to suddenly see Sailor Pluto--Though her head jerks back a bit in surprise as she's shorter now. "What happ--" she begins only to have Pluto request her hands. Obediently she offers them out with the hammer leaning tucked in against her shoulder.

The box is taken with a broadening grin. "That's perfect, thank you. Reference always helps, and a recipe doubly so."

With these new items in hand she looks between Molly, and Chrono, grinning brightly. "Now, it will take just a bit, but are you ready to try my magic?"

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown nodded, listening to her story and not understanding much or any of it. "I'm, admittedly, not very familiar with all of earth hobbies. However, it sounds like you had quite a bit of fun. Perhaps one day we can play this... dungeons and dragons together," he said, eyes glancing around at the messages. He looked frustrated, but determined as always.

"I've, admittedly, never met any undead, nor a black unicorn. But the universe is quite large and dimensions many, so it may exist. Once this is all settled, we'll go and get you as much turkish delight as you like." Pause. "That is the strangest name for a candy I think I've ever heard... but I'm sure I'll hear stranger soon."

He, barely, managed to not even SMILE at Pluto's arrival and out of breathness. Supersrssolderboi.

"Yes, at the very least, I should be able to monitor the effects."

It was snaking up the girl's arm now, approaching ever closer....

Molly Skyline has posed:
Once Molly is finished telling her tale, she looks back down at her arm. Which, naturally, was a bad move; the snake is still there, and it's still moving, and still inching up towards her heart. "So like, if you do manage to stop it, but it's still *there*, I'll just find some way to explain to my Moms that I decided to get a really cool tattoo without asking them, and then I'll get grounded for life, but they'll probably parole me in six months for good behavior and, and, and I'll still be alive."

The purple-haired girl looks bad and forth between all present, including Sailor Pluto, whom she smiles gratefully up at, trying to put on a brave, 'I'm not gonna die' face.

"Thank you for coming," she adds. "Uhm, I'm Molly. Skyline. Molly Skyline." She blushes as she manages to fumble her own name. Everything is hard when you're expecting to die shortly.

"Uhm, I'm ready to try pretty much *Anything* right now," she answers to Daifuku, and promptly blushes even worse. "I'm sorry, that was rude and I didn't mean to be. Yes, I'm very ready to try your magic, and I'm *very* grateful to you for coming to try it."

She resists the urge to ask Chrono if he had any luck. He hasn't, she knows that much already. "Uhm, anything Starcrash or I can do?" she asks, quietly.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto looks over at Chrono, "...Mister Harlaown...I'm afraid we really haven't gotten much chance to discuss more of the technical details of what your magic style can do...but do you have some way to transfer energy from one person to another? I've seen Guardian Daifuku work, and the best I can really do is play gofer for her and maybe an extra set of hands...but from what I gather of how her magic works, that might be a better job for the young lady here...but if you've got some way to transfer energy, I'd be more than happy to donate."

She looks over at the other magical girls, "...I don't know if having more power to drive your magic will HELP...but I can't imagine that it'll HURT."

She shrugs, "Anyway, whatever I can do, I'll help in any way I can."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku offers a softer expression at Molly. "I'm Guardian Daifuku. Don't worry Molly. We'll save you." Somehow she managed to sound fully convinced. She knew her own powers, and knew what they were capable of. To break a killing curse, though? It's Pluto's own remark that causes her eyes to light up with an idea.

"Fire. My powers are from the fire god of the hearth and home. If you can use some of your own powers to create a fire as well I can add it to the ones I use. I know from experience that I was able to take Sunbreaker's flames and absorb them into my own. This might help add more power to what I make, too."

It was worth a try. More than worth a try. The Turkish Delight is slid into the pocket of her apron leaving her hands free to swing her wooden mallet forward offering it in the center of the group. "If any of you can do that, do it now, and then I'll get started. It will take me awhile--But time won't be such an issue to you all. And Sailor Pluto can assist on that perhaps otherwise. But if you can channel some of your power into flames I'll accept them and get to work."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown gave her a small, encouraging smile. "If it comes down to it, I'll personally come and explain things to your parents. They likely won't understand, but I can at least make it sound official enough they'll likely not get too angry at you. As for what you can do? Starcrash, continue to monitor the curse. Try and get a proper reading on the payload so we can calibrate a shield in the event we are unable to dispel it in time. You, Molly... feel free to talk more about the games you played with others."

Chrono then glanced to Pluto. "While... I am aware of such a spell, I'm not actually any good with it. My talents lie in temperature manipulation and binds. I'd be unable to do such a thing. However..."

Daifuku's suggestion was... possible. "I... may have a fire spell. However, I'm... wary of using it in this room. It is meant for short range, explosive destruction. It would likely take out this room, about four others besides it and then not even counting how many rooms above us would be destroyed. If... you'd like to step outside, I'd be happy to shoot your... mallet with my fire."

Of course, once they were outside, welllll... He'd hold out his staff. He WOULD have made a barrier... but with so, so, so many magical people in the school, he figured it might set off SO MANY PANICS if suddenly a barrier popped up in the middle of the school. And they didn't have time to explain what was going on.

So instead...

            <Blaze Cannon!>

He unleashed a veritable swirling vortex of fire up and out. The fire of fire blast that one might assume was made by someone 'compensating' for something. That, or one that was used to wipe out vessels in space. In summarization, WHY?!

Molly Skyline has posed:
"If we get this sorted out, I promise to teach all of you how to play Dungeons and Dragons. If you want to, that is." Molly blushes softly. "It's awesome. When I first found Starcrash I wondered if I'd lose interest in D&D, since like... now I'm kinda having adventures and stuff for *real*, but I didn't and it's still something I love to do."

Starcrash obediently takes up the task of monitoring Molly's vitals and the progress of the snake -- not that Molly couldn't do that latter part for herself, but it's... easier on her, psychologically, to have Starcrash do it. It sends reports every minute to Chrono's equipment, apparently taking its job very seriously. Molly, meanwhile, sits on the bed and watches the fireworks display outside; something that is, as it happens, far beyond what she can currently accomplish, even with Starcrash's offensive focus. And she's both impressed, and crestfallen as she watches it.

Maybe it brings out just how far out of her depth she really is.

"What was I thinking," she mumbles. "Four of us couldn't handle Sunbreaker, how on Earth did I think I was going to be anything more than a nuisance, taking her on alone? I'm such an idiot, and now I'm death-cursed. I'm a *beginner*. What was I thinking?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto shrugs, "Yeah, I don't have any way to generate fire. My powers don't have any associations in that direction."

As the other two go outside, she hangs back with Molly, "...don't beat yourself up too much. I understand the impulse, I really do."

She then scowls at the name, "...and Ironbutt is going to get what's coming to her soon, I think."

She snorts a little at the huge bloom outside, then looks back, "Don't worry. I've seen Daifuku's magic in action before. It works differently than yours or mine...but it's no joke...and I've seen it deal with Dark Energy before."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Temperature control?" Daifuku considers that as well with a nod. "I may need your assistance on finishing the item I make for Molly then. It's a gel that needs to set, so that will help the timeframe to make it." Even if her Kitchen Stadium (as she'd begun to think of it) was a bit of a bubble in time, that would be less time she had to maintain it still. More importantly for the moment is the fire attack that Chrono spoke of. "Outside might be best. It would give me more room as it is."

Outside, Daifuku isn't merely holding out her hammer to catch flame. She takes up a wide legged stance to brace herself for any oncoming attack with the hammer brought in front of her in both hands. Even as Chrono prepares his Blaze Cannon she spins the hammer fast enough that it seems to--No, it does--ignite in flames. They windmill around her as she pours more of her power into it so that they grow in size and intensity enough that by the time the Blaze Cannon comes at her it doesn't seem as if she's about to simply be crushed by it.

The motion and winds created by the heat of the flames she manipulates, pouring her power into it, allows the flames to be swept up into the motion.

That giant blast of firey power is swung up into the air, and around, and around repeatedly. Heat pours off of it easily felt by both Daifuku and Chrono as the massive flames mingle and merge into one massive conflagration that somehow manages not to light everything on fire.

Magic.

With a deep breath Daifuku steps back once. Twice. Thrice. Teeth grit she sends another little sizzle of energy into the Kine she weilds only to abruptly turn away from the dorms.

"Kitchen God Cooking Mode!"

It's no where near as impressive as a giant cannon blast. A ripple of flame licks out from the conflagration Daifuku juggles to sear a 'hole' in the spirit realm around them to reveal of all things, a multi-tiered kitchen at the center of which is a simple, old fashioned stone hearth waiting to be lit.

Time ... becomes a bit odd as soon as Daifuku steps through. The flames from the Kine are set upon the hearth which BLAZES up bright enough to light the entire courtyard and 'kitchen' realm for a heartbeat.

The speed with which Daifuku then moves throughout the kitchen setting to her task is like watching a high speed replay, or a montage. Time for her was different than time outside of this kitchen. The flames continue, but she's cooking. Things boil, items are chopped and diced, more mixed together. Sugar, syrups, whatever is necessary as she makes the recipe for Turkish Delight.

Just in case she makes what *she* knows best as well on the off chance the Turkish Delight isn't good enough being an unfamiliar recipe. Mochi is pounded and pinched and molded around sweet red bean paste.

It really is like a cooking show with her fellow mahou as the audience.

When finally the flames in the hearth go out, the lights in the kitchen she's once again back in 'real time' with them. A bento box stands next to her piled with daifuku mochi skillfully sculpted, and in her hands is a long metallic tray with a fruit and jelly on it. The tired mahou looks to Chrono then blinking rapidly. "You said you can do temperature control. Can you chill this so it solidifies faster? I'm better with heat," she admits, only to add, "Then help me get the rest of this back up to Molly."

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown was feeling prettyproud of himself, though he didn't show it. He kept his resolve steeled. But his style and training meant he, very rarely, had an opportunity to show his capabilities. And while that fire spell wasn't very good at a distance (distance, in this case, being relative), it was big and flashy. And it kind of felt cool. And it was going to be used to... to...

Did she just... did she just STOP TIME?! TO COOK?! Chrono's eye twitched slightly as one of the VERY FABRICS OF REALITY was TORN AND KNITTED INTO HOLIDAY SOCKS, so they could make DESSERT! His eye twitched quite a few times, in fact. Were things NOT SO DIRE, he'd have been more annoyed.

As it was? He just... blinked. And then proceeded to hold out his staff. It took a moment to cast the frost spell, but he would gradually increase their temperature, making them... solidify.

And once again, feel just a smidge out classed. Fine. Earth. Another point to you. Before he gathered what he could and started making his way towards Molly.

Save the girl, then worry about BREAKING TIME.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Time is ticking onwards. Maybe it's going a little bit differentlt for Chrono and Daifuku right this moment, but no matter how you slice the Turkish Delight, the available time to come up with a solution is steadily ticking away. And, Molly has friends in her corner who're working like mad to try to find a solution for her.

She's only just met them, of cousre, two of them literally this evening, but she knows they're friends. How? Easy. They're bending every fibre they've got for her benefit. That makes them friends, pretty obviously. Hopefully she'll get a chance to get to know them.

"She hurt my friend," she complains, to Sailor Pluto. "Sunbreaker, I mean. Hurt her really, really badly. Almost killed her, I thought she *was* going to kill her right in front of me and I couldn't do anything. And then I saw her walking around in the street like... like nothing had happened. How was I supposed to walk past that? How was I supposed to let that go? I couldn't! Back when I was in school in England if bullies picked on you and you didn't fight back they'd just keep doing it. Even if you lost the fight, you had to fight it, you could at least show them that even though they'd beat you it wouldn't be free of charge. They'd still walk away with a bloody nose."

She sighs softly. "Except I didn't even give Sunbreaker a bloody nose. I tried to cast something big, the biggest I could do, and she just... deflected it. And then put a death curse on me. I think all I did was encourage her."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto reaches over and pats Molly on the shoulder, "I think I know who it was. And don't worry, she'll be fine. I saw her last night."

She then sighs, "And don't worry. I think in the next day or two, after we get this whole thing taken care of, we're going to get a posse together and deal with this problem."

The implication is one of finality.

Then again, not only is Pluto one of the Outer Senshi, whose modus operandi was rather on the harsher side...but she's also the senshi whose primary attack has 'Dead' in the name.

She then pauses to think about it, then smiles a bit, "...and I think your problem might have been that you tried to throw a fireball at a fire elemental. Next time, use a Cone of Cold."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
The chill from Chrono while directed at the tray was almost nice in comparison to working in a hot kitchen. Sure, time had been slowed (or sped up?) so that she could cook had just seemed like normal time to her. Outside of that kitchen time flowed the same way however. She looks... well. Tired.

She had enough energy to jump back through the window though. Laden with treats she steps through into the dorm room once more to flash Pluto and Molly a reassuring smile.

"Okay. I'm sorry that took awhile," Had it really been that long, though? "This is what I do." The bento box is set down and opened to reveal the treats within. Even the now-chilled Turkish Delight is on display with all it's rosey, fruity glory. "Please eat some. The food I make in my magical kitchen is meant to help restore and revive not only body, but spirit. It can purify dark energy or magic as well." She had proof of that having done it to herself.

An apologetic look is cast toward Molly at this. "It... the purification I mean... It may hurt. It hurt me when I had to heal myself from some dark energy burns, but this is a curse so it may not. I just wanted to warn you in case. Even if it does, keep eating."

It shouldn't though. She really hoped it wouldn't. Ideally it would just flood Molly with the memories and emotions of those good times she'd spoken of. Perhaps even of good times she'd forgotten. Whenever emotions were strongest, purest, and it should help to defy the negative energy such a horrible curse had brought on her.

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown couldn't help but wonder, for the umpteenth time... you know what? Fine. Just do time warps. For dessert. His mother would approve. And here he was, an enforcer, one of the greatest ranks in TSAB. Having dedicated his life to mastering all kinds of magic... now, assistant cook. TO A TIME WITCH.

But he wasn't salty. He would possibly be later. But for now? Now there was food to eat... and he monitored her as she began to eat...

The purification would have an effect. Starting at the neck, slowly unbinding it, burning away the base and...

... The snake was moving faster, now. As it was purified, it began to move faster and faster. Cutting off hours of time as more and more of it was purified away, and it began to advance towards her heart.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"I used a cold spell," Molly mumbles dejectedly. "Best one I know. ...Well, only one I know, but powered up as much as I could manage. I wanted to freeze her absolutely *solid*, but she just deflected it like it was nothing and did this to me," she complains, gesturing to the snake tattoo that's still working its way up her arm.

"I don't want her to die," she adds. "Sunbreaker I mean. I want her to pay for the things she's done and the people she's hurt, but I don't want her to die." She barks a laugh, "Isn't that stupid? I'm so stupid. But it's just, I just... I don't want to be responsible for anyone dieing. I want to stop bad things happening, not be the cause of them. ...My actions earlier today notwithstanding. I get emotional like anyone else."

About then, Chrono and Daifuku are back, with a box full of Turkish Delight; the best stuff. It would have to be, sine Daifuku cooked it; and maybe Molly only just met her but she's magic and she cooks, so she must be the best, right?

She picks up a piece and gives it a look, before looking up to Daifuku and Chrono. "Thank you," she murmurs, "I hope this works." She nods to Pluto, "And thank you for coming, too. I'm *very* grateful.

And with that, she takes a bite, chewing slowly and enjoying the flavor, just in case this is the last time she eats Turkish Delight. ...And it's easily worth the time spent, and she mmmmms to show it.

When she swallows, is when the pain starts; a growing sensation of burning, everywhere the tattoo is evident. She gives it away with a grimace, but keeps eating, quickly polishing off the first piece of the candy and following it up with another.

It's halfway through the third piece, that the snakes picks up the pace, ramping up its speed to the point that it'll reach her heart in... minutes? Less?!

"Chrono--- CHRONO IT'S SPED UP OH GOD IT'S GOING FAST!" Molly drops the last bit of Turkish Delight she was holding and tries to scrabble back on the bed to get away from it; but of course it's not a real snake but an animate tattoo, and it's really moving. Molly claws at herself, scratching so aggressively that she draws her own blood. "DAIFUKU?! PLUTO! DO SOME-- **CUT MY ARM OFF**" She screams. "Do ANYTHING!!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
There's not a lot that Sailor Pluto can do at this point, sadly...other than watch as Molly starts eating the confection.

The younger girl's comment pleading for Sunbreaker causes her to frown a bit, and she shakes her head and merely watches as the magic does it's work.



And then it starts to speed up!

Sailor Pluto blinks...and then Molly starts to panic.

As she does, Sailor Pluto lunges forward and grapples the younger girl to try to keep her from hurting herself further...but there's still the problem of the curse, "KEEP EATING! You need to purify it faster!"

To that end...well, things are already in 'Hail Mary' territory...so she reaches out with one hand to place it on the tattoo...and she closes her eyes tight...focusing as hard as she can...and she reaches for the curse...now that it's going nuts, there's a chance it will be 'different' enough from the magical girl it's on to 'touch', figuratively speaking.

And then if she can get that figurative finger on? Well, she can't BREAK the rules...that would be the end of HER, and while she might be willing to make that sacrifice, it won't really help...

But BENDING the rules a little? That's a different story.

The Garnet Rod is the tool she uses to manipulate time, after all...and she still has it in her hands...she focuses her will and her magic and her determination to save Molly through it as she touches the curse, and tries to slow it.

Stopping it might not be possible...but it woudn't be going crazy like this if it weren't trying to keep from losing...which means that it's just a matter of slowing it enough for Daifuku's magic to do it's work.

Through gritted teeth she says, "...hurry..."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku holds her breath while Molly begins to eat. Here was to hoping. The magic she'd imbued in the food was stronger than usual, but so was this curse that she was dealing with. Generally the magic she was attempting to purify wasn't of the killing variety. It SEEMS to start to work, so she exhales slowly with relief.

A short lived relief at that as the curse begins to speed up with the sudden need to complete it's mission. There's nothing she can do, really, but Pluto was already on it helping to hold Molly still and fight the curse as best she could with her own time manipulation magic.

Whirling toward the bento box she grabs one of the daifuku there only to tear the mochi apart in her hand halfing it as she leans over Molly urging her, "Eat the filling--Just the filling! It's softer and quicker to eat you won't have to chew much!" It's the best she can think of in a pinch. The Turkish Delight was gummy and sweet. The mochi was super chewy. But the sweet red bean paste that filled the daifuku was soft and easy to devour.

"Chrono open up the others and hand them over!" Unless he had something else he could do to help. Maybe he did?

Chrono Harlaown has posed:
Chrono Harlaown felt some relief wash over him when the purifying magic began to work. You know what? He took it back. Time stopping magic, using his lifetime of training to cook candy. If it helped here? Worth. Totally worth. And he watched it around her neck begin to--

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

It was speeding up. His heard started pounding. No no no. Its tail was being purified, slowly melting away from the tail up. But it went all the way down her shoulder, then down and up her arm again. It was purifying... but not enough. Not fast enough. He felt his own panic rise. IT WAS WORKING! "We're not cutting off your arm," Chrono snapped. Not least of all because, well, the head had now made it past her shoulder.

Annnnd then there was a new thing. Time. Time distortion. There was a time distortion, local, and it was Pluto. It... No. You know what? FUCK YOU REALITY! FUCK YOU RULES OF MAGIC! REALITY APPARENTLY DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING HERE SO TODAY REALITY COULD BEND OVER AND KISS ITS OWN BUTT GOODBYE! THEY WERE NOT LOSING HER! If that meant shattering the very laws of reality he knew, then he DIDN'T CARE ANYMORE!

"Just keep eating. Molly, we're NOT going to lose you! It's going to be okay!" he yelled. He held out his right hand and a magic circle appeared. Then a second. Then a third. then a fourth. Layer by layer he compressed shields, layering them over her heard. "Starcrash, cast local, tight shields with mine!" he ordered. He didn't know how this curse worked. He didn't even know if this would do anything. But they didn't have time, so he had to dry. Amplify the protections as much as possible. The payload was coming closer.

The scans told him. As the snake was slowed, the purification took effect more and more. The head of the snake passing by the tail that was being purified. The payload. The curse. Closer. But it was slower.

Purified down to the elbow, when the head was a quarter of the way to the heart. Molly could possibly feel its mouth open.

"We won't lose you. Just keep eating. You're going to be okay, Molly. I promise!" Chrono yelled. "This is NOT YOUR END!" he yelled.

The purification was now down to where the snake head had originally been. But the snake head was now halfway across her chest. Chrono layered shield after shield, pouring every ounce of magic he could, struggling to force more and more of them.

The purification was back up to the elbow....

And the snake lunged in slow motion...

The purification was to the shoulder...

And the fangs dug into where the heart was. Molly wouldn't even feel pain.

The shield was useless. Because the spell was never a death curse. The 'payload' erupted... directly in Chrono's face. There was the sound like a party kazoo. And then an eruption of dark confetti erupted from the part of the snake that remained.

Chrono stood there for a few moments, blinking. Dark confetti dripping from his face like he'd just been hit by a party themed water balloon.

And a quick scan revealed... "There's... no more... dark energy. The curse... is gone... it... that... that was it."

And Chrono... just... he just dropped. Sideways. Onto his bed... and just laid there. Eyes twitching. He was going to kill her. If he ever saw this girl. He was going to kill her.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly does everything she's told. Starcrash does as it's told. She eats the filling from the Turkish Delight, while Pluto and Chrono are working feverishly to try and stop it.

But they can't stop it. It doesn't stop. Molly's eyes peel wide, and she watches as the snake is reaching its destination. Reaching her heart. "TELL MY MOMS I LOVE THEM AND TELL RASHMI I'M *SORRY*!" she screams, then closes her eyes and holds her breath, just waiting for it; for that flash of agony that she's sure is coming, because nobody ever just... dies, right? It's not like flicking a lightswitch and boom you're floating on a cloud with a cute pair of wings and a harp, it's gonna hurt.

Except it doesn't hurt.

It just... ends. There's a silly noise and confetti -- confetti? Really? Of all the...

"Wait... what?!" Molly looks down at herself, where there's... no snake. She wipes away the tears from her eyes -- just to have them replaced by fresh ones -- and pats herself over her heart, then down over her arm. "It's... gone?"

Molly sits there, holding a disassembled piece of Turkish Delight, feeling very much alive.

"That... she... SHE PUNKED ME!" Molly screams, throwing her hands up in the air. "All that-- The last couple of hours, all that panic and terror and she was just screwing with me?! WHAT THE HELL! Next time I see her I'm gonna...!" she sucks in her breath, and holds it, before visibly deflating. "Do absolutely nothing," she sighs, sullenly. "She's already proven that I've got nothing on her. She could've put me in hospital like she did Rashmi, but apparently decided to be 'nice'. She was nice." She sighs, and puts her face in her hands.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As the curse keeps accelerating, Pluto bears down on it harder and harder...and then it makes it to it's target and bites...and she can only hope that it doesn't have enough left in it to actually kill Molly...

And then the curse blows up like the world's least tasteful practical joke.

At which point Pluto staggers back a bit before catching herself and blinking in confusion.

As the results of the curse finally percolate through her brain, she frowns "...oh...oh that...that utter..."

She cuts herself off before she says anything else, then takes a breath and instead goes on, "...I swear by all that is holy I am going to box Ironbutt's ears with the power of TIME for that."

She looks around at everyone, sees that everyone's okay for the most part, then stands up a little straighter, "...that's not something...I can normally do...

She then shakes her head, "...frankly, I'm surprised I'm still consc-"

And then for her, the world tilts sideways as exhaustion finally catches up to her, "...oh, there we go..."

And then she's out like a light.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Guardian Daifuku was similarily worn out. Usually she only stayed transformed for a bit after using the cooking stage. Usually she only COULD stay transformed that long. She'd pushed herself out of necessity, or presumed necessity at least. When that last bite of the fading curse comes and ... explodes like a party popper... She staggers back away from Molly and Pluto blinking.

"Oh." Her thoughts are very similar to Pluto's though she doesn't speak it. Instead she sinks down to her knees with shoulders drooping as she exhales wearily, "I can't... I'm glad you're okay." It's all she can really get out before a shudder runs through her.

There's no flames as when she transforms, but instead a little misting of steam that seems to rise off her skin breifly obscuring her as her power just crumbles away leaving plain old Chiyo behind. Kneeling on the floor and leaning against the side of the bed that Molly had been on with her eyes drooping shut.