740/SILVER CRYSTAL DOOM RACE

SILVER CRYSTAL DOOM RACE
Date of Scene:	11 November 2023
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Bass-chan claims to have the Silver Crystal, and offers it up as the prize for a high-stakes rollerblading race through the street of Tokyo!
Cast of Characters:	Mizudori Teion, Kyouko Sakura, Usagi Tsukino, Makoto Kino, Veronica Perenna
Tinyplot:	Silver Crystal

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Mizudori Teion has posed:
    The appointed time, at the appointed place. In case you were wondering, the appointed hour is 7:30pm (after dark at this time of year) and the appointed place is right here, a small urban park in the midst of the skyscrapers of Mitakhiara. There's a few people walking around out on the street, but the large central plaza of the park paved in brick is empty, as Mizudori knew it would be at this time of day.

    The girl herself is standing in the middle of the plaza, up on the base of a decorative statue. The statue itself (an abstract art piece) has been knocked off and tilts sideways with its top resting on the ground behind her. She's already in her henshin as Bass-chan, her form a black shillouette traced in neon green lines that pulse with an unheard beat, her face a neon green jack-o-lantern grin. Beside her sits a square object covered by a cloth.

    "Welcome one and all!" She crows as people begin to assemble. Standing on the defaced plinth, her voice rings out with perfect pitch, each word a note as if she's using an autotuner. "To Bass-chan's Silver Crystal Doom Race! Yes that's right, one of you will be walking out of here today with the fabulous prize!" She turns and whips the cloth off of the square shape.

    It is a shoe-box. A regular shoe-box. The side has "Phantom Silver Crystal Inside! Don't Touch!!!!!" written on it in sharpie. "It's right here." She pats the box with one black-and-green hand. "But if you want it, you need to win!" She picks up the box, tucking it under her arm as she leaps down to the ground. Where her feet touch, they slide as if frictionless, letting her skate across the ground as if on rollerblades although there's nothing of the sort visible on her feet. She leaves twin trails of neon green on the ground behind her, which dissipate a moment later.

    "So here's the rules! The track is once around Mitakihara, down the main streets in a big square, ending right back here!" She stomps her foot on the ground, creating a brief splash of neon green which vanishes into the air. "First one to make the circuit gets the prize! I set up green streamers at checkpoints around the route. You gotta grab one at each point as you go by! They're numbered! There's six of 'em! You'll only be declared the winner if you have a streamer from each checkpoint! No cheating!"

    She grins her jack-o-lantern grin. "Otherwise, no rules! No holds barred! Magic is allowed! So is playin' rough! Have fun, cause some mayhem! Oh, and just to make it more interesting.."

    She skates around, moving with grace and fluidity, her feet sliding over the ground as if on ice. She stops by each competitor and humms a note while reaching down to touch their shoes or skates. Each one begins to glow.. And suddenly the racers will find they can all skate like she can, moving frictionless over the ground regardless of surface. Each competitor will leave a unique color trail behind too! Handy! It's a bit hard to get used to, but anyone who can skate will adjust quickly. And you can go fast.

    "Perfect!" Bass-chan crows, sliding back to the center with a half-turn on her own skatey-feet. "Then if everyone will just line up here, and wait for the countdown!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko loiters on the edge of those gathered, leaning on her spear as if it's a handy walking stick, or convenient lamp post to loiter against. She's already in henshin, snacking on a stick of pocky as she watches Bass-chan show off the Oh So Mystical shoebox, and she considers who else is here.

There's a smirk from Kyouko as Bass-chan makes it clear that shenanigans are not only acceptable, but encouraged.

Kyouko pushes off from her spear to come closer, close enough to end up with the properties formerly only recognized in physics homework upon her shoes. "Alright. I'm in." She declares with a snort of amusement and a flick of her long red hair.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Here's the thing: Usagi does not think Bass-chan has the Silver Crystal. She's like, seventy-five percent sure she doesn't. Maybe eighty-five, whenever she thinks too long about that day at the mall.

But that's fifteen to twenty-five percent she's not sure about, and that means she's got to be here, at the designated time and place, in her henshin and ready to do whatever it takes to get the crystal, and also to pout and yell at Bass-chan if it turns out this whole thing is another dumb chance to sell her singles.

She's got five hundred yen at the ready, in case it's the latter.

"Wait," Sailor Moon says, pitching her voice to be heard, "You're not seriously expecting us to fight in a race, are you? What is this, Mario Kart?"

She doesn't think she can fight without hurting someone! A race is not the place to figure it out!

Come on!

And yet - she cuts a glance at everyone else already gathered... Sailor Jupiter, the Princess of Sarek, a girl in red with a spear she doesn't recognize... well, at least she has an ally and a friend, who definitely, probably aren't going to fight her for it. Realistically, they could probably just attack Bass-chan for the box, but -

She's not a criminal. If she can win something, she should try to win it fairly, right? Besides, knowing Bass-chan, she probably does expect them to fight.

But - as Bass-chan comes around, and things start slipping and sliding, Sailor Moon at first nearly falls - and then quickly gets her feet under her and starts skating in excited little circles. She leaves a trail of glittery golden light behind her."Okay, okay, this is cool!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
To be honest, Sailor Jupiter is here mostly because Usagi asked her. The tall girl in the green and white sailor fuku looks distinctly unimpressed by Bass-chan's initial presentation; she stands with her arms folded over her chest, weight leaned slightly back as she eyes the shoebox which supposedly contains the magical crystal that a good percentage of Tokyo is now looking for.

Her expression softens a little at Sailor Moon's protest. "I'll be okay," she assures her fellow senshi. "Well, it'll probably get a little rough... but you'll have me backing you up, all right?"

Her leaf-green eyes skim over the others who seem to be coming forward, sizing up the competition. As much as she's likely to get any sense of what they're capable of before they're all in the thick of things, which is... not very, really.

The sudden loss of friction beneath her feet distracts her completely - she's thrown for a moment, but almost immediately she's got her balance under her. A few little test slaloms leave behind trails of green light of her own, paler than Bass-chan's, almost white at the core and crackling faintly like live electricity. "Hey," she says approvingly, "not bad... It's been too long since I've been able to go skating."

She makes a wider circle around Sailor Moon's little ones, just to get a feel for the movement... and soon puts the lie to any ideas of being rusty when she extends one long leg behind her and dips fluidly into an accomplished arabesque.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica did promise Usagi she would have her help in the search of the Silver Crystal. She also made (ethereal) trips to each jewellery shops in Tokyo (you never know when someone's mom might be replaced by a youma seeking the Silver Crystal for their supreme ruler).

She is here participating in the race too, even though she would bet this is another phony, but never say never. And besides, Sailor Moon is here too! Which does make it a little bit better and besides, it's double the chances of a positive result.

"Hello, Moon, awesome! I have been looking around, you know." She doesn't want to say it out loud in case Mizudori is bothered by it, but that's her way to say she would give the Crystal to her as promised, if it's the real deal.

Besides the whole deal with emitting colored stripes is actually cool! (She totally intends to go ethereal again as soon as possible, so that won't matter much for her, but still, nice). Taking position, she gives a last smile towards Moon before focusing on the race.

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Bass-chan finishes applying slippy-slidey skate-magic to everyone's feet, and returns to her plinth. "Kinda a smaller crowd than I expected.." She says, looking at the four contestants.. but then shrugs. "Ah well! It'll still be fun!" She laughs, sliding up and down a chromatic scale.

    To Sailor Moon she says, "You don't have to fight! It's just not against the rules to fight! Or y'know, whatever else! That's why it's called a Doom Race, y'know! When you got high stakes like these you can't make it easy! It's gotta be a challenge! Excitement!!"

    She's practically bouncing on her toes. "Everybody ready! I'll be coming along of course, to supervise. But I'm not in the race, so one of you guys has to win. May the best skater take the prize!"

    She looks at each racer in turn, then raises her arm. "On the count of three, head to checkpoint number one! One.. two... three!"

    She drops her arm, at the same time leaping down and taking off along the sidewalk, skating fluidly across the concrete leaving her neon green trails. For someone who isn't racing, she sure seems to be going fast- maybe it's just excitement.

    Oh, also, music starts playing. Somehow. This race has a soundtrack. One of Bass-chan's own compositions of course, seeming to come from nowhere but be at exactly the proper level for a racing game soundtrack.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
Kyouko was cocky enough not to have done a whole lot of testing on her freshly frictionless feet before things got really started. It's probably a good thing that others get off to a bit of a smoother start and don't wholly witness the almost bambi she pulls when she tries to push off in exactly the wrong way.

She meant to do that. Clearly.

Its only a moment though, that she gets her feet under her and starts racing off after Bass-can and the other three.

It is clear in very short order that she is less invested in getting places /first/ and far more invested in playing this exactly like that aforementioned game of Mario Kart, and she ducks and weaves and bounces off things to get in Sailor Moon's way. "So you're the infamous Sailor Moon, hunh?"

Kyouko's red trail sparkles out behind her as she uses her spear like a hiking pole, or an extra limb to get more balance, darting and weaving in front of Sailor Moon, getting in her way as they move through the city congestion. "I've heard about you."

The way she puts it, its hard to say if that's a good thing or not. Either way, she makes up good time, catching up to Sailor Jupiter as she reaches out to grab for a ribbon at that first checkpoint.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Sweet, Veronica is first! Nice to have a great start. She intends to pace herself, not going full speed ahead right at the start. Better to see what the others are capable of first.

When she gets the go ahead, though, she wastes no time disappearing from everyone's sight with her ethereal state. It's their problem if they want to guess where she is. She also has the advantage of passing through obstacles like this. Sorry, but if magic is allowed, she isn't going to decline the chance.

Skating on concrete like this is such a joy! Totally worth the experience of the race even if she fails. Veronica is admittedly mostly relying on the enhancement that come from being a magical girl for this race, but she while she is no top athlete, she is confident in her own coordination.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You're right! We've got this. We've got a good chance to make it through this thing, no problem, with one of us as the winner!"

She's pumping herself up out of pure hope. "Jupiter-chan, you're amazing..."

So pretty! But then, there's not really any time to say anything else. There's racers. There's music. There's - GO, GO, GO!

Sailor Moon starts running - skating - trying her best, but the thing is, she's never been a great athlete at all, and she's slipping and sliding as she starts putting on real speed, chasing after the pack with the desperate hop of someone who thinks 'maybe I'll at least fall forward!'

She definitely sees Kyouko bambi-sliding her feet around, and she doesn't laugh, because she's doing the same thing, pinwheeling her arms as she slip-slide-skates around, barely avoiding bouncing off trees and hazards. It doesn't help that the red-head stays in her way. "Yep, that's um, me, would you mind getting of the w-waaaaaaay!"

The yelp is because one close counter is a little too close, and Sailor Moon goes down, foot sliding out from under her. She crumples back, momentum carrying her forward, and slides around like something out of an old Scooby Doo episode as she barely gets her feet back.

"I've never heard of you," she grumbles to herself, getting to the checkpoint last.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Jupiter - having flexed only a little bit before lining up with the others for the start - is off like a shot the moment Bass-chan calls the start. A powerful first push rockets her away from the sarting line at an impressive speed, and she leans low into the wind as she presses her advantage.

At least at first. It doesn't take her long to realize that she's left Sailor Moon behind - and when she glances back to check on her teammate, her eyes narrow sharply at the sight of Kyouko's antics.

"Oh, no you don't." Without missing a beat she swivels about to skate backwards, losing speed and the chance to keep abreast of the Princess of Sarek long enough to loose a targeted blast of wind-driven pink petals at Kyouko. "FLOWER HURRICANE!"

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    It's a good thing Bass-chan has disqualified herself from the race as a potential winner, because she's out in front- but then again, this is her normal way of getting around (at least when in henshin) so she clearly would have the advantage anyway. As the first checkpoint is reached, she's skating backwards out in front, laughing uproariously. The checkpoint, by the way, is a streetlamp on the corner of two large streets, the strips of green ribbon with big #1's on them tied around it. They come loose easily when grabbed.

    It should be mentioned that there are tons of people around. This is Tokyo in the early evening- there's cars, there's people walking. The racers have to navigate all of this! The Veil means the people mostly just register a bunch of punk kids racing on the sidewalk, and some of them even shout as such "damn kids!' or something and a shake of the fist, but nobody seems to notice the oddly colored trails.

    "This way, this way!" Bass-chan yells as people pass the checkpoint, guiding them along the street which leads to the second one.. and for some reason, she's moving farther away, off to the side of the racing pack. It becomes evident why a moment later. She opens her neon mouth and emits a single piercing note- which detonates several little glowy explosives she planted along the route earlier!

    As the races go down the street, a sudden series of small explosions trigger in response to Bass-chan's sung note, causing a bunch of newspaper boxes and a trash can to topple over and roll into the path of the sidewalk! Pedestrians scream and scatter, more from startlement than anything else as trash cans tipping over are unlikely to hurt anyone...

    Unless you're a racer approaching them at full speed, anyway!

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Of course you haven't heard of me." Kyouko answers Moon confidently. "I haven't been around to be heard about." She does not, at all. get out of Moon's way..

At least not until Sailor Jupiter sends the first attack of the race her way and Kyouko has to use her spear to bounce herself up a wall to dodge. Instead of slowing her down, the gravity defying leap just means she can skate along the wall for a time, making the Veil work overtime on what Those Damn Kids are up to now.

Her red sparkle streaks flutter down, avoiding the bulk of the trash cans, and she just bounces over a few more, streaking at top speed towards the second checkpoint, reaching out to grab the second ribbon with barely a glance for what chaos might be going on behind her.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
The impromptu blockade created by Bass-chan's explosions does nothing to impede Veronica, but to her surprise, she is quickly surpassed by Kyouko and Usagi anyway. The surprise actually knocks her out of her ethereality (it was gonna fade soon anyway).

"How did you actually do that?" she exclaims to the duo, marveled. Really, that's nothing short of incredible with the double advantage she had. Nontheless, she is straight behind Kyouko, and her objective is letting Usagi win, so she tries to grab her ponytail, and if she manages it and that causes the redhead to turn around, Veronica tries tossing a blinding glare straight at her face.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter keeps skating backwards just long enough to see Kyouko leap clear of blast of air and petals. It did the job, anyway, since the other girl is no longer hassling Sailor Moon; she twists neatly back around and focuses her efforts on regaining some ground. She grabs for one of the #1 ribbons in almost the same moment as Kyouko grabs hers, shooting her a sharp glare while she's at it.

Then they're all racing onward, following Bass-chan's wild lead along the street and around the turns. As the boxes and trash can topple into their path, Jupiter's eyes widen in dismay - she's confident she can navigate this, but Usagi--?

The decision doesn't take as long as a heartbeat. "Sailor Moon!" she calls out, diverting her own course to meet the other Senshi's. "I'll give you a boost!"

She waits only just long enough to make sure Usagi's on board with the plan before she catches the smaller girl at the waist. A quick glance ahead to time herself, and when the moment is right, she spins around in a tight loop, lifting Sailor Moon fully off of her feet and using the momentum to launch her ahead, over the obstacles.

The landing, of course, will be up to Usagi to manage. Jupiter sacrificed a lot of speed to pull that stunt. But she has faith.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A flowering hurricane is launched past Sailor Moon, barreling towards the red haired girl, and Sailor Moon yelps as those same winds press against her back - with no friction, she's launched forward by the gale force winds, and realing, if this is a race, and there's magic to be used, why should she be upset if her friend's helped her in the process of tossing a hit the way of a royal jerk?

She's wrapped the checkpoint ribbon around her hand when the first explosions pop off, making people scream, and Sailor Moon skates around a bicylist to shove a group a group of kids younger than her out of the sparks and smoke.

"Get to cover! There's someone causing a ruckus today, but it'll all be over soon!"

Stopping to talk like this should really make her fall behind, but with the explosions and chaos, with the people screaming and running, and the boost from earlier, she's able to catch up with the pack, though there's debris everywhere and scrabbling to get out of the way is not making this easy -

"Wait, Jupiter-chan, what'd you sa-"

Oh, that was what she said. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SAAAAAAAAAILOR MOOOOOOOOOON! After that throw, Sailor Moon is no longer with the pack. She's leading the pack. She's neck and neck at the lead of the pack. She lands in time with the wild red girl.

"Waaaaaaah! Oh this is not fun at all!"

And she scowls at the red haired girl. "You could at least give me a name! And before you say it, I already know someone who goes by Red!"

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Bass-chan is still in front, although it's clear she's having to try to stay there, and at time the racers are more or less even with her or even slightly ahead of her. But she's doing her best to stay out there in front because she's got to supervise the race! And by supervise, of course, she means set off all the traps she meticulously lined the course with beforehand!

    She keeps skating backwards so she can watch though, and when she sees Jupiter launch Sailor Moon through the air and into the lead she laughs shrilly. "Awesome! That's the stuff! Aw shiz, why didn't I bring my go-pro! Dammit!"

    As the group passes the second checkpoint, she's pointing the way down the next street. "Down that way! Go go go!"

    And suddenly she's skating up the wall (sort of the way Kyouko did, except more deliberately) and racing along sideways above the heads of people below. And as she goes, she begins singing staccato notes, piercing sharp, each time she passes a store sign, which somehow severs them from the buildings, sending them crashing down onto the sidewalk below, causing people to scatter in every direction. "Think fast! Hahahahaha!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Staying in the lead doesn't last long, not when Sailor Moon starts to focus more on Bass-chan, and the chaos she's causing. She skates directly after the organizer, both hands stretching out in front of her in little grabby gestures.

"You've got to cut this out! You're causing way too much chaos - people are going to get hurt! And these stores are going to have to pay for all these damages!"

Except her words clearly fall on deaf ears, because Bass-chan doesn't stop, and street signs start a fallin'.

Sailor Moon scowls and turns her feet, shifting in such a way that she starts to slow - not carrying that she's falling behind, because -

"Moon Tiara Action!"

Her tiara, thoroughly cosmic-discus'd now, flies free and far ahead, cutting through the signs and shattering them to bits before they can hit the ground - or anyone else.

She's third to reach the checkpoint and more upset with Bass-chan than anything.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"You can call me Kyouko." The red haired puella tells Sailor Moon magnanimously, even if she does aim a spearpoint to be right about where Sailor Moon will need to pivot to head down the street that Bass-chan indicates, just to be even more of a pain in the ass.

Kyouko feels the touch to her ponytail and uses her spear to spin and skate backwards, letting Sailor Moon deal with the chaos there for a moment, and brings that spear up towards the Princess of Sarek. While being in Sailor Moon's way felt mischievous and almost playful, the growl that accomplanies the spearpoint towards the Princess is not at all playful. "Do not touch me."

Kyouko is clearly willing to lose some of her lead to threaten the other competitor.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Weaving through the scattered boxes, Jupiter is the last to snag a #2 ribbon. She doesn't stay in the rear for long, though. With the others mostly focused on Bass-chan or each other, she once again leans down and puts on a burst of speed that swiftly closes the gap between herself and the others and sends her blasting past Kyouko and the Princess of Sarek as they begin squabbling.

"Hey!" Her yelp of indignation is lost in the crashing of the signs against the pavement and the shouts from the startled onlookers. "You're gonna get somebody hurt--!"

She ducks and slaloms between the fallen and falling signs. She's not quite agile enough to evade the last one entirely - instead, she sets her shoulder and rams heavily into it, hard enough to knock it out of her way before she blazes toward the checkpoint in the lead, leaving a trail of cracking white-green in her wake.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Kyouko is fast! Veronica is barely able to call a barrier around herself, causing her to have to give up on plan Blinding Glare. Too bad for that, but at least she is unhurt, even if the impact made her feel a bit sore. "Ok, ok, no touching, but that crystal is very important for Sailor Moon. Would you be willing to part with it if you win?"

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    Bass-chan is giggling madly as she races ahead, starting to see more of the fireworks that she was hoping for as Sailor Moon whips out the tiara and Jupiter smashes straight through one of the signs, while Kyouko and Sarek tussle physically. "Yes! The spirit of competition! Don't hold back! Ugh, god why didn't I think to livestream this?!" Not that most of the audience would be able to appreciate it anyway, stupid Veil.

    As both Moon and Jupiter protest her increasingly dangerous stunts, she makes a scoffing sound which comes out like someone discordantly strumming a guitar. "Ridiculous! I'm just palling around with the guys! How's anybody gonna get hurt?"

    Just after she says this, heading now towards checkpoint 4, she glances over her shoulder... then does a backflip, her feet leaving glowing green trails in the air, as she throws her arms out to the sides with a sound like slamming fists down on a piano, and two parked cars suddenly launch up into the air as brilliant green explosions go off beneath them, sending them flipping end-over-end onto the sidewalk and into the path of the race.

    Either it's luck, or she really has somehow planned this out, but no pedestrians are hit by the flipping cars- although plenty of them, once again, start screaming and running away in every direction while Bass-chan squeals with auto-tuned laughter.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"They could get hurt because you keep making hazards!" Forget the race. The Phantom Silver Crystal is important, but Sailor Moon is ready to rob Bass-chan - or the red haired girl, if need be - to get it. The important thing is making sure none of this chaos hurts the civilians -

"Moon Twilight Flash!"

This time, it's a laser that fires from the tiara, Sailor Moon leaning into her forward skating to try and reach Bass-chan - the real villain of the day.

The laser barrels directly into the cars, blasting a path through them and sending them slamming to the ground, thankfully without crushing more cars.

"Jupiter-chan, are you alright?"

She skates alongside her friend, looking her over carefully, nearly tripping over her own feet for lack of paying attention. "You hit that sign pretty hard!"

Somehow, despite everything, she and Jupiter manage to keep pace - they snag checkpoint ribbons at the same time getting dual second place.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"Well then. Sailor Moon, or her bashing buddy better win, hadn't she?" Kyouko smirks at the Princess of Sarek as she lets down her spear and races off towards the chaos happening before them.

Get gud, Moon.

"Bass-chan... you are a menace!" Kyouko calls after the other girl, and it's really hard to say if that's a note of admiration in her tone. She's busy, hard to say really. Kyouko skates her way back up and over the mess, letting Moon check in on Jupiter, she wasnt' watching. Not even a little. Much.

It's called being situationally aware of the others in the fight. It's not at all ensuring that neither of the senshi got hurt in the stupid going on.

Kyouko's plan of going up leaves a brief collection of red streaky sparkles as she zips ahead, grabbing the fourth ribbon before the other three.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I'm fine!" Sailor Jupiter answers. She unconsciously matches her pace to Sailor Moon's, looking her over to make sure she's okay even as Sailor Moon is doing the same for her. "But this is getting way too dangerous, isn't it? Maybe we should put a stop to it..."

Of course, that means somehow catching Bass-chan, and even then there's at least one wild card among the competitors who's currently taken the lead in the race. But never mind that. Jupiter's attention is fully on Sailor Moon, awaiting her call for what to do from here.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Unfortunately, the soreness means Kyouko has an easy time pulling ahead of her. And it wouldn't be a surprise anyway since she is still recovering. "If that crystal is the real deal, there is more at play here than just a competition", she shouts at Kyouko.

What to do now... The only things she hasn't tried are her laser and her mist of stars. But she is pretty against actually trying to hurt Kyouko, and the other one is pretty useless in this context. Still, better than nothing? Veronica sends her mist after Kyouko. Maybe that will disorient her or something.

The Princess of Sarek overhears Jupiter, and she chimes in. "I would be ok with stopping the event. Not really a fan of that explosion from earlier."

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    The race is nearing it's end now, as the course turns down a road which heads back towards the park- there's just this stretch, then one final one back to the park itself! Bass-chan must have pretty good hearing (maybe that comes with musical powers) because she has no problem hearing everyone suddenly talking about putting an end to the event before it's over!

    "Whoa hey there, c'mon we're so close to the end!" She crows, spinning around and somehow leaving glowing figure-8s on the sidewalk before they fade a moment later, ducking and weaving, using her skill and speed to keep juuuuust out of reach of those who suddenly want to catch her rather than just win the race. "Look, look, I'll behave, right? No hazards on this stretch!"

    And it.. seems to be true! Nothing explodes and no pedestrians are sent running on this stretch of sidewalk, as the group approaches the final checkpoint before the finish line, Bass-chan herself whipping past the pole with the ribbons tied to it and heading back towards the park, which can be seen in the distance ahead!

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I don't buy it," Sailor Moon says, looking at Bass-chan's figure-eight skating as she promises for things to be alright. "But we are almost to the end of the race - let's just play it safe, and finish out strong. Worst comes to worst -"

Well she's not going to say it out loud, but worst comes to worst, the power of incredible violence has been on the up and up in terms of 'things that solve problems' lately.

Maybe thinking so unheroically is why she trips on a non road hazard - just an unfortunate pothole that her foot sinks into, causing her to trip sideways and knock herself, Sailor Jupiter, and - Red Girl? - to the ground.

"Owwwwwww..." she whines piteously. She isn't quite limping to the second to last checkpoint, but she's definitely not having fun.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
"What/ever/." Kyouko replies to the Princess of Sarek's dire prediction of 'more at play' if it's the real crystal.

This may be the last teen in Tokyo who does not have ClockApp on their phone and has not seen the video.

There's an equally eye rolling hair flip as Kyouko spins around...

And she was entirely not expecting another magical girl to have tripped on the sidewalk when they are literally frictionless!

"WHAT THE HELL!?" It's bowling with Sailor Moon, and Kyouko has to work hard to keep her feet, somehow managing to get her spear out and down without stabbing anyone to not literally take a header into the sidewalk herself. "First day with the new feet!?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
To her surprise, everyone else gets last as Usagi stumbles and drags Kyouko and Jupiter down with her. "Are you all alright?" she turns her head back, worried about that fall that caught all three of them. At least Kyouko is temporarily out of the picture, so there is consolation in that?

She least the mass of three people behind her, continuing to run towards the end of the race. 'I am getting you the Crystal, ok, Usagi?' she thinks to herself for that. A fall never hurt anybody, and anyway, they are all enhanced. Only one last segment yet. And then they will discover whether this was worth it or not.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter nods agreement, still keeping pace with her teammate for now. She has no more trust for Bass-chan's promises of good behavior than Sailor Moon does - rather than try to fight for a lead, she keeps careful watch as they cruise along the stretch of sidewalk.

If she were paying a little less attention to what's up ahead, she might have realized Usagi was going down in time to catch her. Or at least get clear of the carnage. Instead, when Sailor Moon goes tumbling, she careens right into Jupiter, and the sudden knock sends both of them sprawling, making double the hazard for Kyouko to have to navigate. "Ooof!"

At least she recovers relatively quickly, back onto her feet not much the worse for wear aside from a worried expression. "Sailor Moon, are you okay?"

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    "Ooooof! Wipeout!" Bass-chan crows as Sailor Moon trips and takes everyone else out with her. Sarek is still cruising ahead, and she's sure that everyone else will get back on their feet shortly. After all, there's still a race to win! You can't give up so close to the finish line!

    "Time for the big finale!" Bass-chan yells skating backwards again, and as the group enters the final stretch of sidewalk, she holds her hands out in front of her and begins dancing her fingers through the air as if she's playing a piano. There's nothing there, of course, but each time her fingers strike down there's a flash of neon green light.. which is echoed in the sidewalk! You see, seemingly at random, squares of pavement begin lighting up, and a moment after they do, they blast a bright green burst of energy straight upwards! It's a maze! Try to keep your speed up as you dodge the glowing tiles, or get blown up this close to the finish line!

    The explosions from the trapped tiles are not massive, and even if they hit someone they would be unlikely to do more than knock them over, but there's a lot of them, and trying to skate through them to reach the finish line is pure chaos. Bass-chan is laughing wildly again as she crosses the finish line backwards, still slamming her fingers down on open air to create the disco-like sidewalk patterns for the racers to navigate!

    "So close! Finish it out!"

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
As the tangle of the tumbled trio untangle.. it immediately becomes a maze of lights and sounds and.. explosions. "Awwww yeah." Kyouko pushes off with her spear to get into the last section, bounding and bouncing down different paths and sometimes up and over different paths as she hurtles herself down and around and through.. not just walls, but opponents as well.

Which at this point is largely Sailor Jupiter, the pair of them neck and neck through the maze.

Makoto Kino has posed:
"What the hell?!" Sailor Jupiter is rather less impressed by this final challenge than Kyouko is, it seems. There's nothing for it now, though - short of abandoning the whole thing entirely, the only way out is through.

Jupiter rises gamely to the challenge. Setting her jaw lightly, she once again bends low and plows into the maze of trapped tiles. The wind kicks up around her, pushing her on and leaving petals tumbling in her wake along the trail of electric green as she zigs and zags for all she's worth.

Neck and neck with Kyouko, she barrels for the finish line.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica keeps getting distracted by the thought of them all having fallen down. Really, what's the matter with it? It's just a small fall, hardly something to get worried over. And yet, she can't help glancing back, allowing both Kyouko and Jupiter to get past her. Well, ok now. This is affecting her more than she thought.

"I am leaving that to you, Jupiter", she says, as she goes to check on how Usagi is doing. "Hey, everything ok?" She asks, extending a hand towards her.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Very literally, yes!" Sailor Moon feels this is not quite fair, given that she is literally new to having friction-less feet, but she did drag everyone down - "I'm okay! I've had a lot worse than eating dirt!"

It's true, but did she have to say it like that? Probably.

Veronica slowing to help her is nonetheless appreciated, and she accepts her hand for help, rising to her feet.

"Let's get through this last obstacle, and get through this mess, okay?"

And with that - they do. The Princess of Sarek and Sailor Moon cross the finish line together!

Mizudori Teion has posed:
    "And the winner is... a tie?!" Bass-chan swirls to a stop in a flashy circular motion, coming to rest right in front of the plinth she had been standing on earlier, the statue (which she totally knocked over, by the way) still toppled on the ground behind it. She still has the prize box tucked on her arm. "Well! That's unexpected!"

    "Still, that was a great race!" She enthuses, seeming to have no conception of the fact that people might be angry at her for attempting to blow them up and/or putting passersby in danger by exploding cars and trash cans in order to make her race more exciting. "All of you did great! Ahhh, I haven't had this much fun since I played with Passively Nonaggressive at the Squid! Man that was a great show you should- oh well, I guess you guys probably want your prize!"

    "Here you go!" Without so much as a hint of ceremony, Bass-chan chucks the box towards both Jupiter and Kyouko. "You wanted a miracle, you got one! Congrats, winners of the first annual Bass-chan Derby! Be sure to come back next year and win another fabulous prize! Maybe it'll be a Phantom Platinum Crystal! You never know!"

    And with that, she's skating away, totally just leaving before anyone can hold her responsible for anything.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
There's one who is moderately indifferent to the property damage and terror that Bass-chan's chaos wrought. Still, the thrill of the chase.. and even if Kyouko doesn't care whatsoever about the Crystal, she wants to Win.

Competative streak, anyone? Yes. Kyouko has one.

Kyouko dives for the box that Bass-chan has thrown at her and Jupiter. She is unconcerned about tackling through Jupiter, they're both mahou, they'll be /fine/. "I'll take that!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"We... finally... made... it..."

Sailor Moon is worn out, okay? Between racing, attacking, and making it through downtown, they've definitely worn out their welcome and people are probably going to be reporting about punks creating havoc, but it's all for the greater good, right? They got the Phantom Silver Crystal, right?

The box is thrown. Sailor Moon yelps.

"Jupiter-chan, get the box!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"--Hey!" No, Sailor Jupiter doesn't really believe that the one and only Silver Crystal is contained in that hand-lettered shoebox. Still... you never know. And, more importantly, she's not just going to let Kyouko snatch whatever's in there.

Jupiter leaps for the box in the same moment that Kyouko does. By some miracle probably related to the distinct difference in height, they don't actually clonk their heads together. What follows is instead a brief, spirited but mostly graceless struggle as both of them try to grab the box away from the other, Jupiter's longer reach and considerable strength pitted against Kyouko's scrappy streetwise agility.

"I'm not just going to let you--"

The tussle doesn't last very long. Kyouko has a grip on one end of the shoeback, Jupiter the other. Under the strain of the tug-of-war, the crumpling cardboard gives way completely, ripping open to reveal the contents of the box.

It's not a crystal.

It is, in fact, a USB stick and a handwritten invoice for 500 yen.

Pausing, Sailor Jupiter looks at the "prize." Then at Kyouko.

"...you can have it."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica traverses the finish line together with Moon and gives the other girl a tired smile. "It's over now, then." She didn't really expect to be in a competition with fellow magical girls - that Jason Dite would have been higher on the list - but if it's worth it, then it's all that matters. 'Sorry not sorry about trying to blind you for a time Kyouko.'

And about the crystal... "I hope this is the actual thing after all the nasty tricks you pulled to disturb the public", she addresses Bass-chan.

And then Kyouko and Jupiter start fighting over it, and Veronica too is cheering for Jupiter in this tug-o-war. But then try so hard to both have it that the box is broken, revealing a disappointment. She didn't even try to colour a stone. An unamused stare from Veronica to Bass-chan follows, accompanied by a single word "Really?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
As soon as the USB pops out, Sailor Moon slaps a hand over her face. From there though, fully begrudgingly, she takes out her prepared 500 yen, walks over to the mysterious Red Head and Sailor Jupiter, bends down, grabs the invoice, and actually wraps the funds inside. Is she actually going to give the money to Bass-chan? Probably not, because Bass-chan is exiting stage left, but still.

"I was worried this was going to be another dumb promotional event," she grumbles.