View source for 2543/Into the Valley of Death

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2025/05/17
|Location=Crystal Millenium
|Synopsis=The rescue party goes to hell planet to discreetly swipe Mamoru. No one dies. This is a win.
|Cast of Characters=38,102,27,86,166,58,107
|Tinyplot=Black Moon Clan
|Tinyplot2=BMC: Dimension Future
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>It'd been about twenty hours, all told, to find a working and charged-up spaceship -- the kind with a self-contained tech-only orbital and landing setup -- and learn to use it and navigate the portal/gate system to Castle Charon in orbit around Pluto, then from there to the hidden gate to Nemesis, and thence to Nemesis. Sometime in that twenty hours, right from under everyone's noses sort of, Amy vanished too, and the King said she wasn't on Earth either.<br><br>The ship's a lovely thing, thick crystal viewports and smooth art-nouveau lines, form and function married as one. Castle Charon is a dark place, though clean and with a more Grecian feel to its decor, and lights came on as the rescue party navigated the castle itself to where they could scan for the final gate.<br><br>The ship now settles down to the surface of the hell planet behind a moderate cliff, and even the ship isn't much guard against the dark energy that the planet's absolutely saturated with. It wells up like a miasma, it fills the ship when the gangplank lowers and the airlock opens, it's invisible and awful and it takes their magic away.<br><br>There's a fortress ahead of them that is absolutely built in Neo-Brutalist style that'd been invented by ... one of the colonies or other: the important part is that it's huge, looks like a fortress, and is ugly as sin. The air smells like rotten eggs and pools of water on the ground steam.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>Catra spends the trip more or less just thinking about her life. <br> <br> The Feline hangs out near a viewport, basically just watching as space goes by outside. She's got her sword, but that's the only weaponry she's brought along; no grenades from Amy, no guns, no anything really. She even left the Spirit Ember behind in Rashmi's care (no way is she bringing ''that'' to a place this negatively charged). <br> <br> She clearly figures she's raedy for this, mind you. She's snuck into more heavily guarded places with less preparation and less equipment -- for how long did she always consider herself pretty ready with just claws and wits? most of her life, honestly. <br> <br> All that gets dispelled when the door opens and there is that <br> <br> smell <br> <br> Catra inhales half a breath, and then she's staggering back the way she came to retch behind a seat and basically just lose her lunch. "What... Oh the air..." She starts fumbling around, ripping open lockers or cupboards or whatever she can find on the ship. "Gasmask... Rebreather..." she gasps, "''ANYTHING''..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Minako Aino (27)}} has posed:'''<br>Minako Aino already knew that this was going to be a difficult mission without any ability to use her powers. She was confident enough in her own natural athletic prowess that she knew she could still fight without being in henshin--It would just be drastically reduced. <br><br>The Holy Sword would not be a weapon she could use. Without magic it was just a sword. Still viable, still useable, but the urge to call on it's innate power was too tempting. It wasn't something she was willing to risk letting those on Nemesis get ahold of.<br><br>Which is why she was doubling down on her athleticism by having found a suitable weapon on Earth before heading onto the ship with the others for this trek: A baseball bat. She'd even toyed with the idea of using the disguise pen to put on a themed outfit to match her new 'weapon' but of course... Well it would be a waste. Such a waste. For now she was just herself, resting the baseball bat over her shoulder looking more like a Sukeban than a Senshi at the moment. She'd take it.<br><br>When they arrive and the doors open she too is assailed by an unpleasant odor. It was awful but she was kind of used to awful smells by now. "Eeww. God I'm so glad I brought lipgloss," she utters as she pulls it out to dab on a few more dots of the pink gloss that smelled of peppermint only to pause regarding Catra's reaction.<br><br>"Ah, want some?" The little tube is offered out toward the poor feline.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>Like an ill-begotten memory that snakes around his ankles and up his spine, the moment his henshin is forced to undo itself is the moment he feels the it--dark energy. Like Saphir had described before. Swallowing in thick, Izou leans against Kazuo as even the smell made everything seem so much more oppressive.<br><br>Like before, all he was wearing were his dark jeans and a v-neck shirt, which the collar of was lifted to cover his nose in an attempt to escape the smell. It made his skin crawl more than normal. Like the sweet rot in Crystal Tokyo, he wanted to ''gag.''<br><br>"We don't have gasmasks, Catra! You'll need to get over it!" Fusses, "I don't this they would have worked against this either--"<br><br>In one of his pockets, a knife was also present. Just in case of an emergency of course.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:166|Chrono Harlaown (166)}} has posed:'''<br>Chrono Harlaown had spent some time with Rashmi before leaving, talking with her, discussing things, giving her some things to tend to, as his representative, mostly TSAB information....<br><br>... As his representative, if anything happened to him while he was gone, wellllll...<br><br>He had to make sure some things were dealt with. But when it came to space? That was his field. While the space transportation was... different than he was used to, it was a more advanced technology than he would have imagined this world capable of.<br><br>Of course, when they did land, they would soon realize something. Chrono... was always Chrono. For when they landed... he would still be in uniform. Not henshin, no spikes, but he had a non-henshin version of his uniform made before. And now? He wore it. Because of course he did, and of course he was wearing it.<br><br>Of course, when they landed, he did cringe... slightly... when the smell assaulted him. But then started to walk. He carried a knife as well. Dark energy. No readings, however. He couldn't use a device, here. He'd... used some dark energy before. Once. Just a little. Could he channel it, like Riventon? If he had to... maybe. Would he?<br><br>... He'd rather not. It'd be an emergency situation. Could his duty keep him in check if he did?<br><br>... He didn't want to know. There were a lot of deep, dark pits one could fall down in the line of 'duty'...<br><br>One might notice he did have a scarf around his face, over his mouth though... one might wonder where he got it. And they would never know...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>Kazuo is very much not the one in charge of this mission - he's capable of being silent, of fading into the background, of moving without notice, but it's not his ''specialty.'' And while he can get past standard locks, nothing about this place is standard. Even his internal store of energy is out of reach once they enter the clawing field of the planet, and it pulls him out of henshin.<br><br>That's all right. He can save that for their exit; as long as they can get the ship off the surface, or exit a more impromptu way, he can recharge the thing for the trip as soon as he's far enough away to change again.<br><br>In the mean time - his memory and his tendency to overprepare remain good. Which means that he tags open a cabinet that ''used'' to hold the ship's emergency first aid supplies (most of which are now resident in the bag over his shoulder), and grabs one of the two rebreathers there that work on merely physical lines. It's offered without a word to Catra, a mirror image to Minako's peppermint.<br><br>The second one is offered to Izou. Likewise without a word.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>Meanwhile in the fortress itself, Amy's had samples taken off of her, out of her, experimented on and spoken with by Saphir, and left to die and rot in total darkness with only the scents of death, dry rot, and sulfur to keep her company-- mostly. There was briefly light when she was put in there, and the place is full of dessicated corpses and dry bones. She has no power unless she accepts the killing darkness, and the darkness here is so much worse than the darkness at home, because it's all-pervasive and works ''fast'' and it tastes like really, really good poison on the tongue if you've ever used it before...<br><br>It tastes like death and salvation and corruption and like saltwater to a person dying of thirst.<br><br>It's right there. In the meantime, everything is ''killing them all'', slowly and surely, and they can all feel it. It's not like cancer, slow and unobtrusive until it's not, and it's not like drowning, sudden and fast -- it's more like being locked in a small bank vault, slowly running out of air, slowly slowly. They could handle it for a couple of weeks, maybe. Maybe. It feels bad enough that it could be only hours.<br><br>The fortress ahead of them grows larger in their sight, the broken steaming hell-ground tough to walk on. It's very like Calaveras' memory-ghosts in the stadium, for anyone who was there. No one's come out to greet them, no one's shot at them...<br><br>It's death. It's just death. They'll all die here. Everything hurts and everything is wrong and it creeps and pulls and it's ''wrong'', even to Catra, though she has a much better time of it. She could definitely use more dark energy though, couldn't she?<br><br>(This is the devil's advocate speaking. Don't do it. Or do.)<br><br>There's the faintest line of attenuated connection for Kazuo and Izou.<br><br>There's a big old front door... it's not locked. There aren't any other visible doors. That doesn't mean they're not there, just that they aren't visible. And... they can't make their own door, not this time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Minako Aino (27)}} has posed:'''<br>The offer of the scented lipgloss is left for Catra to take, or not, as Minako's gaze slides toward the clearly coupled up duo of Kazuo and Izou. For just a moment her eyes narrow with jealously lancing through her gaze--<br><br>Just a moment before she bites down on her own lower lip with eyes squeezing shut against the sickening ache that tugs at her. It was the planet. That feeling of awfullness all around. She begins to take a deep breath-- Thinks better of it-- and instead just turns her gaze away toward their goal with her grip white-knuckling around the baseball bat.<br><br>"Once we get settled," she begins with determination to focus on the actual plan. "Catra your senses are better so can you keep an ear out for trouble? And... Chrono-kun, do you have anything that could mark our path? Or does anyone? I'm good at memorizing the layout of places but if we need to leave *quickly* or get split up we'll want a way to tell." Chalk or markers or crayons or ... With a disgusted sigh she mutters, "Lipstick." <br><br>Her poor lipstick.<br><br>Lastly to the boys looking after one another she asks, "Any direction you feel?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>There's no rebreathers or gas masks or anything in the ship? Says who!? Catra is just about to give up looking when, abruptly, she does in fact find one. Or rather, Kazuo does, offering it to her at the same time as some peppermint lip gloss from Minako. And she accepts both, first using the lip gloss (which she has plainly never used before but can work it out) and then setting herself up with the rebreather, which works just... fine... sort of. <br> <br> It'll do. Who cares if it looks silly. It looks less silly than barfing. <br> <br> At least she's used to dark energy. Not this AMOUNT of dark energy, this is overkill in the truest sense of the word, but she's managing to walk along without too much trouble -- even if the dark energy is basically calling to her. She's used it before and she still knows how, it's not like she couldn't use it. She'd be fine. It'd probably benefit everyone here if she did. It would be ''fine''. Right? <br> <br> Maybe later, not right now. Not when she finally made progress with the Spirit Ember. <br> <br> And there's a big door, hunh? Catra isn't gonna waste time; she just walks up and give sit a gently push, just to find out if it's locked or not, and get it open just enough for a peek.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>Well, he was proven wrong but in the sweetest of ways when Kazuo handed him the second rebreather to him. Eyes went big, almost puppy like in gratitude taking the helmet and standing on tippy toes to kiss the other boy's cheek.<br><br>"Thank you. You're the best, my love." Beams before preparing his hair. Ribbon off and fiery locks twisted and tied back up in a messy bun. And on the helmet went, clicking in place.<br><br>Izou could immediately breathe in the difference. No smell. Nothing pungent. Yet the oppression still clung to him like steel chains and cuffs. Tendrils making their way up and teasing at his lips at every moment. Reminding him that it would be ''so so so easy'' to let it seep in again. Taste the sweetness of it. But his hand just reaches out and interlocks with Kazuo's as a reminder.<br><br>There were better things to focus on. Better objectives to lean into. They would make it out. Just needed to get to Mamoru first. Unfortunately he would not feel him as easily as before.<br><br>When Minako directed herself to him and Kazuo, he frowns in thought before jutting his chin out towards the fortress the the door. "The obvious door might be a good place to start, no?" He watches Catra go up ahead and push against the entrance, waiting to see if the Black Moon Clan actually locked the damn thing.<br><br>"We need to worry about direction when we're inside."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arriving at Nemesis was no picnic. She's powerless and wonders how long it will take to drain her magic and it stinks and it seems maybe it doesn't work that way it's not like she ''sees'' her soul gem corrupting towards Witching and she waits for rescue, surely they'll rescue her, right?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How long has Molly been waiting...?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;How long has ''Okana-san'' been waiting?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chibiusa's mom has been in a crystal for a whole month, hasn't she?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's not at all like when she was in a cell in Chanteur. For one thing, the door is locked. (In a brief moment of hope, she did in fact test if it was an unlocked sliding door and somehow all villains make this mistake, but no. It's striking how crushed she felt for even such a ridiculous and small hope leading to nothing...)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She resisted. She tried so hard and she got so far, because she's read ''stories'' and doesn't want to get corrupted and can't imagine a version of herself that could see what the BMC has done as justified, let alone necessary.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then Saphir took her and she thought ah, this is where they try to turn me to their side, or put darkness in me, she's come across stories about ''that'' too, and they all end, well...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...But he wasn't interested in that. He just wanted some samples. ''She is not even worth trying to make a minion of.'' She should probably be mad, but on Nemesis it's all too easy to see how worthless and powerless she is.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She can't even hope that at least in death she'll get them. Every Witch she's seen, heroes defeated, after all, and these dark generals were able to defeat heroes. 'At least my Witch will stop them' is a thought too nice to have on Nemesis.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's sullenly trudging along back to her cell (less uncomfortable than being dragged) when she realizes she's dragged not to bars or to a door but to a ''hole''. "Hey, wait--"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She lands on corpses and bones and ''screams'' and then is plunged into (lowercase d) darkness.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:166|Chrono Harlaown (166)}} has posed:'''<br>Chrono Harlaown shook his head. "Nothing on me," he admitted. "Admittedly, anything I have on me would likely not last long, either. Dark energy has a tendency to disintegrate things around it, just being in their proximity for too long will often, over time, cause a lot of damage to all manner of things. Our best bet would be leaving stones or other noticeable marks in the terrain, things using resources from the local area, but shaped in ways we have set ourselves and can easily identify, in order to ascertain that they are something that they are something we ourselves have positioned," he said in as calm a tone as he could.<br><br>... He didn't like this place, it put him ill at ease.<br><br>Still, he stood at attention, back straight, glancing about as he stood there, taking in what details he could of the strange world. It was... wrong here. Even the magic inside, his own linker core... it was being suppressed. It wasn't just that magic outside was non-existent, it was that it was suppressing the magic they held inside as well, making it so they couldn't access or use it. That was dangerous... This place... was truly hellish. A world like this... did others exist within this lost logia of a dimension?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>Kazuo yields up his hand to Izou without hesitation, fingers warm against his. It's the other hand he lifts, indicating a general direction for Minako. "Loosely that way. It's hard to pick up in this mess. Inside might help." Pass the threshold, pass the first psychological barrier. Maybe get caught, if they're actually expecting someone to come.<br><br>How many people, and people-like objects, do they have left here to watch?<br><br>Maybe better not to think about it. It's too easy to think about how fast he ''could'' find Mamoru. How quickly he ''could'' give himself the power they need to take on whatever the Black Moon has.<br><br>He concentrates on what Izou would do if he slipped, and how fast he'd lose any moral high ground for trolling Mamoru about Casual Friday ever again. It's the little things, sometimes.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>The door actually does swing open silently when Catra pushes on it, and what's visible is a long stone corridor ahead of them, past a big room that's empty except for a burning bluegreen green sourceless flame against the wall, lighting the place up. There are more of them down the corridor. There are doors, there are staircases, there are--<br><br>--there are DROIDS. Two of them, half metallic and half black cloth and some bulk, pale unsmiling faces, and they come out of a door in the hallway and see our heroes, and...<br><br>...do nothing. They just turn and start walking down the hall in the other direction.<br><br>The connection to Mamoru that the two Shitennou have indicates that he's further in and up about a floor.<br><br>... they hear a scream from ''this'' floor, or maybe from below, echoing up a staircase? It's a girl's scream.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>Catra's ears perk up at the sound of the scream; even while she's watching the two big droids walking around, and... not reacting to their presence. She watches them frozen absolutely still until it becomes clear that they really aren't going to be coming after them. Well, frozen other than motioning for everyone else to wait for a moment before coming in. <br> <br> But there was that scream, and the whole point of this is 'rescue mission' so they don't want to wait too long. "I heard a scream," she hisses, once the droids have moved on. "But it's echoing, I can't tell which floor it's from. ...Do we want to split up to search faster, or stay together for safetey?" She pauses, and shrugs, "I don't mind going alone." <br> <br> Just the same, she tightens her sword belt a little. She might be fine with going alone but it's still freaky here. This is way worse than the Fright Zone.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(It is the girliest scream Amy's ever done and she'd be weirdly happy about it but Nemesis sucks even that away)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She's going to die here.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh no. ''She is going to die here'', they've thrown her into a pit to die just like all the other corpses.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She can't even like, try to find a patch of non-corpse floor or wall to sit against because that would mean crawling over ''more corpses.''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She never really believed she had a future after all this magical girl business is done, and that always made her sad to think about; She deserves a future, Rashmi said, but that's ''why'' it's so sad--<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But she didn't think it would end like this. A violent death on the battlefield, running out of magic, fighting her foes and her friends as a Witch and then her friends will surely end her and survive, she's sure they will, can't bear to ''think'' she might get one of them... or surviving to Fade away and be replaced by a girl who remembers none of this.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She started crying at some point and she doesn't want to give them the satisfaction but also doesn't care and she's not sure if it'd be worse if they didn't even care about hearing her suffer.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She blows her nose on her shirt and eventually there are no more tears and then there is waiting for death and she needs to ''do'' something.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And the darkness all around tastes like death and salvation and corruption, but she's already facing death anyway, and Calaveras's memory comes back to her:<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She could have a home, she could have that life she deserves, but it was taken from her. The ''world'' is wrong, for treating her like she's worthless. People could have decided to treat her better -- but almost no one did until she got a pretty face, and THAT was all part of some scheme to sacrifice her, and make her curse who knows how many others, to keep the stars burning a little longer. The greatest thing that ever happened to her was an accidental side effect of a scheme to USE her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amanda's thoughts start down that track and it is much easier for the (capital D) Darkness to get its hooks in.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;People could have treated her better but ''chose'' not to. THEY are wrong, she must live, spite them, SHOW THEM ALL AND ''TAKE'' WHAT SHE DESERVES!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amanda bursts through the trapdoor looking for someone to make PAY. Full of sweet and bitter poison, but it ''sustains'' her, it feeds her with something she's so desperately hungry for even as she's disgusted and repulsed by it (but she ''needs'' it) and she should probably be thinking about hiding and planning and escaping but oh it is ''so'' much easier to think about<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;MAKING.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;THEM.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PAY.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Were there anyone else in that room to see her, they would see the red Puella Magi in her magical girl dress (her skin and hair are once again ''immaculate'', the hair was frizzing and getting in her face constantly and looked a ''right mess'' while she was here and she didn't even have anything to tie it back with but it's fixed now!) but the outfit looks a little too big on her, and very slightly rumpled -- the mark of the position of Magical Girl worn by someone who struggles to fill it, that you might feel an urge to help if she didn't have such a murderous expression on her face right now!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>Pulls and Kazuo's hand softly, before letting go so he can poke his head inside and look. That's when the scream came through and Izou frowned. It wasn't Mamoru's voice, so that was a relief in itself, but he wondered who that voice belonged to.<br><br>"Mamoru's sign is coming a little bit higher than ground level. Still ahead."<br><br>Nods to Catra and back at the others.<br><br>"Would they keep two prisoners together?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>"If we split up," Kazuo says quietly toward Minako, "it'll be easier for the fog to get us." Fog. Call it fog. Don't call it dark energy, or malefic crystal fumes, or poison. Don't call it giving in; call it getting them. He tilts his head, trying to figure angles, reflection of sound off walls, off objects.<br><br>He doesn't point out that if those droids are going for backup, or patrols, splitting up will make it both easier and more likely for one of the groups to be caught. That one Soldier V knows all too well.<br><br>To Izou, he says, low and steady, "Why would they give them that much hope?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>Lifts his head to Kazuo and huffs only a little. "You never know, one of the two brothers can easily be an idiot wearing the clown shoes." And that wasn't Saphir.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Minako Aino (27)}} has posed:'''<br>Minako Aino frowns at the fact pointed out that 'inside' would be better for directions first. The urge to snap back a response is bitten down to the point she knew her lips were going to need some TLC once she got back. A lip mask. Moisturizer. All sorts of things that could possibly help. Thinking of the litany of skin care products she wanted to try out was at least a distraction from the oppressive sensation this place had.<br><br>At Kazuo's advice she nods readily in agreement. "No splitting up. But let's ... let's search this floor first. Quickly. We need to find the way up to begin with." <br><br>A glance is cast toward the droids that had dismissed them so easily, and she shakes her head. There had been no haste or alarm raised ... Right? "Why set defenses for a planet that can attack your very being just by stepping foot here." It's said more than asked. She presses forward.<br><br>To find her friends.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:166|Chrono Harlaown (166)}} has posed:'''<br>Chrono Harlaown was silent, for the most part, following behind and keeping his head down, mouth covered with the scarf and breathing through it, lost in thought. The scream made him tense up. Amy. Probably. His fists clenched, but he resisted running after her.<br><br>As much as he wanted to, he couldn't. Running in, getting himself caught, would only make things worse. It was likely they knew they were here and an ambush was likely. Orbital entry was anything but subtle. "It's likely they already know we're here, hopefully they expect the natural defenses to deal with us and don't intend to do it personally. We should move quickly, in the event they do appear, we likely won't stand a prolonged assault."<br><br>The only ones who could fight here... were Catra. At least, currently...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>The droids turn a corner, ignoring the scream, but they come back around at the sound of splintering and go back into the room they just came out of.<br><br>No more droids. The door doesn't even close by itself behind them, it just lets in the volcanic heat and the sulfur smell, standing where left. The droids don't care that they're ''here''. But the splintering? That's something breaking, and droids need to fix that.<br><br>There are a couple of droids now in a big room with Amy, very close, in fact, very very close, and they are... not attacking her. One of them starts to gather pieces of broken trapdoor and the other leaves, possibly to get another door.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>"Fine, I'll be the one to say it if we're not splitting up. Let's go for Mamoru first. This is the Black Moon Clan, they possibly did something to him and both me and Kazuo can carry him out if we need to." Izou peeps quietly.<br><br>"And on the way back, grab the other person."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>The droids turns around. Kazuo therefore leans down to murmur in Izou's ear, "Did he inherit the clown shoes from Rubeus?"<br><br>That's enough of a spark to let him breathe for a moment, much as he's regretting that being an ongoing necessity. Slightly regretfully, he adds - still quiet, but loud enough for the others to hear - "As much sense as that makes, we need to at least avoid them causing general problems."<br><br>Keep the words reasonable for the droids to hear. Don't say 'make them not set off an alarm.'<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>Catra isn't entirely planning on fighting. That's definitely a very, very last resort here. Still, no harm in being ready, and as she moves along she rests one hand on the hilt of her sword; not drawing it, just being... extremely ready to do so. Just in case. You never know. <br> <br> As long as there are no objections she takes the lead, padding her way down corridors, up and down stairs as needed, whatever would seem to get her closer to the source of the screams. <br> <br> Along the way she does her best to avoid droids. The rebreather interferes, so in the end she decides to just suck it up and forget about it, leaving the thing hanging off her belt so she can have it again when they go back outside after making sure she isn't going to end up throwing up again. (She already lost her lunch though so at least it wouldn't make a droid-attracting mess, probably.) <br> <br> "Don't think we're far off," she hisses at everyone after a while. "From the scream. Be ready but don't start a fight unless you're literally gonna die otherwise, okay?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Minako Aino (27)}} has posed:'''<br>"Mamoru isn't the only one missing right now," Minako reminds Izou as they find themselves watching the droids begin to gather items to repair the broken door down to... the... Hole? Down to a hole? Her lips purse together tightly as she draws a breath (pepperminty followed by regret), and lets out a sigh.<br><br>"Too much noise," she utters knowing that this would likely just lead to a delay overall. Ah, but over there was a way up perhaps?<br><br>"He is our priority though," she thinks to add before she causes Izou or Kazuo upset. Just. She was focusing and she hadn't seen Chibiusa or Usagi in awhile either and that was a woman's scream.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She ''has'' read stories about this, you know. Not because she wanted to, but because she was hoping they might contain a bit of what she was looking for (some did, albeit tainted and twisted and oh man the metaphor is SO CLEAR after this) and... it's not what she expected. Corruption is supposed to be giving you a taste of something that becomes addicting, that you could never have otherwise, that you feel like you can't live without, and you can stretch it out over a lot of pages or cram it into one or two the formula's the same, but this isn't like those stories at all, Amy's just borrowing the power, just to survive and escape... and maybe to MAKE THEM PAY...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah the spite and rage are really good for soaking up a lot of darkness quickly, but...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's no one here to unleash them on. Those assholes! Her suffering really was ''nothing'' to them!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But uh. What now?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(It's bitter, it's wrong, she feels bad and shouldn't be doing this but fuck you she just wanted something perfectly reasonable and this is where she found it)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(It's sort of comforting in a way, knowing that others must feel like this)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe with better understanding of darkness she can help her friends! And that's a hopeful thought, so Darkness isn't opposed to them, so maybe she can help Norie-san, too...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But how does she get ''out'' of here?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, someone's here! Time to make them PA--oh are those just droids? Lame. Amy takes a combat stance, dark power at her fingertips, and prepares to<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Uh. What? The droids are just... fixing the trapdoor? Whaaaaaaaa???? Wait are they IGNORING her? Why those-- ''OHMIGOSH.''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;''I DETECT AS DARK NOW THAT'S WHY.'' the realization, unvocalized, goes through her mind.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As a whimsical test, she stands behind one on tiptoe with her hands raised like claws in a gesture that says 'I am going to get you'. Still no reaction? She stands normally and almost laughs. ''Oh that's so cool!'', she thinks to herself! With this power she can deceive the enemy... imagine how useful being untargetable by droids will be! She can be a big help to her friends with that!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Also yeah maybe black ''would'' suit her better. Darkness washes over her outfit and recolors it in shades of black with white accents and pink decorations, replaces the gloves with black ones that go partway up her upper arm, and matching black stockings and makes the dress have a short section in the front to not obscure the visual effect, and let's top it all off with a biiiig floppy witch hat! She always wanted a big floppy witch hat.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Smiling to herself, she strides out the door to find her way to the exit--<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;--and right into view of the rescue party. And ''joy'' flashes over her face before she realizes how this looks and some of them can probably sense darkness and she holds up her hands in a 'stop, don't shoot' gesture, "Waiwaiwaiwaiwaiwait! It's me, it's me!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She closes the door behind her if it's closeable and lowers her voice, "The droids don't detect me right now!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:166|Chrono Harlaown (166)}} has posed:'''<br>Chrono Harlaown had kept his face a mask when Zoi mentioned going after Mamoru first, after whoever had screamed. Fortunately, Minako didn't go for that idea. Which was good, because he likely would have ignored it and demonstrated why Enforcers often operated alone as needed.<br><br>However, when Amy came out of the room, seemingly... well, 'no worse for the wear' wasn't the right word. Slightly less worse for the wear, he couldn't help but be alarmed, his mouth falling open and staring, a hand moving up to it. How...?<br><br>But he was silent.<br><br>He then glanced towards Catra, giving her a small nod, before looking to Minako, motioning her on, before averting his gaze towards Amy once more. "Did you see where they have Mamoru?" he asked. "Can you walk?" he asked next. First, ascertain where second victim is, then, ascertain if current victim needs immediate extraction, or if plan can continue. Minako, as the leader, will need to continue on regardless, every second matters.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>There are no more droids yet; there's the dry-rot-smelling oubliette, and down that hall past that room there's that staircase leading up.<br><br>Apart from the sounds Amy's making, the place is still oppressively silent. Wherever Mamoru is, hopefully he's alone and can be extracted without a fight. Hopefully their irregular feet scuffing on the floor and Amy's stage-whispering weren't too loud.<br><br>At least Mamoru is reading, to Kazuo and Izou, as close to here, this place now.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>When popped up, Izou's hand went straight for the blade concealed in his pocket, but was relieved he did not have to used it--yet. Instead, it was just Amy. Not exactly who ''he'' wanted to see, but made the rescue mission much more simpler now. One less person to find, and he can focus on Mamoru.<br><br>Connection was still muddled, but much stronger the closer they were to the hole on the ground. Above, still above. "Let's keep going? He's up those stairs, I can feel him." Fingers cling and tug at Kazuo for a second, then let's go again to step ahead on the first few steps of the stairs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>"Amy." Kazuo breathes out the name with a notable relief, putting an empty hand out toward her for a moment. "We have to move, quick and quiet, and without touching power. Can you do that? We have medical supplies, but we can't stop to use them yet." And then he's following Izou's tugging to the stairs, to be able to help point the right direction at the top. Triangulation helps, but ... it's not perfect. Not when they don't know if he might be moved.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Minako Aino (27)}} has posed:'''<br>The baseball bat had been slung over her shoulder the entir3e time in preparation of any potential need to swing at a moments notice. Minako was prepared for when Amy pops up. Even if she were slightly different, slightly not-right, she didn't know Amy enough to really know all the tells to determine what was wrong.<br><br>What was wrong HERE was that Minako had gripped the bat and begun to swing.<br><br>It takes a quick movement of one foot sliding forward as her hips rotate to twist her body away so that the bat doesn't swing out at Amy and instead she pulls it back and through as if slicing through the air with a sword. It was what she typically fought with after all. The result is whiffing through the air, spinning the bat back around upward and back to her shoulder with nary a hiss of breath exhaled.<br><br>Mentally a few choice words are thought VERY very hard. It's Chrono and Izou's words that cause her to nod as she focuses the adrenaline rush she'd just experienced into determination to keep going. Up the stairs taking two at a time all the while remaining... Silent. In spite of her usually chatty nature.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>When Amy appears and starts talking entirely too loudly (and maybe Catra's definition of entirely too loudly is different from everyone else's, she's not sure but isn't taking any chances) she steps up smartly, lifts one hand, and plants it square over Amy's lips. <br> <br> "Shhhhhhhhhh," she whispers, leaning in close so Amy (and basically only Amy) can here it. "We need to keep quiet, we're here to rescue--" Hearbeat "You and Mamoru, but aside from me nobody here can even ''fight'' here, so we need to keep it down 'cause if we get discovered it'll be super bad, alright? So no saying anything that isn't a ''very quiet whisper'' like I'm doing." <br> <br> With that explained, Catra takes her hand away from Amy's mouth, and gives her a quick look up and down. Her eyebrow rises at her outfit, but she doesn't comment on that -- this isn't really the time or place for it. <br> <br> "Come on," she whispers, "We gotta go." And with that she starts padding ahead again, moving in complete silence to scout ahead.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>The castle is large, but... a lot of it is echoingly empty. Up the stairs into another hall, slightly more well-lit. There's a grand door, and through it, following the sense of Mamoru into a wide dark room very close to Demande's grand airy personal quarters-- which they do have to go through. But in that wide dark room? There's a pedestal there, glowing blue with a flickering, glitching hologram of Neo Queen Serenity.<br><br>The air and floor sap life and negate power, but it's not silent in here. It's still, but not silent. They can hear somewhat bubbly breathing.<br><br>And the dark energy is ''everywhere''. It's everywhere. It's all there, ripe for the taking, and it would ''let'' him patch himself up, it would ''give'' him the use of his hands back, it would give him the power to get free and come back with friends, to help save Usagi and Chibiusa; it would give him the power to fix his elbow, his leg, his ribs, his nose, his face...<br><br>In the light from the hologram and whatever lights the party brought with them, there's dried blood all over his face and down his Unmask aLIVE baseball shirt, his leg has swollen his skinny jeans leg near to bursting, his elbow is a swollen wreck, his hands...<br><br>...his hands.<br><br>They've been truly crushed, splintered.<br><br>He's a mess, fluffy hair half stuck to his face and all, glasses gone, eyes nearly shut from the swelling.<br><br>He's sprawled out on the floor where he was dumped a day ago, and the pain is unbelievable, and he's stopped being able to think of anything but how much he hurts, how much it hurts that Chibiusa and Usagi are corrupted, how much the darkness hurts -- and all the while, the darkness has been calling to him sweetly. Wicked Lady offered it to him, pointed out he could heal himself so easily, was mad when he refused it because of a promise.<br><br>He promised. He promised he would never voluntarily pick it up again. He remembers how much it hurt to have it ''inside him'' but it hurt so very much less than ''this''. He thinks he's dying. If he were Hematite he wouldn't die, he'd use all this dark energy to kill Demande for letting Serenity's name past his lips ever-- no. Calm.<br><br>Wicked Lady and New Moon wouldn't let him die, he's sure of it.<br><br>The door opens.<br><br>His voice is dry and splintery and thick, and he croaks out, "Missed me already, you weird piece of shit?"<br><br>Oh no, he looks like that and he's ''conscious''. They'll have to ''move'' him.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>The urge to mutilate someone's personal quarters is so very strong. But this is someone who grew up alongside Rubeus. Touch ''nothing.'' Well, nothing but Izou.<br><br>And when they find the right door ...<br><br>There's an instant of silence, when he reflexively starts to try to search for patterns in the dark energy that might suggest traps, and is so very, very glad that the planet stole his henshin and therefore his ability to do that, because it would have gotten into him in the process. Instead, Kazuo keeps his voice - so very low. And yet, somehow, figuratively even drier than Mamoru's is literally. "Of course not. We're just here because your plushies did. Is there any part of you that won't damage you more if it takes pressure?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Minako Aino (27)}} has posed:'''<br>Minako Aino the chambers were disturbing. Moreso with that darn hologram lit up like some kind of otakus' waifu shrine. She tries not to think about the disturbing fact that it's *in a bedroom* which is even creepier for so many reasons. <br><br>Such thoughts are at least easily chased from her mind the moment that they come to find Mamoru. The bat still at the ready in case danger arrives she steps closer, quietly, taking in Mamoru's injuries with a sickening ache in her stomach that resolves into making sure Usagi never sees this. <br><br>Please let her have never seen this. This is the sort of thing that Minako should be protecting her friend, her Princess, from.<br><br>A quiet whisper of, "That's no way to greet Izou," comes as she finds herself resorting at least to catty remarks to vent the feelings the oppressive fog of energy was bringing to her. A sharp look is cast toward Izou and Kazuo, a nod given to both as she remarks, "You get to carry. We play guard."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>It was still sweet to him, the tendrils of dark. He wanted to bite down and take in every inch of it, breathe it in like it's oxygen his body truly missed having. Every breath was a chore and reminder of a ticking clock, anxiety creeping up nerves.<br><br>If only he could take a sip. A lick, even. But no. No he wouldn't. Not unless Kazuo does, and if they truly need to escape alive. Otherwise...<br><br>When the door opened, it was so dark, the hologram stuck out to him. And what's more, who the silhouette reminded him of. The Queen. This was a room. And the sweetness kept trying to seduce him but he ignored it all when he caught to the voice.<br><br>A quiet gasp, and he carefully bolts in, not thinking twice. Not the smartest move, but he truly didn't care at the sound of Mamoru's voice. And seeing the state of him, heart leapt to his throat. Gods... Gods what did they do--<br><br>"Mamoru..." Kneels down and whispers, hands reaching out to push away dirty jet black hair from his prince's face. "I don't know which piece of shit you're talking about, but it's me, Izou." Mutters only loud enough for Mamoru to hear him. "Kazuo is here too. Minako, Chrono, Catra..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy just listens, and nods, and once Catra uncovers her mouth, looks at Kazuo, "Uhhh... It might be a bit late for that... at least the droids don't detect me now?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She takes a breath and looks to Chrono, shaking her head. "I haven't seen anyone else but Saphir since I came here..." Her face glowers briefly at the memory. She looks down at her legs, lifts one, then the other, "Yeah, I can walk."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She walks along as it seems Izou can sense Mamoru, and looks over at Catra, whispering, "I think I can fight too if I need to, but..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The urge to MAKE THEM PAY fights with a realistic assessment of unknown abilities against experienced darkness-users IN THEIR HOME BASE THEY KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE, and she growls a little at having to face facts. "I don't think we can beat them, here..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then the ones at the front of the group open a door and Amy gasps. But keeps her voice at that stage-whisper. "Mamoru???"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Carrying him is brought up. "You guys do have a way out of here, right...?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>"Yeah, we've got a way out of here," Catra whispers. "Same way we got in." <br> <br> She regards Mamoru's condition with... well outwardly it looks like she doesn't much give a damn. I mean whatever, people get hurt all the time, and they're here to fight. This is war. People get hurt in war. <br> <br> But the people who know here better woudl definitely note the dismayed flattening of her ears, and the way her tail droops at the sight of Mamoru, even as she lingers by the door. <br> <br> While everyone else is tending to the badly wounded Mamoru, the feline slinks back out into the hall, giving Chrono a nod on her way past. She keeps her hand on her sword -- just in case -- and keeps her eyes out for droids, on the chance that any of them might become... interested. <br> <br> "We've been here too long already," she hisses, looking over her shoulder back into the room. "Get him up so we can move, ''right now''."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"I don't know," whispers Mamoru, his voice like dust, aching, the very words exhausted now that he's not trying to be tough. His eyes are wet and his mouth is dry and his breathing bubbles. "I can't tell, but... I don't care. Can pass out again, it's fine. Will fix later. Please let's go. It got them. Fix later."<br><br>The hair is stuck to his face where there's dried blood, but it's not too hard to jar loose and brush away. Mamoru doesn't move his head, but the touch on his skin-- his skin is too warm, feverish, but that's the only warmth there is. Everything else is suppressed. He's been here before, powerless and in agony, and he's tired of it. Not tired enough of it not to call someone a weird piece of shit, though. "Izou--"<br><br>Even blinking hurts, and it's hot saltwater stinging the abrasions on his swollen, beaten face, with its broken nose and black eyes and split lips. "Please. It'll hurt. But please. It's fine."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of ''course'' Amy's horrified at the sight of what's been done to Mamoru and her heart goes out to him -- but they can't do much for him ''here''.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And she feels a little awkward, not sure how to feel about letting him see what she did. Catra like, ''started'' evil, but Mamoru... technically he was Hematite but not only did that mess him up but he's dipped back into and fought it off a few times and--<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's an honesty in her that was so automatic she didn't even ''think'' about it, but she can't ''really'' say that he should drink of the darkness and be ''fine'', can she? It would, at least, require taking the time to first do an honest evaluation of whether her current state can be called, all things considered, 'fine', and there hasn't been time for that.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On the other hand, he knows how it is, it's not like she's telling someone who hasn't been warned...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Already?" Dark Amy hisses, her head whipping around towards Catra. "Would it help if I look around corners first? Those droids didn't seem to notice me right now..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She hears Mamoru in pain and she wants to do something but ''what''... She can't think of anything that will help him more than ''getting out of here.''<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Yes, let's go. Let's get off this damned planet." Izou nodded, looking back up to Kazuo then. Between the two, Izou was not the strongest to carry Mamoru around. And making their prince walk would be a nightmare of more pain if even a simple touch would cause harm.<br><br>"Kazuo? Could you carry him? The faster we leave, the better it'll be to get him where he can recover." Faster? How long would it be this time? He didn't know. Heart twisted into splintered knots and the want to do something a little more useful was still there deep down.<br><br>"I'll help you get him settled in your arms if you can."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>Let Catra deal with herding Amy With A Witch Hat. Kazuo takes off the bag he's carrying and hands it to Izou, to keep it out of the way. "I can." Carrying him like a backpack is theoretically better - but with that leg, and that arm? No. Not for as long as they can, anyway. He crouches down and works with Izou to get Mamoru off the floor with as few shocks to his body as possible.<br><br>Head injury means potential spinal injury. But spinal injury is better than getting caught. Or than staying here. And Catra's right. ''Right now.''<br><br>The moment he's up on his own feet again, Mamoru far heavier in his arms than when Kazuo is in henshin, he's already turning toward the door. Keeping with Izou. They might neither of them be able to resist this place alone; but they can manage it for each other. And for Mamoru, he can manage carrying him -- as long as he has to.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>He absolutely could not walk if he tried. He stood on it broken, yesterday, until he fell, and then Demande stomped on the already-bad break once he fell, and-- yeah he can't do it today. He also can't hold on to anything with the broken elbow arm, including anyone else.<br><br>His face goes white with pain when he's lifted, but he doesn't make a sound. On the floor, there's blood where it dripped yesterday and stayed untouched, drying in perfect spatters. He hasn't moved in a day.<br><br>He leans his head on Kazuo's chest and shoulder, and his breath-- oh it sounds so bad, it sounds so bad when he's folded up like this, too. All the same he's going to be really upset if this shirt has to get cut off him, it's ''new'' and his ''favorite band''--<br><br>He passes out, but the sound of his breath is at least regular, even if shallow and bubbly. It makes him dead weight, but at least he's not dead.<br><br>It feels like a longer trip going back the way they came, but Catra and Chrono have entirely different awesome ways of getting them back that way, and it's really only feeling like that because of the-- this ''place'', its despair, what if he dies on the way, what if the ship is gone, they should just give in, give in, give in...<br><br>...but they're not met by any droids, by any generals, by anyone or anything: there's just... it's just that they absolutely all feel like they're being watched as they leave. Watched in the corridors, watched on the hike away from the castle, watched as they lift off. But-- they ''do'' lift off, they ''do'' make it into orbit, they ''do'' make it back to the gate, and thence to Castle Charon. It'll be another five hours or so before they're back on Earth, but they have their henshins as soon as they leave the atmosphere...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Minako Aino (27)}} has posed:'''<br>Minako Aino turns around abruptly as Mamoru is raised up in Kazuo's arms, unable to watch for now. Seeing what had been done to him, wondering what shape Usagi or their daughter may be in, left her stomach turning. Now was not the time to feel queasy.<br><br>Instead she focuses on getting them all back safely. It was a joint effort of course, everyone looking out for everyone, but she felt responsible for them all. Responsible, and woe be it to any who tried to harm them further, because the lure of that dark energy might just be taken hold of.<br><br>That urge to give in fades when they leave the atmosphere. Fades, thankfully, and she feels herself again. Enough that she can bury her face in her hands and breath deep trying not to let all the awful wash over her. <br><br>Finally once they get to a safe point she risks asking, "What now?" very quietly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mamoru passes out and Amy breathes a sigh of relief. At least unconscious he's not in pain.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Initially Amy was confident after that droid encounter, but the longer it takes to get out of here the more there's the sense that she's being watched and the scenario plays through her head again and again of the BMC showing up and her and Catra trying to fight them off... and given the state Mamoru is in, that will end badly for everyone else at a minimum, but it also feels more and more inevitable and she's dreading it (and briefly clinging to hopeful thoughts of 'maybe I'll be really good at dark magic and defeat them somehow?' to get away from the dread for brief moments, but it always returns, stronger)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They're out of that awful place. And Amy gasps when they reach a HONEST-TO-GODOKA SPACESHIP and she absolutely watches with intense interest as it's operated.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;THEY WENT THROUGH A STARGATE (okay maybe not but still cool) OMG OMG OMG SHE IS SEEING CHARON UP CLOSE and Pluto not-so-up-close but considerably closer than she ever would in her lifetime. She tries to make out the heart...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then they're in interplanetary space and it's just as empty as she expected but it's, like... another thing to actually ''experience'' it, and she turns her attention back to the inside of the ship, and the people there with her.<br><br>What now?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Is it possible to heal people with darkness magic?" Amy asks, looking at her hands.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Like, it sounds counterintuitive, but Saphir can probably repair bodies, for example.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But can Amy, a complete novice in dark magic use, use it that way? She doesn't feel like it's in her powerset. Using magic is familiar to her, and she's become accustomed to checking if she can do something or not, and even if dark magic is a little weird... like, she fixed up her appearance and changed clothes no problem, and felt some kind of attack ready to use on the droids, but ''healing?'' Nothing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe there's a trick to it though? Like you have to think of it in some weird way, or<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;''Oh.''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, of course (she thinks) she can give him an uninjured body with dark energy, and he'd be more OK than most, but it would affect his interactions with everyone forever, and the darkness in the back of her mind that's looking for a way to show off shuts up when it imagines the glares of Usagi and Mamoru if she prevented Chibiusa from existing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He can wait to get to a healer.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>Catra doesn't know if she's feeling the pull of dark energy here more strongly than everyone else on account of her having been using it, regularly and without a huge amount of restraint, up until pretty recently (and she really only stopped because she got her hands on the Spirit Ember, or maybe it got ahold of her, one or the other). But it really is whispering to her, with growing intensity. <br> <br> Get the things you wanted. <br> Make people respect you. <br> Make people fear you. <br> You can have everything you want. <br> You can make ure nobody hurts you again. <br> You can have Ador-- <br> <br> "SHUT UP," Catra hisses with hushed intensity, while she's around a corner waiting for everyone else to catch up. <br> <br> On the way back to the ship she has to put the rebreather back on so she can function; but the second they get aboard the ship with the airlock closed she takes it off and hurls it against the far wall, smashing it to pieces. <br> <br> "Are we done?" she snaps, as she stalks off with raised hackles and her claws out -- until she notices that her claws are out and concentrates carefully on retracting them, as she goes in search of somewhere to sulk.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:166|Chrono Harlaown (166)}} has posed:'''<br>Chrono Harlaown had, of course, helped to carry where he could, move them, helped to tend, to lock them in, to tend to the wounded. He'd been incredibly serious throughout. Silent. Very, very silent.<br><br>They'd been fortunate, were getting out of here, heading towards space... towards safety. And, once they were strapped in and leaving? He let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. "Now? Now we get the victims medical treatment. We get them food, water, purification, we fortunately have some of that. Then we set to work finding the rest of our people," he said.<br><br>... Two down. Two to go. Mamoru...<br><br>Mamoru likely had information. Important information. Amy... likely did as well. And he'd, fortunately, managed to avoid using dark energy himself. Rashmi would likely be proud. Yay.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>Kazuo glanced after Catra, but didn't try to answer her at the time - because his arms were informing him that they were seriously considering parting ways with his shoulders at this point. Which meant getting Mamoru settled while someone else got the ship ''up'', and keeping the acceleration shifts from doing anything horrible to either of them. Izou's help, still, greatly appreciated.<br><br>He shifted back into Kunzite the moment it was possible, and tore himself away to go check on the ship's power - enough to get them out of Nemesis space and past another junction point before he needs to refuel it. Good. Good. That meant he could drop off dried fish for Catra when she emerged from her round of sulk.<br><br>That also meant that somewhat later on he could, from where he sits by Mamoru, hear Amy's question.<br><br>"No," he says. "I watched what Hematite did by way of trying to heal. You can do something ''like'' healing. But it's bad for the body, not good for it. Like trying to wash out a wound with raw sewage. And it's not good for you, either. It blinds you to what's actually happening; convinces you that you really have healed them, and you should do it more."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:86|Izou Saitou (86)}} has posed:'''<br>It all becomes real when they are back on the ship, discarding the rebreather right as the shuttle doors close. Ship vibrating into life. Med beds, softer than the disgusting floor either victims were placed upon, but Izou's focus did remain on Mamoru--similar to when Nephrite was unconscious on a similar medical bed.<br><br>He didn't leave his prince's side, not even when his henshin returned and the embers brought his uniform back. In the quiet question from Minako, Zoisite had no real answer. Only his body rocked discreetly back and forth for a moment and stopping only to reach and touch again. Vital signs. Recheck.<br><br>Alive, but barely. The bits of energy he could feel from Mamoru being so precious in those seconds. Guilt still riddled him, ever since the library. The chances left of normality when Small Lady and Usagi were still about, Nephrite still being annoying, everything was at least ''normal'' and not falling apart.<br><br>Leans in, forehead to Mamoru's chest as he whispers, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I promise not to hesitate again, I promise to do better by you. I promise... Just get better, please."<br><br>Heart beats. And focus.<br><br>The smallest light shines then, beneath the hand on Mamoru's chest. It only caught Zoisite's attention when he felt something push against it like it wanted space-- And he sits up and pulls his hand away to see a small lotus made of soft green light blooming, roots made of light digging inside their prince. It doesn't hurt, and it doesn't heal wounds in any normal way--but it does keep them clean, and safe of getting worse. Not something Zoisite knew now, but he would later.<br><br>Right now, he's more stunned than anything before looking over to Kazuo.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kunzite's words make Amy feel like she barely dodged a bullet. The darkness... was ''lying'' to her?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Strictly speaking, it wasn't saying she could heal in the conventional sense, but ''that'' train of thought feels a ''liiiiittle'' sus right now.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So she looks for something else to think about.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;SOUL GEM.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She has not, in fact, forgotten it! She had the chance to see it seeming darker in her cell, and when she was taken from her cell, and when she was with Saphir -- and when she looked at it on the way out the castle it looked almost black. A grief seed -- she could access some of her stuff again -- barely drew anything off it. Hoooopefully that's just the color of the dark energy now empowering her?? (She was plagued by mental images both of being found by the BMC ''and'' of Witching and killing her friends.)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So now, that they have a quiet moment, she looks at it again:<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's dark, but not in the same way the 'corruption' as Kyubey called it, usually fills it. Rather than there being a dark portion and a ruby red portion, the whole thing is a very dark red.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She touches a grief seed to it and it barely draws off anything. She repockets it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There are BEDS in the medbay. Oh gosh. She runs her hands over the one Mamoru ''isn't'' on, as if confirming it's there when she thought she might never see another bed again. She almost had to sleep on corpses! ;_;<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And thinking about ''that'' starts to bring back emotions of what she just went thr--<br><br>We get them good, water, ansi'''<span class="underline bold_fg_n bg_n ++ hu">purification</span>'''<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy startles and feels her muscles tense. She can't give up new power already, right? It might be so useful for fighting the droids! And the Black Moon Clan! "That's... a... good... plan..." She turns around to face the others, grinning awkwardly, "Yeah! Some, uh, food would be nice, I thought I might never eat again back there... a-and a nap... I hear purification kinda hurts, s-so, I should probably be in my best condition for it, right?"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;All the dark energy in the world doesn't make her good at deception, it seems.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At least, not ''this'' fast.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>He ''does'' wake up again, once they're in interplanetary space and he's been in a medbed for a while-- he ''does'' wake up, when Izou makes the little light-lotus out of green energy. (His hands, his hands... he doesn't bother trying to lift them. They're swollen discolored mitts.)<br><br>Even just that little lotus is enough that Mamoru's breathing easier. It's enough that his breath doesn't bubble, that the pain isn't so bad-- and his eyes open a crack. "... are we," he whispers, "in Jules Verne's Star Trek?" A beat. "Oh. They're... they're..."<br><br>His eyes close again. "Sfine. Fix later," he says, and he's crying a little, just silent hot tears down the sides of his face, into his bloodied hair.<br><br>His breath shudders. "Please be proud of me instead-- instead of telling me I was stupid and should have gone for the dark energy."<br><br>A pause.<br><br>"Purification hurts if you fight it. So don't fight it."<br><br>On the other hand, look at him, he probably has a different scale for what hurts.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:27|Minako Aino (27)}} has posed:'''<br>"You're not stupid. Not at all. You're so very strong and ... I'm not sure I could have in your place, Mamoru. You did it though." The soft words break from Minako of all people as she risks coming closer. It was the way Izou had been lingering over Mamoru that had her curious. That little hint of light she'd caught sight of which drew her nearer until Mamoru woke up to say such things.<br><br>She wasn't Usagi, the praise wouldn't mean much likely, but Usagi wasn't here to say it. So she did. Because that is precisely what Usagi would do. Right?<br><br>A deep breath is drawn as she turns to glance toward Amy with a shake of her head as well. "You can't unpollute water by adding more dirt to it." Well. That's one way to look at it. She couldn't really speak from complete experience but she had heard and she knew DO NOT MESS WITH. It didn't work.<br><br>Again she looks at the odd flower that Izou ahd created on Mamoru wordlessly a few moments. Then without really thinking she mumbles, "We'll be back for them."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:58|Kazuo Saitou (58)}} has posed:'''<br>A ''green'' lotus? Not silver, not gold like Mamoru's light, but green?<br><br>Kazuo answers Zoisite's look with startlement in turn, but that gives way swiftly to a delight no less real for how tired it is.<br><br>And then Mamoru's awake. Talking.<br><br>"I'm proud of both of you," Kazuo says, very soft, for reasons that have nothing to do with sneaking now. "More than I have words for."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:107|Amy Faust (107)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's awake.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And hearing him say that reminds her, that she isn't sure she can say that he should have, which reminds her about the ways this feels gross when she thinks about it-- And then he says the other thing, about not fighting it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But suuuurely there's a way for her to use this? She's smarter than almost everyone at school, maybe she can make things better for everyone!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Change the topic. "Well, ''I'' couldn't do it, apparently." She agrees with Minako on the difficulty.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(And she does not notice how 'just to survive and escape' has turned into 'I can help everyone' and how a move made in desperation, fear, and panic has become something she ''couldn't'' not do...)<br><br>We'll be back for them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...That's right. She was so focused on surviving and escaping and getting Mamoru out, but they're still missing... She cannot ''possibly'' have become self-centered enough to forget that, it has to be because Nemesis made her so desperate! Yeah!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"That's right! We'll be back... and... Being able to use this power will be an asset on Nemesis, right? Maybe I can figure out how to fight--" Okay yeah that's dumb as soon as she hears it out loud "--okay maybe not but maybe there's some useful utility stuff..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She winces again, at Mamoru's state. Why did they ''beat'' him and not her? She doesn't deserve to be so lucky... well he ''is'' their hated king. "You should rest. Does this fancy spaceship have future painkillers? ...Oh!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amy suddenly has her first aid kit on her, and opens it up, and pulls out an unlabeled bottle containing some sparkly pills. "Setsuna-chan gave me these for emergencies... and if that's any time, it's now."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She does not know that Setsuna gave her ibuprofin with edible glitter on it.<br> <br>
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