2481/An Oneiric Melody

An Oneiric Melody
Date of Scene:	19 April 2025
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	At a cinema, another of Michel's generals shows up. The sudden visit to the dreamscape ends well thanks to Emi's help.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Madoka Kaname, Emi Hoshino, Amanda Faust, Hinoiri Kirara

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Pressing delicately against a glass door in front of her, Coco's hand opens a door to the loud chatter inside a cinema in the Yumegahama Ward, moving towards the showcases of the upcoming movies.

The wide hall is swarmed with people, some just dallying, some just peering at the selection of movies, some moving towards the cash registers to get their tickets.

Is it too fast to be planning her next date with Rihito when she still hasn't talked with him? She doesn't even know how he will take magic being real, or her being actually a mermaid, and all of this without the matter that he actually may be a Panthalassa now that the Veil hasn't taken away his memories.

He hasn't pressed the matter yet, but she can't wait for too long, or he will start forming ideas on her silence. Buy the tickets now, explain it to him, and invite him to the movies right after, to conclude on a sweeter note.

On another part of the building, a green-haired girl is leaning against the wall, watching the shifting crowd with an excited smile, her foot stepping to a beat only she can hear.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura Akemi is waiting in the lobby, just outside the restrooms, waiting for the girl of her dreams to come out. Kamiko is floating over her shoulder, waving her arms in the air and excitedly recounting the events of the movie they just watched.

    "And then it was like WHAM-KA BOOM and then the plane went RRRRrrrroooowww SPLOOSH! And then... and then they said the line and I think that was the best part."

    Homura smiles warmly at the tiny minidoka being cute in front of her. She's a little less impressed by action flicks thanks to her daily life, but on the other hand it does kinda mean she can identify with them. "Do you like planes, Kamiko-chan?"

    Kamiko taps her chin and says, "Well... yeah... but I bet I'd fly it way better than them!"

    Homura, sweetly, "Of course. You're a natural after all."

    Kamiko floats a little bit higher and spots blonde hair. "Oh! Oh! I think that's Coco-chan!"

    Homura raises an eyebrow. "Coco Kiumi?" She looks over to the ticket master and considers for a moment. "Ah, right. Stay here, Kamiko-chan. If Madoka comes out, tell her where I went."

    Kamiko salutes Homura, and the purple-eyed Puella Magi turns to walk towards the mermaid in disguise. It will take her a moment to get through the crowd, but Akemi isn't terribly concerned. They're on the way out, after all.

    When she finally reaches Coco, she asks, "Coco Kiumi? I believe I owe you some overdue thanks."

Emi Hoshino has posed:
Emi doesn't go out too much. In fact, she spends a lot of time camped out in her room. One of the few things that can really get her to go off campus with any regularity, however, is the going to the movie theater. Despite the cost, the girl finds a way to get into see whatever (preferably but not exclusively) scary movie might be on the big screen that week. American horror? Sure. Japanese horror? Even better! Unique, avante-garde horror movies from SOMEWHERE? Yeeeeeeeeees. The closer it is to someone's personal nightmare vision, the more into it she is.

Which is why she's here tonight, all gothed up with somewhere to actually go for once, wearing a hat adorned with fanciful (and very fake) black roses and a veil, an elegant gothic dress full of ruffles and petticoats, and her parasol over her shoulder.

"I'm gonna get some popcorn," she says to her accompaniment, that being Hinoiri and Amy, it seems. "... even if I wind up having to spend hour getting the crumbs out out of my dress," she adds, with a weary sigh. A tiny voice escapes from her handbag hanging from one shoulder.

"I like popcorn!"

"No you don't, KenKen. You can't even eat it."

"WATCH ME," says the spider from its hiding spot.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Horror movies aren't usually her deal, but for Emi, Amy will go with her. When Emi comments about crumbs, she pulls some paper towel from her bag and holds it out. "You can use it like a bib or napkin. That way, less trouble with crumbs."

    She's too stingy to buy any marked-up concessions stuff. She's snuck a water bottle and a sandwich in in her bag.

    Unfortunately, one downside of being 4'11" is that she doesn't really see people she might recognize through the throng.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a slight snicker. "Ahhhh, well, worse comes to worse, maybe Kenken can help eat any kernals out of your dress?" she offered. Like a tiny little grooming service. A silly thing, but you never know.

While Emi had a love of horror movies... Hinoiri... seemed... rather unphased by them. She was definitely the kind of person who just snorted or rolled her eyes at some of the things. IT wasn't that she had no fear, it was that she just... didn't find the weird monsters or blades or any of that stuff scary.

But she didn't mind it, at least. And hey, if it brought her friend's joy, what did she care?

In moments like this, she had the advantage of being taller than most the other girls her age, so she couldn't help flashing Emi a teasing smile. "Just don't get lost, okay? Better not try and dash on me. I'm your ride."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Homura's arrival shakes Coco away from her worries, and the blonde mermaid looks at the other girl with a polite smile. Had she seen her somewhere before? Probably, yes, her face looks familiar to her, but nothing specific comes to mind. Of one thing she is sure, she doesn't associate Homura to something bad. The blonde girl doesn't get any evil or cruel vibe off of her.

"Yes, that is me", the mermaid shifts to face Homura directly, her head tilted slightly to the left. Did she really do something so special as to warrant to this kind of welcome? "Thank you, you are welcome any way I can help, but what can you tell me what the thanks are about? With your name, too, please."

Meanwhile, the rhythm girl detaches herself from the wall. She has definitely waited enough. It's her time to shine! And shine she does, casting a white light that sees her transform and change.

Four translucent green wings in an X formation, with a double-layered green and white minidress, with long white stockings and green heels, with green bracelets and anklets showcasing leafy decorations resembling her wings attached. In her hand she holds a scepter with a pink orb showing a star inside.

Stepping at the center of the room, she starts speaking, her voice enhanced to be heard by everyone in the room. "Yeah! Welcome to my concert! I am Alala, the Wings of Dreams and Decadence, an aspiring idol that wants to make it big! I hope you enjoy it! It's your one and only opportunity."

Oh Yeah! Alala!
Oh Yeah!
Don't you think?
I'm pounding with excitement!
Dancing all around!
Pick you up and lift you off of the ground!
Expecting it all, flying to your heart,
Pick it up, it's rich for you, baby
Oh yeah!
(Oh yeah!)

Around her, the crowd immediately centers around her, and everyone starts cheering for her, though more and more people by the second start becoming drowsy and falling down, getting their energy drained.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Homura Akemi. I am the luckiest g--" she stops mid sentence, realizes what she was just about to say, and then clears her throat. "Excuse me, I meant to say, I'm Madoka Kaname's girlfriend. She's told me some very favorable things about you, and that you even saved her life a few times."

    Homura's voice is sweet. It isn't usually, but Coco might not notice the difference. Really, she's just in kind of a good mood right now.

    "That girl means the world to me, so thank you. For looking after her when I couldn't be around."

    Of course, someone behind her in the crowd starts talking loudly, and it's then that Homura's annoyance reveals a bit more of her usual dour demeanor. "Seriously?" she mutters. A concert? Here? At first it doesn't really matter to her outside of being very suspicious, but then people start falling around her, drained of their energy, and she glances down at her Soul Gem ring to check on its health. "Well. Guess I'm up."

    Homura flips her hair as she turns to face Alala, and as her black hair falls her body becomes enveloped in purple magic. Her henshin appears around her, her shield materializes on her arm, and from behind it she pulls out a smoke grenade.

    Pin pulled. Grenade tossed. Hopefully landing near Alala and providing enough visual cover for anyone else who needs to henshin.

    "You know... I was having a pretty good day," she says, to no one in particular.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
"Thanks, Amy. I'm good, though. A lady always has a handkerchief," remarks Emi to Amy with a slight smile, tugging at the corner of her lips. She swats at the bag hanging from her side, "Shut up, KenKen, or I'll drop you in the middle of the walkway at departure time."

KenKen makes a little squeaky sound that must pass for a gasp from within Emi's bag and goes quiet.

Making a face at Hinoiri, Emi is about to give her some payback for a comment she has to assume is making fun of her -- perhaps her height?! She glowers, opens her mouth, and then there is a whole lot of racket. Singing? And it sounds... well, it doesn't sound so bad, actually. The singer is surely talented. "...'s sake, can't go anywhere without some clout-chasing idiot stream---"

She cuts herself off as she stares at the crowd surging towards the singer. She can't even get a good look at them, to start. A hint of wings sticking out, and a flash of light? Weird. She stands on her tip toes, fat lot of good it does her, and her platform boots aren't exactly doing enough either.

And then... people start collapsing. She is absolutely caught off guard by this, flummoxed for a moment even. This sort of stuff *never* happens to her, and the one time it did, she threw a rock at it. It was very helpful, she's sure.

As more people drop, she's heading over towards them, now, with purpose, pulling her dress up around her ankles to avoid tripping in the heat of the moment. She doesn't have a henshin here, after all, but by the time she's reached the side of one of the fallen, she's already getting the feeling that this is something a little different.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods and stuffs the paper towel bag in her messenger bag. "Oh... Do we? Where do I get one?"

    Suddenly, there's someone... transforming and singing? Homura acts a bit faster when people start dropping, Amy recognizes the smoke grenade and takes the opportunity to henshin. Then she leaps forward enough in the crowd to be seen, "That is really catchy, but Why are you draining people?!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked when she heard some singing. "Huh, I wonder-- wait..." she mumbled softly.

Those bars, those notes... If there was one thing a kirakirafantastica pony knew, it was music... and if there was one magic in this world she could almost vaguely imagine if she tried hard enough that she actually understood, it was music magic. And that? That was trouble, that's what that was. She got to her feet again and...

Emi was going. She dashed over, kneeling by her, and gripping her wrist. "Emi," she whispered. "Get out of here. It's dangerous and this? This is magic. I don't want you getting hurt."

She then let her go before running out of sight, into one of the bathrooms, before... A moment later, Cure La Licorne arrived on the scene, leaping onto...

There actually wasn't a lot of tall things in movie theaters to stand on, and she did NOT want to step on one of those old posters or break a light fixture. She finally settled for standing on one of the metal poles that held up the little dividers. She pointed a finger at the girl. "So, I'm guessing you're new. So why don't we make this quick. You can give up now and leave, or you can give up in a few minutes, be covered in bruises and leave. Which would you prefer?" She pounded one fist into her palm before fire erupted from her hair around her. "And probably some burns in the latter option!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco's face brightens when Homura introduces herself. "Madoka-chan's girlfriend, I see! I am glad to meet you. Madoka has helped out just as many times since my arrival in Tokyo. I can totally see why you feel lucky", she winks, showing no problem with Homura's burst of enthusiasm.

"I will be sure to continue to help her whenever we are fighting together too." After all, Madoka is a dear friend as well, she would never let her be by herself if she needed the help. She knows the pinkette would do the same.

Her joyful expression turns to a scowl when she hears the song and the cheers. More the former than the latter, as while this song doesn't seem to be meant to hurt her, she can nonetheless feel the dark energy in that charming and draining song.

"Sorry, Akemi-san, we will have to continue this later. Obsidian is always great at picking the worst timing." This could always be Easter, they have singers too, but that emphasis on wings stirs an uncomfortable premonition in her.

Homura's grenade hits Alala right on the side, throwing her off her rhythm and bruising her. Seems like the girl is very durable, because she doesn't actually lose her balance or falls, and instead she turns to Homura with a childish stomp. "Hey, I was having fun with my fans here! What goes through your brain!?", she pouts.

"If you really want to be an idol, I will give you a crash course on it. Step one, don't drain your fans, and two, dark energy never goes anywhere. Let me show you a pure song!", Coco exclaims sternly.

"Ugh, forget about it, I am not interested in your opinions. You are a mermaid princess, right? We are here to fight you, that's all there is", Alala comments, her eyes lingering briefly on Coco's shell locket. "And if my fans want to give me a tribute, who am I to stop them?" she smiles with a sweet sharpness at Amy.

Hinoiri's intimidations leave her nonplussed. "Oh, yeah? Sorry, I am too sweet to have my day be ruined by brutes like you. But I have a gift for all of you, a star's incandescent heart, stronger than any burn. Here is Alala's love song! It will guide you to the world of dreams..." she waves her baton around, her voice taking on a surrel feeling.

In the morning,
We are always woken up by the sun.
Do you remember the promise that we made yesterday?
Well, I kind of forgot it.
I would rather listen to the song of the wind anyway.
Oh well, Who cares about it.
The world revolves around me anyway.

Open up the door of magical dreams.
Open up the box filled with miracles.
Now I've become your new reality.

Everyone of the magical girls will start feeling drowsy, and a vision flashes before their eyes as their are drawn deep into sleep, of a coast with sparkling fireworks in the sky, a beauty that feels so comforting and reassuring. Some of them might even catch a vision of a particularly happy moment in their lives...

When they get completely drawn into the dream, Alala stands there in front of them too, just as smiling as in the waking world, surrounded by little floating flames. "It worked! Alala's the best Idol! There is nowhere for you to go now. Just surrender to the dream."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Later, then," agrees Homrua to Coco. Sadly, the time for pleasantries has passed.

    Madoka is on her way out of the stall when she hears Cure La Licorne henshin and leave. "Oh shoot," she says, as she figures out what must be happening out there.

    Some moments later (she had to wash her hands!) Hope Blossom wearing Brai's Braids is charging out of the bathrooms after Hinoiri, coming up behind her to join the fight. "What kind of song is that?! I'm leaving you a one star review!" she complains, holding out a thumbs down at Alala.

    Kamiko floats behind her Chara Bearer and hides behind the twin braids. Homura notices Hope coming in to join the fight and warns, "Watch out. This one's different!"

    Then the drowsiness hits them, and it feels... deceptively pleasant. Homura catches a glimpse of fighting alongside Madoka. Madoka sees a moment where she was hanging out with friends. With this being the dream world, they are suddenly out of henshin.

    Homura notices before Madoka does. "It's the dream world! We need to re-henshin."

    It takes a moment to pull their magic through, since they're still pretty new to this. Fortunately (?) it seems like the song causes Chara to fall asleep, too.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort. "Oh, I got bad news for you, then. There's nobody better at ruining people's days than me!" It was true, she used to do it to her own on the daily!

She then leaped forward and--

Wait, that music. That song. It took her a moment to realize what was going on and-- "DON'T YOU BUCKING DA--"

Too late. She dropped, collapsing onto the ground next to an old soda stain that had been there since the 80's... lightly snoring and...

And Hinoiri... Well... One quick henshin later and La Licorne was back and...

"HOW DARE YOU! I JUST WOKE UP AND YOU DARE TO BRING ME INTO ANOTHER DREAM TRAP YOU--"

Oh, what she started yelling at the woman in her fury a moment later likely resulted in some of Madoka's charas having to cover their ears. Suffice to say?

La Licorne was PISSED. She JUST got out of one dream prison AND NOW SHE WAS IN ANOTHER! WHY?! WHO DOES THIS?! AGAIN, WHYYYYY?! "LISTEN HERE, YOU! I'M NOT YOUR DREAM GIRL! I'M YOUR NIGHTMARE!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy, who in the back of her mind is remembering that Emi doesn't have a henshin, but doesn't want to draw attention to her, retorts, "They're not giving you their energy willingly..."

    And then she realizes she's getting tired, tries to fight it, collapses, realizes she's going to fall asleep any second, tries to aim a gyrojet pistol at Alala, only to collapse before she can draw a bead and fire.

    She remembers dancing with Hannah at the summer dance...

    Dream Amy is dressed in looser clothing, with white hair and blue eyes, but she doesn't let Alala get a good look at her face, only glancing up briefly at Alara before looking back down at the ring on her finger, touching it, and re-transforming.

    She stands, and raises an eyebrow at Licorne swearing up a storm. She asks Alala, "How did you get this power?!" And then she looks for Emi. They should probably check with the expert! If Amy can find her, she runs over and asks in a hissed whisper, "Can we fight normally here as long as we're henshined? Is there any trick to it we should know?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The drowsiness hits Coco before she can transforms, and she shifts slightly before collapsing to the ground, her eyes gradually closing despite her efforts to keep her open. She cannot fall asleep here, but Alala's melody sweeps her up with comforting visions of friends both close by and far away, and soon enough she finds herself in the dream world.

"Yellow Pearl Voice!" she declares, the pearl in her shell locket responding to her and starting to shine with a yellow light. A kaleidoscope of colours covers Coco's clothes as those change into her yellow gloves and boots with flowy extensions, as well as a yellow blouse with a yellow skirt, while her pearl expands into her trusty E-Pitch microphone, its blue shape settling comfily into her hand, the yellow jewel nestled safely in the head's center.

"Do you really think we will stop just because you have the upper hand?", Coco glares at Alala. "In the first place you are working with Michel, right?", she tells her, to the pixie's giggle.

"Of course I am! Why else would I call myself the Wings of Dreams and Decadence. I am one of the winged generals standing alongside him and the Great One to make the Earth a shining paradise again!", she twirls and raises her arm happily. You can almost see cartoonish stars fall around her.

"Don't you see? That's my service to the audience", she shakes her head, sticking out her tongue. "My crowd of adoring fans can get a nice dream from me sometimes. I am a generous idol."

"You certainly have a nasty temper, though", she gives Hinoiri a side eye. "All of you should just give in to the dream. But if you need some encouragement, fine by me!" A twirl of her baton, and the small flames around her burn hotter and larger, and each magical girl here will get beams of flames cutting through the air in their direction.

Emi Hoshino has posed:
Emi took Hinoiri's warning to heart, to be sure. She knows she doesn't have a whatchamacallit -- a henshin -- and that there's limited good she can do here, but people are dropping likes flies and that is the least she can do. The others engage and she's all set to stay out of the mess -- except for maybe hurling some popcorn at Alala and then ...

... then she hears that song and feels the wave of fatigue and drowsy brought on by it.

Oh.

Well.

Isn't *that* interesting. She blinks her eyes up at Alala once, and then lets it take hold.

Lets it, you see, because it's very hard to make Emi Hoshino fall asleep when she doesn't want to, or keep her awake when she doesn't want to be. She lets herself get pulled along by the dream, feeling where the others have gone. Into the dreasmscape...?

"No," says Emi, finding herself just beyond it, in the mists of Alala's boundaries, ""Her dream," she murmurs, a trace of excited wonder in her voice. So few examples of dream magic that this is the first she's personally seen beside herself and while she's briefly glad that someone *else* dreams of beaches like this, she finds the lack of black sand and a lady in a red dress frankly disappointing. And then ... fire blasts cutting towards her ...associate. No, let's be honest: friends. At least a little bit. No time to dwell, then, she thinks.

And so it is that the others, and Alala, will see a figure rise up from within the rolling tide crashing into the coast, riding the wave towards its destination and stepping off it seamlessly. Now clad in even more resplendent gothic elegance, Oneiric Guardian Emi snaps her parasol closed and steps onto the beach, her long dress swishing, the patterns of threaded symbols on it ever-shifting distractingly to the eye. Each step she takes forward leaves the sand blackened in her wake, spreading outwards from her footprints as if she was claiming it for her own, boldly declaring that Alala has no power here. Not anymore. It's a bluff, of course, but anything that suggests such is something that Emi can use to her advantage, a chance to nudge the dream in her own direction with the power of suggestion.

"Oh, I see what's happening here," she begins, "Sing one little song and you think you can control everyone in your dream?"

"Cute. Wrapping up all these people into your little fantasy -- but the problem with building a dream around yourself is that sooner or later, they're going to wake up ... or worse ... someone else can walk in. I am the Oneiric Guardian, and those who walk in dreams are under my protection or withstand my judgment!"

More black sand blooming under her feet as she begins to move towards her faster now. She drops her parasol, catching it by its end with strands of glimmering purple thread, transforming it into something of an ox-tail sword that she wields to throw directly towards Alala, slicing towards her in turn.

"I am the Guardian of Dreams, and these people are under my protection!"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura smirks at Hinoiri's outburst and comments in a low voice, "Yeah, if anyone's a dream girl it's Hope-chan..."

    Madoka is confused for a moment. "Huh? I thought Emi was..."

    A moment later. "Oh! You mean because of the Chara? I mean they're kinda like dreams."

    Several moments pass.

    A warm blush starts creeping up Madoka's face. She complains, "H-homura-chan, that's kind of direct."

    Kamiko says, "And yet it took you that long to get it." A pause and a realization. "Hey, you know, maybe Homu-chan should have a henshin name, too? Like... just in case?"

    Homura considers for a moment. "Well, if my she's Hope Blossom then why not... Love Lily?"

    Madoka suspiciously eyes Homura. "I feel like you're trying to trick me into calling you 'Love' during combat."

    Homura, coyly, "Is that so wrong?"

    The two grow quiet as they hear the exchange between Coco and Alala. Did they just mention Michel? Oh. Oh that's a way to get instantly aggravate Doka, and anything that upsets Madoka is going to end up on Homura's bad side by default.

    "Nobody asked for this kind of service," shouts Hope. "Give us back Seira!"

    Of course, she expects her demand to go unheeded, and the flame beams sweep across where they stand. Homura immediately stands in front of Hope Blossom and holds up her shield as purple magic flares up around her, burning precious Soul Gem energy to absorb the hit.

    Oneiric Guardian Emi arrives, and Hope applauds as she shows up. "I was hoping to see you here! I kinda missed out on seeing you fight last time."

    The Puella veteran produces an assault rifle from her shield and says, "Alright. We tried words. Time to wake up Ms. Dream Girl Evil over there."

    Hope steps forward to stand next to her gal pal and produces her branch bow. "It always comes down to this, doesn't it... Love Lily?" she says, trying out the new code name.

    "Corral and Crush?" asks Homura, referring to a tactic they've previously practiced.

    "It's a start," agrees Madoka.

    Homura informs, "I'll go left." Then she starts trying to circle around Alala, holding off fire while Madoka hops back and fires her pink arrows into the air. The pink bolts of magic split apart and spray the ground around the evil winged musician, and those that miss her remain embedded into the ground.

    While the arrows keep falling around their target, Homura opens fire on the minion of Michel, shooting several quick bursts of semi-automatic fire upon Alala.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne gave a low growl. "I have the *best* temper, thank you very much. And I have NO desire to give into ANY fake dream! All that does is lead to heartache!" she said firmly.

... Then she heard Homura and Madoka... And she just... There was a moment, a sigh... and then... "You have my most heartfelt encouragement and... condolences." Even... even she caught that one. And she SUCKED at flirting. At least she knew she'd catch something like that if it was that obvious, right?

... Right?!

Still... in a dream realm like this? Ugh. She could almost *hear* the clitter clatter of keyboard keys and... please, no, not again. I don't wanna.

And then... Then Emi... La Licorne opened her mouth to say something... but... but what could she possibly say? Finally, she shrugged. "WOO! THAT'S a dream girl!" she called out. Ha. See?

... Wait, now was she flirting? No. No, that wasn't. Surely not. She punched both her fists together, enveloping them in flames, before charging forward. With Homura and Madoka going each side, she was going to cover Emi's charge, punching the flying flames with her OWN flames. HA! Anger flames vs decadent flames, which would win?! Well... they'd soon find out.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy glances around looking for Emi and doesn't see her, but does hear Madoka and Homura talking and awww! But Amy has more pressing concerns. "She's one of Michel's?!" Amy's voice screeches the last word incredulously. She looks back to Alala, "Nice dreams are nice, but--" And then fire is coming towards her and she's rocket-jumping across the beach. While airborne, she fires an anti-tank recoilless rifle shot at Alara from the air, and it homes like a missile because Amy is asleep and remembered she could make her stuff home but forgot she has to change to an appropriate weapon first but it's a dream and it's close enough.

    And now Oneiric Guardian Emi is on the scene! "Yeah!" Amy cheers, firing some celebratory starshells into the sky, "Go Oneiric Guardian!"

'Coco Kiumi has posed:
This was going perfectly, Alala, thinks, watching her grand flames sweep towards the girls she has successfully trapped. This is easy. They should have sent her out right away. Think of all the fans that she could have gathered, those poor people that need the guidance of a star. No matter, soon she will be famous far and wide.

That mermaid princess sings radiantly, but that shining light can barely be seen under her own flames, she can feel it tug at her her, but she is the better Idol. The dark girl next to the pinkette too is trying to shield, but only a few seconds more and...

Are those two actually trying to fight back? They sure are, and they are putting up a good fight even, their fists and missiles are actually holding out against her flames. "This is my world. I suggest you just give up, you can't win over me", she smiles confidently. She just needs to stay focused.

A crack shows up then. Someone she certainly hadn't invited. Someone that approached outside? No, something is up. "An "Oneiric Guardian"? Where did you pull that out of?", she blinks unconcerned, and that sword appears. Cute, but...

The flames she sends towards it break and fade, and the same fate follows her concentration, either something in that sword's magic, or the shock from the successful resistance. The answer is both. "No fair, you can't just sweep in here, and do as you like! This is Alalas grand debut!"

But the illusion of invincibility is broken, and the flames lose out against the resistance of the magical girls she has trapped, and then that sword, leading the charge with its own dream magic, that rocket, the corral and crush combination of Hope Blossom's arrows and Love Lily's rounds of fire, those flaming fists, they all crash against her, breaking her dream world, and freeing everyone to the waking world.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka, with zero hesitation, fires back with, "Yeah your temper really slaps, La Licorne."

    Regarding the encouragement and condolences, Homura says, "Thank you."

    The combined powers and magic of the gathered mahoujin prove to be too much for Alala. Perhaps she was expecting to take this crowd unaware? Kamiko, floating up and out of the way of most attacks, starts to cheer. "You've almost got it! Just one more push!"

    Homura takes a moment to study the effectiveness of Emi's strike. She doesn't say much about it, but she does take notice.

    Madoka, meanwhile, is focusing her attention on Alala. "Sorry, Alala-san, but I think you need to find a new career." She draws back another arrow, holding it as a rose blooms on the top end of her branch bow. "Blame your manager if you don't like our feedback!"

    Now they're back in the real world. Hope and Love exchange glances for a moment, and then Love decides turn her back on the fight and walk away. "This is all you. I'm not using my weapons near civilians."

    Hope nods and says, "We'll take it from here, Love." This time she leans into the emphasis, trying to make Homura blush. Is it working? Hard to tell from here, because the black-haired Puella is very specifically not looking at anyone else right now, though she does touch her cheek.

    Once she's gathered enough magic into her arrow, Hope Blossom focuses her attention on Alala and shouts, "Cherry Blossom... ENCORE!"

    The bolts that had embedded themselves into the ground earlier have followed them back into the waking world, and suddenly fly into the air and converge upon the winged songstress. While the barrage is happening, Madoka releases her singular charged arrow which homes in on Alala with potent, tightly focused pink destruction.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne couldn't help but preen (like a unicorn, which, while she was a human? Waaaas kind of impressive) when their assault burst through the defenses of the singing girl! AND SHE HEARD THAT MADOKA! SHE GAVE YOU A SMALL SIDEEYE AT THAT, AND TRIED NOT TO SNORT! Gosh darn it, she's the 'dark and mysterious' magical girl, you can't make her snicker like that! ... Not that she actually like. Was ever dark or mysterious.

They had pushed her back, shattering the defenses of the dream weaver and allowing them to be done with this!

Cure La Licorne groaned, sitting up and... "Wait. Do they even CLEAN these floors?" How... how long had that stain been on the ground there? It looked old as could be. Holy moly....

However, then her gaze fell on Alala. "Oh... that's it... Emi-don't-watch!" she said quickly.

"Scorching ray piercer!"

Pulling out her Heart Rouge Rod, she applied the lipstick and then, from the setting sun (her hair's sun, in this case), the rays of light became swords of light, raining down on the girl... Purifying light, not like. Destructive or anything to the mundanes.

Why wouldn't she want Emi to--

"Victory!" Cure La Licorne said with a cocky smirk, crossing her arms and a pair of sunglasses appeared on her head as she posed in a 'too cool for cure' moment... Before giving a light chuckle and making a heart with her hands.

And then she blushed red, covering her face with her hand. Why. Victory pose. WHY?! EVERY! TIME?!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    'This is my world', says Michel's goon. Amy gives a sharp laugh. "Ha! You think we can't do anything because it's not our world? If it were our world, we wouldn't have to fight all the time! We're used to toppling the powerful!"

    She smiles as Alala is weakened by Emi, and hammered by attacks, and then... everything feels unstable. She's waking up!

    She remembers the vision she had when she arrived. It... would be nice to dream of times like that... is the thought that crosses her mind before she gains consciousness--

    --Awake! "Rrgh..." she groans as she pushes herself up from the floor. Kinda gross floor to have her face on... But Amy's just relieved she's not sleep-paralyzed and hallucinating; an oneironautical hazard that would be very bad to deal with mid-fight!

    It is a real awakening, right? Not still a dream? She glances at her watch, but -- wait, her soul gem should be there! Alarmed at the risk of being civilian mode in a fight, she re-henshins, which conveniently also takes her from hands and knees to charging towards Alala--

    Because Amy's trying to tackle her and stop her from getting away. "You! You're despicable, helping someone imprison Seira -- and he wants to kill all humans, so all your talk of adoring fans is a lie!"

Emi Hoshino has posed:
In the dream, Emi followed her attack right up, charging in with a whirl to throw herself into the fight as the others did the same. It hardly proves necessary, however, given everyting that transpires. She skitters to a halt like the spider in her handbag might and then Alala falls out of her dream... and so does Emi.

In the waking world, of course, can't possibly be watching. She's totally asleep, just like all the very normal people around her that were asleep. Totally. Not her eyes opening at Hinoiri calling her name and witnessing everything! Not her hiding a smile and going right back to pretending to be sleep. Didn't happen. Not at all.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco breathes in relief once she can feel the pull of the dream world fade around her. She didn't expect her return to the dreamscape to be so forced and sudden. Or to feel so hypnotic. Was it always the case? Her other fight was weird in all sort of ways, it was hard to tell what was supposed to be a standard.

But it's ok now, she is back and Alala is crushed. "You heard Hope Blossom. Give Seira back", the mermaid princess stares, and she raises her arm, the bracelet on her wrist shining with a white glow. A yellow halo descends on her, and her clothes shift and change once more.

Bathed in a white-golden glow, she starts to sing with all the joy of her heart, with rhythmic pulses of light that give a warm embrace to the pain, soothe all the fatigue and push away the darkness.

"Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Finale!", the mermaid princess smiles gently.

Without even a sound, the color changes.
If you look up at the baby blue sky,
Your faraway memories will awaken.

Hey, on the other side of the seven seas,
You see, I get the feeling that someone is crying.
My heart squeezes and I feel lonely.

Save me...
It's a destiny that lets me know something.
I embrace the guidance of the stars to my heart.

That's the Ever Blue sparkle of the ocean I love.
I now gather the power to protect the future in my hands.
There is a lovable person, and there is a lovable place
In order to protect my the sparkling blueness and my pure feelings the way they are.

At the apex of the song, purifying hearts fly out in all directions, the reach of a big circle of love that won't end. "Fine Heart Pitch!", she points at Alala with her hand, giving the purifying hearts a direction, bathing her in a song that hurts and eat away at the fairy's egocentrism.

Flailing around under Hope Blossom's rain of arrows, the pixie tries to block at them with her baton and a sudden shield, but they pierce through and strike down both her and her baton.

Mixed in between the arrows, scorching swords travel through the same trajectory, and burn away the pixie's attempt at a counterattack with a burst of dark energy, and then the flames hit her, disgust at the hurtful purification filling Alala. Why a double dose, why!?"This isn't fair, this isn't fair!", she squirms and grimaces, she lunges at Emi, seeing an opportunity to avenge herself, but Amy's tackle throws her back, and she pushes against the redhead's face.

"I will remember this!", she cries out before teleporting out from Amy's grip, leaving a glowing orange marble of light on the ground, that immediately flies towards the orange pearl. "We got another one!", Coco brightly shines. "We did it everyone!", she cheers, and then turns to Homura with a wink. "Good choice of name, Love Lily."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    That place of sparkling blue Coco's singing about sure sounds nice...

    Amy doesn't grapple often, and so isn't expecting to have to deal with hand in her face. "Eww, don't touch me..." Well, Amy supposes she can't say it's unfair when she's the one grabbing Alala, after all.

    And then the girl she's on top of is gone, and there's an orange pearl that she tries to grab before it disappears -- oh good it knew where to fly to. She breathes a sigh of relief, and stands up. "I don't suppose we've seen the last of her... A troublesome power, to be sure..."

    She brushes herself off as she turns to Coco, smiling. "I liked your song better. I hope Seira can feel somewhat better now..."

    And then she turns to Homura, "Congrats on the name!" And then doesn't look right at Emi as she gives a thumbs-up, "Thanks for your help, Oneiric Guardian! I dunno what we would've done without you back there."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura, also now known as Love Lily, turns around in time to see Amy tackle the enemy. A brave gesture, and also another reason for Homura not to have fired. Throwing around pipe bombs has very different consequences in the normal world than it does within a Labyrinth. "Well, I give you an A for execution and follow-through, but I think she was being snide about the fans thing." She crosses her arms and says, "Well... maybe. I don't know her that well. She might actually be that delusional. You never actually know."

    Coco winks and repeats her new name, and Amy congratulates her on it, too. Homura wears a small smile as she flips her hair. "Why thank you. You're too kind. It suits me for... a number of reasons."

    It also very much does absolutely nothing to give away her powerset, the secrecy which is still important to her.

    Hope Blossom, meanwhile, rushes up to Coco to excitedly hop back and forth on her legs. "We did it! We got another piece of her back!"

    Kamiko floats a bit closer to look at the orange pearl. "How much of her do we have now?"

    Homura walks a little bit closer, standing next to Hope Blossom to get a better look. This of course puts her in 'excited hugging' distance, which Madoka takes full advantage of. Homura wraps one arm around her girlfriend and looks to Coco, saying, "Well, it was a pleasure to fight with you, Yellow Pearl Voice."

    To Emi, Homura says, "I get the feeling you've been at that for a while."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne sighed and felt her eye twitching a little as the woman yelled how UNFAIR this was. "Unfair?! This is just the start of the iceberg! Kidnapping people only ever ends up with you getting purified and the cabin you borrowed blown up! We're being NICE right now, but you don't return who you stole you're going to find out why most people in Obsidian only do it ONCE!"

... Listen, she learned that lesson.

She then walked over to Emi and reached down, gripping her under the arms and... "Upsy daisy," she said, lifting her with a grin. "Good job, by the way. That was a pretty cool entrance. I look forward to the day you can do that outside of dreams... Gosh I hope one day you can." Because that meant getting dream-napped might become a regular occurance and it happened TWICE already and she didn't WANT TO EVER DO PAPERWORK AGAIN!

Emi Hoshino has posed:
With things having paused and with her having the chance to get ujp, Emi starts to do so and then --

... and then!!!

.. she is picked up off the ground by Hinoiri and she just sort of flails awkwardly in her grasp before she's set down. "Augh! Hey!" She mumbles. She'd had a PLAN. She was going to say something COOL and now it's all gone under a flurry Of What The Heck, Hinoiri!!!

"Well, that was a new one," she mumbles, "And uh. Thanks," she tells Hinoiri, "It wasn't that a big deal. She thought she was in control, but dreamds are a lot more like the sand shifting under your feet, you're never as sure footed as you think you are." She glances towards Homura, curiously, "Oh yeah?" she says, eyebrow up. "I guess a little bit now."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"She is not hurting", Coco explains to Amy. "We are doing this so she can actually be born, but she is feeling well these days, and she is learning a lot of things too. It may take a while before she gets all of them back, there were a lot of them", the mermaid replies to Kamiko.

"But the real problem is that Glimmer has some of them, and she is keeping those. We will have to deal with her too", she sighs at the other pinkette's troublesome actions. "I feel the same, Love Lily", she expresses her appreciation for the teamwork.

The young woman's expression turns deeply pensive when she sees the movie showcases and her mind goes back to Rihito, a hit of worry rising in her. Things will be fine, she tells herself, she is worrying over nothing. Maybe not, but she can do that, she knows she can do that. It really is important to her, Rihito's reaction... Just grab the tickets and tell him right now.

"I am going to buy some movie tickets and get going, maybe we can even go watch one together soon. Thanks for helping out today", she waves at her friends, hugging those who are good with one, and then heading for the cash registers.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Blossom's eyes widen at the news that Glimmer is using some of Seira's heart pieces, and then narrow in disappointment. Love Lily tilts her head and asks, "Is that the same one who punched me in the Catacombs?"

    "Yes, Love-chan," says Madoka, a little too sweetly. If Homura chose that name to tease her then she's going to tease right back! Then, to Coco. "Good luck getting your tickets! We're always happy to help."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy quirks an eyebrow briefly, wondering what the non-obvious reasons a name with Lily in it suits Homura. And then Licorne is going on about how much it sucks to kidnap someone the heroes come save, apprently from experience.

    "Wait, what?!" Amy reacts to learning that Glimmer has Seira's power. "Uh, I guess we can talk about that somewhere less crowded..."

    And then Coco is off, and Amy offers hugs before they split away to dehenshin and then go watch horror movies!

    ...Hopefully Alala didn't make them miss much of the movie yet!