399/Bringing Down The House

Bringing Down The House
Date of Scene:	10 September 2023
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	The media (both social and traditional) are all over Makuga Finn, the latest musical sensation; the idol's first song can be heard everywhere, and she is going to start a live tour soon! As a promotional stunt, many students at Radiant Heart Academy can easily get a discounted ticket for her inaugural concert, or even win them at some game. Makuga is about to make her debut, and as everyone knows, it's a debut only if it comes from the Debutante region of France, otherwise it's just sparkling first day on the job; unable to afford such a fancy imported introduction, Miya Sakamoto, your friendly neighborhood unpowered human, has to settle for the latter: today will be her first day on the job as staff for the concert. What Miya doesn't know yet is that 'first day on the job' is going to take on a very unexpected meaning for her.
Cast of Characters:	Miya Sakamoto, Kureha Senkenzan, Rashmi Terios, Tadase Hotori, Coco Kiumi, Greta Legend, Mamoru Chiba

---

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Flash. Flash. Flash. Flash.

Four Stadium-sized projectors light up in turn, their crossed beams illuminating the band playing on the stage built specifically for this event; equally stadium-grade loudspeakers follow suit: The drums lay down the beat. The bassline joins in. There is barely enough time to recognize this iconic intro before Makuga Finn, the star of the show, jumps into view. The crowd goes wild.

The weather is perfect for an open-air concert on this grassy plain surrounded by trees, fitted with all comforts, from temporary lampposts to help people find their way around after sunset, to merch booths sprinkled here and there, to porta-potties for those necessities; the chemistry is just right, and the event starts off with a bang: glowsticks are waved around by the audience, like a sea of fireflies engaging in synchronized swimming, led by Maguka's singing and dancing in front of an overwhelmingly young fanbase. Everyone seems to be having great time.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
While the audience is having fun, there are people for whom this is a job: security, sound technicians, stage hands, and maintenance people for the facilities to name a few. Case in point: off in the distance, as far as one can get from the stage and still find people, there is a canvas tent marked STAFF, with a bunch of wires going into it (or are they coming out of it, actually?). Just outside, a teen girl with a ponytail wearing denim shorts and T-shirt marked 'STAFF' sits on the grass, leaning against one of the trees that grow here at the edge of the park. It is too far away to enjoy the concert properly, or see much of it, for that matter; her face is buried in a manga whose title proclaims 'Magical Wonderful Princess Pirurin!', and whose cover picture features a smiling young girl with massive twinkling eyes, a small crown, and a pink, frilly, fluffy outfit; the character is holding a magic wand in the shape of a scepter.

"Miya!", calls out a voice from the inside.

The girl in a ponytail snaps her comic shut, and springs to stand. "Yes?", she replies, ready for orders.

A lanky man peeks out from the tent. He looks in his early thirties, has long hair, a hint of a beard, and eyes that look unused to the concept of sleep. "They fixed the issue with the power lines in section 5B," he says. "Now we can reconnect the lightposts to the proper mains in sector 5. Head over to the emergency generator of sector 4, and disconnect the cable that shunts part of its power to sector 5."

"Sure thing, boss!", she says, with a playful salute, and heads straight for the indicated area.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    For once, Kureha Senkenzan is out and about for reasons other than her own choosing. Her father would quite like to start using her as another venue to exert and enhance the Chikafuji family's influence. Being able to say one of his daughters was at the hotly anticipated debut concert of an up-and-coming idol is exactly the kind of little flex he'd love to have. So the black-haired girl is in attendance, seated beside Emi. A small favor, that; as the most neutral of her three attendants, she is at least a step up from the unflinchingly father-loyal Yozakura. They've even got a small box of concessions to snack on while they wait.

    But at the very least, this is something new, and different. So Kureha can enjoy that much, right? ...right...?

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When heavy student discounts are part of a concert's promotion efforts, why not take them up on the offer?

Idol music is hit-or-miss for Rashmi, but the possibility of something new to like is *always* welcome, which is how Rashmi finds herself with her own glowstick, joining in the cheering and in general having a grand old time.

Fighting alongside Yellow Pearl Voice as often as she has, the power of stage music is something she can well appreciate, and it turns out Maguka Finn does a really good job! That dance choreography though, that's some wild stuff.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Why is Tadase Hotori, Student Council member, at a concert? The answer is simple. Because a much smaller Student Council Memeber from the lower grades desperately wanted to go to a concert, and her parents were pulled away by her younger sister's medical needs, and she couldn't go alone, and she texted Tadase... terribly responsible, kind-hearted Tadase?

    So yeah, he's here, watching over a much more interested and smaller student. She is enjoying it. Tadase is... well it's not BAD it's just not also his thing. He's here, she's having fun, it's all good. Kiseki, on his shoulder? *absolutely into it*, the little small king dancing and trying to mimic the idol on stage.

    Tadase sighs and smiles. Worth it to watch the enjoyment shown by the two of them.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco has heard about a girl named Makuga Finn having a debut as an idol, leaflets being in a lot of places lately, and she is curious to see how a fellow prospective colleague would do (even if she isn't in the idol business for humans anywhere you might hear), but most importantly she wants to encourage her on the start of her journey.

Here she is then, wearing her strapless yellow dress, mixing her own voice with the cheers of the other people in the audience. She smiles enthusiastically at Makuga's songs and performance, which is passing any checks with flying colours.

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta got a ticket early. She's not ashamed to admit it. She doesn't really get Japan's fascination with idols, but SHE does find the music rather enjoyably catchy. Makuga Finn is one of those idols whose songs was put out recently enough that when Greta asked for music recommendations, the name popped up, so she took a listen.

The songs have been in her head ever since, and she's unsure if she's going to regret that decision, as well as the choice to stand amongst people. In fairness, none of these people are her friends, so she's probably not going to get caught by anyone--Oh no there's Coco. Okay. Okay, she'll just let herself get lost in the crowd, hoping nobody else notices.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
So on top of a tall thing -- probably above the big speakers, possibly above the lights though that's probably too warm -- there's a guy with longish wavy black hair, wearing a dark grey uniform with black trim, and a black cape with deep blue on the inside. He is eating a stadium-style hot dog and considering whether or not to drain a little off the top of the crowd's energy-- just to see if happy energy works better for his purposes than the miserable energy he usually skims.

He hasn't done so, though, because the music's not bad. Even if he'd prefer punk rock.

Honestly it's better than just fretting about Naru being missing, but Usagi...

He texts Usagi.

    Hematite TXT: i'm at the makuga finn show, im sorry i didnt invite you
    Hematite TXT: i didnt think youd want to go without naru

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
It is unclear who or what starts the process, but a strange, otherworldy cloud of darkness begins to diffuse through and around the stage; electrical and audio cables start levitating, like charmed snakes, and writhe around the support structures; they reach out ot each other, connect and intertwine, without rhyme or reason, and eventually reach to some of the smaller projectors, which they entangle in their coils; caught in the shifting mass, they cast their beams on whatever members of the audience they end up directed at. At first, mundanes might not think much of it; special effects are, after all, a staple of idol concerts; but it will not be lost to the magically attuned that energy draining is starting to take place: people closer to the strange spaghetti ivy abomination perched on the stage begin to feel weaker, and slowing down, while Dark Energy flows up through the beams of light, into the lamps, and then into the threadlike monstrosities.

Makuga, on stage, just keeps performing, either unaware of what is going on, or simply adhering to 'The Show Must Go On' credo; right now, she has switched to a slower piece, so it is easy for the Veil to mask the sudden lethargy of the audience as 'attuning to the somber mood.'

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Far away from the main action (or -any- action, for that matter), Miya trots through deserted, fenced off areas marked STAFF ONLY, away from prying eyes: this is what counts as 'behind the scenes' in this park setting. She heads straight towards the generator. There... seems to be some sort of special effects going on on the stage? The power of the Veil quickly brushes that incipient thought off her consciousness. Focus on the job, Miya. Disconnect that cable from that generator. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

There is, however, one other thing that does catch her attention. "...What is this noise?", the brunette wonders. She turns to look up at the source of the initially quiet high-pitched whirr behind her which kept getting louder; she does so just in time to see a small rocket heading towards her-

If this were an anime, it would be where the screen fills with an explosion of stars.

Cut to the ground; the rocket seems to have missed Miya by inches: its rear end sticks up at an angle from the ground, while a thin column of white smoke rises from its exhaust.

As for Miya, she seems to have undergone a violent, full frontal impact with a miniature astronaut, currently clinging to her face. the canvas of whose (tiny) parachute slowly wafts down to cover it, along with the girl's head.

"...th' h'ck?", mumbles Miya. It's not easy to speak while wearing a larval stage Neil Armstrong as a mask.

"I... I made it! I'm alive!", The creature exclaims, as he jumps down. He hurriedly folds his parachute, and removes his spacesuit, revealing-

"It's a beaver!", Miya exclaims, as she rubs her cheek to soothe the soreness of the impact. "It's a beaver with a tiny hat!"

By now, the creature can be seen for what it is: a small beaver mascot, wearing a set of overalls, a hard hat, carrying a small toolbox and sporting thick, massive black eyebrows. "A -fairy-", the creature corrects her. "A Lead Engineer fairy, to be precise. You may call me Enji."

Miya stares. She just stares for a few seconds, then shakes her head as if to clear it. "It's a beaver!", Miya exclaims again, like a broken record. "It's a beaver with a tiny hat!"

Enji grumbles, "Oh, right. Humans." He reaches into his toolbox, extracts a mallet, climbs over Miya again, and smacks her upside the head.

"OW!", exclaims the teenager while she nurses the point of impact. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"Improving your perception."

After an awkward pause, Miya asks, incredulous, "Perception? Perception about wh- wait. What... what was that part about you being a fairy again?"

After a couple of second one, her burrow frows. Pulling back in mild concern, she asks, "...Nevermind that. What was that part about you -talking- again?"

Enji grins. "By the way," And then he mumbles between his teeth, as if he was nudging Miya without the people around hearing (despite there being nobody around), "I think you might have forgotten to introduce yourself after I did."

"...Oh. Right! Sorry, how rude of me!" Miya replies, and bows. "Miya Sakamoto. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Enji."

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    As Kureha sits and listens, her eyes drift around the crowd and... oh no. She knows that red hair. Those glasses. It is now time for Kureha to make a valiant effort to pretend she can't see Rashmi Terios. She's not here. There is no oni. Just ignore the random yukata in a sea of normal street clothes. And- oh no, Coco is here too. Oh god. They'll want to talk. They'll want to interact. Oh no no no. Time to find an excuse to vacate the premises.

    It's almost a relief when something really weird starts happening on stage.

    People are slowing down. Looking a little weak. And the way those cables are acting is... not normal. Kureha's social panic quickly switches over to worry that yet another weird incident is happening in her presence, and she reaches up to tug Emi's sleeve. "Emi." "-ah? My lady?" "I'm finding that this concert business isn't for me. I think I want to leave." The older woman frowns. Hozan did 'ask' for her young charge to be here, but... well, they have technically fulfilled that 'request' already. "...well, I suppose. Is the food not to your taste, or...?" There is a pause.

    "...no, I'd like to take it with us," Kureha murmurs, a touch embarrassed.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
    Tadase knows that feeling creeping up the back of his neck, and so does Kiseki - the little king having stopped dancing as the lethargy overtakes the crowd. "Here too, huh." Tadase says, with all of the enthusiasm for the upcoming fight as most people muster for a pop quiz. "Man, and I was having fun." Kiseki whines.

    "Yeah, I could tell. Well, sooner we get it taken care of the sooner we can go back to it." Tadase offers. His small charge is affected heavily by the drain, and Tadase scoops her up. A small crown appears on his head - he's not worried about the mundanes or anyone else figuring out who he is as Kiseki makes the whole secret identity schtick impossible anyways - and makes a couple far-too-big-to-be-normal jumps over the crowd to rest the young Student Council member in a corner away from the stage. He'd feel terrible if anything happened to her.

    "Anything you can see, Kiseki?" Tadase asks as a golden scepter -pops- into existence in his hand. The tiny, fairy-like version of him floats up. "Just evil spaghetti cables, mostly..." he whines. Tadase mostly gets ready to react to things. He figures in this giant room of idol listeners within the vicinity of Radiant Heart, there's bound to be one or more magical girls - and he's always found his role lies more in support. What's he gonna do, bash electrical cables with the scepter?

    I mean, probably at some point, he reasons to himself.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Lights! Music! Glowsticks! Random jumping!

...Cloud of darkness? Writhing ivy-cables?? Dark Energy draining?

Some of these things are not like the others...

With a sigh, Rashmi starts to weave her way toward the merch stalls, hand coming up to clutch the starburst charm around her neck. << Well let's hope it's not just me here, >> she thinks to her Device. Slipping behind the booth, she wrinkles her nose at the port-a-potty right in front of her, but there's no better place to make her change.

"Nicomachea, Set Up!"

    << *BONG!* >> << COMMAND INPUT AWAIT >>

One flash of golden, geometric light later, and Rashmi activates the second of her standard loadout.

    << *BONG!* >> << FLIER FIN >>

Thus it is that Rashmi, in her techno-magical Barrier Jacket, flies above the crowd with dragonfly-shaped wings of golden light at her ankles keeping her aloft.

"Okay, Nico... Let's see what's happening and who's here."

Greta Legend has posed:
As the show was just starting to get good when Greta's device chimes into her head, <*ksh*Dark Energy signature detected, Little Red. Suggest preparing for combat.*ksh*>

Greta grits her teeth before muttering, "Where... Trying to spot them..." She scans about, before spotting the vines and cables, "There..." She pulls her brooch up, "Let's go, Dreiseelen."

<*ksh*You bet! Let's GO Little Red!*ksh*>

*TRANSFORM*Greta Legend takes to the air and she growls, "None of that!" Twirling her device now in axe form.

---------
Meanwhile, a figure appears quietly just by Hematite, "Quite the view, if you ask me..." An older man, in black and purple, red eyes, white hair, pale with a five o'clock shadow, as it watchs the draining begin. His eyes allows himself a smirk before turning his attention to the crowd. This was Master Grimm. Hematite might have heard the name somewhere at Obsidian, a relatively recent import from Europe. "Is that your work down there? It seems rather... Indiscriminate."

He then spies the spark-skirts rising. "Ah, right on cue..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"--yooooo," Hematite says, eyes widening as someone beats him to the energy drain thing. It's honestly a bit of a relief. He sits forward to watch, starting to frown, then stands up and finishes his hot dog. He sends another couple of texts, then starts looking for who is handling the electric spaghetti monster.

    Hematite TXT: besides i didnt pay for tickets. but ill bring you a hot dog
    Hematite TXT: oh man someone else is energy draining the crowd and it looks like there's gonna be approximately a jillion magical girls in the audience. which, idol show. not surprised tbh

AND THEN he almost falls off the tall thing he's suddenly got company on-- which wouldn't be awful; he can fly-- and he turns around to glare at the guy. "Of course it's not my work. This is my tall thing, get your own."

Greta Legend has posed:
Master Grim allows himself a chuckle, "Fair enough, I'll give you a modicum of space." Before floating himself in the air beside Hematite. "That said, someone is definitely overplaying their hand..." He pauses, before turning and giving Hematite a quick, ostentatious bow, "How rude of me, Master Grimm, at your service."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The song was great, in fact Coco had started humming it herself in her mind while she keeps cheering along with everyone. Until the number of people that she sings along to is steadily diminishing, everyone looking more and more tired as the second pass. This is affecting even Makuga, the idol's movements looking less and less energetic, and the people that are still active enough are a bit unsettled by this. 'Of course, they would attack a place with such a congregation of people", she thinks, losing no time in transforming.

"Yellow Pearl Voice!" she declares, the pearl in her shell locket responding to her will and starting to shine with a yellow light. A keidoscope 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 jewel nestled safely in the head's center.

She jumps onto the stage, putting her arms around Makuga just as she is about to collapse, helping her sit down instead of hitting her head. Looking at the audience (those still awake, anyway), she starts saying "Hello, everyone! I am Yellow Pearl Voice, and I am Makura Finn's substitute singer for this half of the concert! I hope you enjoy my performance, the splendor of the seven seas. Legend of Mermaid: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!"

The melody of the oceans reaches every part of the audience, narrating about the nostalgic song of a faraway world, and a promise to always be connected as long as the paradise of the seven seas is remembered, the fantasy of a night where stars like pearls release a wondrous light and give everyone a shining future. The magical melody starts filling people again with the vitality they lost and corroding the dark energy of the permeating the area, the threat unwelcome under the banner of the kind mother's wishes.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"I come from the Kingdom of Building," Enji begins to reply Miya, "and your destiny is to become a magical girl, to fight against neglect, degeneration and collapse, and uphold the very concept of Structural Integrity!"
"A... magical... girl?" Magical girls aren't real! They exist only in comics and cartoons! But then again, so do tiny adorable talking mascots. And Miya is talking with a tiny adorable talking mascot. Which means...
"Is it because I am secretly a princess?", Miya perks up. She yanks up the manga from earlier, jabbing at the cover. "Like Princess Pirurin? She lives in a beautiful castle and-"

"No," Enji cuts short with something between a groan and a sigh. He pinches the bridge of his nose, and continues, "I'll keep it simple. The very Fabric of Reality is getting borked. Badly. The very concept of Structural Integrity is being eroded by nefarious forces, and we need someone to counter the damage and keep the whole shebang going." He then mumbles, mostly to himself, "Let me see, it should be in here...", as he turns and rummages into his tiny toolbox.

Miya's jaw slackens. With disbelief, she raises her manga to be level with her face, and turns to look at the glossy sheet from which Princess Pirurin, clad in ermine-rimmed regalia, smiles at the reader with giant, glittering eyes. "You mean... I'm not some secret royalty from Elsewhere destined to rule with elegance, grace, and wisdom? I'm more like..." She turns to face Enji again, "...some sort of... supernatural maintenance contractor who has to head into the dark, smelly basement of Existence to unclog the drain pipes when the magical toilets are backing up?"
"Essentially," replies Enji, his back still turned as he keeps rummaging.
Miya stares, a long stare that seems to last forever, in stunned silence.
"...Awesome!", she exclaims, not even trying to contain her excitement anymore. "This is SO MUCH BETTER than having to deal with politics! Goodbye, mundane life of unplugging cables from emergency generators! Magical life, here I come! What is my first assignment?"
"You have to unplug a cable from an emergency generator."
Miya furrows her brow. "Wait, what?"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
If the dictionary had a definition of 'turning the tide of the battle', there would be a picture of Coco. Her providential intervention caused the audience to explode in a cheer! Two idols at the price of one! And Coco's amazing perofmance! Energy is returned pretty quickly to people, with the flow of Dark Energy interrupted, the cables wither and slide down the support beams.

Honestly, everyone looking at it, from whatever height, from whatever angle, will notice that this is probably one of the crummiest monsters magical people had to deal with.

Except it isn't.

There is a sudden spike in energy. With a nightmarish spasm, a jerking motion, the cable rise to form some sort of giant monster, lopsided, asymmetric, messy, with lights for eyes, not even at the same height. Not even at the same size. Not even both on the same side of the face. It roars, like a gigantic wax gorilla that has spent too much time under the tanning lamp, metaphorically (not literally) beating its chest, ready to attack the audience. The crowd is uncertain how to feel at this point (except, well, excited at having Coco on stage! Dang she's good!). They don't realize they're threatened. They still seem to treat it as a special effect.

Although, they are not certain.

In doubt, they bop at the bangers Coco is churning out.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Grimm-san," says Hematite, metaphorical feathers still ruffled and arms crossed, but at least he has space now, so they're not AS ruffled. "I'm Hematite, General of the Dark Kingdom. I was here for the show," he admits, only half-lying, "but this show is better."

And then Yellow Pearl Voice jumps on stage just as Hematite's turning back around, keeping Grimm in his peripheral vision but frowning at the stage. It doesn't hurt like it did before. He watches, eyes narrowing, and then looks over at more lights of magical girls and boys starting to come into view, and then he grins. "And it's just gonna keep getting better!"

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Rashmi has taken to the sky, Coco has taken to the stage, and other magical girls are mustering as well. Emi is one of those who thinks it's just the show, pausing with a look of pleased surprise. "My lady, this is actually quite a show! Are you certain you don't want to-" "I'm certain. We are leaving," Kureha insists, scowling faintly. She starts to lightly shove at her attendant, and the two sidle their way along the seats to get out into the aisle. She does, briefly, glance upward again at the airborne Rashmi; if anything, from up there, the redhead would probably be able to spot the two of them easier.

    The thought of being seen leaving nags at the back of Kureha's mind. But it's fine. The other girls all have this. It'll be fine.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase folds his arms and - well, Kiseki's singing and bopping and idol-dancing again. "Looks like we may not even need to get involved. When the problem is at a concert it's hard to argue the idol magical girl isn't the right choice." he muses. Greta is also moving up, so he might not be entirely necessary here. Especially if the youma is as weak as it seems to be.

    Of course that thought comes off like more of a kick-yourself-later curse. Since there's a surge of energy and it turns a lot larger and more threatening. Tadase takes another one of those absolutely-not-normal jumps and lands between the big monster and the audience - who he figures need protecting more than the magical girls, from personal experience - and points the scepter at the youma.

    "I don't know who... okay, what, you are, but you can stop trying to ruin everyone's fun now." he says.

    Kiseki floats up a little later, having been somewhat lost in the music when Tadase took his initial leap.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As more magical signatures flare into view, Rashmi has Nicomachea tag each of them in turn, smiling as the number keeps going up. Once all the henshins are finished -- absent Kureha, because oni-chan hasn't revealed herself yet, nor Miya for the same reason -- Rashmi grins. "Okay, I think we can work with this. Nicomacha, dial us all in please?"

    << *BONG!* >> << TELEPATHY >>

<< Hi! >> says a friendly voice in the back of the head of each of her allies. << Looks like it's going to get a bit crazy, just think in words and treat this like a conference call. >>

Then the energy spikes, and the stage wiring explodes into a scribbly-looking electrical monster. << ...Oh boy. Yeah this is going to be *wild.* Call out if you need help, okay? >>

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BARRET >>

And thus begins the harassment portion of today's battle, with a trio of balls of golden light coalescing, then darting downward to impact on what can be impacted. Not *hard* hits, but what connects will be felt.

And as Rashmi loops around to cast her eyes over the crowd, she spots Kureha at its edge. Her face softens, but, she doesn't make any move to call Kureha out. It's her choice, and that choice must be supported.

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta blinks a little as the cables just drop and deflate, and opens her mouth slowly, then closing, before finally saying, "That felt way too easy."

And then the monstrous cable monster forms with that massive spike of energy, causing Greta to grit her teeth, "Okay, THAT'S annoying~!" She proceeds to ignite the axe-blades of her device into larger blades, and proceeds to rush in, eyes for where she suspects the cables might be connected from. "Time to unplug this!" Axe swings for a connected cable, and starting to cut at them.

--

Meanwhile, Master Grimm is just hrmming, "They do seem to be quite enthusiastic... Anyone to keep an eye on---"

His commentary derailed upon seeing the young axe weilding girl in the red mask and cloak. "Ah, I see... The Red Riding Hood is here..."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The light of the Live Stage certainly looks like a special effect as the mermaid princess sings and dances for the audience, their cheers motivating her to put even more effort into it. She rejoices internally when she notices everyone is recovering far better than she expected. 'We can still go through the day with minimal issues!', she thinks.

And of course, that's when the monster decides to reveal itself. The metaphorical gorilla starts boasting about, but the audience is only mildly scared, many thinking it's just some effects. Maybe they can protect both Makuga's dreams and the audience at the same time? She isn't alone, many other mahous are here.

She smiles harder and to keep up the pretenses of special effects, she makes the Live Stage hover higher up, the sphere of white light supporting her in the air as she dances and sings.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
The monstrosity looms gigantic behind the stage, which looks like a mere puppet theater in comparison; instead of pulling strings, however it turns towards Terios. Assuming, that is, that the side of the head with the largest eye-lamp is the front. Otherwise it's looking at Tadase sideways. Like a chicken? That might or might not explain the slight tilt of its head. Or perhaps it's mere curiosity.

Then, unannounced, it grabs at a (luckily unmanned) van full of equipment, and HURLS it across the field.

That is when the spheres of Rashmi impact against the monster, sending it one, two, three step back, just where Greta flies in to slash what probably count as its foot ligaments. The monster's leg gives, the figure cants...

...and falls sideways; luckily, being still -behind and to the side- of the stage, he does not actually squish anyone; but seismographs are definitely bound to register some concerning diagrams.

But the audience, unable to register the danger, fortified by the protection of Coco's song, simply keep enjoying the concert, taking the quake as an excuse to do The Wave. They won't remember the ground shaking, just the most awesome Wave of their life. It felt like -flying-. No, even better -- like the thrill, the exhilaration of when you are standing in the sea, weightless, then the waves arrive and lift you up...

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
...and then, the monster does it AGAIN. There is that spike, that spasm, and the monster is on its feet again. By all means, it should have been beaten, but it's not. The cut ligaments? The cables just messily re-tangle in a different way. And it starts stomping around the stage, towards the crowd...

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Well if you're going to be a downer, seriously, bug off," Hematite tells Grimm crossly.

He turns his attention the rest of the way back to the fight and makes a face at the monster. "It has absolutely no class. I honestly hope they take it down because what an eyesore."

Perhaps totally unexpectedly, he tears off a glove and sticks two fingers in his mouth, then whistles REALLY LOUD and waves a glowstick in the air. "GET IT! YOU GOT THIS, GIRLS AND BOYS!" Boys? Well, boy, at least. "MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GET ELECTROCUTED!"

The extremely handsome villain's eyes widen again. "BOOK GIRL LOOK OUT!"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"What do you mean with 'unplug a cable from an emergency gener-"
Enji shoves something almost in Miya's face. "There is no time to explain! Take this!"

Miya looks down, cross-eyed, at what the talking beaver is extending to her. It has the appearance of one of those wrenches with a screw that can be turned to set its width, but this one is curiously ornate, and made of a material that is somewhere between metal and crystal. Also, despite obviously able to twist nuts or pipes, its top part manages to look human-sized and heart-shaped. How did it fit into that tiny toolbox?

"...An adjustable wrench?", Miya asks, puzzled.
"Also called a 'shifting spanner'", adds Enji, with a suspiciously knowing smirk.
"What am I supposed to do with it?"
Enji leans over, and almost whispers, "Search your heart. You know the answer already."

There is silence.

Miya reaches for the wrench. Her hand lingers, then closes around the handle with the confidence of someone who's held such an item a million times before. Enji does not oppose any resistance; he just uncurls his tiny paws, and lets go.

She holds the tool with both her hands, close to her chest, uncertain. She casts an inquisitive glance at Enji; he's standing there, arms crossed, head canted slightly, eyes closed under thick eyebrows. He gives a nod of approval. So encouraged, Miya's expression turns to one of determination: with a swift motion, she raises the item above her head, removes Enji's hard hat, clonks him on the noggin, and puts the hat back. "This is for smacking me on the head, earlier!"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DO, YOU HALF-WIT!", Enji spittle-screams to a now cowering Miya, as he rubs his head and shakes his tiny fist. "DO THE -OTHER- THING!"
"What other-"
Miya doesn't get to finish the sentence. Her eyes, once squinting at Enji's outburst, pop open in realization. Somehow, she -does- know.

The she tightens her hands around the wrench. It lights up, and her hair flutters, as if ruffled by the wind.

Greta Legend has posed:
Grimm just shakes his head, "It's just the one girl, young man, she's been a minor frustration in my work... Well, let's see how even she holds up."

He does not, in fact, Bugger off at Hematite's request, choosing instead to remain floating, and silent for now.

----
Meanwhile, Greta is swerving around the monster, rising up higher and aiming for a part that won't end up landing on the innocent bystanders, all while dodging the van in flight, "BUGGER!"

She then hears the whistle, somehow, from her position, and glances over in the direction of the supporters on high in darkness, and she blinks, "Who the bloody hell are---"

This is in mid-swing, during which her axe blade hits something very Electrocuty, and sends a MASSIVE jolt into her, before sending her crashing down to the stage beside Coco.

"OW...."

----

Grimm then chuckles, "Alright, that was funny."

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    One person in the crowd is not enthralled by the song. Not oblivious to the small earthquake created by the cable monster. Not fooled by the Veil in the least.

    Not at all unaware of the flying van.

    "-ah, Emi. Can you pick up another concession box before we go? The takoyaki this time." The woman blinks, but then nods. "Are you coming with-" "No, I'll wait here. But hurry up. I don't want to be here."

    The woman is confused, but goes walking off per the request. Which is good, because there's only seconds for her to react.

    A brief plume fire erupts from the crowd, and a horned girl clad in kimono vaults up into the air, intercepting the hurtling vehicle. "HNGK-!" It's the heaviest weight she's ever dealt with. Just catching it is an effort, and on top of that, she's got to land. Thankfully, there's nobody inside, so the landing can be a little rough. The fiery magical oni hits the dirt geta-first, kicking up a furrow in the earth as she bleeds off the weight of the projectle. "Ghhh...!"

    But finally, it stops. She wobbles a little, finding a balance. And then she starts to spin.

    One, two, building momentum - until she suddenly hurls the van with inhuman strength, straight back up into the air, on an arc towards the monster that chucked it to begin with.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase is also, similarly, launched up into the air since he's between the monster and the crowd. But he doesn't find it quite so wave-fun as they do. After the second one, he decides he's going to have to take matters into his own hands. He was expecting to block attacks coming, you know, above ground, and these are not. Barrier was not going to work for them. And somebody might get hurt soon.

    Looks like his earlier thought was prophetic. He grips his scepter tightly, hunkers down for just a moment - at which point the monster throws a TRUCK into the crowd. Exactly the sort of thing he was trying to be ready to stop, and now he's not there to intercede. Thankfully, someone else is there - he watches as the van is sent back to the Returns Desk.

    While he's glad the crowd is safe, he's frustrated at himself, at the monster, at not just being able to have a concert... so he tenses, and then LEAPS through the air, swinging his scepter with both hands like the impromptu baseball bat it is, aiming to clobber the absolute heck out of the monster's face... or side of the head, he's not really sure which. It's not intentional that the magical boy and his scepter both trail sparkles through the air as they move - they just do that when his emotions are running so high.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is still pushing the effects of her song on, her music and dance assisting with any sensation of tiredness the mahous and the audience may feel, due to moving around so much, to power use or to the power of the monster in the case of the audience.

When everyone gets cheered on by Hematite, Coco shoots him a smile and waves at him, recognising Sailor Moon's soon-to-be-boyfriend.

When Greta comes flying towards her, Coco interrupts her song routine, managing to catch the other magical girl in her arms without getting pushed off her own Stage. She lowers her to the 'ground' of the Live Stage with a smile before going back to sing, glad that Onihime has taken care of the car and that Greta is fine.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"WAUGH!"

Whether Rashmi heard Hematite's warning or just saw *an entire vehicle flying her way* is something that can be determined *when there is not a vehicle flying her way.*

Darting above the van's trajectory, she can see only one way to stop it from potentially hurting a *lot of people,* but it's a thing she's never practiced on so heavy a weight befo-- oh! Someone new to add to the net. << Thank you, Kureha-chan, you're literally a lifesaver! >> says Rashmi's voice in the back of the smol strong's head -- and only hers, for security -- as she turns back to the monster. *That* cannot be allowed to advance any further either, and happily the same spell works for both problems.

    << *BONG!* >> << RING BIND >>

As a band of golden light coalesces into being and contracts around the cable-monster, it attempts to lock the creature in place. Sufficient strength will be enough to break the bind, but even if it fails... perhaps it'll halt its forward progress long enough to keep the monster off-balance.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
The monster turns. It looks over its shoulder, with both lopsided eyes. One could almost see the two black bars appearing at the top and bottom of the screen and the kinetic lines in the background.

With a speed it has no right to have, it swing its hand in a slap, and deflects the van off into the distance. Luckily, this time it's flying much faster, farther. It will be sent off into the deserted area which is mostly trees, past the grassy grounds. The trees are off-limits, they're a fenced-off area, and the particular direction the van has gone flying off has no tents or other structure that might indicate the presence of staff -- and any sensible person would quickly calculate that it is highly unlikely that there is any staff in transit right at this point.

Once again, possibly to Tadase's surprise, the monster is some sort of rubbery thing that is pretty easy to push back with a few sparkly hits; mostly, it discharges arcs of electricity where hit, but whether or not it damages Tadase is someting uncertain (especially depending on whether his scepter is insulated or not...)

Rashmi's bind is what finally seems to contain the monster. It struggles, it pulls, moving its shoulders (they... are its shoulders, right?) up and down, not having much luck, until...

...it opens its mouth as if to roar, but no roar comes out. Instad, it's the crackle of electricity, flaring from where Tadase was hitting it. Another spasm, another jolt of energy, and it breaks free of the ring. It raises its fists, the way one would expect before beating its own chest, but in an uncharacteristically efficient move, it does not waste time showing dominance, but plunges one balled hand down at the -stage-! It seems to be really angered at this new singer that keeps stealing its lunch when it's about to bite into it.

Quick, someone save Coco and Greta!

That is, unless they save themselves.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
The astute reader will know what happens at this point: transformation sequence! To accomodate both those who want to enjoy the lavish budget that was splurged into the higher-framerate textual description, and those who want to cut to the chase, we provide a path to speedreading! From now on, those in a hurry can focus on the summary in parentheses, and skim the rest, until the last parenthesized sentence, then proceed as normal. The ones who are in for the Sakuga can read it all. Enjoy!

---

"Hardworkin' Pretty Cure! Clock In!"

A cheerful, compelling march underlines the close-up of Miya's heart-shaped spanner head, with its crystal/metal appearance, on a monochrome backdrop of sparkling light orange, where the forms of nuts and bolts can be discerned floating around if one is the kind of person who stares at the background to see what shapes during a henshin sequence.

(Close-up of henshin device, check. Music track, check. Colorful background with motif, check.)

As the camera zooms out, one can see that instead of clothes, Miya is enveloped by a sheath of sheer light; she spins in place, with fluid movements, as if she had launched into an interpretive dance which mixes ballet, cartwheels, and slipping on a banana peel.

The point of view now circling Miya, one can see the luminous sheath pop into outfit elements one by one; around her hands and forearm, high-visibility orange gloves with two reflective white bands around them, the ends at the elbow flaring out; as the point of view swerves dramatically, either implying we're now looking at Miya's feet while upside down, or that Miya herself has gotten rotated for our viewing benefit, her legs are covered by equally orange boots, with reflective white bands; ribbons decorate the top one, just before the boots flare as well. A frilly dress, you guessed it, in high-visibility orange with trimmings in reflective white, flashes into existence,

(Weird camerawork, check. Clothes appearing while character floats around, check.)

The camera keeps spinning, and zooms in on the wide white belt; with a flash, a box-shaped satchel/pouch matching the belt in color is brought into existence, its clasp a heart-shaped... well, your average magical girl would have a gem here, but this one looks an awful lot like an orange retroreflector. It might actually be one.

The last flash of light is reserved for the brooch just below her neck, that keeps a large reflective white bow in place. Yes, it is heart shaped, like much of her newly acquired accessories like earrings, belt hoop, et cetera. And yes, all the supposed gems look suspiciously like retroreflectors.

(Pouch, check. Accessories aplenty, check.)

The last thing that happens is that Miya's hair, suddenly enveloped by the light, reshapes itself and explodes into a salmon-colored mass, with a pair of massive drills which reach all the way to her legs.

(Outrageous Hair, Check.)

The transformation complete, Miya finally lands, one heel clacking after the other, and poses. "The care within a house, the warmth within a home! Cure Spanner!"

"Cool, confident pose..." Enji's pencil ticks off the last item on his clipboard list. "...Aaaaand check." He grins wide. "First field deployment, a resounding success!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I really don't want your company," Hematite says, his back starting to get up; the guy is way too distracting. His phone buzzes again as there's someone-- oh, 'little red riding hood'-- getting a jolt, and he winces and then glares at Grimm before taking his phone out and looking at the screen. Then he starts texting again because while Grimm might be an unwelcome distraction, Usagi is a welcome one.

    Usagi TXT: dont worry about it
    Usagi TXT: have fun and enjoy the extra show

    Hematite TXT: theres also a complete asshole next to me on my tall thing
    Hematite TXT: hes old and hes like 'mm-HMM the little red riding hood'

    Usagi TXT: push him off
    Usagi TXT: wait sorry this isn't a video game don't do that

    Hematite TXT: hes floating anyway :( at least hes not breathing down my neck

    Usagi TXT: at least I didn't encourage you to do too much evil
    Usagi TXT: ...throw a rose at him if he doesn't pipe down

    Hematite TXT: good call!! ty ty

There's no particular reason to rose Grimm yet, but there probably will be. In the meantime, he keeps looking back up from his phone at the fight. "GOOD CATCH!" he yells, and who the heck knows which of the truck-catchers it is he's calling out to-- probably both, honestly. Oh, and the girl who got electrified got caught by Yellow Pearl Voice, who he was rude to yesterday and who's waving at him?? He waves uncertainly back-- and then there's another bright henshin, and Hematite literally applauds.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    Almost as soon as she's hurled the van, Kureha lets the transformation drop, flickering flames dancing away on the air into nothingness. The message from Rashmi draws a brief, irritated frown, and the response is brief, curt. << Including my own. I didn't come here to fight a monster. I'm leaving. >>

    She's quick to jog her way back to her initial launch point, where... okay so the grass is a little scorched there. That's going to take some explaini- "Lady Kureha?!" Crap.

    The attendant returns with her box of food, and Kureha immediately traces Emi's gaze straight towards the slightly singed ground. "One of their fireworks," is the hasty explanation the tiny girl in the kimono comes up with. "W-well. We're definitely leaving in that case, and your father shall want to complain to management, I guarantee you." The two of them turn to go... although Kureha stops briefly, to glance back over her shoulder at the crowd.

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta picks herself back up off of the platform, shaking off the joltage for a moment, before raising her device once more, "Alright, let me at---" Her eyes go up to see the big monster, and goes wide when she sees the massive Fist coming down at the platform that she and Coco are standing on, and rather than waiting for Coco to maneuver the platform and instead grabs Coco to reposition the girl behind her, and swings her axe up, "Große Klingen!!"

<*ksh*Große Klingen*ksh*>

The blades of the axe triples length, and she aims to upswing the axe right into the center of the fist coming down, to try to split it down the middle, and the send the two halves around her, with a battle cry. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase is slightly electrocuted - his scepter isn't the best conductor. He's also not the most calm right now. He wants to do more. More than anything, he wants to be more helpful. He knows he's the least magically powered person here. And he's got a lot of experience, but this is no x-egg. It's not even a normal youma. They'd actually given it a good amount of beatings.

    And Tadase didn't exactly get the same kind of physical henshin ability that his not-peers did - he's already tired. "Should we do it again?" he asks Kiseki. "You think it'll matter?" The equally frustrated chara asks. "Let's just... go back to watching for attacks to intercept. I think physical force isn't gonna pull it off here. If it was, the axe-girl would have more success."

Greta Legend has posed:
For his part, Master Grimm lets Hematite be. He is more concerned with the goings on down below than the moody crankiness of a teenager.

He really hopes that his daughter never runs into him. Probably a bad influence.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"THIS OUTFIT IS A MASSIVE SAFETY HAZARD!", screams... well, 'Cure Spanner', apparently. "Bows? Earrings?! They're going to get caught in things! And heels?!" She lifts one foot to make her point. "It's suicide on stilts! I'll be losing balan-" She interrupts her attempt to prove her point by sliding her soles and cause the heels to lose traction. "...the heck?!" She repeats her attempt, but the soles don't seem to budge. "These things have a better hold on the ground than my work boots! And the gloves!" She clutches the spanner, and swings it around in a complex flourish. "They have no right to have this firm a grip!" Baffled, she turns to a smug-looking Enji, and stammers, "H-How is this possible?!"

"MAGIC IS BULL-", begins Enji, before ducks to avoid the flying van, that lands not far away in this off-limits staff only area with trees where, logically, there should be nobody. "Sorry, I was saying, Magic is bully like that! I assure you, that outfit offers more protection than any non-magical gear you've ever worn or will ever wear in your life."

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"And what happened to- DRILL HAIR! I'VE GOT DRILL HAIR! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED DRILL HAIR! OH MY GOODN-"

Cure Spanner doesn't get to finishe the sentence -- a low lunge foward to avoid a flying guitar amplifier results in her hitting the ground running, both metaphorically and literally: she dashes ahead, zigzaging through the crowd, the mass of people but a blur, her legs two pistons churning hundreds of meters in a matter of seconds, her arms slender graceful weapons swinging to balance and stabilize the run, her face a wreck of terrified confusion, her expression that of someone who suddenly found herself, without explanation, at the wheel of a sports car with unresponsive brakes speeding against the incoming traffic on the highway; her mascot, holding onto her shoulder and flapping in her wake like a flag hung on the antenna of a brakeless sports car speeding the wrong way.

The silhouette of the monster in the distance grows closer, at an unnerving rate, and while Cure Spanner swerves left and right, regularly ducking to dodge the trickle of massive impromptu projectiles thrown at her, she accuses, finger pointed at the monster, "How dare you ruin this peaceful get-together with chaos, mayhem, destruction of property-"

Cure Spanner hurls herself sideways and downwards, just in time to dodge a massive loudspeaker which wooshes past her head and plants itself into the ground right where the crowd had just dispersed in panic, sending a quake to ripple across the area with a deafening rumble. Her movements segue smoothly from tumbling to running once more, and with an pointing her finger even harder, she resumes her speech without skipping a beat: "-and littering?! What you are perpetrating is an affront to Order, a disparagement of Human Dignity, and a blatant violation of the Building Code!", and leaps in the air with enough force to propel herself all the way to whatever best passes for the monster's face.

As and pulls her arm back to deliver, if not the mother of all punches, at least a scary babysitter of a good portion thereof, she seems to notice, for the first time, all the other magical people.

"H-...HI!", she blurts out, loud, to be heard by the other magical people over the sound of the concert, suddenly realizing she should be saying something, but also that her social interactions so far have not prepared her for this exact circumstances, so she follows up with an equally yelled, "Any of you have any idea of what we are doing?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Understood, be safe! >> Is all Rashmi says in reply to Kureha. Does she switch off the communications? Telepathy, sadly, does not have the *boop* that a Zuum call might, so there's no real way to know.

Internally cheering as the monster gets locked down and Walloped Right Proper... then it breaks free, and starts lunging for the Live Stage. << Greta! >> she calls over her connection to the others, as her book lies open over one outstreched hand, flipping pages as a magic circle spreads out beneath her.

    << *BONG!* >> << STRIKE -- BOOST UP >>

Because when a Zapping Spaghetti Monster is looking to punch the girl with the axe, the best defense of a sharp offense.

A wispy golden ball of light streaks down, suffusing the extended energy-based blade with a measure of her own power, because BIG SLASH is always better when it's BIG SLASH HARDER.

<< Understood! >> she says to Tadase, << I can help with that, if you want. Just... Hold still a second, and take a breather.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR HEAL >>

The circle of warm, sunny light that spreads out underneath Tadase isn't *great* shakes, as healing magic goes, but it *is* much like a second wind. A rush of energy, the aches and pains eased, and the feeling that, yeah, Tadase can get back in this fight.

About to announce her theory over the 'net, she notices a new girl on the scene, and *bong!* she's patched into the telepathic net as well. << It's probably being fed energy from somewhere! Someone go find it, we'll have to keep it from moving forward! >>

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The monster is striking back! Tough crowd, uh? Can't please them all. Coco is about to grab Greta's arm tightly, ready to repeat the trick that helped her against the assassin-maid, but Greta is faster than her, and quickly pushes the singing mermaid behind her. Coco is about to warn her that the Live Stage is really delicate, but Greta's axe takes care of that without her warning, becoming big enough to stop the fist before it reaches the sphere of white light.

She notices the new magical girl right at that moment, hearing her cry of Cure Spanner and waves at her. "Hello, Cure Spanner! I am Yellow Pearl Voice! We are fighting this big monster here!" With Coco and Greta out of danger, the mermaid princess resumes dancing and singing, all the while lowering the Live Stage to the ground so Greta can hop off.

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase, of all people, raises his hand. "Stopping the monster from hurting anyone, mostly." he said. "Preferably by making it stop being a monster." he replies to Cure Spanner.

    Rashmi's energy washes over him and he is able to stop panting like a dog on a summer day. "Oh that's nice." Kiseki says for him. Tadase, meanwhile, is trying to talk to the new cure. "Look into your heart, or listen to whatever magical creature came along with your powers." She has 'first time mahou' on her face.

    Tadase knows a lot more about magical girls in general than he has direct personal combat effectiveness. "Also I'm pretty sure the physical stuff isn't doing much. Anybody got a big blast or something?" he calls out more generally.

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta, for her part, catches her breath before looking at Spanner and blinking at her gimmick, "Spanner? What are you, a Pipey?"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Cure Spanner might have landed one heck of a punch, were not that-

Well, you see, it goes like this. Greta Legend's blades split neatly. Sure, there are a few electric arcs discharging, and they might have to deal with those, but on the plus side, they won't be lasting for long: silently opening its... uh... let's say 'mouth' in a grimace of pain, the monster yanks its hand away from the stage.

"Hello, Yellow Pearl Voice!," Cure Spanner replies. "I am glad you are here to provide some guidance, because-"

"FOCUS ON THE BATTLE, YOU DOLT!", yells Enji hanging for his dear life to Spanner's shoulder, but that's too late: that is when the yanked away, split hand of the monster ends up slapping right into Cure Spanner which, with a squeal, is sent flying up, up, up in the sky, disappearing with a twinkle, beaver and all.

Already weakened by the split hand, Rashmi's cutting does more damage to the monster, which goes down, once again.

And begins one of its spasms...

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
*THUD*

Far off in the distance, Cure Spanner lies sprawled face-down on the ground, half-submerged by the black mist that caused the monster to rise, and which is seeping all around the field from the cursed cables.

"I have failed...", she twitches. "I couldn't even land one punch..."

"That is because your job is not to land punches, -you dolt-!"

Miya's face lifts from the ground. "It's... not?"

"Well, usually yes. But not -right now-. Your job is to -unplug a cable-, remember?" Enji points at the monster. "That thing, right there. Pretty clever. It normally -absorbs- energy, and sends it to an accumulator, located Murphy-knows-where. But if it cannot for any reason? It can -draw- from the generator. Clever two-way system." Enji squints. "You have to go and sever the connection."

"H-how?"

"Use your pouch and your newfound knowledge."

Cure Spanner looks at the white pouch dangling from her white belt. She taps the retroreflector gem and-

The spanner she's holding in her other hand flashes, and is replaced with a small measuring instrument, connected with a cable to a magic-wand like probe at the opposite end.

* * *

"The Mahoumeter says there's a field of 50 kiloMerlin here! That's a lot of magic!", exclaims Spanner, looking down at a heart-shaped display which shows a dance of 7-segment digits (with the obligatory fractional point), while she runs through the mist and swings the wand-probe around with the other, pointing at the ground, following the path of maximum magical intensity. Turning to Enji with concern, she blurts out, "How do I even know that 50 kiloMerlins is a lot of magic? Nevermind knowing what a kiloMerlin is..."

"Don't worry about that! Just-"
"Here it is!, she says," pointing at the ground. "The magic field ends here!"
"Perfect, cut it!", exclaims Enji. As she taps her pouch and materializes a magical gigantic pair of pliers, she winces. "I... I don't know if these pliers alone will make it..." -- And that said, she opens the tools, and SNIPS!

People will notice that, at this point, the monster had a jolt. It began returning to full power, healing the wound in its hand. It looked like there was no hope for them-

But then, the mist disappears, dissipates. The monster recovers, but does not reach full-force. It looks at its feet uncertain. Its recovery powers seem to be gone. This, this is obviously the time for the last blow. It will become obvious even to th etired Tadase.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Awesome, thank you *so much!* >> Rashmi calls across the telepathic net to the others, when the fog fades away. << Okay, Greta! You've got everything you need to win! Faith in yourself, your friends behind you, a giant axe... >>

And Rashmi's Barrets materialize again, but instead of just sending the three off, she shoots one at a time, a new Barret materializing in place of the old and allowing her to sustain low-power, but harassing fire. << ...and close air support! GET EM EVERYONE! >>

Greta Legend has posed:
Greta watches as Spanner gets WALLOPED and sent flying into the distance, and can't help but wince, "Bloody ow." She mutters, before returning her attention baack to the monster, "Dreiseelen, let's fly!"

<*ksh*Adlerflug*ksh*>

She then leaps into the air to fly once more and start hacking away at the monster, in the hopes that it doesn't that it doesn't regenerate especially fast, hacking away at cable after cable, avoiding electrocution for a second time, before finally backing and gritting her teeth, "There's no end to it! It's just going back to full power!"

<Little Red, sensors indicate dark energy diminishing.*ksh*>

The European blinks as she sees the sees the mist dissipaating, and the monster starting to falter, a cue she grins at and gives herself some distance for, "Good! Dreiseelen! You know what to do!"

<*ksh*Roger That. Disabling Limiters! You go, Little Red!*ksh*>

Greta grits her teeth, and raises her device up, as it begins to shift shape and form, the emitters pointing up and firing a green beam up into the sky, a nice lightshow for the finale of the concert, and the beam takes shape as the head of a giant axe and she roars out, feeling the boosts and the support given to her by her... Friends? Allies. It's Allies. STILL, feeling it empower her strike "HIMMELSPALTN!"

<*ksh*Himmelspalten*ksh*>

Greta yells and brings the big blade down. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Bringing it right down the middle to try to cleave the monster in twain from top to bottom.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco emits a sigh of relief as she notices the monster has stopped regenerating. Once Greta has dropped off, she assumes an elevated position in the sky again, looking out towards the audience (if there is still any besides the mahous). "Alright everyone, we have reached the center stage of my part, please enjoy yourselves!" She waves with a wide flourish towards the audience and elevates her arm up high.

The bracelet on her wrist start shining a halo of yellow light moving downwards from the mermaid princess's head: her clothes become more elaborate as it does so, gaining a flowing bow on her back and parallel frills on her blouse. "For my second and last piece: The Tale of the Seven Seas ~Pearls of Mermaid~: Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!" Coco sings of embracing a dream: the journey to find the story that leads all lives to paradise, a treasure that is surely shimmering beyond the seven seas.

The magical song spreads its splendor with renewed intensity, bringing more vigour and energy than ever to those who lost them, repelling evil with all its might. The words of the mermaid princess call back to a lute, whose melody sthat resounded at dawn was similar to a sweet lullaby from her hometown. The enchanted melody shows everyone's hearts the peace the mermaid princesses wish to protect with their songs, a beautiful paradise when nobody has to hurt.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Honestly, the reminder of the roses from Usagi makes Hematite's fingers itch to help, even a little bit, but that's absolutely in no way his job here. He doesn't even have a job here, unless it's figuring out who let that ridiculous monster loose. Well, and observing all of the attacks and their effects and who flings them and the fact that the mahous are getting a lot better at teamwork.

That's technically actually his job here.

    Hematite TXT: usako~
    Hematite TXT: do you want a hot dog?

Hematite sends off a couple more texts and then floats above the tall thing, taller than Grimm, so tall! and cups his hands around his mouth and bellows, "GET EM! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" and starts laughing. His phone buzzes once more and he takes it out, and then he laughs all over again.

    Usagi TXT: HEMACHAN
    Usagi TXT: yeah :hidingface.emoji:

Then he blinks out of sight and walks out of the woods on the ground, as perfectly reasonable non-magical totally normal Darien Shields and flags down one of the selling-overpriced-foodstuffs vendors. He buys Usagi a hot dog with everything on it and a glowstick, glancing up and away at the 'special effects' on stage for a second and grins. Then he wanders off with his perfectly legitimately-gained goods.

Greta Legend has posed:
Meanwhile, Master Grimm hmmms as he watches the new Mahou awaken, disable the monster, and begin the end of the creature, before sighing softly, "Well this has been a nice chat, Hematite. I'll be off then."

And with that, he vanishes around when Hematite does, in a puff of magic.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
Nobody would believe it reasonable that a concert-sized crowd could be not only kept protected, consoled, during similar circumstances. It would be even crazier to believe they can be kept serene. and paceful. But dowright elated and energized? That's just impossible.

And yet, the impossible is exactly what Coco manages to pull out. Like the old mermaids of legend, the crowd is enraptured by her song, oblivious to anything else, resonating with the song, living its the lyrics and melody.

"Now. Now you may punch," Enji grins, his eyes closed, as he points at the battle with one open hand, the other behind his back.

Cure Spanner, down on the grass, inhales. Coco's song reaches her as well, filling her heart with courage, determination, dreams. In one word, drive. She smiles, wide, and darts towards the gigantic creature with a rhythmic tapping of heels on grass. She stops at a short distance, and pointing again, she goes, "You have reached the limit of my load-bearing capacity! No choice but to demolish, to rebuild anew!"

She lowers her head, charges, in what looks like a headbutt, but when the time of impact comes, her hair drills start spinning, and with a whirr, funcions like actual drills, slashing through part of the leg of the monster!

"...wait, they do -that-?", wonders Spanner as she slows to a halt after her charge, more surprised than the quite shocked already monster.

Destabilized by Spanner's attack, Rashmi comes in to tenderize the monster with a fusillade of fire. The creature opens that soundless mouth again, flailing its arms, gasping for energy that never comes, and ends up pelted, attempting to protect itself from a rain of stones. The fire does its damage, as insulation starts to give way where the projectiles impact, peeling more and more and creating more and more bolts; the smell of ionized ozone begins to fill the air, just as the gigantic lightshow and massive axe slam down to cut the monster in half.

The cables, by now so soaked in Dark Energy to have lost all their physical nature, dissipate into mist, further reinforcing the impression that they were special effects all along, which provides as a nice finale for Coco's song.

The crowd explodes into an applause, nay, a standing ovation, which lasts for minutes. There is chanting, and clamoring; and even if they may believe this was all a stage setup... they will remember it as -one heck- of a stage setup. And have a story to tell for quite some time.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    As the 'performance' goes into a crescendo, Kureha and Emi are just reaching the exit from the grounds. She does at least stop, briefly; about the time the crowd erupts into cacophonous applause. There is a long stare, a deep frown... and then she finally turns away again, following her attendant out with a soft mutter of, "Utter nonsense."

Greta Legend has posed:
And with that, Greta twirls her axe-form device, which shifts its form enough to release a puff of steam left behind from the expenditure of the energy into that big attack, and she drops to the ground beside Coco and takes a breather. "Wonder if the show proper is over... Welp, that's my cue." She turns and gives a light wave to the others, and says, "I'm out."

And with that, makes for off the stage, pausing for a moment to look at the crowd, and as a courtsy gives the audience a bow for the 'performance', before shuffling off somewhere to find someplace to Henshin back.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
With the monster finally, *finally* defeated, Rashmi just... hangs in the air above the concert, soaking in all the happy feelings. It could have gone a lot, *lot* worse. Nobody got truly hurt, *none* of the civilians were even aware their dream was a nightmare, and there wasn't even any collateral damage thanks to the Ti-- wait.

*Rashmi completely forgot to put up her Barrier.*

...Maybe Chrono doesn't have to know about this...?

Tadase Hotori has posed:
Tadase doesn't really do much of a henshin-back kind of thing, since he didn't fully henshin in. But, he does have some things he needs to do. One of them is pick up the girl he moved off to the side and bring her back. Both physically and mentally, as he kneels next to the chair he put her in.

    "I've never seen someone so into a concert they passed out!" he notes as she comes to. In some ways she was luckier than a lot of the other concert-goers.

    As for Tadase? He's not hard for anyone to find - the student council member doesn't fully get the benefit of the henshin veil and even if he did, the small floating fairy-like king on his shoulder is kind of a dead giveaway.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco smiles and descends back to the ground as the crowd cheers on. "Thank you all, I hope you enjoyed the concert Makuga put together. It has a honour for me to sing in front of you all." A little lie to bring her back in the limelight. Hopefully it sticks. With that she disappears in the distance, before returning among the crowd as Coco. Better not steal the show any longer after all.

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
* * *

The concert is long over, and it has gotten a bit late. Not so late that the rest of the workers will stop tidying up the venue, but late enough that it is getting time for younger folks like Miya to return to the academy, even accounting for her professionally-justified curfew extension.

She is back to her normal self, with brown hair, a pony tail, jeans, and STAFF t-shirt. As said, she should be heading back, but first, there is one last thing to do.

"There it is," says Miya, pointing at the rocket Enji came in, still planted in the ground where it crash-landed earlier. "We can take it back to my dorm and deal with it tomorrow."

"There was no need to, you know... retrieve it -right now-" says Enji, sounding genuinely moved by the extra work put in by Miya. "I understand that you have your human deadlines to meet, and really, my dimensional ship is protected against unwanted detection by the Unaware. There was no risk of losing it."

"Are you kidding? A miniature rocket like this is -amazing-!", exclaims Miya, as she, with a grunt of effort, manages to dislodge the vessel from the ground. "I want it hanging in my room!"