1693/Cruising for a Bad Time

Cruising for a Bad Time
Date of Scene:	21 June 2024
Location:	Yumegahama Ward
Synopsis:	A day cruise is heading from Yumegahama's port to some of the scenic waterside locations around Tokyo, and there's no way it will go wrong, right? Well, at least with this many Shitennou and Senshi around, Naru and Hinoiri are sure to get a good hit in without consequence. Right? Featuring: Sublime Thunder, Jinxes, and Whirlpools That Give Up.
Cast of Characters:	Beryl, Usagi Tsukino, Naru Osaka, Hinoiri Kirara, Makoto Kino, Rei Hino, Mamoru Chiba, Zoisite, Jadeite

---

Beryl has posed:
It's a beautiful day, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and the S.S. Demeter is boarding passengers for it's maiden voyage. Many have, in fact, already boarded, and are enjoying the well-arranged, highly coordinated little ship.

The S.S. Demeter might be small, meant to hold no more than a hundred and fifty passengers at a go, but she's a beautifully constructed cruise ship - and her crew aims to her join the dozen or so that offer day trips around Tokyo, navigating the waterways and promising visits to Odaiba, Asakusa, and the Rainbow Bridge! Many of those onboard purchased tickets at a discounted price, given that this is the very first voyage, but a variety had actually received tickets for free - the winners of grocery store lotteries, sweepstakes, and random calls to say hey congrats you won!

It's up to each character to decide how, exactly, they got here - but what matters is they are here, boarding, and what do you know, it's entirely too late to skip out. You're stuck here.

But at least the ship is gorgeous, right? The hull is a brilliant blue, painted with white capped waves. The portholes are green-tinted glass, and there are even planter boxes filled with carefully tended plants - mint, thyme, and rosemary, filling the air around the deck with the fresh scent of herbs.

There's absolutely nothing suspicious in sight at all as the ship takes off.

This is because Thetis has begrudgingly accepted that Mamoru Chiba absolutely recognizes her, and thus she is remaining in the captain's quarters until it's far too late for him to do anything about it if he does recognize her.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi Tsukino is one of those who won a sweepstakes, with a package deal to bring not just one but TWO plus ones, (plus twos?), so naturally she had grabbed Naru and Makoto. Why not either of her two partners? Well, because honestly, she's realized she's absolutely going to be marrying up, and both of them can afford a ticket, while Naru-chan and Makoto-chan might not, and if she's going on a cruise, she's absolutely making sure they both come with!

"It's like the universe knew we went shopping for summery clothes, Mako-chan," Usagi says cheerfully, half-dragging her friends (and her boyfriend) (and his boyfriend) (and his friend) along and up the ramp for boarding. "I mean, who figures, right? We go shopping, and then I win a sweepstakes! For a whole cruise! Sure, it's just a day trip, but that doesn't happen every day!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
It's going to be a beautiful day! Naru is quite willingly dragged along on Usagi's cunning plan. Sure, there was some niggle of disappointment that Adrien had a photo shoot and she couldn't go on a fun cruise with HER boyfriend, but hanging out with her bestie and friends? Not all THAT disappointed.

Naru laughs at Usagi's declaration, gettign dragged along up the ramp to board the ship. "Clearly you need to go clothes shopping more often, Usagi." Becuase that's totally how it works, right?

Naru clearly has a swimsuit of some sort under her sundress, the greens and blues going nicely with her hair. There's a beach bag over her shoulder, holding various and sundries. Sunscreen for sure, probably a sketchbook. Random bits and bobs.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was... actually lucky. In a strange twist of events, she'd won another grocery store lottery. She guessed she was just lucky. It wasn't that she WANTED to win them or anything. But she won the miracle pops one, she'd won a few since...

So when she won that one? She hadn't really been surprised. Unfortunately, this 'luck' of hers had kind of dulled her to the threats. A pair of tickets for a bit of relaxation? She'd... invited her girlfriend. But nope, busy. There'd been a few others she'd invited, some more as an apology... but nope.

So she was here alone. Trying to forget her worries. she'd been told to just... try and relax. Try and ENJOY herself. Find something that made her happy.

So now, she was standing on the bow, leaning forward, feeling the ocean air blow through her hair, and just... calm. Tranquil. Maybe it was time she really just... relaxed. Enjoyed herself. This world wasn't so bad. Sure, she didn't have power, but she'd been learning that even if she's in danger, the sparkles still come for her. Even if she doesn't deserve it.

... Maybe she should have held onto those bracers, though. Maybe she could have cobbled something together out of them. She was good with magic, right? And it wasn't like there was nothing there. She'd just been so upset...

She was wearing a simple little pink sundress, with a little sun-emblem on the chest. Don't ask.

She was a liiiiittle tempted to go and raid the buffet, too. Heh. Maybe they could roll her out by the end. She turned and looked over the deck and--

"Oh buck dang it," Hinoiri muttered the moment she saw Mamoru, Usagi and Naru. "Of bucking course." Her hand met her face and she shook her head before storming off. "Where the buck are the life boats? This thing is so going down..." she looked out over the side, hmming and considering how dangerous it would be to just leap off and swim for it. Meh. She wasn't really a good enough swimmer anyway.

She just sighed and shook her head before turning and walking towards them. "Hey. Osaka-san... and others. When whatever annoying magic thing goes off and tries to kill everyone here, could you text me? I'm going to go check the life boats and then try to hit the buffet before whatever... whatever thing happens that causes us all headaches."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I'm not going to second-guess it," Makoto agrees with a laugh. The aforementioned shopping trip has paid more dividends than just this lucky sweepstakes win - and Makoto never could've afforded a ticket on her own, so she has particular reason to be grateful for that plus two. She's dolled up a bit for the occasion in a pale green sundress with a subtle willow-leaf pattern and a romantic off-the-shoulder neckline (plus spaghetti straps to make sure everything stays where it's supposed to). "And we should totally make another shopping trip. I--"

she breaks off when Hinoiri approaches them, eyebrows lifting a little. "You know talking like that is just going to guarantee something happens now," she points out. "That's how that works."

Let's be real, it was going to happen anyway. But now Hinoiri has jinxed it.

Rei Hino has posed:
    Originally, Rei had the opportunity to attend with her father. She refused, not wanting to be seen with the politician who would inevitably gift her the dreaded flowers. Then Usagi had won tickets, and though Rei had tried to say 'no' on the off chance the politician would be there, Usagi has ways of making things work.

    Also she should be 'more social' and 'get out of the Shrine' and 'stop staring at the fire, it's beginning to get weird'. So, at her grandfather's urging, she agreed to come.

    She was wearing a carmine red sundress with an empire waist and a ruffly skirt, spaghetti straps and a wide sunhat to cover her shoulders. A cream-colored fern pattern covers the material, adding to the tropical feel. Her dark eyes peer out from behind a pair of matching red sunglasses.

    "Don't encourage her to shop irresponsibly --" she warns to Naru, giving a slight smile. "Uni's not that far away." she adds on, looking out over the ship as she wrinkles her nose a little at the idea of additional shopping trips. And carrying so many bags.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Plenty of people are trailing in after Usagi and Naru and Makoto, and as they get onto the deck itself, 'plumage' resolves into 'oh that's not birds--'

In a brightly-printed cotton short-sleeved shirt, tucked into a pair of high-waisted summer-weight khaki shorts, and absolutely sockless boat shoes, a big pair of over-the-glasses sunglasses, and a white kid glove on his right hand, Mamoru Chiba is making a statement.

That statement is, in fact, 'if you can afford to open the cruise party opportunity to the rest of the Senshi and Shitennou, you're allowed to dress like it's 1991'. Are his shoulders really that broad? J/k j/k, his shoulders are that broad, there are no shoulderpads here. At least there's that.

"It's pretty sus," he allows, eating konpeito from a little bag he's holding, then laughing and taking the sunglasses off and dangling them over the open collar of his shirt. The lenses of his actual glasses begin to darken because they are not from 1991.

"I am actually having some regrets about this outfit, mostly that I should have worn socks," he says to Zoi and Tamaki. "Can you guys cover for me if I teleport home to get s--"

And that's when Hinoiri shows up and starts minced-cursing, and Mamoru slow-blinks. He offers Zoisite the konpeito.

Zoisite has posed:
This is all infinitely suspicious, if you ask Zoisite, so when he'd heard about Usagi winning a random lottery for cruise ship tickets he'd immediately decided he was going to be there. Admittedly he'd assumed that Mamoru would be the natural plus-one to the Moon Princess, but even if he was wrong about that, they're all here now, aren't they?

And naturally he'd prattle on all day about how he's the only backup anyone ever needs, but Zoisite is not actually willing to lay down his life (or his prince's) on that statement, so he'd sought out his contemporary in Usagi's inner circle, the Senshi of Fire. They're a matched pair, Zoisite eschewing his usual earth-toned color scheme for a palette of red, his shirt patterned subtly with ferns. He has a stylish bag slung over one shoulder, and while his slim khaki shorts are technically water-ready, he intends to keep himself busy watching out for danger. That's what the sunglasses (also red) are for. No one will know he's on the lookout.

He walks along with the group, near enough to Rei to suggest to the casual observer that they are here together even if it's just for Teaming Up reasons, and wordlessly reaches for the konpeito when it's handed to him. Is he meant to just hold them, or is this sharing? It doesn't really matter, because Zoisite takes some from the baggie and pops them into his mouth.

Crunch munch.

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki's tagging along with Mamoru, of course! In an overlarge t-shirt with a dancing corn man that reads WE DONT MESS AROUND/OUR LIBRARYS UNDERGROUND, pink shorts, sunglasses, ice blue sneakers with white socks, pink sunglassses and a Dartmouth ballcap. He can't quite be a matched pair, but he has his own tacky boy flair. He is making sure his wonderful boyfriend and his boyfriend's boyfriend and girlfriend and girlfriend's friendgirls are all safe on this super suspicious cruise -

He steals a konpeito from Mamoru's bag. "We can cover if you need socks! If I'd have known, I'd have brought extra."

He gives Hinoiri a wave as she passes by. Looks like everyone's showing up, aren't they?

Beryl has posed:
The cruise is sailing away. There's no escape now, and for the moment, there's no threat, either - above deck, if you travel down the length, there's a pool and seating, and the pool has a volleyball net set up for games. There's a jacuzzi too, and there's a server going around offering complimentary drinks of various sorts. Downstairs, there is indeed a buffet, offering up rotating options of standard Japanese fare - pickled vegetables and rice and poached shrimp, poached fish, fried shrimp, karaage, sushi made to order, hot pot stations, pastries and candies of all sorts and so, so, so much more. It's a food lovers paradise.

And, yes, at the sides of the boat, one could find the lifeboats, though the staff look at anyone who asks about it oddly and promise that the boat is definitely properly licensed and brand new!

Everything seems normal, and everyone is encouraged to enjoy themselves.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi Tsukino is dressed as a statement. The statement, mostly, being that she may not have lived through the 90s but boy does she appreciate the fashion!!

Today, unlike her much more well-dressed friends, she's wearing a baby pink bikini... under a short-sleeved button-up shirt composed entirely of differently sized and colored over-saturated squares of cloth. The buttons are gold. The shirt only has two of those buttons done up, because it's a hot summer day and she's wearing a bikini, and really wants her boyfriend to know that. Originally, she'd been planning to wear jean shorts with this look, but after a certain incident she's avoiding denim, so instead she's wearing a dark purple miniskirt that matches the purple in her shirt. Around her waist is a predominantly green heavily patterned jacket, just in case it gets cold later, with all the sea spray and wind.

She has no shame and she fears no (fashion) god.

"Oh, ignore her," she says of Hinoiri's doom and gloom, "We're going to have fun! We're going to enjoy the sunshine and the waves and the food and the fact that summer vacation is almost here, and we're going to be juuuust fine."

She twitches when Rei says the word 'uni', because she is allergic to higher education.

Good thing her parents can't make her do that!

"Pool! Let's go and claim spots by the pool before we lose them all!"

Run, before anyone even thinks to discuss after high school plans when they are still in high school! Run, before Mamoru broods about the name of the ship! Run, before a youma really does attack!

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Hinoiri!" Naru blinks in surprise and she has a smile for the other girl. "I wasn't expecting to see you here." She laughs a little and gestures at the pessimism. That's generally warrented. "It's a beautiful day. I'm sure it will be just fine. You should go get a snack and then relax by the pool, or watch the ocean or something."

Possibly because other than the snack part, that's very much exactly what Naru plans to do. Although she does cave and get an iced coffee, because summer or something. "Anyone want to play volleyball?" Naru asks hopefully as she spots the nets going up.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There's some fussing, and five minutes later Mamoru is wearing those damned three-velcro-strap sandals instead of boat shoes, maybe he paid someone to swap. The world may never know.

"Okay," he laughs, and all of a sudden he doesn't feel the need to keep track of anyone or anything. He just trails after Usagi, letting the wind grab and ruffle his hair and his bright shirt, ignoring the gloom and doom, appreciating the sunshine for what it is.

"You pick pool spots, I didn't eat lunch," he calls out to her and whoever's going with her, and veers off to go belowdecks to check out the buffet. Hmm hmm hmm, too hot for hotpot, but it's never too hot for fried shrimp and also hmm karaage and oh some of this and some of that--

He's not even letting himself brood over the name of the ship.

He is carefully watching the crew, though.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara just gave Makoto a flat look. "It's fact. There are certain laws of this universe I've found. Those two are on a date, ergo, this ship will be attacked. I can tell they're on a date because their outfits match... for... certain values of match. They're precious and that's just absolute youma bait. You threw me when I was *on fire*, so I can only assume you sparkle too by now. Which likely means I'm the only one, aside from Osaka-san, who can't sparkle. Which means there's a critical mass of sparkles gathered. Which means a plot or something. I've had enough of my... errr... mistakes interrupted that I've picked up a thing or two."

She then glanced over the side of the ship. "Sadly, the water down there isn't good to swim in, so it's life boats or... I don't know what. Whatever diseases humans get in this world. This is a bit obnoxious, though. It couldn't be sparkles I didn't know, could it? No, now I *know* it's going to happen. I need to see about getting a magic tazer or something... how hard could it be to make?"

Pause. Blink. "Actually, probably pretty hard. Still, the life boats will at least probably give me a bit of an idea on if this whole ship is an Obsidian plot, or if they're just going to attack it. If there aren't any, or they aren't maintained, probably Obsidian and I'm going to avoid the buffet because who knows what they use in it. If they're good... maybe some people there have gotten more competent, but I won't hold my breath."

She then blinked again. "I... don't suppose... errrr... do either of you know where lifeboats on one of these would be? Actually... no. I'll figure it out. If I stay too close to you lot, I'm guaranteed to get attacked. If I stay away from you all, I'll at least have a slim chance of not being attacked and even if I am, you'll probably save me anyway and..." Then pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Osaka-san, I would like to, once again, apologize for what I did to you. Your life is truly hellish and I had *no idea*."

... Okay, despite how much she was over analyzing this, in her defense, she HAD been put into a mirror this week. And attacked. And captured. And nearly assassinated. And...

... Maybe she just attracted misfortune. Or maybe she'd just been attacked too much lately and she was just... paranoid. Either way she walked off to find the life boats and then raid the buffet. Because now her relaxing trip had her as a bundle of anxiety and nothing quite like being on a ship you KNEW was going to be attacked to make you stress eat.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto meets that flat look from Hinoiri forthrightly, unfazed. "I mean, maybe" she says with a little shrug, "but you're still not supposed to say it out loud. That's like asking the universe to pay attention. Haven't you ever head of tempting fate?"

That seems to be as much as she means to say on the subject, because she looks away from Hinoiri to grin at Rei. "Come on, Rei-chan, we only just started high school. Let's at least get through this year before we worry about university! Gosh, it's too pretty a day for everyone to be such downers. I'm gonna help Usagi-chan stake us out a spot by the pool." And off she strides, long legs eating up the distance to catch up with Usagi.

Zoisite has posed:
Zoisite's still in his own sandals, so the mystery of who traded shoes with Mamoru will continue to persist. He finds himself at a crossroads of sorts, with Mamoru going one way and Usagi going another, he lowers his sunglasses to peer over the frames at Rei, sharing a Look with her.

Then he pushes his sunglasses back up and follows after his prince, ostensibly to check out the buffet. And he does actually make a plate, though he's rather picky about what he gets. Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

He's strangely quiet in the buffet queue, too busy having his head on a swivel whenever someone passes by too close or makes any kind of noise above the background murmur.

Rei Hino has posed:
    "I'd hate to sound like Ami, but it's *never* too early to consider your education." Rei replies a little stiffly -- somewhat because once upon a time it was already laid out for her. Thanks, Dad.

    But she gives a small smile to her friends, and as the Duo of the Mellennium split, she sighs, looking to Izou, and then she turns to follow Usagi.

    "... but it doesn't hurt to relax for a day." she adds, with a little hopefulness in her voice.

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki's ears are open for trouble along with Izou's. Tamaki's eyes are busy checking out the buffet and picking out the choices of foods - and picking out a few favorites that he knows Mamoru and Usagi would enjoy.

He glides over to them once he's done, daintily takign bites out of a hot dog while offering the plate to Mamoru and company. "Refreshments, my lieges?" he teases.

Beryl has posed:
Despite doom and gloom proclamations, hours are spent in absolute summer enjoyment - the cruise ship makes it's way from the port at Yumegahama to the Rainbow Bridge in an ambling journey - they can see so much of the city from their water-way path, at new angles, with a new atmosphere.

There are plenty of civilians on this ship - a majority of them, even, so when people do get in the pool, there's plenty of people for a large game of volleyball, plenty of people for marco polo - and yet, despite that, there's still plenty of room, too. There's drinks carried around and delivered, snacks carried up from the buffet, there's time for showering off and visiting the buffet en masse - there's plenty of opportunities for pictures.

It's probably one of the best days these kids have had in a while, as far as fun activities go. It's definitely the longest time that Mamoru and Usagi have been on a date-like activity in ages! Since Christmas Eve!

And why is everything going so well?

Because Thetis is in the captain's cabin watching the security camera feeds, scowling like a hater. She is the hatingest hater that ever lived, no one has ever hated as much as her, because why, for the love of Metallia why, has her scheme attracted not just Mamoru Chiba but Fucking Zoisite and Jadeite, the Traitorous Tempter himself?

Why would he do this? Doesn't he know how stupid this is? She could drown him in an instant and bring his half-dead, flopping body to her queen and be rewarded in an instant! She could make him bleed for his cruel and callous comments about her entirely unfortunate and unwanted affections for Jadeite!

He was probably going to be even more of a little shit about that, now that Jadeite was actually here!

"I'm almost tempted to call the whole thing off," she scoffs bitterly. "But I'm not a quitter."

Donning her Thalia disguise, she makes sure that her crew uniform is neat, and exits the captain's cabin, looking out at the sea -

Perfect. Clear skies. Clear waters, churned only by ocean traffic and currents. Everything so peaceful, so normal, so -

And then three water-monsters burst out of the pool, directed by Thetis' as-of-yet unseen hand. She's lurking, plotting. These creatures are the distraction.

The real problem will be the whirlpool she's creating right in the center of the waterway, sure to drag in the ship.

Still, three monsters made of water is nothing to scoff about - especially when they've captured people who had been swimming inside of them, making it that much more difficult (but not impossible) to fight them.

Downstairs, anyone in the buffet will find themselves growing tired, eyelids weighing heavy, limbs getting slack, as their energy is stolen.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Mamoru is given a kiss - not on the cheek, just a full out kiss - before he departs for the buffet. By the time he returns, Usagi has taken off her purple shorts and obnoxious jacket, taken several selfies with her friends in her obnoxious shirt and swimsuit, and finally gotten into the pool.

"Rei-chan," Usagi says, cheerful and earnest, "I'm sure you'll accomplish all your academic dreams! And Mako-chan and I will cheer you on while we do anything but more school, I bet."

To say they have fun is underselling it. In the hours that pass before chaos breaks out, there is swimming and Marco Polo, there's riding on Mamoru's shoulders for a disastrous game of volleyball like something out of a movie. There's snacking above deck and running around below deck to sample the buffet; there's stealing sprigs of herb plants from around the deck to sneak into Makoto's dorm room plant supply and sampling all the different kinds of soda, and there's even a plan - quickly busted - to try and sample some of the alcoholic beverages so casually offered up to guests.

It's a great day, as far as Usagi is concerned, and by the time the attack starts, she's sunbathing on a beach chair, drying off after her latest dip in the pool. When the shouts go from joyous to fearful, she almost, almost doesn't notice, half-asleep as she is -

And then a wet towel lands on her head, as someone goes running and screaming in the opposite direction.

"Adsgnsjdkfjmdskldk," she shrieks in surprise, yanking the towel off her face. "WHY WOULD YOU DO T- oh."

Girl and water monster stare at each other. Innocent kid trapped in monster stares at girl too. Girl feels distinctly underdressed for this.

"Oh, come on! We were having a great day!!!"

Cue rolling off the chair to try and look for a hiding place to transform.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
It had taken some examination.... but there were life boats. The food was pretty good.

Hinoiri... Hinoiri had finally accepted that, okay. This wasn't a trap. An ambush. It wasn't any of that.

It was safe. Not that anyone likely cared THAT much.

But she had, finally, begun to relax. With a bit of cake in her stomach, she'd headed off, made it back to the deck and... even did a little bit of volleyball. It was kind of nice (she'd been herself, over competitive, probably made someone cry, if nothing else she wanted to win more than everyone else, that was something nobody could deny). She was having fun.

She'd brought out her bikini under the dress (Black, with a sun emblazoned on the chess... and tiny spikes. Don't ask HOW. She had a style. Just because she wasn't with Obsidian didn't mean she couldn't look good.

And while she didn't go swimming, she'd finally relaxed on a deck chair, bathing in the sun, enjoying it, occasionally drinking a bit of her soda. She'd even pulled out her sunglasses. She hadn't gone swimming (she still wasn't that good at it), but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy this experience. This. This was kind of--

"Oh, come on! Just because I called it doesn't mean I wanted it to HAPPEN! I would have been fine being WRONG!" she yelled, shaking her head and... laying back on the chair. "To whoever's decided to be a pain in my flank. May your butt be kicked quickly and with a great amount of aplomb."

She then picked up her drink and took another sip of it before sighing. Should she help? Probably.

"This is where I'd use my henshin device. If I HAD ONE!" she snapped, before sliding the sunglasses back on and laying back.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Somewhere along the way, probably during swimming pool time, The Shirt that Mamoru's wearing ended up getting put back on over his sleeveless undershirt untucked and unbuttoned. And because of the shirt it is, that legitimately did not detract even remotely from the 90s-ness of the outfit--

--but that's utterly immaterial, because the people at the buffet are beginning to droop and there are literal Waterborne Abysses in the pool grabbing people, and of course, of COURSE that's how this was inevitably going to go. "I knoooow! And WHY couldn't we have a-- we should just always have a device mage with us! Or Ginga Otome, or-- or literally anyone who can make a barrier--" Mamoru's grousing as he rips open the ziploc bag with his wallet, phone, and pocketwatch in it, then scrambles away and breaks into the first available door.

There is, of course, a muffled cry: "Earth Prism Power, Make Up!"

And a moment later, Tuxedo Kamen is on the scene, pulling off his cape in case he gets sucked into the water-- and he almost runs past Hinoiri, but there's Hinoiri, so instead he drops his cape on her and flips out a rose, dropping that in her lap on top of the cape. "I tank with the cape, and obviously you know what to do with the rose," he tells her hurriedly, then goes off in his tailcoat and mask and pulls out the cane he doesn't usually use--

--and he holds it out to the kid in the abyssal water monster, while holding his right hand to his chest, where it starts to glow.

He hooks his foot around the pool ladder railing, too.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There's not a lot of buffet that the air plant that is Naru indulges in. A nibble here and there, but Naru rarely eats much. She is fond of the beverage options, and not even just coffee!

A bit of swimming, some volleyball and eventually Naru has found herself a lounger to bask in the sun and sketch various people doing silly things. While normal teenagers are taking selfies (And she took a few of those too! She had to send some to Adrien!), she's doing doodles of her friends in the pool.

And then, it all goes horribly wrong, Predictably wrong. Dag nabbit, Hinoiri was right levels of wrong.

Naru tucks her sketchbook away, because there's no reason to have it get damaged in the mess that's going to come. She gets to her feet and moves over to where Hinoiri is lounging, giving the foot of the lounger a kick. "C'mon. We can at least keep track of what's going on."

Jadeite has posed:
It is both Tamaki's good luck and bad that the attack happens when he's in the bathroom. Washing his hands. A tiny water monster pokes it's head out the faucet.

"You've got to be kidding me," Tamaki mutters, grabbing a paper towel to dry off quickly before grabbing his earring -

He pulls on the uniform of the moon in an instant before slamming his hand on the faucets, freezing the emerging water monsters where they stand before running out the door -

Everyone in the buffet is fainting. Jadeite swears under his breath - but he doesn't see any way to ice-punch them back to being awake, so up the stairs he goes. He's got to meet up with the others!

Rei Hino has posed:
    If you're in civillian clothes, you're underdressed for any sort of monsters.

    Rei might have given a roll of her eyes to having a cheer squad for any of her academic pursuits (because she definitely wasn't going to go into political science).

    Rei had been sitting at the side with her feet in the pool after having some food, and generally enjoying gentle ribbing of some of her friends before she had gotten up to read a magazine in the sunlight, shaded by the large hat.

    It was when the hat was knocked off by some spray from the pool coming to life that Rei was alerted to the danger fully, and she rolls off her lounge chair, and runs with the crowd to duck into a handy dandy changing room.

    The soft echo of "Mars Power - Make Up!" errupts, followed by a warning wave of heat.

Zoisite has posed:
Though he hasn't let down his guard much, Zoisite has been able to enjoy the amenities that the cruise has to offer. So he's sampled the buffet and the various drinks and snacks that are on offer, then relaxed (sort of) by the pool.

But the truth is, he's been waiting for this moment. He knew in his heart of hearts it was coming, so he hops up from his lounger by the pool when the monsters appear. When Mamoru rushes off to transform, so too does Zoisite, though there's only a swirl of sakura petals that precedes his reappearance i his Shitennou uniform.

He holds off on attacking given the water monsters have people in them, though he sees Tuxedo Kamen working to rescue one. He looks across the way to where people have begun to flee, and steps back from the pool to scan the crowd, looking for who -- or what -- might have instigated this attack.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Somewhere along the way, Makoto changed into her swimsuit - a sporty two-piece in lime green and black which didn't do a lot to offset the '90s vibe that Usagi and Mamoru have been rocking - the better to join in a rowdy bout of volleyball and maybe some swimming before hitting the buffet. By the time the inevitable finally gets around to happening, she'd let her guard down enough to stretch out on a deck chair by the poolside and soak up some sun.

What she gets instead is water monsters.

"This is why you're not supposed to tempt fate!" she complains out loud to no one in particular as she follows the example of her teammates, leaping up off the deck chair and snatching up her tote bag before she bolts for the nearest halfway decent cover.

"Jupiter Power, Make Up!"

As Sailor Jupiter strides into the pool area, she gives the water monsters and their hostages a singularly unimpressed look. "That is very unfair," she comments. How is she supposed to use lightning when there are innocent bystanders immersed in water?

And... probably really in need of air by this point.

No time for dithering about - Jupiter charges the nearest of the three water creatures fist-first, with some idea of punching clean through it to the unfortunate swimmer trapped in its mass.

Beryl has posed:
With the bathroom faucets frozen, Thetis can't get water monsters out through the sinks anymore! (Well, she can if she wants, ice is still water, but, all the targets are right here so she won't bother.) That's one part of the good news. The other good news is that Sailor Jupiter punches a civilian clean out of the water monster, leaving one civilian free (if flopping like a fish from the shock and lack of oxygen for a bit there) and one water monster decidedly open to attack.

Tuxedo Kamen had also decided rescue was the better part of valor, and it's a good thing, too - the civilian inside the second water monster dives for the cane and with Tuxedo Kamen's help, is able to pull themselves free.

"The water," the civilian says, eyes bugged out, "The water isn't supposed to attack us!"

Very true, random civilian, but, bad news:

The water is very much attacking.

As Jadeite comes running up the stairs, an enormous watery arm goes flying right at him, aiming to swallow him up!

Meanwhile, a fourth water monster climbs up, moving straight for Naru and Hinoiri.

Thetis is standing in the back, not entirely out of view, but mostly so, directing the combat. The ship itself is gradually drifting off course, moving closer to the whirlpool Thetis is crafting.

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite throws his hands up with a surge of power - it's not an attack, per se, but he does freeze the water before him as he runs into it, shoving it up up UP so that the attacking hand surges OVER his head and he can dive under the ice tunnel he's created - It's quick and dirty but it works, and that's what matters!

He slams into the railings of the ship when he makes it up the stairs; he hisses as his eyes zip from the horison to the whirlpool budding nearby, the whirlpool that's tugging on their ship -

Tamaki bolts to the pool, the last place he saw his prince, and throws up a wall of ice to at least slow the water monster heading for Naru and Hinoiri if not stop it altogether. Damn, damn, damn -

"We're heading towards a whirlpool! It's likely," and the name drops from the void in his mind to his lips, for his prince, "Thetis again!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"It's breaking the rules, I know, we'll give it detention," Tuxedo Kamen reassures the civilian, then gives them a quick push in the direction of 'away from the freaking pool come ON run AWAY' and turns back to look at the remaining swallowed-up civilians. Good news, there's only one left, because Sailor Jupiter is on the scene!

Bad news, some of the water's going for Jadeite and some more is going for Naru and Hinoiri.

Mamoru hisses through his teeth and flings his cane-holding arm out toward the last of the civilians, who's undoubtedly running out of air at this point, and he looks quick when he hears Jadeite. His other hand, the one that's been glowing next to his chest, gets flung out with a forceful

"Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber!"

in the direction of the arm going after Jadeite. "Great!" he yells. "Fantastic. I wanted to apologize to her anyway! I was a complete dick to her last week for literally no reason! Let me know when you find her!"

A beat. "Try not to find her alone!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"

A wash of light and color from a distant corner, and then Sailor Moon comes running around the edge, pointing one finger at the cape-and-rose-wielding Hinoiri -

"Not a word!"

- as she runs on by. A hand goes up to her forehead, tapping at her tiara as she strikes a pose.

"Awful monsters that destroy the dreams of happy teenagers, don't you know the importance of a day vacation?! We who fight evil threats all the time were just looking to enjoy a peaceful day!"

And just to prove she's not all talk, no action, she grabs that tiara and launches it at the nearest water monster!

"Moon Tiara Action!"

A beat, as the water monster nearest to Mamoru is literally cut off at the knees -

"We're heading towards a WHAT?!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"Fate can bite my cutie mark!" Hinoiri yelled after the other girl, not moving... until a cape and rose was thrown on her. "What?" she asked. She then blinked a few times. Staring at them. Both of them. "Uhhhh..." seriously. She was Non. Magic. Worse, she was a target. She really shouldn't get involved. The safest thing, the smartest thing she could do right now is sit here and let them deal with it. Did he really think giving her a magic flower she could... stab something with... would change her mind? She'd have to have a far higher desire for vengeance and almost no survival instinct. It'd be reckless, dangerous and frankly a stupid decision.

So of course by the time Naru kicked the chair Hinoiri was up on her feet, clutching the rose with all the intent of stabbing some duskjerk. "Right, let's go find whichever member of incompetent's anonymous got stuck on boat duty today. Maybe we'll get lucky and they're sea sick." Pause. "... I originally was joking, but honestly? I could see that happening. Obsidian... isn't the tightest run..." Pause. "Ship. Ugh. I wonder how different it is stabbing someone with a rose compared to stabbing them with a horn. Kind of reminds me of my third gala at that point..." Pause. "Slightly less screaming, though."

Aaaand then there was a water monster and she blinked again. "Ahhhhh. And now there's elemental summoning 101... we should run so we don't die."

She took Naru's hand and RAN because she knew the girl and the girl had even less common sense than she did and that was a PAINFULLY microscopic amount. "Fine, if we're helping, first we need to try and find out what's going on here. It's Obsidian, because it's always Obsidian. Unfortunately water doesn't narrow it down much. There's probably a youma somewhere directing all of this and--" And then Jadeite just yelled who it is. Thetis.

... Thetis.

...... Had they ever met?

"I don't know if she's-- OH THAT BITCH!" Right. She remembered her. SAW HER IN THE OFFICE WHEN HINOIRI WAS PUT ON ICE! And for a moment, she froze up, entirely. Her eyes locking onto the wall of ice made by Jadeite... She shook her head, clutching the rose so tight the it dug into her hand and made just a little drop of blood go down her hand... Did that mean... Beryl was... here...? She'd completely frozen, looking to Naru... then shook her head. And just *tossed* the cape onto Naru's face?! and let her hand go. Before quickly running off. Why? Because, well... she... wasn't a part of Obsidian anymore. And the last thing she'd done? Was break something of Beryl's. If someone of Beryl's was here, even if she wasn't a target, she was certain she'd become one if she stuck around... And she, admittedly, didn't want Naru, the other helpless person here, getting in the middle of payback.

Besides, she had a rose and she kind of knew how to use it. And no, she wasn't making poor choices or anything because she was panicking a little because she was non-magical on a magically attacked ship surrounded by water headed to a whirlpool. Why would you possibly think that?

Naru Osaka has posed:
There are Reasons why Naru spends time at the gym. She doens't have a cane this time, and no one is around to provide her with a sword, but she can improvise.

Except that in the process of trying to decide on a weapon.. Hinoiri has grabbed her hand and she's running. Running away! "Wait.. but we can hit it.." Naru is trying to protest as she races along with Hinoiri. "Of COURSE we're helping! Duh."

Naru grabs at the cape as Hinoiri throws it at her. "Wait.. now what are you running from!?" She hurrying to follow after Hinoiri.

No, not a lot of common sense.

Makoto Kino has posed:
More water monsters. Great. Some part of Sailor Jupiter's consciousness clocks Jadeite's warning, but mostly files it under Things Beyond Her Power To Solve At The Moment. They'll figure it out when the pool isn't escaping its normal confines to try to drown people.

Probably.

The good news is that most of the homicidal water blobs don't have actual people in them any more. Which means Sailor Jupiter is free to go ham. "Oh no you don't!" she bellows at the one that started after Naru and Hinoiri (before Hinoiri started trying to play bait.

This time when she charges, both her fists are crackling with electricity.

Beryl has posed:
The water hand that went after Jadeite freezes, then explodes as a the jacket beam strikes with the fierce power of the Earth itself. At the same time, the rest of the water creature goes sliding down, cut off literally at the ankles. It falls with an enormous SPLASH that soaks Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen alike, before beginning to reform itself into an even larger enemy for the literal Moon and Earth couple to attack.

Meanwhile, the one that went after Hinoiri and Naru growls as it's watery arm misses the point, reeling watery limbs back in to try and strike again -

ONLY TO TAKE AN ELECTRIFIED FIST TO THE BODY!

Water screams in a tortured hiss as it's boils and fries apart, bursting apart in an explosive POP that leaves Jupiter soaking but triumphant. Looks like water works!

The other water monsters turn as though drawn to the carnage, swelling in size as well until there are three ten foot tall water monsters trying to crowd in on Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, and Jadeite.

Meanwhile, Thetis is of course the one giving orders, watching the attack and the developing whirlpool through a watery orb that she's quick to hide behind her back when she sees an obnoxious-looking girl with red and gold hair go running by...

Is that the girl her queen froze in ice?

Eh, ignoring her and the cape-shrouded girl running after her probably won't be a problem. What's some powerless loser going to do?

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Okay. That's Big. Okay. That's multiple Bigs. Mamoru twirls his cane into vanishing, and he grabs Sailor Moon's hand with one hand. "A whirlpool," he repeats to her, "which we probably can't blow up, but we can sure blow up the pool water and maybe all the dark energy. Jupiter! Jadeite! Jupiter, you need a hand free, right? At least? You go on the end, I can get you through Tamachan--" He holds a hand out in front of the two of them, gesturing. "Can you escalate one-handed?" he asks Usagi, and then both of his hands are glowing, and he starts to charge up everyone else who's linked up hands.

Jadeite has posed:
Jadeite grabs Endymion's hand, then puts his other hand on Jupiter's back, forming a circuit between the four of them. Instead of casting, he lets his prince dip into his own enormous pool of magic - to let it be funneled to Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter, as they need to make these giant water beasts SUPER DEAD.

"Give them hell, ladies!" he yells, the water spray from the creatures freezing on his face.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara raced down the ship. Okay. She managed to ditch Naru, at least. So the other girl wouldn't be in danger. And she had a rose. A weapon. There was a lot of damage she could do with a weapon that could do things. She was Hinoiri Kirara, one of the most damaged peo-- damagING people around!

She ran by the captain, ignoring her. After all, the ship had lifeboats. So she probably wasn't...

"Wait, Naru?" Hinoiri asked before face palming. "I ran so you wouldn't be in danger, are you... wait, why did I think that would work? Ship could be on fire and you'd probably keep following someone. Ugh. How do you DEAL with this?"

She shook her head and then glanced to the captain... Huh. She looked a little familiar. But she didn't have any magical thing and nothing was being hidden behind her back, surely, so Hinoiri focused back on Naru.

"Listen, it's Thetis. I don't know a lot about her, but she's one of Beryls. Which means either she's very pissed and will try to murder me in a terrible way, in which case you shouldn't be here and should be as far from me as possible. Or she has no idea who I am because she sees me as meaningless. Obsidian is filled with people who are high on their own egos, though, so I'm hoping the latter but I don't want you getting hurt in the former."

"Enough of these people have been targetting me as it is. Phantom tried to mirror me, for Sora's sake. So just, keep the cape close, help who you can, and I'm going to go see if I can find her and like... I don't know." Pause. Then... "Hey, captain?" she called out. "Is there like... a central command room? Somewhere you could go to see everything on the deck and from the cameras?" she called out.

As she said, everyone at Obsidian was too high on their own importance to remember tiny things like the general's of the other factions...

... Well, to be fair, she hadn't actually seen Thetis's face yet, up close.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Of course I can do it with one hand," Sailor Moon grins, "But I should probably wait for the youma to show up, or the dark general, or whatever, right? These things... doesn't seem like there's much to purify, right?"

So instead of using her attack, she ALSO redirects the supercharge Mamoru is offering - putting a hand on Sailor Jupiter's shoulder and offering up her power along with his, along with Jadeite's, a three-layer deep energy charge that's more than enough to help Sailor Jupiter light these enemies up like the fireworks on New Year's.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru isn't about to let Hinoiri go off /alone/. Safety in numbers and safety is certaintly.. at least in the top five. Maybe. Okay perhaps top ten.

"Hinoiri!" Naru hisses quietly as she looks at the crew member who is ordering things around. She gives the other girl an elbow and nods towards Thetis. "Hinoiri.. throw the rose." She is /trying/ not to make it super obvious, but she totally recognizes Thaia.

Sure everyone else is dealing with the actual water challenges, and probalby will be dealing with the whirlpool, but Naru is totally reaching for the rose while Hinoiri is .. wait.. Hinoiri is CHATTING with her?

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Right--!" Sailor Jupiter begins to call out in answer to Tuxedo Mask. Before she can get as far as a complete sentence, though, Jadeite settles the matter with a hand against her back - leaving both her hands free. Jupiter grins, sharp and fierce, over her shoulder at him for a moment. "Thanks, Jade-kun."

When Sailor Moon places her hand on Jupiter's shoulder, though--

It's like the closing of a circuit, one Sailor Jupiter hadn't even realized could exist on this kind of level. Power floods into her, tripled onto itself, warm gold and icy brisk and moon-bright.

Almost between one breath and the next, it seems like, the sky boils dark with thunderclouds. A warning rumble of thunder growls.

"...everyone who can might wanna stand back." Jupiter's voice sounds slightly strangled.

She reaches a hand upward toward the blackening sky. Sailor Moon and Jadeite, and Tuxedo Kamen beside Jadeite holding his knight's hand, can all feel against the skin the way the charge builds in the air around her, dry and tingling.

"My guardian star, Jupiter... Light up the sky! Shake the earth! Unleash the storm!"

Thunder cracks, forks of lightning crawling through the storm clouds and lighting them from within in shades of blue and silver and gold and green.

"SUBLIME THUNDER!!"

There is a deafening kr-THOOM. The sky breaks open, and pours down the wrath of heaven and earth onto the S.S. Demeter's swimming pool and the three towering water monsters.

Beryl has posed:
Thetis is momentarily distracted, by the sound of footsteps. By the entry of someone into her sanctuary, where she's monitoring the situation, where she's enacting chaos, where she's bullying and creating problems for the Senshi and Shitennou and Caped Crusader Sans Cape as she prepares to ransom Mamoru Chiba in exchange for the lives of everyone on this ship.

What kind of idiot runs for the captain during an emergency?!

So when she turns and sees that it is that idiotic Hinoiri girl, and worse, one of the civilians from her laser tag game?

Her eye twitches. Her face drops. She snarls, lip curling back in anger -

"Are you blind as well as idiotic?! I was going to leave you alone, now that the entire world knows that you're nothing more than a pathetic loser, but if you're determined to be a problem -"

That's when the kr~THOOM echoes.

That's when the sky breaks open and the glass in the captain's quarters - the glass across the entire ship - the impact-proof glass in every window and porthole on the ship - shatters.

For a single instant, the entire world is light, the devastating after-effect of a lightning strike so massive it whites out the sky.

The monsters are gone - vaporized in an instant. The pool itself is both empty and devastated, the concrete cracked and warped by the intense heat and force of the lightning bolt. The ship itself rocked under that force, and the power seems to have gone out, leaving it drifting aimlessly without power.

Thetis turns to the now-glassless windows, her human guise disappearing as she looks down at where the pool had been and beyond, to where the whirlpool waits.

The whirlpool looks back at her, with invisible eyes made of her own power, and untwists in an instant. The waterway is smooth and clear and calm again.

Absolutely not.

Absolutely not.

It was one thing to take a punch. It was one thing to risk getting stabbed or beaten to death, as her youmas have been.

Thetis, being a water-controlling youma, is something like 90% water. There is no force on this Earth, save for the direct command of her queen, that is going to have her stay here and face the wrath of the skies themselves. And what do you know? Her queen is not here to give a direct command for her to do that!

"I," she says, and stops. "You know? Let's call it even."

Surely, they will be willing to call it even.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara focused back on Naru. "Huh? I don't--"

And then. Then the heavens themselves opened and gave her a clear and concise reminder why, sometimes, not using dark energy was pretty nice. For example. That rod-of-god in the shape of divine thunder destruction? NOT aimed at her. In fact. It was aimed at the people who likely wanted her dead.

As the glass shattered, she covered her face and... and after everything... stopped. And it was oddly, ominously, terrifyingly peaceful? And she was clutching the wall to stop from falling over and her head ringing a little bit?

Hinoiri... gulped. And slowly inched forward, looking out the window. Towards the sparkles. She opened her mouth, looked to Thetis. Looked to Naru. Slowly, she nodded. "Uhhhhh... Thetis? I think that was the warning shot... I think this is one of those situations where you're going to want to make very, very sure everybody on the ship gets back to land safely. Cause I don't think they do second warning shots if you ignore the first."

She then looked down at the rose. She wanted to throw it at Thetis. Really. She did.

But you know what? When ZEUS throws a lightning bolt down on your ship? Your day was probably bad enough. And frankly, she was still a little shell shocked from all of that. A rose just didn't feel like enough right now, you know? She'd have to be the most petty--

Wait, no, the bitch called her a pathetic loser. She threw the rose at her back. Buck her problems, she could have one more.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There is nowhere that isn't in the splash zone of Sublime Thunder. Naru is rocked, as is everything else as the ship shatering KA BOOM rings out and there's a moment where she just has to blink. A few times.

"Tux says he's sorry for being a jerk to you last week." Naru informs Thetis. As if that's one thing off the daily to do list. CHECK!

And then Hinoiri threw the rose at Thetis, and Naru doesn't get to stab her with it. Ah well, at least she got to deliver the message from Tux?

"I /wanted/ a game of laser tag." Naru points out as she steps closer. "And you screwed that up." She points out almost calmly. "And I wanted a lovely day on a ship with my friends." Another step closer. "And you ruined THAT." She looks up at Thetis and hauls her fist back and just punches her.

It's a punch from a barely powered mundane. It probably doesn't even hurt Thetis' pride. But very very briefly, Naru feels a little better.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon blinks away the afterimages of the lightning, stars in her eyes.

"Makochan," she breathes, looking up at the sky - which is pitch dark with storm clouds - save for a perfect circle of clear blue sky, the sun shining brightly through that sole gap, where lightning punched through from the heavens themselves. "You are awesome."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tuxedo Kamen lets go, laughing incredulously, still seeing spots despite having had his eyes shut tight-- and he hugs Jupiter, and he hugs Jadeite, and then he swinghugs Moon, and he's still laughing as he says breathlessly, "That was incredible! Let's find everyone else! And probably electrocute the whirlpool too-- could we do that again? We'll have to try!"

Okay he doesn't just swinghug Usagi, he also leans down and kisses, and only then does he start running off to find his cape and also whoever's holding it and also Zoisite and Mars--

Jadeite has posed:
Holy - yeah, that's the only word for it, the way that Mako's thunder strikes and purifies the sky and seas. Even when he blinks, he's seeing white.

And then Endymion is hugging him, and he's hugging Usagi and they're all hugging Mako and they still have to go save the people in the cafeteria and find Thetis but -

Damn, sometimes they get a WIN.

"Incredible job. Let's do that to Thetis," he tells Mako, sparkles in his eyes - time to go looking for the youma for a beatdown!!

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I think..."

Sailor Jupiter is more than a little breathless, not entirely steady on her feet. That was a lot of power to channel, even for someone who's used to calling down lightning bolts. She lifts her head, looking out away from what's left of the pool area toward the open ocean.

"I think the whirlpool gave up." Breathless, and laughing with the adrenaline rush.

Beryl has posed:
Thetis is leaving. She's letting the mahou win. Hinoiri's speech about warning shots isn't even necessary, because she's going to let them go, she's not going to keep fighting at all -

And then she's stabbed in the back.

Literally, rather than metaphorically, the stem of the rose sinking deep into her back, penetrating her core, and if she were a human, it would probably make a mess of her internal organs or bones, but she's not a human, she's a youma.

The roses break magic. The rose is almost enough to break Thetis.

From Endymion, a rose from his hand, from his planet, would be enough.

From Hinoiri?

It tears a scream from her, agonized pain, but also fury, and she barely hears the 'Tux says he's sorry' -

(Though. Later? Later that will be a problem. Because it was Endymion who said that thing, last week, and yet it's Tux who is apologizing, when she didn't even encounter Tux at lasertag.)

- because she is in a world of hurt.

Naru punching her in the face barely registers, compared to the last punch she received, and yet it stings, yet it aches, yet she's fucking furious, and she slides into her youma form, blue-skinned, red-eyed, mouthless and terrible and Hinoiri is rounded on with arms that are suddenly made of liquid and stronger than a rushing river, as she is snatched up by Thetis' arms now made of sea water themselves, and hurled out the captain's cabin.

From the broken windows.

She's getting thrown right for the empty concrete pool. Well, that's going to hurt, if no one catches her, but at least she'll probably land on her side, or her back, or her leg. Her roll was mid, so she can't land on her head.

That said? Someone might want to catch her.

As for Naru? Thetis whirls on Naru next, furious, and -

Unexpectedly, takes a deep breath. Reaches back. Yanks the rose out of her own back.

It's dripping with green blood.

"I should kill you," she tells Naru, casually, calmly, "You're an idiot. A fool. A completely worthless human, incapable of even making me stumble. But despite all of that, you decided to punch me in the face, and I've decided to respect that, because you are pathetic, weak, and worthless, but you're still an improvement over whatever the hell Hinoiri Kirara is supposed to be."

And then she duskports out. Drive your own cruise ship.

Jadeite has posed:
Tamaki's already moving, running, and as motion blurs up above, a lifetime of bodyguard instinct surges through his body. He uses what magic is left in his body to build ice and JUMP, catching her princess style as an ice slide forms under him, allowing them both to slide to safety. ABOVE all that broken glass, thank you very much.

"You know, for someone who doesn't have any magic, it sounds like you put a dent in Thetis," Jadeite says with an impish grin. "Well played. Anything the others should know while they're heading to the party?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara wasn't really sorry. Okay, was a little sorry. She'd felt that before. Sure, it had gone through her HUMAN HAND, but that? That sucked. And she remembered trying to help La Crima when it happened so... you know what? She felt a tiny bit bad. but Naru's punch? She had to give props for that. That was a heckuva punch.

But she was so sick and tired of being treated like-- This, actually.

She urked, reaching for that hand, not even having a chance to scream... Buck it, if she was going to die anyway, she was going to do EVERYTHING she regretted. She flipped Thetis off... but it was likely unnoticed because in her panic, flaily state, she used the wrong finger.

She shrieked as she flew through the air, tucking her head in as best she could and oh crud she was going to die, she was going to--

Aaaaaand she was caught. She blinked, looking up at him and... "Wait, no, don't worry about me, I mean, worry about me but NARU is still in the room with the crazy hydromancer and she just decked her!" she yelled, pointing towards the window.

"But yes, getting a little payback felt nice but someone rescue Naru so I can revel in it."

... Still. Since being caught, she'd kind of scrunched up, arms and knees to chest and listen, when she's panicked she kind of reverts to pony positions, it's instinct. But you know what else?

"... And, uhhh. Sorry. For ummm. Attacking you. And all. And stealing your power. And the other multitude of other things I did. Thanks for not letting me die." Pause. "Oh, and Naru has Tuxedo Mask's cape." Hopefully that would hold. She had been too busy expecting death to notice if Naru was okay or not.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Yanking the rose of her back is a power move by Thetis and Naru has a moment where she's perhaps rethinking her choices right here.

Naw.. totally worth it.

It's hardly the first Obsidian member that has looked Naru square in the eyes and told her that they were going to kill her. Granted, they're now down in an ex-pool ensuring that Hinoiri doesn't have an unfortunate experience with landing. Naru gets to hear, yet again, all of the whys that she is wholly and entirely inadequate, and she holds her position. She doesn't even flinch, her hand flexing in a fist, as if she's possibly considering adding a second punch to the first. Even if it didn't do much at all.

And then Thetis is gone. After a .. compliment? Ish? Negging taking to the extreme.

Naru slumps a few moments after, falling to her knees as some of the fight goes out of her. She'll consider the whole 'who is driving this' part in a moment. Just a sec.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a shriek tearing through the air, and Sailor Moon looks up in horror to see Hinoiri falling out of the sky towards them and she's not sure if she can catch her, not when she's clumsy and there's concrete if she misses' -

But Jadeite's not worried. He's there, in an instant, catching her princess style, and it's okay, and that's good, okay, one problem down -
"NARU-CHAN'S WITH HER?!"

Good thing Senshi can jump so high, because with a few steps forward for momentum, she's jumping through the broken windows, to where Hinoiri was thrown, yelling out,

"NARU-CHAAAAAAAAAAN -"

Except, there's nothing and no one up there, except Naru. She's alone. She's not bleeding or drowning or hurt!

She's on her knees, and Usagi is on her knees in a second after her, henshin breaking apart as she throws her arms around her best friend.

"Naru-chan, are you okay, did she hurt you, oh my god, she threw Hinoiri out the window and I thought she was going to throw you next and -"

Eh, they'll figure out the whole driving thing. It's fine.

Beryl has posed:
From the rear of the ship, there's the sound of sirens, and then a voice over a megaphone calls, "This is the Coast Guard, coming in for assistance. We received multiple distress calls from this ship, and, uh," there's a moment of uncertainty before the voice returns, "And something about an Act of God sized lightning bolt? We're coming aboard!"

Well, hey, all is well that ends well, right?