2843/Dead End For You

Dead End For You
Date of Scene:	21 November 2025
Location:	Beach
Synopsis:	Tomoe LifeSciences has been whittled down, but not to nothing (yet). Dr. Tomoe and Viluy of the Witches 5/4/3/2/1 have staged Yumegahama Beach for Pharaoh 90s return - and with a small army of youma between them and Radiant Heart, it's only a fraction of heroes able to confront them!
Cast of Characters:	280, Hotaru Tomoe, Laura La Mer, Chibiusa Tsukino, Amanda Faust, Rashmi Terios, Molly Skyline, Mamoru Chiba, Haruka Tenoh, Usagi Tsukino

---

Death Buster Viluy (280) has posed:
It's a Thursday evening when what's left of Tomoe LifeSciences decides to commit to their exercise in bringing about the end of the world as humanity knows it. They've erected the portal technology at the boardwalk on Yumegahama beach, having cleared the space by force not quite an hour ago. The bodies of drained and unconscious civilians litter the beach. It's just the two of them left to represent the once illustrious department - just Dr. Tomoe and Viluy, with the Not-So-Good Doctor keeping observations on the energy readings as Viluy fires up the machine.

The sky was already dark with evening gloom, but the bright lights of the boardwalk and the few glittering stars seen through the city's light pollution dim. Even the moon's glow us dull. Dark Energy floods the area, impossible to hide.

They're not trying to hide. From Yumegahama to Radiant Heart's very gates are youma, filling the area and forcing a decision on the heroes of the city: to abandon the civilians in front of them in favor of heading straight for the real threat, or to save the civilians before their eyes and ignore the undeniable threat of something worse in the distance.

"Five minutes doctor, and the connection will be complete. Our leader Pharaoh 90 will finally emerge and our great work will be completed."

And she, Viluy, would be rewarded for her work, for her competence, her invaluable contributions. She alone had survived until now, where even Pharaoh 90's commander, Mistress 9, had fallen. Between the two of them... between she and Dr. Tomoe, she was sure Pharaoh 90 would value the support of one who overcame all odds to fulfill their mission over the supervisor who lost all but one of his provided staff.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Said supervisor, as it was, was taking readings and making measurements to ensure everything was going smoothly. Standing before the control panel, his managed to remain in the shade due to one very important factor...

It had an overhang. Don't ask why. Dr. Tomoe nodded, tapping away. "Perfect. Soon, everything will be in order. They say, in life, good things come to those who wait. And I believe our waiting is about to come to an end. Tea?" he asked. Besides him, a bunson burner was, well, boiling water... An unholy scream filled the air as another daimon egg flew away, creating yet another youma to assault the city and impede the would be heroes coming their way. "It is so nice to have some good, quality workers in the department for once," he said, more than happy to puff her ego up a bit.

Soon, Pharaoh 90 would arrive and all would be as it needed to be. There was really only one thing that was yet a threat to them... and well... thanks to the late Seriss Nyx, even she should no longer be an issue.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura was out at sea that day. From needing a break from the hustle and bustle of the city to having heard that some angelic weirdo was moving around the other day like he owned the place, she had many reasons to be away. Imagine her annoyance when she comes close to the beach and finds out what Dottor Tomoe and Viluy have done to it.

Taking up speed, she kicks up water with enough strength to propel herself in the air several meters, and draws out her Mermaid Aqua Pact right there.

"Pretty Cure! Tropical Change!", she announces, surrounded by a pink sphere. Taking off the Heart Swirl Ring and inserting sideways into the keyhole of the Mermaid Aqua Pact, she twists it upright. The Pact's seashell cover splits in half, revealing a purple base with white stars and blue waves on the left side and white hearts on the right side, surrounding a blue circle with a motif of crystals all around a white sphere.

Blue and pink energy washes over her, enriching her appearance with make-up and her clothes as Cure La Mer. Using the momentum from the leap, she comes crashing down where Viluy and Dr. Tomoe's youma have gathered, announcing herself "The Shimmering Ocean! Cure La Mer!"

Talk about over the top.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe hadn't expected trouble today. Because of course she hadn't, why would she expect trouble? Who'd go around causing trouble today? Only monsters. And what kind of monsters causes trouble in the middle of the week?

Tomoe Lifesciences, we destroy because we're jerkfaces.

"Gahhhh," Hotaru said, glancing up when she'd felt the dark energy emitting from... well, she wasn't entirely sure where from. But she could tell it was coming from somewhere. Another threat. Because of course there was another threat. There was *always* another threat. But Haruka, Michiru and she had intended to go get treats after she got a really good score on her math test! Despite all her missed school, her grades were getting pretty good now...

Except now there was something... very, very bad coming. Something *terrible*. And Hotaru froze. She coughed a little, a hand moving to her mouth, covering it as she shook her head, trying to shake that strange sensation she'd been having the last few weeks. She was fine. She was sure she was fine.

And there was no time to waste. Because there were youma about!

One quick henshin later...

"Silence Glaive Surprise!"

One of the youma on the beach were on the receiving end of a discus of death from the angry senshi of death and rebirth... As she stood on the rooftop, staring down at Tomoe, unmoving, glaive raised. Fierce. Determined. Struggling not to sqwee at seeing Cure La Mer. It was the mermaid! No, serious time was now!

"And so the prodigal daughter returns," Dr. Tomoe said, not looking up from his work.

That, however, was NOT something that made her want to squeal or be excited in the slightest...

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Lana Miata, who once tried to work for the department, transferred away a while back when she saw which way the wind was blowing. Someone who is so terrified of losing her own life cannot possibly ignore such obvious death signs. She has no reason to be here.

    Chibiusa, on the other hand, has very much decided that here is where she needs to be. Of course she would help out civilians where she could, either via Luna-P's tricks or Pink Sugar Heart Attack, but one after another she'd run across another mahoujin telling her something along the lines of, "Go! I'll take it from here."

    Thus it is that she now approaches the boardwalk, running up to it even as La Mer and Saturn are already taking action. The way Dr. Tomoe addresses Hotaru makes her stomach turn a little bit.

    "Hey, you dummies! Did you really think you could build a portal in broad daylight and get away with it? Don't assume we're gonna stop just because you threw monsters everywhere!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Youma everywhere. More than they can fight... but people are in danger.

    Amy has a mostly-unused grief seed on hand, but still... if it was a half-dozen, maybe even a dozen youma, that'd be one thing. She'd spend through her magic and be little help in stopping Pharaoh 90, but she's sure she could do it.

    A dozen miles of youma, though...?

    At least close to the school there's an obvious answer.

    "HEY!" Streams of gyrojet fire rain into youma menacing civilians. "Run to the school! It's safe there!" Amy calls, to people close enough to do that... But if she doesn't kill the youma, she can't send anyone further away through them.

    It's an impossible choice. It's unfair to the humans being used as a distraction.

    And she vowed never to think that way again... but, her heart isn't crying out to save them now so they can die later, it's crying out to stop all of it... and she can only see how one option has a future, if she has to pick.

    She gets what youma to chase her she can, hailing rocket-bullets and leaving fire and disorienting flashbangs in her wake, but when it gets too hot, or the youma get wise, it's time to move -- the rocket she's prepared swoops down out of the sky and carries her towards the beach as she looks down at the chaos below...

    She's on her way. Whoever did this will answer for it, damn it!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi was still flying high on completing Starcrash's rebuild, and delivering him to her Master, when *all of the youma* happened.

Which is an *excellent* way to ruin a day.

And there are just *so many youma,* too, enough that it's actually a difficult choice; join the fight and clear the streets, or go after the source?

In the end, she chooses to assault the source, though she hurls the odd Boost to those mahou fighting the youma on the way. As she banks around a building, she unleashes a quick Solar Barrage to strafe the youma closer to the epicenter of the crisis.

    << *BONG!* >> << TELEPATHY >>

<< How're we doing tonight? >> Rashmi calls over the telepathic comms net.

Molly Skyline has posed:
In an apartment in one of Tokyo's buildings, in her bedroom, staring at her own reflection in a mirror, stands a purple-haired girl who just got home from school. She's been doing a lot of school lately; even on Sundays, she's been going to school, to get some extra studytime in with either teachers who are donating time, or fellow students doing the same. Someone doesn't want to get left behind by a whole year by her friends.

There's just one problem; it's exhausting. Even with her Moms giving her rides instead of allowing her to use the metro system. Which, to be clear, until further notice is not allowed.

But no amount of study is changing the other thing Seriss took from her, aside from time. Time she can recover, she's still young. But...

<< DARK ENERGY DETECTED >>

"Yeah, I... felt that too." Molly looks over at her desk, where Starcrash is resting, recently dropped off by Rashmi following an extensive repair and rework. And... she's not ready. She knows it full well. But this is something big, going on. "Location?"

<< YUMEGAHAMA BEACH >>

Ice stabs Molly through the heart and she sits down on the side of her bed. Umegahama Beach. That... that was where...

That was where it happened, ten months ago. Already she can feel her hands shaking. No, wait; just... just the one, now, which she looks down at, watching her muscles betray what's churning about in her mind.

<< MASTER. WE ARE READY FOR ACTIVE DUTY >>

"I... Yeah I know you are," Molly whispers. "But I, I don't, I'm not, I can't..." Molly trails off, and looks sideways back at the mirror, at her face with the tears streaming down her cheeks, and then back to the desk where Starcrash is resting. We. He said We are ready for active duty. Come on Molly, since when do you back down from a fight?

But that's what got you into this mess, isn't it?

Still. There is going to be a fight. And Rashmi will probably be there, and any other number of her friends, and... and she can't just sit here. Can she?

The earing is scooped up, and suspended from her earlobe. "Alright," she whispers. "Let's do this." A moment later and Molly is out the window, Starcrash clutched in her hand and casting Flier Fin as she plummets and then on her way. She'll be late to join the battle... but she'll join.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Some people rooftop jump. Other people step-teleport because there's less up-and-down, you know? Less chance for queasiness to become a major issue before the fight even starts. That's Tuxedo Mask, who's teleporting himself and Sailor Moon over multiple steps because it's like twelve miles of youma from the school to the beach.

"I hate leaving people behind," he murmurs to his wife as they come to a stop overlooking the screaming streets and the monsters mixed in with the people. AND THEIR DAUGHTER. "Oh..."

Mamoru squeezes Usagi's hand and jumps down to where Chibimoon is. He lands and if he has to shut his eyes to stabilize himself for a second no one will know, the shadow of his mask is a useful thing.

He takes out his cane and starts beating youma away when they get too close, and meanwhile, << Not doing great. But we have to stop this. We have to stop them, we saw that GIANT HAND, we have to stop this. >> Grim and tired and cranky and the fight's barely begun.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka sighed. This was just how their life was now - one minute they were planning to get treats for Hotaru to encourage her to push on, and the next? Youma storm. All over the city. Rapidly created Daimons enmasse, barely together but a threat through sheer numbers.

    A quick discussion, two henshins, and a peck on the cheek, and Michiru - Sailor Neptune - fell back to support the Mahoujin protecting the city, while Haruka - Sailor Uranus - followed Saturn's lead. Her heeled boots landed beside Saturn as she looked down and pointed at Tomoe.

    "It's impressive that you've gotten me to say this, but you're worse than a bad father, you're not even her father at all. Slinking around in that stolen body. And now this. I think it's time to put this to an end." she says, furious at Tomoe calling Hotaru his 'daughter', prodical or not.

    Sword of winds gleaming, Sailor Uranus begins literally cutting a path in Tomoe's direction through various trash youma.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The evening had been so much more pleasant before there was that creeping wave of darkness, that awful flood that made even the idea of good times feel sick and wrong. That's why Sailor Moon is out with Tuxedo Kamen, running with him and step-teleporting as he directs them along the path. There's not enough time between step-ports to throw an attack at the youma behind them, so the best she can do is hold her energy for the evil responsible for this.

<<Ready to punt whoever thought all this was okay. Since when they do even have this many youma?>>

It's not an idle complaint - the sight of miles worth of youma, attacking and harassing and filling the streets, is enough to curdle her stomach. They aren't wall to wall with youma, but there are hundreds of them, attacking in groups the way that she and her friends usually did, draining and attacking civilians -

<<I'm really, really hoping that stopping whoever's in charge will get rid of them!>>

Death Buster Viluy (280) has posed:
The youma in the city are a mix of hastily constructed and released Daimon - liable to fall apart but powerful - and the various purchasable trash mobs that are the hallmark of Inhuman Resources, but on steroids. Obsidian couldn't do this sort of thing every day, but if a Department Head chose to cash all of his department's stored energy reserves on a big youma order -

Here's the result:

Cure La Mer crushes a variety of youma with her overhead crash, destroying them - a number of civilians flee for their lives, babbling terrified thanks and praise for the girl. And yet, even as she destroys those youma, more swarm in, lashing out with clawed hands and throwing wriggling tendrils of flesh out to try and ensnare the young mermaid.

Along the path from Radiant Heart to Yumegahama Beach, civilians rush for safety as the monsters terrorizing them explode as Magical Rocket Girl Amy blasts them along the way. Those closest to Radiant Heart stumble towards the school in bewilderment, but as she gets closer to the action, there are fewer who know what school she's talking about, and they're more likely to just rush for any decent cover they can find.

Sailor Saturn arrives, the prodigal daughter indeed, and the youma she strikes explodes in energy and matter, and Viluy tsks - a shield of pale blue covers the portal station that she's working at, and her fingers fly over the keyboard settings, getting everything ready for the big moment.

"A beach is the perfect place to resume our work," she corrects Chibi Moon, "And there's something to be said about the psychological advantage of choosing your battle."

Or so she's read - and she's not wrong. Yumegahama Beach is where Molly died, ten months ago, and now it's covered again in the sort of creatures a group of Mahoujin plunged into the Dusk Zone itself to stop. History wants to repeat.

Viluy activates another machine, and a great thrum fills the air, as a pulse of dark energy resonates outward, into the sky. High above, clouds begin to swirl and spin.

There are still a good deal of youma Dr. Tomoe, Viluy, their machine, and the heroes gathered to stop them.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Dr. Tomoe sighs, shaking his head. "Ah. So it seems this farce is no longer needed. Yes, it's true. Dr. Tomoe was an adequate host for a while, though I hear his daughter would have made a far greater one... if not for the interference of others. A shame things had to turn out the way they did. Had you lot not continued to get in our way at every turn, many of you could have been allies in what's to come. We're always on the lookout for more hosts. As it is..."

He tapped on the console as well before looking towards Saturn. "Fortunately... there's no more need for you as a host. And as you were never truly my progeny... and it seems you've decided to just get in our way? I believe this is goodbye, daughter of my host. One final gift from the late Seriss Nyx."

And he then snapped his fingers.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Youma react fast, and the claws strike across her arms before she has the time to protect herself. The mermaid has to bite down on her tongue to hold in the shout that would have come out, and keeps her focus on the tentacles trying to ensnare her.

"Perfume Shiny Ring - Bubble Form!" she declares as she inserts her pen under the Aqua Pact and the ring above it, the cover splitting open again. Grasping it by the now attached pen, Cure La Mer shouts "Aqua Charge!" and rotates the disk, a vortex of bubbles entering her Aqua Pact.

The mermaid spins around, a trail of glowing pink energy following behind her. "Pretty Cure Ocean Bubble Shower!" she shouts, pointing the Mermaid Aqua Pact towards the swarm, and the magical item briefly glowing yellow. An uncontable torrent of bubbles comes out, flowing forward in rapid succession of pelting strikes.

If this gives her an opportunity to jump away from them, the oceanic Pretty Cure uses it to leap and Sailor Saturn's side, giving her childhood friend a smile.

"Dr. Tomoe, I think?", Laura stares at the man accompanying Viluy. She has never really seen him in person, but the creepy way he is addressing Hotaru with is telling enough. Because, no duh the man who did all that to her would start off like that.

"You know what she is really prodigal about? Living with joy and affection, that's what, and she certainly doesn't owe it to you!", Cure La Mer, says.

She gives a grin at the resolve Hotaru shows with the impact of her glaive's attack. That's the friend she knows and cherishes. It's so good to see her.

<< I am ready to kick this guy all the way to where Mistress 9 came from! >> she replies to Rashmi over the telepathic channel.

La Mer honestly gives a relieved laugh when she hears Dr. Tomoe say Hotaru won't be a host again. "Good, you can leave her alone then! We were going to make you anyway, but it's good we are on the same page here."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Saturn was looking angrier and angrier by the second, watching them talk about what was to come. So many youma, so many threats. Worse, using her daddy's body like some puppet. She looked at Viluy and... "VILEY! THE ONE WHO GLITTER BOMBED YOUR OFFICE?! IT WAS ME!" Saturn yelled. Of course it was her. There was no proof but who else would it have been? Who else would glitter bomb the witches 5/4/3/2/1's office?

She gave a nod to Cure La Mer. Her friend had it right. << So ready to kick his butt. For everything he did to me. All of it. At once. >>

Her hand tightened on the glaive as Viluy worked. And as the dark energy started to manifest, she took a step forward, lifting her glaive. And her 'father's' words only filled her with more fire and anger--

But the snap of his fingers? That made her pause. And there was a gagging, choking sound from her as she stumbled forward. "W-what?" she asked. She struggled to remain standing, driving her glaive into the ground, before coughing into her glove. "W-what did you... do to..." When the sleeve was pulled back, blood and black crystals were on it.

With a clatter, the senshi then collapsed, her glaive clattering to the side before it, and her henshin faded out...

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< ...Right there with you, Cure la Mer, >> Rashmi answers in a grimace, noddingher greeting to those of her friends forming up to end this madness properly. Yumegahama Beach *still* gives her the wiggins, and the sooner they dust these two, the sooner they can get back to--

*snap*

"Saturn-chan?!" Rashmi says, turning just in time to see the glove get pulled back.

"SATURN-CHAN! URANUS-KUN, HURRY!"

And it's happening again. The Witches One and their toad of an assistant are threatening to take yet *another* dear friend.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BARRAGE -- BLAZE SHIFT >>

One might think that a dozen fireballs a second aimed at Dr. Tomoe might be overreacting. And Rashmi is okay with that; people are allowed to be wrong.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus, ever the aggressor, is still making her way towards Fake Tomoe through the hordes of youma when he makes some sort of a threat to Hotaru and snaps his fingers. In that moment, Uranus' plan is simply to stab him and then whatever threat he was going to make was pointless - but she's too slow, and not because of speed, but because the attack had been made sometime before this.

    "Hotaru-chan!" comes Uranus' concerned, angry, and protective cry as whatever has taken effect on her does so.

    The way in which Sailor Saturn uses her sword to cut her way BACK through the youma to Hotaru is a totally different thing - it's more desperate, faster, and more effective in some ways.

    "FIRST I'M GOING TO SAVE HER AND THEN I'M GOING TO KILL YOU." the Senshi of Wind declares with all of her force as she gets to Hotaru and cradles her. "Hotaru-chan! Hotaru-chan! Stay with me!"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibimoon hears the familiar ping of telepathy and responds, << I'm so mad at them right now! >>

    The smollest Senshi is close enough to hear Dr. Tomoe's response to Hotaru, and she is not happy about it. How dare that thing speak in such a way! "As if we'd ever want to be hosts to something like you."

    Then the fingers snap, and Chibimoon has a moment of confused surprise as she wonders what is even going to happen. Her eyes go to Sailor Saturn and---

    Oh no.

    That does not look good.

    "Abracadabra Pon! Become a pillow!" she commands, taking Luna-P in her hands and throwing it at Hotaru. The intent is that the pillow forms underneath her, to soften the blow of collapsing. Chibimoon then stands between Dr. Tomoe and Hotaru with her arms outstretched. "Leave her alone! Haven't you done enough damage?"

    The darkness thrums around them, and Chibimoon does not have a good feeling about what's happening, but well... this is the life she coveted so much, isn't it? She wanted to fight, just like this.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Molly is on her way, but can't ignore the plight of civilians on her way in. Her Moms certainly raised her better than that. So her approach turns into a bit more of a dash from rooftop to rooftop, stopping periodically to take up a position, charge some beam attacks for precise strikes, and eliminate a Youma or three before she can continue. And, her hand is definitely shaking, but between the targeting information from her Bttle Visor and a little extra help in aiming from Starcrash -- not normally needed and it costs a little extra mana, but it's certainly appreciated today -- she manages to get the job done.

By the time she arrives at the battle, the new heat-dissipating circuitry on her new Barrier Jacket is already glowing softly, giving her a look reminiscent of the characters from Tron, as she lands and skids on her feet to a halt beside Rashmi.

"Hey," she greets, but that's about it; Rashmi is obviously much too busy for anything more -- as is everyone else -- so it's basically just time to get to work. "Starcrash, charge Stellar Pulse, uhm..." Don't overdo it on your very first ten seconds back in the fight after ten months, Molly. "Fifty Barrets?"

<< AFFIRMATIVE. ARMED >>

"And... f-fire!"

And so she does, unleashing a relatively small, by recent standards, barrage of searing hot barrets, directed into Dr Tomoe's evil little face.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Dr. Tomoe doesn't look like one of the world's worst men, but that's the trick with evil, Sailor Moon has learned - unlike in story's, you can't tell who has it on sight. Dr. Tomoe looks like a regular man, but the way he talks to Hotaru proves that he's just shell for a monster, and Sailor Moon has drawn her Spiral Heart Moon Rod before he snaps his fingers.

Chibiusa is here - her own future daughter, ready to fight, and it means that Sailor Moon can understand even less how this monster in Tomoe's skin could be this way, because all the ways that Chibiusa isn't hers don't matter compared to the ways she is.

She's sweeping forward, spinning the rod, pink hearts gathering all around, and as she slams the great heart forward, Dr. Tomoe snaps his fingers.

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

A pink heart the size of a flipped jeep crashes forward into the swarm, just as Sailor Saturn collpases into a heap of -

"Saturn!" It's a worried cry, but she doesn't have the power to help, and Sailor Moon turns furious eyes on Viluy and Tomoe.
"How could you?! How could you do any of this?! To rip a part a girl's family and destroy her life... I won't forgive you! We won't let you take anything else away from us!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Youma between Radiant Heart and Yumegahama beach have their rampages interrupted by a brief hail of rocket-bullets, or an explosive dropping out of the sky. Not enough to take a MOTW out of the fight, but maybe, if civilians are lucky, a chance to give the daimons' chosen prey a few more seconds to hide.

    Amanda can't do more than that right now. This all feels wrong and sickening, and she thinks it's not just the feel of the dark energy.

    Telepathy comes up.
How're we doing?
    << Not good. I'd need... maybe all the grief seeds I've ever seen to fight that many. >>

Since when do they even have this many?
    << They're planning to destroy the world, right? Maybe there's some cost to these, like... if we stop whatever they're doing, they won't be able to use any more of these youma. Or maybe they'll burn out really fast... The ones I've shot so far aren't going down easy, though. >>

Hopefully cutting them off at the source works.
    << Hopefully... >> Amanda's thought-voice echoes, grimly.

    Almost a couple minutes since she took to the air, Rocket Girl Red's coming in sight of the beach far below. Amy grabs the binoculars from her pouch, dismisses her visor, and looks through the binoculars shakily at the distant specks on the sand.

    A man in a labcoat she's never seen before by the machine. And there's the blue one of the witches that were hunting Hotaru, the one that gave her the grief seed.

    That doesn't excuse destroying the world. All Amy can grant her in return is the mercy of a quick death.

    She conjures a great big hulk of a fancy, shiny, shouldercannon sized for a wielder more than twice her height. It's braced by support struts to the rocket, which should be rolling over from uneven weight distribution, but magic.

    Amy can't hear herself shout over the noise:

    "TAKE THIS!"





    Two hundred tiny flechettes moving at a speed of 'yes' hail into Viluy's position -- on the bright side, they're spread out a bit from the distance, so there's no way they'll all hit her. On the less-bright side, they're spread out so it will be exceedingly difficult to dodge all of them, unless she's got a shield, but then that shield is taking the full brunt of the attack.

    Around a half-second later, the distant

                                    BOOM!                                    

        reaches the battlefield and echoes off the buildings below, and a few seconds later -- she had to slow waaaaaaay the hell down -- Amy leaps down to the beach surrounded by a hail of homing rocket-bullets that go for some of the youma, though not on the finisher level of the attack just thrown at Viluy.

    "You monsters! All those people..." Are there even words? What can she possibly say? "What'd you do to Saturn?!"

    Sunlight glints off her visor as if her eyes had glown brightly as she turns to look at Tomoe and Viluy.

    "...This ends here."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tuxedo Kamen's watching because he's not sure where he needs to be, and it's difficult fighting through the gunk in his head. But he sees Saturn go down and he runs-- daresay nearly as fast as Uranus-- and his gloves are gone and so is his cane, and he leaps over a knot of youma and scrambles past the jerks, and it's only seconds before his hand's on Saturn's arm, and he's looking at Uranus. "Fight them. Stop them. I'll see what's wrong with her and fix it, or get her home and come back, okay?"

Death Buster Viluy (280) has posed:
Cure La Mer is able to escape after the forceful pressure of her Bubble Shot blasts back the youma after her - which is good, given the words she has for Dr. Tomoe. Sailor Uranus has words for Tomoe, as well, words and action, and between that and Sailor Moon's Spiral Heart, a number of the daimon are cut to ribbons, though there are more creeping back to try and rejoin the fight.

Amy and Molly unleash similar attacks at once - an overwhelming barrage of attacks that strikes Viluy's shield of nano-power, and overwhelms it. There's a crack and then dozens of cracks, and then the shield shatters -

Outwards.

It shatters outwards, launching magic shards like glass shrapnel at Molly and Amy.

"You can't stop us now. You couldn't even detect what was wrong with her - the only worthwhile thing that upstart accomplished, and you all let it proceed without a care int he world." Viluy raises a second shield, thinner than the first, and sky above grows darker still, the moon covered by clouds, and within those clouds comes a groaning moan, like a drain pulled free, creating vacuum. Wind begins to rush high in the sky, slowly building force that they can only just barely feel down here on the ground. "Your time is over."

And she lashes out, empowering two of her daimon's to grow in size and strength, until they tower, ten feet of writhing mass, like brains given limbs and teeth, and lashing tendrils strike out at Rashmi and Sailor Moon.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
"You're more than welcome to have her, or what remains of her soon enough," Dr. Tomoe said with a chuckle. "I'm not sure if she'll serve as an adequate host anymore. Should it fail or succeed, well, it'll be too late either way," Dr. Tomoe said, before his glasses glinted. "And I am living with quite a bit of joy! I am quite joyous to know my master will soon be free to take over this world!"

As he turned towards them, one of his eyes seemed... strange, a star in the pupil, and a strange symbol in the glasses. His teeth having turned to fangs.

He held up a hand, and three of the youma suddenly got in the way, seeming to rise out from the sands around him, forming a youma shield around him to protect him from the flurry of barrets...

And it wasn't enough, as the youma were torn apart, a few struck him, knocking him back a few feet as he grunted, stumbling and a mist washing over him. "Ugh... a family? Oh, please. They were already dying when I came on the scene. A dead mother, a dying child and a man who had nothing left. He begged for a savior... and he was given it. But all saviors have a cost, little ones. She was given the greatest honor of all, allowed to host the second in command... instead, she fought every step of the way and nearly cost us everything."

"Everyone wants to borrow more time, but nobody wants to pay for it when the time comes due, such a shame, that," Dr. Tomoe said, shaking his head.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"What are you doing to her?", La Mer's voice drops when Hotaru starts collapsing, and her face pales at the blood and black crystals on her arm. How? She thought Hotaru had completely healed now. What do they have to do?

"You really want to be beaten into a pulp", La Mer remarks, kneeling next to Hotaru, gripping her make up pen while not losing sight of Dr. Tomoe, or the youmas. Well, if they take him out, he won't be able to do anything to Hotaru, ever again. But what's in her body still?

Laura's mind flashes back to the harrowing sensations of Hotaru's seizures. Is she... going to get back to back? Even now? How can they take this out of her? Should she be attacking? Helping Hotaru?

She turns to listen intently at Tuxedo Kamen talking to Uranus, and she bites her lips, looking back to Saturn. "I will leave her in your hands. Please, take care of her", she asks, taking a deep breath.

Right, then. If Tuxedo Kamen can heal her, that's what Hotaru really needs now. Laura can focus on taking these jerks out of her life for good

.The pink-blue Pretty Cure stirs the disk at the center of her compact and points her make-up pen towards Viluy and Tomoe. Water gathers in a pattern of recurve spinning lines, concentrating inside the Mermaid Aqua Pact.

"Pretty Cure Swirling La Mer Stream!", she shouts, and a huge rotating beam of water erupting out of the Pact, assailing them with a torrential impact.

"Shut up. You are no savior. You gave her a life of torture, took her father away from her and used her however you pleased. Just shut up", she coldly tells Dr. Tomoe.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    "That's not true!" bites back Chibiusa to Dr. Tomoe. "We save people for free all the time. We don't incur a 'cost' for youma cleanup, and we don't demand that our charges pay a 'price' either. We fight for our community, for our friends and their friends, because that's what it means to make a better world. All you want to do is consume others, to destroy for your own profit. All you are is a parasite!"

    Hotaru's in Tuxedo Kamen's hands now, and her fall, by this point, has been broken as much as it's going to be. So Chibimoon calls Luna-P back to her hands, this time as the Pink Stick.

    The Daimons are towering over them, and it's clear that they'll have to get through the monsters to get at the general, so Chibimoon aims her weapon ahead. "Take care of her, Kamenchan."

    "Pink Sugar Heart Attack!"

    She launches a stream of pink sparkly hearts at the nearest too-tall Diamon. Small Lady tries not to think too hard about how gross it is.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I thought you said they WEREN'T anything like throbbing cerebella," Tuxedo Mask shoots over his shoulder at Viluy as he takes Hotaru from Haruka's arms, from above Chibimoon's Luna-P(illow), from in front of Laura, all the way up to stanting way up there a million miles tall. But then he vanishes, Saturn and all, a flash of righteously indignant gold in the miasma of darkness.

            @};--',--'-,--

While everything else is going on, Mamoru's teleported Hotaru back to campus-- to the infirmary-- to make sure she's stabilized before he realizes it's not something he can heal. He can get it so she won't die if he gets her to the hospital-- and the clock is ticking.

Mamoru absolutely freaking hates being in the hospital. He's going to beg beg beg Usagi to have their own Small Someone at home with a midwife and himself maybe??? not? at? the hospital???? But he still has a never-used corner to teleport to and from right by the ER, just for times like this. He carries Hotaru out of that corner and very apologetically hands her to the first person he can, giving her name and her school, then teleporting back out...

            @};--',--'-,--

That all takes a little while actually, so he's not back yet.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus looks to Tuxedo Kamen. In that moment there's so much written on her face - a plea, anger, and even self-doubt - it's hard for her to give Hotaru over to Mask, but one of them is a healer, and one of them is... the opposite.

    She gives Tuxedo Mask a single, firm nod. Lets herself, for the moment, assign the care to him. And stands tall, a little wind starting to kick up around her boots... a little wind, that gave way to more and more fierce winds as she moved away from them. Youma that got in her way were bisected by slashes from the blade, the wind coming off it doing the work before the weapon itself would even make contact.

    "You. Whatever the hell you are. Stealing her father's name. Stealing his legacy. Stealing her love for him. All to continue, time after time, to show what a monster you are. If spending time around Hotaru-chan couldn't warm your heart, you're unredeemable, and for what you've done to her, unforgivable. And as the Guardian of the Planet Uranus, of wind and sky, I will pass the judgement you have gone out of your way to earn upon you!" she growls.

    "The only thing you'll have in common with Hotaru's father... is that you'll be dead." she says, as she lifts her sword to the sky. The torrent of wind building around her coalesces around it, and she brings it forward to point at Tomoe before swinging it over and over again, launching out several scythes of cutting wind, aiming to rip and tear through the fake Tomoe and any Youma foolish enough to stand between them.

    "SPACE SWORD BLASTER BARRAGE!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    So Amy catches shrapnel cutting like glass, turns off pain, then gives her little speech.

    And then Viluy and Dr. Tomoe start doing bullshit, and Amy regenerates. She daren't let pain or lag interfere with whatever they might do.

    At least the bloody, torn outfit being replaced by a pristine one while she's at it is a bit of a power move, right?

    Albeit slightly undermined by drawing a grief seed from her pouch, her vambrace changing style slightly to make a spot for it to slot in near her about-fifth-corrupted soul gem (the rocket, conjured earlier, was reused) as Dr. Tomoe speaks of costs.

    "She fought every step of the way and even you admit she nearly cost you everything?"

    Viluy is making monsters grow to go after her friends. Amy turns to one -- making sure no one is directly behind her -- and a recoilless artillery cannon appears on her shoulder in the same instant it fires, manifested for barely a half-second so it won't slow her down as she turns towards Tomoe's machine.

    "Good. Let's cost you the rest of it."

    There's no way it's that easy, but better to know what defenses it has sooner rather than later! Again, the cannon fires as it's summoned and then disappears in pink sparkles right after so as not to slow her down while she's trying to dodge counterattacks.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Hey, >> Rashmi answers Molly, much more gently than the look on her face would lead one to assume. << So Molly-chan, thank you *so much* for being here but like... Fight and break away, okay? Keep mov--WAK! >>

Her coaching is interrupted by a lash of tendrils from unfairly brain-like youma, and for the next few seconds her world is block, dodge, get slapped across the face, block block... And not for the first time does she wish she had more speed to call on.

But when the assault ends, she's still in the air, breathing heavy, a few singed slashes in her Barrier Jacket, and a rising tide of righteous fury in her heart.

"You act like you're the only ones who have a *right* to this world, just because you're standing on it and it's not what you want! Well, we were here first, and if you can't be good neighbors then you got to *go.* Our time isn't over, it's *barely begun!* And the only tragedy is, you won't be around to see how long our time *truly lasts!*"

And she slots a module into Nicomachea, as a magic seal spreads out under her feet.

    << *BONG!* >> << BIND INDEX: SEPTA BARRET -- BOOST UP >>

Seven foxfire wisps coalesce around the Devicer, streaking out to each of her fellows to empower their next ranged attack... And carry with it a sneaky bit of hampering magic, best for tying up large groups for a moment.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Tuxedo Kamen has Hotaru. Sailor Moon knows he'll make sure she's safe, make sure she's well. That means it's up to the rest of them to make sure she can recover easy, by knowing her father's corpse isn't being used like a puppet for a monster.

There are plenty of voices speaking out against Tomoe and Viluy, but she adds her own to the mix.

"People like you... like Kyubey... you love to offer people a trap and call it help! Hotaru's papa turned to you when everything was going wrong, when the people he loved were dying... and you never even told him the price!"

She sweeps an arm up, twirls and slaps the Moon Scepter in the air, and pink spirals around a sweeping beam of silver light as she fires purifying energy at the youma between her and Dr. Tomoe.

"Moon Princess Halation!"

Molly Skyline has posed:
"That upstart? You mean what you did to me? TO ME?!"

Molly drops her arm to hold Starcrash horizontally at her side, and sucks in a deep breath, "That upstart was your creation Viluy, which you made after watching me die in the Dusk Zone, and then you STOLE MY CORPSE and acted like you were some cheap knock-off of Dr. Frankenstein with it! And then you, YOU, you TORTURED ME for almost a year!"

The purplenette casts an eye in Tomoe's direction, "I never asked more time," she snaps, "I sacrificed myself to save my friends and I was perfectly alright with that. What you helped to do to me, that's entirely on you and I bet it's the same for what you did to the Tomoe family. You're just a bully, picking on easy targets and never going up against anyone who might fight back!! Well guess what, my friends SAVED ME and now I'm back."

As she lets loose with everything she'd had to say that's been stored up in her brain, she has to take Rashmi's advice; break away, and let loose several searing beams to sever the tentacles that grab hold of her legs and seek to pull her back down as she flies straight up. << Alright, Starcrash, let's try something bigger. Charge Stellar Collapse, target Viluy."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. ARMED >>

Molly's lips turn upwards at the corners. << Thanks for this, Rashmi-Chan, I'm scared like you wouldn't believe but it's nice to be on your side again. >> She waits another second while the buster spell charges, and then, a much more confident "Fire!" one there's nobody except Youma's close to the target.

A half-dozen barrets launch from Starcrash, flying off to form a circle around Molly and coalesce into beams, juiced up even more thanks to Rashmi; and at the impact point they explode with a loud and foreful detonation.

Death Buster Viluy (280) has posed:
"Oh, I remember you," Viluy coos to Rashmi as she works, throwing up shield after shield - they are destroyed by the attacks that make it through, shattering in devastating shrapnel, but they keep coming up, flashing hexagonal shields of nanite-magic as she works to complete their work, to bring their ruler to them, to take this world and its people for their own. "You tried to keep Hotaru Tomoe from us, and yet... it would seem you still haven't succeeded. And yet, what is science if not continuing our efforts to make a breakthrough, in spite of setbacks and failures?"

Molly's voice rings out, and there is no shock, no shame, no regret in the scentist. Amy launches an attack at one of the extra-tall youma and a limb is blown off, it's body weakened - Sailor Moon's sweeping attack finishes it off.

"That upstart," Viluy doubles down on the words as Molly's voice rings out, her hands racing across the terminal, power surging from conduits, collected power from victims gathered today and in the months and years of preparation before. "Seriss Nyx, a creature made for my work, who thought she deserved more - much like you, Star Devil!"

Molly accuses her of torture and says that she watched her die and a smirk twists Viluy's lips.

"Did you not say you were alright with your death? Yet now, here you are, complaining that the meat you would have rotted into was put to use. Death is death - if you want to heroically claim you were content with death, you have no claim over what the living make use of!"

She slams a function home, and energy pours from the ground and into the sky. The clouds above split open, a hole blasted through the center of them, but it's not sky made visible in the center, it's space itself. It's the stars of another nebula, and the terrible winds roar high in the sky, as the connection is made.

"You're back to die again little girl! All you were ever worth is your energy!"

Molly's attack strikes home then, breaking through her shield, slamming her back into the walls of the boardwalk, and she gasps at the pain, forcing her way back up, visibly weakened. No more shields rise.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Dr. Tomoe gave a laugh. That same deranged, evil, overlordy laugh they had almost all heard Hotaru do in jest in the past. Except here, now?

It wasn't a game. It was for real. For keeps. Here he was the villain. A director. Was he as powerful as one? No. But that didn't matter anymore... Not here, not now.

"She was such a good girl, or she would have been. If only she'd just done as she was told. She would have been my most precious daughter up until the end. Now? She's merely another disappointing failure. But well... that's the important thing about experiments..." Dr. Tomoe said as he pulled out what looked like an... egg? Before... devouring it. "So long as you learn from them they're never quite a failure. And I learned so much from studying Hotaru."

And then? The youma around him gathered as the halation and the winds swirled and collapsed on him!

And when they were gone... So was he. In his place? A great, towering youma of darkness, with crystals jutting from his body... He charged at Uranus, a crystaline hand meeting her sword. A single eye shimmering with that same star that Dr. Tomoe's had...

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura's hands start trembling. "Hotaru-chan... was very good in spite of you. She has always given each day her all, and she has never stopped smiling, no matter how badly things got. She always faced ahead to the bright things in her life."

Her right hand closes into a fist, and her nails start digging into her palm. "I am sure there must have been many times she wondered which day was going to be the last, and yet, she never let it get to her, to be kind, or generous, or make me happy."

She doesn't pay attention to the portal Viluy has opened. Why should she? It's all just one more thing they are going to tear down for Hotaru's sake.

"And you watched. You watched her hold herself together while you took what you wanted, while you prepared to carve her to nothing. The aid you think you gave her was what you needed."

Her face gives him a smile, calm and open. "For everything you denied her: help, honesty, decency... You don't deserve to be remembered. When you are finally gone, nobody will ever think of you again. Not even kept into stasis in some conch. So, prepare to disappear. With the sound of the happiness she deserves."

"Snow Heart Swirl Ring! Charm Up!". She smiles, pointing her fingers to her face. A blue sphere appears from the ring, engulfing her and disappearing at the same time a pink heart rises from her feet.

"Snow Crystal Tropical Style!" Her clothes change to a different form with paler colors and making her hair even longer with a golden sheen and a diadem. The outline of a large rainbow heart appears on her back.

"The song of the land of happiness."

Cure La Mer starts singing, an ode to the cycle of the seasons. The rigours of winter don't last forever, and the joy of a bright sun will melt it all to nothing. Purifying notes share that promise of happiness, promising a beautiful meadow at the end of the frigid cold.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Finally Mamoru makes it back, makes it back in time to see the portal open and Viluy fall to the ground, the sandy--sandy-- if only his head would clear-- but of course he makes it back right next to Sailor Moon, right after she calls out her Halation and a swath of youma disintegrate before her. "Let's make," he says in an all at once exhalation as he drops to one knee at her side, holding one hand up to take hers, "an impression."

His other hand spreads out on the beach, then his bare fingers sink into the sand and he's just overwhelmed for a second at the sheer psychic noise-- until Cure La Mer starts singing and clears his mind a little, enough to pull up clean bright energy from the earth beneath them...

...and shove it back down, gathering underground, ready to explode underneath whatever Moon targets when she calls it out!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
With Viluy and Tomoe on the back foot, and the portal open in the sky... Yeah. It's time to finish this part of things, and then kick their evil master back across the galaxy *again.* Drawling in a long breath, Rashmi lowers herself down to get closer to her friends' positions. "Verbal Command: Accumultor Purge."

    << *BONG!* >> << COMMAND INPUT EXECUTE. PURGE CHANNELS GREEN. ALTERNATE GRIMOIRE LOADED. AWAITING COMMAND. >>

"For the last damn time," she shouts down at Viluy, "YOU SHUT UP WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. SOLAR BLESS."

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BLESS >>

Golden light radiates outward in all directions from Rashmi, and every friend, every ally, every good person on this battlefield is touched by that light. *Everything* feels more powerful, *anything* feels doable, and most importantly? *There is no question how this will turn out.*

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    "You took her whole life away... and tried to take her very soul..." Chibimoon's hands are shaking as she hears Tomoe's words. "... and after that, you call her a failure?"

    She grips her Pink Moon Rod tightly. The look on her eyes is not rage, or fury, or hate. It's disbelief, that someone... something so horrible could exist in this world. Such a thing can not be allowed.

    "I don't... I can't... forgive you."

    Buffs come in. Chibimoon is anything but alone in her feelings.

    "Hotaru-chan deserved better. Dr. Tomoe, the real one, deserved better. I wont let you have your way anymore!"

    "Pink Sugar Heart Attack!"

    Chibimoon unleashes another stream of pink hearts, targeting Dr. Tomoe, or at least the thing possessing his body. No reason to let this drag on longer than it has to. The portal is opening, and this needs to be stopped now.

Laura La Mer has posed:
Seems like Laura isn't done yet. Riding on all the emotions she feels about Hotaru, and the anger for everything she had to through due to Dr. Tomoe. Right now, she has more strength than that in her.

"Marine Heart Swirl Ring! Charm Up!", she stretches her arm upwards, raising the complementary ring to Hotaru's own, and a blue sphere engulfs the mermaid, morphing her accordingly.

The bioluminescent blue whale takes shape above her, and Laura jumps in its waiting mouth, supported by the familiar energy of Grand Ocean. "Five powers, roar through the seas!", she shouts, and starts swimming to direct the whale towards her target.

The giant creature squeals in its approach to Doctor Tomoe's figure, and the whale delivers a sound slap with its tail, followed by La Mer's shout and an explosion of purifying energy. "Pretty Cure Marine Beat Dynamic!"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus is not at all stressed out about Tomoe turning into a giant monster. In fact, that just makes him more stabbable. She may have sopme small dislike of seeing people get stabbed FOR REASONS. But now, as his arm slammed into her sword to block it, he was visually the monster he was inside.

    And he said those things about Hotaru. The precious little girl she'd basically adopted. The one who called her Haruka-papa.

    She was angry, but it was a strange sort of angry that was... almost zen like. She was going to kill him. Absolutely, one-hundred percent going to kill him. And she didn't have a doubt about it. Or that it was needed. And she knew that with her friends here - and Hotaru's friends - the chance would reveal itself soon.

    "That little girl you're talking about. She's anything but dissapointing. Even with your monster inside her, hurting her, she managed to shine bright and brilliant. Even being in Obsidian, in the heart of darkness, didn't cause her spirit to dim. Even sharing her body with the biggest monster you could bring, couldn't bring her down. Even whatever you're doing now, I'm sure she'll come out on the other end of. Because every step of the way, every attempt to dim her light has failed. The only dissapointing failure here is you, whatever you are. Taking the form of someone else. And not even seeing the best part of being that person. What you could have been, a world better than anything you're promising, or anyone you're working with can create."

    "That's why you're going to fall, right here, right now. Today. That's why it's over. Because you can't see what's right in front of you, you're so blinded by your evil heart." she says.

    "And now it's time to cut you out like the infection. you. are." she says, brandishing her sword, and waiting for the attacks she could sense coming in the wind before they even arrived. They'd give her an opening. And she'd use it, driving in with everything she had. "But it's okay - she's got a new papa now! All that remains... is to get rid of the CLUMSY PUPPETEER who made her sad."

Amanda Faust has posed:
Seriss Nyx deserved more?
    "If she deserved more, she would have done anything but be truly selfish and cruel at every. single. opportunity." The words are punctuated by a much smaller version of her opening attack, clouds of tiny needles bouncing off shields (and fading) to check that they're still there.

You have no claim over what the living make use of!
    "You didn't leave her dead, you kept her alive and tortured her -- because your upstart needed her to exist! Don't pretend you're a mere graverobber -- you used her soul and violated her life!"

All you're worth is your energy!
    "Yeah," the Puella Magi grins, "I don't think anyone ever had to be afraid that a battery would fight them and stop their plans."

    "And speaking of costs and energy, do you know how mant of us already paid to keep this universe going, and you think you can just take it for yourselves?!"

    "...Damn. you're just like the worst humans, actually."

    Three things happen. The sky opens. The entity that stole the identity of doctor Tomoe stops using his form. And...

    Long ago, in another life, Amy once participated in an RPG session where one of the party's mages dove into the fleeing arc villain's pocket dimension, dooming himself for a chance to stop the villain from coming back, and playing out the ensuing combat took hours as the battle wore away at the monster's regeneration and the mage's repeatedly-recast layered shields. (The PC won.)

    She's told Rashmi, Molly, and Setsuna this story, and it comes to mind now.

    Because if Viluy isn't casting shield spells anymore--

                                           --it's because she can't.

    << SHE'S OUT OF SHIELDS! GET HER! >>

    Amy holds out her hand and -- just as she did with the Flickerman -- a constant stream of minimissiles starts to conjure in the air next to her and homes in on Viluy, exploding into lances of piercing metal that look like light.

    Amy leaps towards her, and as the Puella Magi gets closer the missiles give way to just shooting her directly, again and again and agaiun and again and agaiun and again and again and...

Molly Skyline has posed:
"You didn't think I'd care about you using me to hurt the people I sacrified myself to save?!"

As Molly's beams blink out, fading as if they were after-images burned into the retina, and the thermal circuitry on her jacket takes on an intense, orange glow. All across her Battle Visor there is information, and she acts on it, throwing herself into motion and deploying beams and barrets against errant Youma and trying to make space for her friends to fight.

But Viluy can't be ignored. She's right there, and Molly'l be damned if she lets her hurt anyone again like she did her.

"Stop trying to twist words, Viluy! You know damn well the difference between right and wrong, but if that's not enough, if that's not enough, I've got something else for you. Starcrash? Charge Coronal Overload."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. CHARGING >>

A familiar looking progress bar appears on Molly's Battle Visor, along with a red targeting bracket around Viluy, labelling her by name and with a little >:( face. Molly smiles to see it; how she'd missed that, and didn't even realize.

As the progress meter ticks up, Rashmi's Solar Bless infuses her, and she feels something else that she'd missed so dearly without realizing it; the physical manifestation of her best friend's support and unshakeable faith in her. << Hey, Rashmi-chan. Thanks for believing in me even when I struggle to. >>

"Hey, Viluy," she shouts down. "Remember I said I had something else for you? Well guess what!" The progress bar on her Visor fills up all the way, and the business end of Starcrash takes on a brilliant glow, crackling with restrained energy. "You mock me for what happened to me, and what you did to me, but when I sacrificed myself it was for something, it was for the people I love, and I can't think of anything better. But you, right now?" Her eyes narrow behind her spectacles.

"You're about to die for nothing. Starcrash: FIRE."

Several orbiting spheres of energy burst from the head of Molly's staff, and collapse into each other, shrinking down into a tiny, intensely shining point; and then all hell breaks loose in a brilliant, super-heated blast of energy directed down at Viluy, half as wide as Molly is tall and sustained for a good fifteen seconds before it tapers off and flickers out, pushing Molly backwards the entire time it's firing.

As the blast dissipates, all of the vents on Starcrash and Molly's barrier jacket open and hiss with clouds of steam.

<< ALERT: MANA LEVELS LOW >>

"Yeah... y'know what, I missed that too."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You're both so stupid," Sailor Moon says, scornful and tired. "You think you can torment people and call it science and that makes it okay... you think you can measure what people are worth, just because of what you can get from them... and you think that we'll let you get away with it."

Tuxedo Kamen returns, and she catches his eye, or he catches hers, and together they know what to do. Viluy has hit the ground, Tomoe has become a monster in the flesh as much as the spirit and action, and they are on the ground. A place that they can both act with the complete fullness of their power.

"Honestly?" She shakes her head, twisting her rod - the Spiral Heart Moon Rod again, extended to its full length -

"Hotaru and Molly will both be better with the two of you gone. Do better in your next lives."

And the hearts start rising, twisting, turning and spinning - and the light flows -

"Moon Spiral Heart Smoking Crater!"

And the heart golden-pink heart, bright as the newcoming day, as the place where the heavens and the earth meet, strikes the mid-center of Viluy and Tomoe's platform and explodes as the earth shatters into great piercing spikes beneath them.

Death Buster Viluy (280) has posed:
Viluy is feeling more than a bit indignant, actually, as she's told her understands nothing, when in fact, she understands far more than any of these fools could ever hope to, when she is and will be more than these fools ever could hope to be -

These are the thoughts that flood her mind when she's struck down by the force of seven extremely pissed off mahoujin.

And there's no getting out of it, now. There's no escaping, no shields to put up, no teleports to complete -

There is only the force of the attacks that rain down, that crash up, that strike from every side, flooded with as much power as those gathered here can hope to spare.

And yet.

Even as she is thrown clear - even as she bleeds with the aftermath of the cratering earth, the explosives, the orbiting spheres of energy which erupt outwards -

Viluy dies.

And yet...

The portal yawns wider, and something moves within it, massive and terrible. The size of Walpurgisnacht, and beginning to descend to Earth from the heavens.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Dr. Tomoe, or as he was soon to be known? "I am Germatoid, servant of Pharaoh 90!" he said, laughing. "And her life was a necessary sacrifice... one I am sure she would have given away gladly to her precious--"

He never got to finish those words, as it was then that the pink hearts hit him in the jaw. Jarring his head to the right. Shutting him up for Uranus' rebuttal... and the whale of a tail smacking him back, hard, toppling the behemoth of a youma, a creation of so many daemons, all combined, fused into one--

And as he was toppled back, purifying energy burning him, Uranus' sword plunged into his mystical, glimmering eye and he howled, the platform below him crumbling, as he plummeting down--

Only for his shrieks to be finished as his body of darkness was impaled, one final time, on the spikes below, falling through the spiraling hearts as it fell...

When Uranus pulled her sword back, she'd see the daimon egg, pierced and broken on the end, a shattered chunk.

As Dr. Tomoe, or Germatoid's, body dissolved into darkness... Leaving only a labcoat and a pair of glasses, with one normal lens and one strange lens that held an eccentric, odd symbol on it. Another sign of the eccentric genius Hotaru's father had, perhaps, once been.