807/Violins Inherent in the System

Violins Inherent in the System
Date of Scene:	26 November 2023
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Sunbreaker enacts her plan to corrupt the magical girls! It.... does... not go the way she expects. And nearly ends up in her demise. But hey! She... she won one. That counts, right? Sailor Neptune, Uranus, Sharpsong and Red had better keep on their toes before things get... intense.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Michiru Kaiou, Haruka Tenoh, Amanda Faust, Sayaka Miki

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Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker, for once, had started this plan with only the best intentions. In fact, they were almost entirely noble. After a recent run in with Michiru, the world famous violinist, she hadn't realized exactly who she was. After all, she was from out of town.

But then she'd seen some posters, realized that radiant-but-not-as-radiant-as-her girl who'd saved her life that one time was not just a good swimmer, but a musician. So maybe she'd wanted to show some support. She'd gone out, intending to buy tickets both for herself and her girlfriend...

They'd been sold out. Fortunately she hadn't told Sayaka, but she'd been in a foul mood due to being denied. It had started to fester and grow, that vengeful side, until she'd nursed it into a raging inferno. Fine. If they wanted to DENY her, even though she'd had the money (Obsidian paid its employees well, unlike SOME sparkleskirts), then THEY'D pay for it. In her vengeful pettiness, the entire intent of her original plan lost.

So it was in the middle of the concert that Sunbreaker appeared on top of the domed roof of the concert hall. From there, her familiar came out from its gem, sliding into the roof below. She began to cast her spell, kneeling down and gripping both hands together, chanting slowly. Six of her little towers, each only a few feet tall but each housing a strange, black gem appeared around her. Soon....

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Michiru Kaiou, meanwhile, hadn't given that girl she saved in the pool a second thought. She was a busy girl with far too many things on her mind. For example, she had her busy winter concert season, which meant her schedule was full of rehearsals when she wasn't in class.

The morning of the concert, Michiru stepped through her concert day routine. She had a series of rituals she did every day she had a concert. A sequence of steps that started first thing in the morning and ended last thing at night. That routine helped her stay focused and give her all on the stage. She arrived at the concert hall hours before the show so that she could make sure everything was just right.

It was a night of classic violin music in modern arrangements with synth and electric guitar. Fast paced and fresh, it hit way harder than Paganini ever could. Michiru was sat out in front, dressed in an elegant sky blue gown, playing Marine Cathedrale with grace and poise.

She always put on a good show.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka was, of course, here to listen to Michiru's concert - the girl in the tuxedo sitting near the front, resting her chin on her knuckles, elbow out on a rest. She was entranced, and it wasn't so much the music as it was the woman playing it, of course. Not that the music wasn't great too, or anything.

    Unfortunantly for Haruka and Michiru and others - or maybe equally unfortunantly for Sunbreaker, in the end - within the concert hall there's no wind for Haruka to feel, no windows for her to watch the trees. She is mostly without any kind of warning, today.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy won a ticket at the cultural festival, or something. Not her first choice, but... she *does* like music, and violins and synth actually sounds like a pretty sweet combination, so she decides to check it out rather than... figuring out what else to do with the ticket.

    She *should* dress up nice, but she has nothing between 'yukata' and 'regular clothes'. She tries her best with a black T-shirt and her school uniform skirt; white sneakers and a way-too-big for her jacket are unavoidable. Only after freezing her legs on the way here and taking a seat does she remember SHE CAN MAGIC CLOTHES. She sighs and facepalms, before crossing her legs and trying to rub warmth back into them.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
It turns out that Sayaka had in fact gotten a ticket for this a while back. With how famous the Michiru Kaiou was? No way she would have wanted to miss it.

At least that was until recently, when she all of a sudden started becoming the magical girl equivalent of a workaholic. She was taking care of herself still, but just what she needed to keep herself going. Even the strongest sword shatters if it's not oiled and allowed a moment to breathe, after all.

The concert however didn't make the list of things she needed to take care of herself. Wasted money, really. Not really a pity, since she didn't actually care all that much. She would have spent the time either looking over her Soul Gem, no, herself, she corrects with a thought, and making sure her body didn't collapse on her or going after youma of various kinds.

At least, that was the plan until Ula saw the ticket she had thrown into the bin, and the tiny mermaid had a lot to tell her about it. Really, she doesn't approve of it? Of a rock that likes music? There was a lot of pushback on both sides, but ultimately Sayaka had given in, and so she was among the audience, her body wearing black thigh-highs, a dress with white sleeves and a black bust and skirt sections, decorated by a blue ribbon on her bust. The skirt section also had white ruffles under it.

Let's try to enjoy this concert while she is here. If Ula doesn't bear a hole into her head first with how intently she is gazing at her.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker opened her eyes right about the time that the concert was reaching one of the high notes about halfway through. Not THE high note, but A high note.

The spell finished and the towers, for a moment, glowed. Then disappeared one by one until only one remained. The first sign that something was wrong would be that tingling that goes down the spine of the mahous whenever there is dark energy. That little warning system so many of them had likely grown used to by now.

The second warning was when people began to drift off in the middle of the concert. NOT a common occurance, especially considering both the price of these tickets AND the powerful music filling the air. Energy was being siphoned off of those throughout the concert hall, coalescing into more gems within her tower, before disappearing from sight. Worse, the effect was getting stronger by the second, the dark energy flowing through the arena and sapping more energy from all those within.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
It is uncommon for members of the audience to drift off to sleep at a concert like this. It is unheard of for members of the orchestra to doze off. And yet the music stumbles to a halt as one after another the people performing behind Michiru go slack, their instruments clattering to the floor.

Not Michiru Kaiou. Normally she would have felt this coming. She would have sensed Sunbreaker on the roof well before the spell completed. But she had gone through her rituals. She was focused. She was not paying attention to the eddies and currents of magic as she usually does. So it wasn't until she felt the tsunami of magic that radiated from Sunbreaker's ritual completion that she felt it.

She shot up from her chair, her instrument still poised for use, her bow drawn across the strings, almost as if it were a weapon. And it is. But only when she's Sailor Neptune.

There's a quick glance to Haruka in the audience, and then she runs off-stage.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Haruka had always relied on the wind rather than the standard 'creepy stuff is gonna happen' sense, so she may have missed it for a bit - or maybe she was just so entranced looking at the figure of her love that she might have been less attentive to other things.

    But once the energy starts being sapped, well, she's at least aware of THAT. So - much to her chagrin - and sharing a glance with Michiru - she gets up and instead of running out of the building she runs back stage - it's not like anybody is going to be in any position to stop her with the energy drain and if anyone does, she'll shove them away, so she can get behind something, draw out her pen, and henshin.

    After henshin, she's quick to find Neptune, too. "Interupting your concert? Somebody has a death wish." she says, and then pauses. "Or at least a severe injury wish." she says to her. "Let's find out where it's coming from and then make it stop." she suggests, as though any other course of action is one they'd be taken now.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Darkness.

    Amy looks around. Here? Now?! Come on!

    One of the performers runs off. A couple audience members too. Hm. Amy transforms and follows, on the off-chance that Michiru and Haruka have some sense of where the unseen enemy is.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Ula, go hide somewhere", Sayaka murmurs when she spots both the vast majority of the audience and members of the orchestra falling off asleep. Looks like the job has followed her here. Well enough.

"No way I am gonna leave you alone, Sayaka", is the koi mermaid's rapidfire reply from the side of the seat as she too catches onto what it's going on. "You need someone to act as a lookout for you." Especially when she is being as relentless as she is.

The bluenette spares an odd glance to Michiru when she doesn't fall asleep and instead runs offstage. "Don't worry about that, I don't think I will be alone in this." She is multitalented, apparently. Too bad the Veil will get in the way. Dumb concealment, why can't you distinguish between allies and enemies?

Ula is about to reply something back when Sayaka gives her a glare that indicates she is not going to budge a single bit. Ok then, she will only have to make the bluenette believe she is obeying. When the fighting has started, it will be too late, right?

As she flies away, Sayaka doesn't seek a way to transform in peace, instead a blue flash envelopes her in public, and soon the Puella Magi of the Sharpsong sits where Sayaka sat. It's off to a good start.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker was waiting for the arrivals of the magical girls. Outside. She was sitting on the roof, just relaxing, draining, and--

Then the magical girls came running out from the building.

THEY GOT TICKETS?! OH, SHE, THE GLORIOUS SUNBREAKER, COULDN'T! BUT THESE LOUTS?! THESE FOOLS?! THEY DESERVED TICKETS?!

Her ire only grew when she caught sight of those stupid SPARKLE SKIRTS! THEY--

Sharpsong.

... Sharpsong had a ticket. Why did Sharpsong have a ticket? She shouldn't even be here. For a moment, Sunbreaker's ire only grew. If she had a ticket, why hadn't SHE invited HER? After all, she--

Wait. No. Was her friend performing in the group? Had she accidentally attacked her girlfriend's friend's concert, the one she'd made a wish over? For a few seconds Sunbreaker just stared down at them, seemingly frozen. Then, slowly, she got to her feet. She dusted off her pants, before snapping her fingers. Three orbs of fire formed in the air around her. "Well well well," she said. "If it isn't Sailor Waterboard and Sailor Final Rites. Where's the third member of your little murder squad?" she asked bitterly, before glancing around. Just in case. "Well, it doesn't matter."

"This time I'm not already spent and tired. You'll find I'm a lot harder to assault when you can't just ambush me. But please, do come. I've been waiting for a chance to grind you both into the ground!" she yelled.

The three fireballs shot out, each one targetting one of the magical girls... Except Uranus. Sunbreaker was enveloped in black flames a moment later, disappearing...

Before appearing in front of Uranus. She held out her hand and suddenly... LIGHT! So much light. An eruption of blinding light from her hands.

And then a moment later, a black, eel like creature rose out from the cement below, plunging out from the depths, to attempt to pierce Uranus.

An eel soaked in Sunbreaker's magic and the waters of the dusk zone...

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
She hadn't been paying attention before. Michiru Kaiou can tune out the ripples in the magical currents that she senses. Sailor Neptune cannot. She knows right where it's coming from. "The roof," she says, pointing up directly toward Sunbreaker. The villain is just obscured by walls and ceilings. "It's coming from the roof, let's get outside."

It was very considerate of the villain to fight them outside the concert hall. It meant they wouldn't have to hold back.

Neptune lets Uranus take to the wind and run out in the lead, staying back a little ways to observe and assess. But then she sees just who it is, and before she can do much of anything, that girl is attacking hers!

She wasn't there to protect her girlfriend when she got her henshin, and she's been wracked with guilt ever since. If she can't even save her when they're together then what good is she even? Neptune dashes toward Uranus as fast as she can--not fast enough, not as fast as her--and gets there just in time to save Uranus, but not enough time to save herself.

She saves Uranus by taking the blow meant for her. The shadowy familiar piercing straight through her heart.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Sunbreaker", is all the acknoledgement the aforementioned villain gets from Sayaka after she makes her appearance and accidentally strikes Michiru with her eel, the stern look on her face not showing much concern for the villain's own attack. In a blue flash, the Sharpsong Puella speeds up towards her, sword at the ready, just taking a different path than the fireball going towards her, aiming to get right onto Sunbreaker.

Trailing behind the group of magical girls, Ula too comes out of the building, and the first thing she sees is Sayaka charging at the girl with the black flames. If the attack of worry she gets at that moment had a sound, everyone would have been deafened by a cannonball being fired.

"Sharpsong!" Ula calls out when Sayaka behaves just as she expected she would. "Don't throw yourself like that!"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
Sailor Uranus and Neptune make their way to the rooftop rapidly. And while they don't have to worry about destroying the concert hall overall, Sailor Uranus does have some concerns about World Shaking ripping up or through the roof. But that's okay. Girl needed a good butt kicking, why not make it literal?

    The speed and confidence that she rushes Sunbreaker with is something.

    "Oh, shut up! For someone who was saved by their enemy you still seem pretty ungrateful about it." she says as she rushes in. She'll kick this girl good and solidly... except she doesn't, because on the way in she is blinded.

    A set of unladylike profanity is her response, and her putting her gloved hand up over her eyes. Trying to rub her eyes and get vision back.

    She's not able to dodge what's coming - in fact it only comes into view just a little too late - before she's being shunted out of the way by someone else...

    By Neptune, who takes the attack instead. The shadow peirces her heart and Uranus doesn't know what that means, but it does mean Neptune isn't currently standing on her own power, and Uranus has her cradled in her hands. "Neptune? NEPTUNE!" she cries out. "Why would you take an attack meant for me like that, you're not any more durable than I am?" she shouts, kind of shaking the aquanette. Her eyes glance up to Sunbreaker and there is a form of literal hatred in that look that was different than the almost dispassionate way that Pluto tried to dispense of her. There are other magical girls moving in though, so Uranus' attention returns to the girl in her arms. "Are you alright, Neptune! Say something!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Waterboard? Murder squad? Hold on, what are you talking about?!" And then a fireball sends her reeling back into the door she just came out, fortunately meaning she's not looking directly at the flash.

    She stands unsteadily, training her suddenly-there rocket launcher on Sunbreaker's feet. "Hands down. No spells. What was that and what will it do to her?!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker smirked when it WORKED! The other girl was blinded and, for a moment, it felt like she'd finally get a chance to give them just a taste of what they put her through. It--

Then... instead... the other girl got in the way. Neptune. Of course. She frowned. Why could NONE of her plans go to-- Oh, wait. No. Sorry, force of habit. This actually still worked in her favor.

She lifted a hand to her mouth and chuckled. "Oh, stop being sooooo melodramatic," she said, as if it didn't just look like she'd killed or at least severly harmed the other girl's friend. "Unlike you lot, I'm not a kil--"

Annnnnd then her girl friend was literally on her and trying to slice her head off! She yelped, stepping back and forming a barrier of red light. It only lasted a moment, the flames sputtering out from it and driving her back. "Geez! If you give me a second I'll EXPLAIN! Ugh! RUDE! Do NONE of you have an understanding of the DRAMATIC?! Now, as I was saying--"

And then black water would seem to spill out from Neptune's mouth about the same time her eyes would open.

"Oh, too late now. Sailor Waterboard, or whatever your name is? It's your time. Deal with them while I gather my energy. And don't you lot worry so much... the magic will work its way out of her system... eventually. The more she expends and fights, the faster she'll be right back to the way she was. Have fuuuun~" she said in a taunting way... before sloooowly inching back. She didn't want to get cut and that girl had a knife.

Neptune, meanwhile, would be able to feel the crushing pressure of the dark energy inside her. Like a toxin coursing through her body. Egging her on. Her goals would remain the same... but welllll... How she went about them? The logic? All of it became ever more twisted. What was seen, once, as a terrible price... seemed all the more acceptable now.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Sailor Salacia lays seemingly lifeless in Uranus' arms, her fuku torn and stained from the magic. Nothing Uranus says seems to get thru to her.

Nothing gets thru to her because she is clawing her way back to consciousness, fighting the currents of dark energy that are literally flowing through her body right now. She tries, but it's too strong. Sunbreaker is too strong. Her willpower crumbles under the weight and pressure of all the dark energy, and once she's broken it courses through her, filling every last shred of her being with good intent driven by evil means.

Her eyes open and they're entirely black just like the inky black ichor that spills out of her mouth and pours down her, staining her fuku black-teal. It's a color only seen in the Dusk Zone.

She looks up to Uranus, and grins wickedly. "I think a line has been crossed, what about you?"

Then she levitates up out of Uranus arms and turns not toward the other magical girls, but toward Sunbreaker.

Deep Submerge!

She has the same goals as before, but now she's again willing to kill a bitch. Did Sunbreaker really think this thru?

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks from Sunbreaker to 'Sailor Waterboard'. "How can you do that to people? You complain about being kicked out of your home, but you'd... you'd turn other people into monsters and *use* them? How'd you like it if that were done to you?"

    The aquatic mahou stirs. "Hey, um... look, are you by any chance still in control?" She starts to train her launcher on the woman...

    ...Who attacks Sunbreaker instead of them. "Uh. Was that supposed to happen?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"I told you to stay back, Ula", Sayaka tells her companion when she shows up. "This place is not safe, go away." She looks at Sunbreaker through the barrier she has called up. "What's dramatic about putting people in danger?", Sayaka tells her. "You are just about the only one having fun here."

"I am not going back!", Ula says as she reaches her friend. "It doesn't matter what he has done to you, it's no reason to act like this."

"Thank you, Ula", the bluenette sighs, a sad frown on her face, "but this is how things are, so please, go somewhere safe." She shouldn't expect that much.

The Sharpsong Puella does turn her head when Sailor Neptune starts having that weird reaction, perturbation settling on her face when she start oozing that dark liquid. She has seen this before, with Madoka...

"You.. You just won't give up, won't you?" Sayaka tells the girl of the black flame. "You are just going to repeat this until whatever way you have to satisfied."

"Good thing about what you said? The others are more than capable to get that out of her system. But you would just try again." Something has to be done.

"Sharpsong, jump back!" comes Ula's warning when Sailor Salacia's sphere of azure comes directed towards Sunbreaker and Sayaka too.

The Puella does listen, and she barely avoids the attack destined to Sunbreaker. "That sounds good." Seven swords materialise above her head and go raining down against the barrier. One of those attacks will break it, no?

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
Well, at least the girl let the fact that Michiru hadn't been wounded in some life-threatening way byu a lance of Dark Energy. It didn't, however, exactly make Uranus feel a while lot more kindly towards Sunbreaker.

    And then black water and the eyes and Haruka is pretty sure she's getting a first-hand seat for some horror movie level stuff. And then there's that smile. That wicked smile on Michiru's face. On Sailor Salacia's face.

    There's no more girl for Uranus to hold, because she gets right up and starts attacking Sunbreaker. Which is a pretty reasonable response, all things told, but not like THAT. Not like this. Not with Dark Energy running through her mind and her decision making skills on fire.

    Amy asks if it was supposed to happen, and Uranus is getting her feet back under her as she stands. "We need to stop her before she does something she regrets once she's in her right mind." Uranus says to her.

    Something like nearly drowning Sayaka with colateral damage. Uranus is up, and quickly, running towards Salacia. "Neptune!" she says, new name or not. "You can fight this. You're not acting like yourself." Uranus says. But she's wrong. She is acting like herself. A really, really, pissed off herself.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker gave a light hmph. "If it was DONE to me? Why do you THINK I'm SO ANGRY?! What about ANY of this makes you think I'm having FUN?!" she yelled. "I've been USED my whole LIFE! And now it's MY turn to be in charge! None of you could ever even hope to understand even an ounce of what I've been through! Now just be good little sparkle skirts and--" Her words were cut off when she was waterboarded. Again.

Or rather, her barrier is slammed into by water. Huh. In a strange twist, Sharpsong attacking her and making her put up a barrier to begin with had likely just saved her.

Well. Saved was relative. Swords rained down around her, shattering the barrier, one slashing across her arm and drawing a pained, startled cry from her. "W-what are you doing?! You're supposed to attack your little partner in crime! Not ME!"

She disappeared in a flash of fire! ... Appearing further up the roof. Running up it. Okay, obviously this entire plan had gone wrong because she was within sight, right? Soooo... if she got OUT of sight, it'd alllll be fine. She hoped.

Still, she was getting so much valuable data from this!

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Sunbreaker disappears in a flash of fire and Salacia lets out an inhuman roar as her fury rages like a hurricane, "SUNBREAKER!"

Then she just blinks out of existence.

She's the senshi of the sea. She is attuned to the eddies and flows of magical current. Dark energy flows through the dusk zone in much the same way, so of course Sailor Salacia is a prodigy at duskporting, doing something nearly impossible and appearing right where she means to. Right in front of Sunbreaker. It's a good thing she won't have this dark energy forever. That's OP.

"Did you think you could get away that easily?" She says, her voice as cold as the arctic ice caps. "There'll be no mercy this time. I'm incapable of feeling it."

In an instant the Deep Aqua Mirror is in her hand, glass pointed toward the other girl.

Submarine Reflection!

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka already told her what she is doing, she knows Sunbreaker is just going to attack again, and Sayaka wants to prevent that, especially now she has revealed she can fill people with dark energy on a whim. She doesn't want Hope Witch to happen again. Ever.

"Why should I attack someone who has the same aim as me?" the Sharpsong Puella remarks. Then she ports away. Though, since Sailor Neptune had said something about her hiding on the roof to begin with... She starts flashing up there, going up the building, among windows and other grip points. Even as fast as she is, she will get there, just a bit of wait. Not everyone can teleport.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    "You appear to have underestimated how badly she wants to kick your butt!" Sailor Uranus calls. "Might be news to you, miss use dark energy and light everything on fire, but normal people have impulses they don't act on all the time and it looks like now she's just gonna act on them thanks to you. Good job."

    And then Michiru-Neptune-Salacia is out there proving Uranus' point very directly, yelling out her name and apopearing in front of Sunbreaker's intended exit. Really, who just gives their enemies power that makes them less capable of holding back power. Seems a little bit like she's asking for it...

    And now she's attacking Sunbreaker point-blank and Haruka is reminded of the whole 'stop her from doing something she might regret later' speech that she gave others. That... probably applies to her too, she figures. But it's not like she can just raise her hands to fight against her love. That is asking too much - especially to save someone who she was on board with doing the opppsite of saving. "Hey uhhh Salacia-san! You can't just do that it's..." crap what do I say "... it's too good for her!" she offers. "She's not gonna get anything close to what she deserves if you just end her right here!"

    Yes, that is helping. Probably. Maybe. She's faster than the other girls here, dashing like the wind. But she can't draw her sword. Not on Neptune; not on Michiru. Especially not when truly she doesn't disagree with what's happening - just with Michiru making a decision like this while 'under the influence'.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy winces slightly. Being SUnbreaker is, clearly, suffering. "You were used. So now you use others, instead of doing better? And if it's |not| fun, if it only makes you miserable, why do it?"

    The dark Senshi teleports, but Amy can hear her talking where Sunbreaker went. She runs after Uranus. "So any idea how to cure her?" If she's not attacking, she clearly doesn't believe Sunbreaker's claim that it can be beat out of her... and maybe she knows something Amy doesn't?

    Uranus is doing the talky thing. Amy can do that! "Wait, doesn't that mean you're basically advocating she enact the most horrible fate on Sunbreaker she can, right now? No, you like..." She looks to Sailor Salacia, "Hey, hey! I was JUST explaining to Sunbreaker how perpetuating this cycle doesn't do any good! She may not be smart enough to break out of it, but you are, right? There's a, an even better future we can all reach together, right?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker had many ideas. Had many, many ideas.

All of them disappeared the moment suddenly SALACIA was in front of her. She took a step back. "Y-you... you're... how? You can't... teleport. There's no way you're smart enough to--" Then stared. Squeaked.

She dusk ported. Ohhhhh no. How much dark energy had she--

Submarine reflection.

They'd all see the blast, likely. And most of them... would then probably see Sunbreaker. Flying down the roof. Or, well. Her body, at least. She wasn't dead, but well... she wasn't moving much either. She laid there, soaking wet, a pool of water from the dark energy laced blast trickling around her, near Uranus.

"Hate you," Sunbreaker said. "I hate... all of you so much... Fine... FINE!" she yelled before slowly getting to her feet, looking up at Amy and Uranus.

She then just charged Uranus of all people. Fire in her hands, as she came closer, she pushed her hands together...

Intending to explode all three of them, at short range. More importantly, though, she was expecting Salacia to follow her... and get caught in the dark energy inferno. Tearing out a big chunk of the roof with her.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
It would be bad if Salacia got caught in the energy inferno. But she did not just duskport down to follow. What she did was much worse.

As soon as the blast of water ceases, she takes a running leap and then uses dark energy to keep herself aloft while her momentum carries her forward until she comes to a stop directly above Sunbreaker. And Uranus. And Amy.

"I don't care about what she deserves, my prince. She's a threat, and I'm going to protect you from her!" She looks toward Amy and says, "The best future for all of us is one without this pest."

Then she aims her mirror directly down toward Sunbreaker--nevermind that's also toward Amy and Uranus--and lets rip another wave of seawater.

Submarine Reflection!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    'Submarine reflection'? What even *is* that?

    Oh. Kinda serves Sunbreaker right, doesn't it? Looks like it hurt, too... "Please stop." She urges Sunbreaker.

    Only for Salacia to declare the future better off without Sunbreaker -- Huh, so that's what it looks like when someone else talks like that -- and aim... down at them all?! Amy runs out of the way, turning and quickly firing -- the launcher suddenly a smaller affair she can fire like a longarm -- a minimissile that explodes just in front of Sunbreaker to try and knock her back. "What about for her?! She hasn't killed anyone yet! Except herself, if you do this! Just... hang on, can't we talk about this?!"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka has barely reached the rooftop when she only has the time to look at Sunbreaker and Salacia still duking it out as the former is blasted off the roof. Great, now she has to go all the way down again.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Uranus groans audiably and turns to Amy. "I don't have a freakin' clue how any of this works." She is not the brains of the outer senshi. "Normally she's the one keeping me from doing stupid stuff." she admits. "I'm not as good at this as she is." Then again, Uranus isn't full of Dark Energy when Neptune tries to stop her so there's a big difference there. "But it's probably whatever Sunbreaker hit her with, all that Dark energy that lanced through her, making her all not herself. I just don't really know what to do about that." You can't kick, stab, or earthquake it out, so Haruka is mostly out of options.

    Near Sunbreaker now, and therefore between Sunbreaker and Salacia, and as she gets there first she realizes that... she really did not have a plan about what to do now that she's here. Screw it. She'll just tackle Sunbreaker. And it looked like Sunbreaker was ready to do the same, like two bulls charging. "You fire-throwing idiot. She's trying to kill you! And this isn't helping!" she yells as she moves in. Of course, Sunbreaker has fire... and then Submarine Reflection from behind, too. She does not like the way that wave of water collides into her.

    "Damnit Neptune... Salacia... WHATEVER! That doesn't just hurt it's also COLD!" she yells after getting up from the one knee the blast of seawater throws her down to. Well, normally she doesn't risk friendly fire from Neptune. "You're a little out of it if you're hitting me, we're -always- in perfect sync." she protests. Maybe that'll get through? She is so not good at all of these matters of the heart things. "It's me! You know. Your Handsome Prince?" the girl in the skirt and bow yells up there. It... makes sense if you know.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker had expected the other girl to intercept, to try and beat her down, to do SOMETHING against her.

What she hadn't expected was for the other girl to attack ALL of them. Her fire hesitated and...

BAM. Uranus hit her. The eruption she'd been intending sputtered out, only making a minor tear in the roof. She was sent flying back, both of them tumbling down the roof this time.

"Of course it's not helping! I'm not supposed to be helping you! I'm supposed to be helping me!" she yelled at the other girl. "What do you care?! You already TRIED to kill me, remember? Since apparently this is her fantasy! What is wrong with you people? For all the terrible things I've done I at least draw the limit at murder! Yet there's already been at least five of you stupid sparkle skirts who've tried to kill me! Yet you act like I'M the monster here!" Pause. "Well, okay, I am, but at least I ADMIT IT!" she yelled, before wiping the water off her face and wiping her hair back. Stupid. STUPID! Why did everything ALWAYS blow up in her face like this?!

"If you want her to be normalk again, you just need to purify her or hit her hard enough!"

Pause.

"Wait, are you a boy?" she asked Uranus. "Cause... I mean... no offense, the bow and skirt... not... helping you there."

Wait, no, distractions.

She formed a flurry of fireballs, small ones, and sent them soaring at Salacia, trying to get her to give a little space while she tried to come up with a plan! Should she call for help? Call Double Trouble? Riventon?

Ugh, she'd rather die than actually ask them for help.

Then again, she supposed she might.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Nobody knows her better than her soulmate. Their orbits intertwined by destiny. Their minds full of the same thoughts. At least normally. Maybe not right now, since only one of them is full of dark energy. Sailor Neptune wouldn't need to be talked down like that, but if she did, what Uranus said is exactly what would have worked.

Sailor Salacia, though? Well the part of her that thinks that way is a little broken right now, given all the dark energy coursing through her still. There's the faintest hint of sadness in her ice cold voice, "I don't want to hurt you, Uranus." She hovers there above them, and one might think that her soulmate's words had gotten through to her. But then she says, "So you'd better run like the wind, my prince."

Her mirror vanishes into sailor space and suddenly her hands are holding a violin. If somebody could look real closely, it's recognizeably Marine Cathedrale, Michiru Kaiou's multimillion dollar Stradivarius that had been played on stage just a little bit earlier.

She brings it up to her chin, puts the bow across the strings, and draws it across in a cacophony of discordant notes.

Submarine Violon Tide!

A literal tsunami floods in from all sides of the roof.

And Sailor Salacia? Well she falls unconscious, and so starts plummeting down from the sky.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
When Sayaka reaches the ground, Ula is there waiting for her, administering her a slap to the face, as ineffectual as it would be given the difference in sizes.

"Ok, that's enough. You need to calm yourself there, Sayaka. Do you want to be a vigilante now? Is that kind of justice you dream of?" the koi mermaid asks pointedly.

"Ula, please, let it go. I don't want to do anything bad, I am just trying to keep people safe", she replies, casually heading past her.

"Chrono wouldn't like that, and you know it! He told you those things not because he wants you to keep fighting, but because he doesn't want you to snap!"

The koi mermaid keeps floating after her as the Puella keeps going towards the other fighters.

"Well, he was wrong about this rock not holding me, wasn't he?" the Puella replies. "I just want to stop Sunbreaker. If she quits on her own, that's good for me." But she doesn't think that will happen.

Her greatsword appears in her hand and she hurls it towards the villain. "Be careful, Sunbreaker!", Ula calls out, leaving Sayaka shocked. "Ula, why...!?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy heard the 'my prince' bit earlier and may have jumped to some conclusions there. She nods as Uranus says... she's? Not the thinky one. Unfortunately, she's no expert on dark energy herself. "She means it's not helping YOU!" Amy corrects, angry and frustrated.

    And of course, Sunbreaker distracts her thoughts by calling it out. "H-hey, he can wear whatever he wants! Or is forced to by a henshin?" Amy's mind rapidly flips through 'Trans boy?' to 'Magical bodily transformation?' to... Uranus does look pretty handsome. Could he be... could that just be clothes? Does that *happen*? See, this is why she wished for a cute body, precisely to avoid being Mallory in a skirt! Though the look works for Uranus, apparently.

    Salacia says they'd better run. Amy raises her weapon but... can't bring herself to shoot this person.

    And then there's water EVERYWHERE. No time. Amy takes a deep breath and hits the deck, hoping it'll wash over her like an ocean wave.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Well, great, Uranus thought as she got up from where the two of them tumbled a bit of the way down from the top of the dome. 'Purify her or hit her hard enough' - neither one Uranus thought she could do here, one at all and one to the person in question.

    "You can't just, I don't know, undo whatever you did? You don't have a PLAN, the ability to UN-DO what you just DID? Gods!" she protested.

    And then comes Neptune's warning. "If I drown here I'm gonna haunt the shit out of you." she says, and it's unclear if she means Michiru, Sunbreaker, or both. And great. There is an absolute deluge of water coming from everywhere, like someone had temporarily dunked the roof and everybody on it under water. That's new. Not the good kind of new, either. If she was someone else - a Sailor Moon, a Nanoha, a Cure Somebody... she might have tried to protect Sunbreaker. But Sunbreaker is going out of her way to not listen, and well... she might be somebody's problem, but she isn't Uranus'.

    The girl who just lost the last bit of Dark Energy she'd been hurling around was starting to cease flying and start falling. And frankly, even if she was still evil, even if she had chosen this, or was going to remain like this forever - she'd always be Haruka's priority. Even moreso than basking in Sunbreaker and the Red Puella's confusion about the prince line. Which really, she would do in most other circumstances.

    And she does run like the wind - and leaps like a henshin-upgraded athlete to catch Neptune as she falls. Both of them are either going to hit the water or the roof of the center, gravity being what it is, but at least they're together. And at least Uranus can absorb the impact for Neptune, since she's got her in her arms.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker just stared at the dark magical girl. Really? A violin? What, was she going to serenade her or something? Please. She dealt with Yellow Voice ALL THE TIME. Ear worming her wasn't going to be effe--

Oh Sora.

Oh sweet Sora.

SORA HELP ME!

Water. Water everywhere. It was coming at her from--

And someone was yelling for HER?!

Sunbreaker barely had time to turn and see the greatsword coming at her from... Sayaka. There was just this moments hesitation, a confused look on her face... Should she attack? Should she--

And then the tsunami hit and her distraction cost her. Sunbreaker was picked up like a piece of timber, flung around in the waves, before finally crashing down into the side of the building. Eventually, the water subsided... And Sunbreaker was just laying there, a hand over her stomach, so peaceful looking. So...

Her eyes opened as her familiar burst out from Neptune, freeing her of the effect before disappearing into wisps of shadow. Sunbreaker glanced to Uranus, being caught by her girlfriend/boyfriend and protected by her...

Then glanced to Sayaka. Her own girlfriend. She then glanced to the greatsword that had been flung at her, now embedded in the ground from where she'd narrowly avoided it. Thanks to Ula.

"Stupid... Sparkle... SKIRTS! ALL OF YOU!" She flicked her right hand out and purple energy grabbed the greatsword before turning and flinging it RIGHT back at Sayaka, telekinetically.

Sunbreaker then fell back to her knees. Everything hurt. "I hate you. I hate you. I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO GET IN MY WAY?! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LET ME TAKE WHAT I WANT WITHOUT A DAMN FIGHT SO I CAN GO HOME?!" she yelled.

Then, right on cue... there was a loud ding from above. Followed by a hum from the roof. Where her tower... disappeared. Sunbreaker blinked a few times, before she burst into laughter. "You've got to be kidding me. THIS worked?! THIS WORKED?! THIS IS SUCCESS?!"

Then, somewhere between laughing, crying and screaming, she disappeared in a flurry of black fire, leaving a small crater and destruction in her wake.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
The familiar bursts out of Neptune's chest and vanishes into the shadows, taking the black stains from her fuku and leaving her looking just like she started out. Except unconscious still. At least she's in her girlfriend's arms.

But then there's a loud ding and her eyes snap open and she gasps.

Then she whispers, "Oh no!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    (Player busy-ish) "What does the ding mean?" Amy asks, after standing up and looking around.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Success, maybe, in terms of undoing a lot of the good that Usagi had done towards not removing her as a threat. Uranus was going to have a talk with that girl. Again. The girl in blue with the swords had the right idea, to her, and she regrets that the sword missed Sunbreaker - she's not super happy with Sayaka's little mermaid there either. But for now she has her own mermaid to attend to.

    Sunbreaker's yelling about some sort of ridiculous success - as if burning away the last shreds of good will in multiple magical girls and getting her butt kicked could be a success. That girl's crazy. She can hear - and see - Neptune coming back to normal. "You can't run around taking hits for me, you know. I'm the faster, tougher one!" Uranus says teasingly, the first thing Neptune hearing being her love gently chiding her. She looks up to the other two. "Is the angry lighter gone? Or did she just get swept away?" she asks. "And thank you two. For helping with Sunbreaker and also... for not attacking my girlfriend just because she was a little bit off for a few minutes."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Clang of metal against metal is heard when Sayaka barely has the time to summon another greatsword to use as a shield.

The force of the strike pushes Sayaka as it almost makes her lose her balance, leaving her arms aching from the feedback of the blow.

A dull thud follows as both greatswords fall to the ground, one by its own weight, the other let go of. "I hope you are happy now, Ula", the bluenette glares at her.

"Yes, I am! This isn't right, and you would agree with me! What are you going to do next, use that big whirlwind when it can hit innocent bystanders because you think you have no other choice!?" the koi mermaid starts yelling.

"Of course not! And that shouldn't even be up for discussion!" Sayaka replies, before cutting the discussion short by marching to the other fighters.

"Does anyone know what that ding was?" the Sharpsong Puella asks as nonetheless Ula follows her with her own question to Neptune. "How are you feeling?"

Sayaka looks at Uranus before replying "It's ok, I know how disconcerting it is to have someone you care under weird dark energies. And we had to do something about Sunbreaker. Now she will do it again", she scowls.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy watches the two of them. When Uranus thanks them, she nods. "Nice to meet you both. I guess you can call me 'Red'? You're uh... She's lucky to have a, a prince who'll try to save her from darkness. You're... That makes you a pretty cool dude, regardless of what you're wearing." She grins and offers a thumbs-up.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
The worried look fades from Neptune's face just a moment later. She looks up at Uranus, who has not set her down. Her hero. Her prince.

She looks at her love, and then in the most dead serious tone says, "And just think what destruction would have transpired if you had been the one filled with dark energy? I couldn't let that happen." Then she giggles, and it sounds rather evil. Did all of the dark energy really leave her? "Sailor Waterboard," she says with such sinister delight.

No, that's just Michiru.

When Sayaka approaches, Neptune looks up to the little mermaid Ula, and says, "I'm feeling exhausted beyond belief." Then she turns to Uranus and smiles. "But I'll be okay now."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Uranus nods to Sayaka. "Yes. We've been stopped from dealing with her before and this time it got us... 'this'. Though I admit, I wasn't expecting the life she threatened next to be her 'own'." Uranus says.

    "I don't think I've met you before, but I dig the cape." Uranus adds to Sayaka. "My name is Sailor Uranus." She'll let Neptune introduce herself. She also smiles at Amy's direction, notably not having yet done anything to help the poor girl's gender confusion. Especially given that she tilts her head and looks at Amy. "Who said I was a dude?" she asks, managing to supress the smirk. "I don't recall saying that."

    "I mean if I turned evil I'd probably just go race cars at unsafe speeds around Tokyo instead. So... basically a pretty normal evening for me." Uranus replies to the idea of her turning evil. "Well. Let's give you some time to get some energy back. Then we'll get down from here."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Good to meet you", Sayaka bows towards Sailor Uranus. "I don't have an actual moniker, so I just go by Sharpsong", she replies. That would probably explain to her quite a few details of her getup. Or viceversa. "Your tiara is cool too."

Ula gives a smile to Sailor Neptune. "That's good, especially since your prince won't let you be up until you are completely recovered." She nods towards Uranus. "Though, being in a speeding car probably wouldn't do her good."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Sayaka is bowing. Amy starts to bow and then awkwardly turns it into a curtsey partway through.

> I'm not a boy.
    "O-oh. Sorry..." Wait, but she's smiling. Like. Like confusing people into thinking she might be a boy is a fun little game. No, no, Amy is way out of her depth in... *multiple* things that were going on. "Nice to meet you, Sailor Uranus. So... what cured her? And what did the ding mean?" She looks to Neptune.

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Sailor Neptune just lays there still in Uranus' arms. Clearly she needs the rest after that ordeal. She just laughs at the quip about cars. They both know she'd've gone after Sunbreaker too. But Uranus uses humor to deflect.

"My name is Sailor Neptune," she says to the others. "And, well, I'm sorry for all of that. I really do not recommend dark energy."

She turns to Amy specifically, and says, "I used up all the dark energy with my escalating attacks. She said at the beginning that there was only so much. I knew that if I used it, I would use it all up eventually. And, well, I didn't really care if I hurt anybody in the process. Sorry about that."

There's a pause, as she considers Amy's other question. She doesn't really know what that ding was, she just knows it was part of the spell she'd felt earler. And then it hits her.

"She fooled us all," she says, her voice sinking. "Her entire attack was a diversion to keep us from destroying her spellwork that was draining the people inside, and it worked. Her spell had a fucking kitchen timer."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    "Sharpsong is a pretty good name. I wouldn't have picked the tiara but it kind of came with the territory." she says. "No, I don't think she's going to be car travelling for a little bit, either. Oh, and what's your name?" Uranus asks to Ula.

    Neptune answers what happened for Uranus, so she doesn't have to go into detail about something she doesn't know. Always a plus. She can just occasionally smirk or wink at Amy as opprotunities present themselves. The girl's flustered, so obviously Uranus will go slightly MORE interactive with her, not less.

    Neptune explains what the ding meant and what happened, and Uranus smacks her own forehead. "Well, it was a damn good diversion." she begrudgingly admits. "But it also nearly killed her, too. I hope she doesn't try it again." There's a pause, and Uranus sighs. "...that means she's going to, doesn't it?" she asks. She's getting a little more genre-savvy as time goes on.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"That was like a kitchen timer!?" Sayaka and Ula exclaim at once. "Should we expect the worst? If she had achieved what she wanted, I mean. We will need to be more careful next time" The bluenette nervously observes.

"What about the people inside? Should we get them sent to a hospital?" Ula glances unsure at all the others.

"I'm Eulalia, but you can call me Ula", the koi mermaid replies to Sailor Uranus, flying over to check out the tiara. "It may have come with the territory, but its making is of high quality, as expected when magic is involved. The jewel doesn't look cheap either", Ula throws her unrequired appraisal into the mix.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Nice to meet you." Amy nods to Neptune. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever get...darkened, I guess." She sighs. "So, she played us. ...Sounds like she really needed a win for once, but damn, were we totally played? She sounded so surprised it happened, though..."

Michiru Kaiou has posed:
Sailor Neptune nods to Amy. "She did. She's been losing for so long, she finally figured out a way to make losing into winning," she says. Then she sighs and shakes her head. "I'm glad I didn't kill her, though." Even if she still kinda wanted to.

There's a look from Amy to Ula to Sayaka and then back to Uranus. She leans her head in against her girlfriend's chest and says, "Can we at least get down off the roof?" Then just a little bit quieter, perhaps only loud enough for Uranus, she adds, "There's a sofa in the green room."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    "Eulalia is a very pretty name - but Ula is much easier to say." Haruka says, nodding. "As for the people inside, they'll probably be okay. There will be some cover story about a gas leak or something, the magic tends to take care of that." she says, shrugging. Uranus is very much a 'go with the wind flow' person.

    "I get the feeling she was so busy trying not to die or lose she had no idea she was winning." Uranus says, shrugging. "I'm glad you didn't kill her, too. That's not the kind of decision you should be making while you're not your own self." she says, firmly. "But that sounds right. Found a way to win while getting her butt kicked, since she can't stop getting her butt kicked." Uranus sighs.

    Then she smiles back down to Neptune. "Wind's pretty cold up here, so I think I'm going to take Neptune inside." she says. She doesn't say whether they are or not invited, standing up and easily carrying Neptune in her arms like the princess the Senshi of Oceans was. Henshin powers were pretty awesome.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"That's pretty clever", Sayaka comments relunctantly. "Throwing a decoy plan on top of her actual plan. I hope we don't start meeting more of these cases." That would be a huge problem.

Ula meanwhile moves away from the tiara, going back to Sayaka's side, relieved the people will be good enough. Green room? What green room? She has heard nothing about any green room or sofa or things for which space should be given, nothing at all.

"Thanks", Ula smiles at Uranus over her name being complimented. "I think we should go back now", she adds, looking uncertaintly at Sayaka.

"Yes, we should", the bluenette confirms tiredly. Her and Ula might have some things to discuss eventually, but not now. "See you", both of them greet the other three as they go away.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks at Sayaka. "...It's not necessarily that simple. You start having multiple... irons in the fire at once, so to speak... you win *some* as long as one of 'em works out, right? It's not just 'a plan and a decoy'."

    She'll follow the others off the roof, at least. "...Sorry about the confusion." She mentiones to Uranus.