1219/Oh No, Cornsequences!

Oh No, Cornsequences!
Date of Scene:	01 March 2024
Location:	Plot Room 2
Synopsis:	LaCrima makes good decisions and finally gets her just just reward in the form of a whole bunch of heroes to save Naru and Hinoiri from her clutches and bet up her corn.
Cast of Characters:	Norie Okana, Naru Osaka, Hinoiri Kirara, Bow, Mamoru Chiba, Adrien Agreste, Madoka Kaname, Usagi Tsukino, Sayaka Miki, Kyouka Inai, Amanda Faust

---

Norie Okana has posed:
Lacrima has been waiting for a device to charge so she can shove as much dark energy as she can into HINOIRI KIRARA. It's almost ready, and Lacrima is waiting for it to just get to those last painfully slow marks on it's charging meter as she angrily kicks the machine. "CHARGE FASTER." she yells.

"Maybe I outta just drag you kicking and screaming into the Dusk Zone." she says to Hinoiri.

Where is everyone? Lacrima is near an esoteric looking machine.

Hinoiri would be in the clutches of the Caspicorn as she would find tendrils wrapped around her. Restraining her and keeping her put.

She's going to be a test subject soon!

NARU OSAKA would be barred by tendrils, to keep her from meddling, but she was at least not wrapped up in them or something.

"Don't worry. When I'm done here. You can go." she says to Naru. "I really AM Sorry you got caught up in fight with Kirara-san." she says solemnly.

The exact setting was a Warehouse, formerly owned by Obsidian Corp. and now derelict near The Forgotten District. There was a wide open door at the top, though the windows of the room in question we're barred by masses of corn tendrils from the Corn-based Youma taking up the center of the room growing upwards.

Lacrima probably wasn't expecting anyone this evening. It's nightime. Early nightime, but nightime.

"Almost..." says Lacrima.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I don't think dragging her into the Dusk Zone is going to end well." Naru comments from her little barrier of Cranky Corn tendrils.

The last few percentage points of Naru's phone are still clinging to life, as she glances to it hoping that at some point in the slow trickle down of power of her various devices SOMETHING managed to catch a GPS signal. Even if the warehouse is practically a faraday cage of metal struts and girders and old wiring that no one took down when they left. Super messy.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was scared. Was, admittedly, scared. ACTUALLY scared. Why? Because La Crima hated her. There was 'hate'. And then there was THIS! She struggled against the binds and, while originally, she'd been very... aloof about this? She'd assumed it wouldn't do much, if anything. She'd assumed she'd be fine. But...

"T-take me into the dusk zone? Wouldn't... wouldn't that kill me? O-over a bit of an insult?" Did she remember it? Nope! But damn if she wasn't actually regretting it.

Worse, she was finding it... well... Going Sunbreaker... It wasn't as easy as she thought, when she was like this. Maybe it was the dark energy curling around her. Maybe it was her fear. Maybe it was the fact she couldn't pose. Tartarus, maybe it was the fact the vines had her and it was disrupting it.

But she couldn't henshin. And if she was dragged into the dusk zone, she'd NEVER henshined while in there. Could she? It already hurt to have dark energy inside her, would having ALL of the dark energy, ever, jammed into her all at once make it worse? Would she be resistant because of how much she controlled? Could she control it like that? What did that device even DO?!

"You don't... don't need to do this, La Cr... Norie-chan," she said, in as soothing a tone as she could. Maybe... calling her by her real name would help? Would calm her? "Listen, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I never meant to, it was probably meant as a joke, or a bit of silly. You have a ummmm... passable voice."

... She really was bad at this.

Bow has posed:
Up in the sky. It's a bird. Well. It has wings. It's definetly not a plane. And it's totally better than that caped guy in the comic books.

A mighty flap of his wings, and the mighty alicorn Swiftwind is up above the scene. "It's good to spread my wings and fly! But you know this means Adora..."

"I'm aware!" Bow reports, sitting on the alicorn's back, "But until she's ready to be found, we can use the time she's... busy... to help others!" the Etherian teen offers, his quiver of arrows set on his back, bow held to his side.

As they arrive, the pair of them are not alone, having invited Sayaka to come along with them. "That looks like the place!" he comments over to the Puella Magi behind him. "Take us around, Swiftwind! Keep an eye out for any trouble, we can be the eye in the sky up here, and provide support."

But in the midsts of all that, he looks back to Sayaka. "Would you rather be dropped off closer to the ground?" he asks her curiously, letting her decide where she wants to be. If she chooses the ground, Bow will direct the alicorn to come close to the ground, with his rainbow mane and wings and set down on the ground for a moment to deposit her before heading back up.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
FWIP.

A long-stemmed red rose comes hurtling through the air toward the tendrils keeping Hinoiri in place, aimed carefully to cut them without cutting her, should it hit its mark.

Up in a high warehouse window, there's the silhouette of a tall figure in a long cape, the rising moon backlighting him.

"Corn is meant to be enjoyed roasted, or on the cob, or mixed in to delicious dishes! It should never threaten pure-hearted or at least nice young maidens in evil schemes concocted by vampires with poor impulse control! I will not stand for this grave abuse of food, nor shall I tolerate the inconveniencing of the aformentioned maidens!" he calls loudly, his familiar voice ringing through the evening warehouse.

And then the mask shines, reflecting some of the light from inside, and he takes a step further forward to drop to the catwalk above; it's a tall boy in a white tie and tails, and he performs some sleight of hand and produces another red rose from nowhere. "I, Tuxedo Mask, shall oppose you!"

That is some dramatic flinging-back of red-lined cape.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
A dark figure leaps from rooftop to rooftop approaching the warehouse where the captives were kept. He's not trying to remain hidden, really, but the black of Cat Noir's outfit covers feet to, er, ears leaving only his blonde hair and face revealed. It did a rather suitable job of keeping him hidden in the first place!

Tonight he wasn't really concerned with not being noticed if it meant that he could at least help to free Naru. And Hinoiri of course! It's Naru he was most concerned about when he'd reached out to Usagi though, and it's patently clear that's his main goal tonight.

The cat perches atop the roof next door suddenly in a crouch with one clawed hand extended to grasp the edge of the building as he looks over the windows. There, then, is the other figure he was looking out for: Tuxedo Kamen.

With a rather amused grin he leaps over to the window as well, catching at the lower edge and pulling himself up just enough that by the time Tuxedo Kamen's cape flaps back, there's also the shadowy silouhette of a cat-eared figure crouching near his feet.

It was really impressive that little speech. HE never gave speeches. Maybe he should try? Except what could follow that up?

Some hidden urge inside him inspires him without thinking to blurt out...

"Meowth, that's right!"

Oh yeah he'd get it later.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka has been using Hope Witch a lot recently, which in one way is fine because it means Gretchen isn't being left out anymore, but it might soon hit a point where her other Chara feel left out. More than that, however, a new form with new limits and capabilities means that Madoka has to train and practice in order to understand them better. Abandoned warehouses have, classically, been her favored practice ground. The only issue is that this one is... apparently occupied.

    Brai, hovering over Witch's shoulder, tugs on her pigtail. "Hope-chan, something weird is happening over there."

    Madoka tilts her head and asks, "Hm? What is it, Brai?"

    The tiny long-haired minidoka shakes her head. "I don't know, but I think I feel dark energy, and also..." She points up at the sky, at the Alicorn and... apparently Sayaka is up there? Who is she with? "... Others seem to be going there, too!"

    Hope Witch looks where Brai is pointing, and lets out a sigh. "So much for being by myself. Well, better go check it out."

    A quick sprint and a few super jumps later, Madoka lands in an open window not far away from Tuxedo Kamen and Cat Noir. "Hey guys!" she calls out. "What's going on?" When she looks down at La Crima and the Corn Menace, she gasps. "Oh no! W-wait a minute... La Crima, can't we talk this out?!"

    Oh geeze. What did she just walk into?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi Tsukino's been on a low boil since she found out Naru and Hinoiri were kidnapped. But she's been a good girl, doing her math test, her studying, only dragging Adrien out to search once, finding Hinoiri's phone in the process.

But now she doesn't have to be the good girl, the good friend. Now she can be Sailor Moon, and Sailor Moon is fucking pissed. It's a good thing that Tuxedo Kamen has the justice speech on lock and that Cat Noir has the comedy, because she has the rage.

"You heard them. Let Naru-chan and Hinoiri-chan go, and we'll let you go!"

Sailor Moon stands on the catwalk beside Tuxedo Mask, Moon Stick gleaming in the faint light.

"Otherwise we start breaking things. The corn, the machine... you."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka had relayed to Bow about La Crima having kidnapped Hinoiri and Naru and them being somewhere in Juuban, and in turn with a fortunate turn of events, the Etherian had been able to offer her a lift on Swiftwind, and the three of them had stopped above a warehouse unnaturally infested by corn.

"That seems like it!" Sayaka exclaims. There were no other places around like this one even with the proximity to the Forgotten District, so this is were La Crima must have taken them.

Sayaka eyes the distance between them and the roof, and the roof and the ground. "I think I can do it", she replies to Bow. And when she looks down, she spots Madoka already there, in the form of Hope Witch. She is really giving it her all, huh? It did seem to Sayaka that Gretchen held the most power, for whatever reason.

Well, anyway, down she goes, landing on the roof, which fortunately holds her. It would have been weird for her to fall down right in the middle of the whatever was going on in there.

From there, she jumps down to the ground, and walks through the door, with Hinoiri so tied together than Sayaka wondered if she was able to even move a millimeter. "La Crima, stop this", she addresses the vampire. "Whatever Hinoiri said to offend you, it's not worth all this. Let her go. We are prepared to fight for this." It's a good thing she actually wasn't alone.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Despite everything else going on at the moment in her life, Stellar always has a free moment to assist in a kidnapping rescue. It's a sad state of affairs that this is a thing she can say unironically, that it's come up more than once in the past six months. But here we are.

    She is not Going In though, not unless someone calls for her because things go seriously south. She is on the roof, standing in henshin with her arms crossed, grey eyes focused down at the mass of corn-related tendrils writhing below and the people within, both prisoners and imprisoner.

    She can't help but smirk a little at the various flavors of justice speech, and makes a note to give Sailor Moon extra marks for that 'we'll break you" line. Savage.

    She'll wait here to see how it goes. She's there if somebody gets in trouble, but she thinks the kids have this one handled.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy makes her way to the scene much like the others. Already transformed. Norie may already know her identity, but Hinoiri doesn't, after all.

    Everyone else has speeches and righteousness. Amy just looks... concerned. "There's got to be a better way, La Crima. I know, it's been months, and we're not the best heroes for not finding a way to save you yet. But there's got to be a way to fix this! In a world with magical girls, there has to be! Please, stop this. You don't need to hurt anyone else."

    Amy slumps a bit as she looks between Hinoiri and La Crima. "...Besides, if you're trying to steal positive emotions from somebody so you can feel them again, are you really sure you wanna try to get them from Hinoiri?"

Norie Okana has posed:
La Crima watches a rose suddenly just appear on the tendril, burying deep and causing the Capsicorn to roar and let Hinoiri go in pain, probably accomplishing what Tuxedo Kamen set out to do. Lacrima gasps. "Hematite!?" is her first guess, because that's a rose dart. So she turns to face out the window. (Maybe the tendrils went down because the machine needs to vent while it's on it's last bit of charging so she needs the fresh air in here.)

Still.

Wait, No that's not Hematite, that's some jerk in formal wear and a mask, and he makes a speech. Then Sailor Moon, That Cat Guy who destroyed her heart stealing gun, and Hope Witch are there.

"Oh. Okay. Fine. Naru-chan, you can go." she motions her towards the door.

She pauses. "But no. Hinoiri-san stays with me." she says angrily.

"Why do you even want to save a bully'!?" she says even more angrily.

She looks angrily at Sayaka as she grits her teeth. "You, again. Don't lecture me!" she says.

She eyes Amy. "I'm not stealing her dumb emotions. I'm smothering them. LIKE MINE ARE. SO SHE CAN SEE WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!" she yells as she glowers with a dark energy aura.

Rather than attack, she tries to tackle Hinoiri to the ground.

Whle she does this the corn sends tendrils lashing out towards everyone on the roof as it roars, trying to find purchase on limbs to grab them. Everyone else not on the roof is currently not a target.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"No La Crima." Naru's voice is still very calm, even if she's been functionally dismissed now that there are people here. "You do not get to shove her full of Dark Energy. That isn't even how it works for most poeple." She seems determined to explain this, even if there's so much temptation to glance up to the roof where the people she loves are here to make justice speeches.. of various degrees of success.

As La Crima tries to tackle Hinoiri, Naru does what Naru is notorious for doing, and heads in to try and get in the way of Hinoiri getting tackled.. and likely drained. Naru is well familiar with what La Crima's touch is like.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch hears what Amy says about Hinoiri and kindof winces a bit. Yes, her past interactions with Hino have been... rocky at best, but she's not without empathy.

    "Well she's not wrong," says Brai.

    "Brai-chan... don't," pleads the exasperated Chara Bearer. It's around then that the tendrils start lashing out at her, and she yelps as one smacks her straight out of the air. She lands on the warehouse floor on her back, and needs to take a moment to catch her breath before she stand back up. "Oh golly... why now?!"

    Still hoping that words alone will change things, Hope Witch decides to intercede on Hinoiri's behalf. She brushes herself off and starts to walk cautiously closer to La Crima and Hinoiri. "I mean... I know she hasn't been... always nice, but she's not that... bad..." She has to hesitate. Does she really believe those words. "I mean, I'm sure if we listen to her, she has some kind of tragic history that at least explains why she is the way she is?"

    Lydian is suddenly behind Madoka, playing a very tiny violin. Where did she come from? Don't worry about it. She's a magical art fairy.

    "I mean... you never know... maybe if you get to know her better you'll realize that she's already hurting enough on her own?" says Hope Witch. Oh gosh, she feels like she's doing so badly at this. If she was defending Naru instead, it would be a lot easier.

    Brai crosses her arms and frowns at Madoka. "Do you really believe all of what you just said?" Madoka just puts a finger over her lips in a 'shush' gesture.

    The corn youma gets a wary glance. She hopes she doesn't have to fight... whatever that thing is.

Bow has posed:
"Hinoiri!" Swiftwind calls out. "It is I, Swiftwind, heroic steed and friend to all Mahous! I shall assist my faithful companions and come to your rescue! And then, Hinoiri, we shall abscond to that cabin and have apples and milk and watch all the shows I have missed in the last few days because Bow does not have a television! And I must know what happened to Christina's confession that Rico was not the father of her baby!"

Bow lets out a frustrated noise, somewhere between a strangled laugh and a sigh. "Television's bad for your brain, I was told!" he snaps back at the alicorn. "And does nothing for what we're supposed to be doing!" However, as Tuxedo breaks out the rescue speech, the Etherian's brows rise as he holds onto Swiftwind a little tighter. "And Glimmer thinks I'm the onle one that gives inspirational speeches at random..." he murmurs, clearly impressed, judging by the little sparkles in his eyes.

Game respects game.

With Sayaka getting ready to depart, Bow glances towards her, "Be careful. See you after this." Offered quickly, he waits for the Puella Magi to depart, before he nudges Swiftwind back up into the air. "So what do you think, Swiftwind?" he asks the alicorn.

Swiftwind considers, "I think you need to start providing air support, my friend!" the mount calls out to Bow.

"Right!" Bow draws back his bow, an arrow drawn back, and he starts to fire, sending down arrow after arrow to try to nail down the tendrils as they race out towards the ground forces. And then he calls out, "Multi-shot! Three!" Three arrows appear, fired down as he starts to spread his shots - there's way too many vines for him to stop them all, but he can at least try to help trim them down so that the other heroes can stay relatively safe.

As Bow rains down arrows towards the tendrils, Swiftwind tries to be encouraging, offering it utmost sincerity. "You corn do it, Bow!"

"Don't even start!" Bow grunts, no real heat to his tone as he draws back for another shot to try to pin down another tendril. "This is not the time to be corny!" And then louder, "I'll try to keep your paths clear!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was free! Kind of! She dropped and... her legs gave out. OF COURSE! Stupid two legged MAMMALS! She missed having all four. She would still be standing! She jumped a little when La Crima said Hematite. Of... of all the people she wanted to be here, to SEE her like this... no. Anyone but him. She closed her eyes, giving a soft whimper... and then... Meowth that's right? She opened them and looked, to see who it was and...

... And...

"... The weird cat boy? Who is--" and then her eyes went wide. Wait. SHE KNEW HIM! That was the guy who saved Sailor Moon the one time she almost beat her! Right before Sailor Moon saved her! WHAT?! WHY WAS HE HERE-- Oh. Right. Naru.

But then Sailor Moon was here too, and she was PISSED! Oh. Right. Second Naru Kidnapping.... the girl should get a punch card at this point.

But then Sayaka. Her eyes lit up... just a bit. Of course. Sayaka HAD to come for her. If anyone was--

"HEY! I'M A DEL--" BAM! She was too distracted to realize 'run/crawl' now... and instead was tackled by La Crima. She shrieked, letting out a startled hiss of pain. On the upside, Naru was likely in on this tackling pile of disharmony.

And Hinoiri did the only thing she could do in this situation... She tried to kick!

... Someone... really needed to teach this girl how to properly kick. Or punch. Note to self, meet with Fuyuko later about that. If she survived. "Get off me you psycho!"

And then she froze again. Because... "S-Swiftwind?" she asked, glancing towards him.

Ohmygosh an alicorn came for her BEST KIDNAPPING EVER 10/10 stars! WAIT NO LA CRIMA FOCUS ON GIRL TRYING TO MURDER HER! She gave up on the kicking and tried to scramble/crawl awayyyy!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Please, I have better hair than Hematite," Tuxedo Mask says, putting his rose-free hand on his hip and rolling his eyes. He glances to one side and waves to Madoka! Then looks back down at La Crima. "You're really going to argue with Sailor Moon? Hinoiri might be a jerk, but-- hey!"

The tendrils come up roofwards and the tall boy jumps away-- but he seems less than inclined to head for the floor, precisely, as he aims himself at the giant corn youma, flipping the rose around to stab it into the corn as a handhold. "If you won't listen, maybe this ear will!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's relief as Naru is promptly released, only for anger to flush Sailor Moon's face when La Crima asks why anyone would want to rescue a bully. "Because she's my friend! And there's no way she was rude enough to earn this! And, actually, you know? Even if she was, I don't caAAARE?!" The upward screech in pitch is because the corn is lashing out wildly, and Sailor Moon has to dive back, nearly falling off the catwalk in her scramble to get away.

"Why you -! Fine! You asked for it!"

What exactly did La Crima ask for? Oh Reader, You Know. With a quick twirl, Sailor Moon carves a circle of golden light into the air. At its apex, silver beams of light and wisps of mist shoot towards La Crima.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

Moon Healing Escalation only affected the corrupt, those filled with Dark Energy or other harmful substances, after all! It's totally safe for Hinoiri to get bathed in it! Right? Right?? And then, a corn tendril snags her leg. Of course it does.

"Waaaaah!"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir had no idea what La Crima was doing in her particular goal to kidnap Hinoiri and Naru, even if Naru had told him that she was just an accidental kidnapping. When the others speak up about stealing emotions, and fixing her, he narrows his eyes a bit with lips pressed tight together.

He had to admit that red head was a bit right about Hinoiri but... He'd seen her be less mean, too.

When the tendrils lash out toward those up higher he leaps into the air flipping forward to bounce down on the tendril that had been coming for him. It's used as a springboard for another jump bringing him closer yet. His staff is swung out and down toward the ground. Though it was farther away than the staff would seem to reach, it extends out until it smacks into the floor of the warehouse solidly using it to balance himself.

"You know," he remarks, "For someone who claims not to feel emotion you seem *really angry.* Have you considered therapy?"

The quip is barely out of his mouth when he sees exactly WHAT Naru is doing causing his eyes to widen in shock. No. No no no. He did not want to see Naru sacrifice herself for someone.

A quick twist of his body, pushing off with the staff, he flings himself down toward La Crima with arms reaching out to try to grab her first before she gets to Naru. Or Hinoiri. Either way it's not really controlled so much as a desperate leap.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Why do we want to save a bully? "Dude. She's a teenager. It's not like she's evil." Amy blinks. Smothering her emotions? "Wait, you can do that?! Don't!" She reaches out a hand in a 'stop!' gesture, and corn tendrils grab it. "No! Not again!" A pistol is suddenly in her other hand as she fires rocket-bullets at the corn monster. "Do not grab me!" She says, slightly stiltedly, like she's thinking about the words before saying them.

    If bullets or arrows get the tendril off her, she leaps down towards Norie. "Let her go!" She'll try to bodily pull Norie off them, if she can get close!

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Well, Naru going away is half a win, too bad they aren't here to settle. Either they walk out with both of them, or they don't until they do. And then there is Amy pointing out that Hinoiri's emotions aren't worth it, and well, it's honestly a 50-50 on that, so she partially disagrees, not that she would say it out loud in case Amy's line convinces La Crima to stop this without a fight.

Well, that's not even La Crima's goal, so it doesn't matter. And it seems she is trying to fill her with dark energy so she can produce another herself? "This isn't me trying to lecture you. This is me trying to make you see reason, or getting her out by force."

Well, Sayaka could help a lot in illuminate Madoka on the reasons why Hinoiri feels compelled to do this, and why Sayaka is still being friends with her despite doing everything she can when she does her Sunbreaker things, but that would mean revealing things Hinoiri doesn't want her to say, so she just says "She wasn't always at her best, but she has actually learnt to care about people, like she wanted to. Despite her flawed approach in several aspects, she has genuinely tried to help me, Hope Witch." It's not like Madoka doesn't have her rights to resent some things, but like Sayaka is pushing after her feelings on Norie, maybe she can do the same with Hinoiri?

And of course, the vampire doesn't choose to cooperate, rather, chooses to fight with tackle Hinoiri to the ground, with that draining touch of hers probably having its effect on the unicorn. With a quick glance to her Soul Gem, Sayaka determines that in fact she does have enough to avoid negative consequences in the long run, and rushes in, trying to districate the vampire away from Hinoiri.

Norie Okana has posed:
@emit Lacrima tackles Hinoiri and Naru as a casualty of that, and indeed, Naru gets drained as Lacruma reflexively recoils away suddenly, but is grabbed by both Amy and Sayaka, who also, gets an energy drain as she yells. "STOP TOUCHING ME YOU IDIOTS!" she yells out.

Cat Noir lands a bit too late to do anything about that, in his desperation perhaps. But he's close right now. Which is good.

Sailor Moon lets out a Moon Healing Escalation as Lacrima eats it- indeed it hurts, it hurts a lot. She sends out an UNEARTHLY SCREECH from her current location, some sort of inhuman squeal as she gets sent flying backwards by the attack, into a wall. Her form dissipates into black mist as she slumps a moment, almost floating downwards a moment as she holds her head with two clawlike hands.

The corn indeed finds purchase on Sailor Moon though, it starts to drag it towards it, the giant husk of corn opening at the top, revealing rows of sharp teeth--- before Bow's arrows knock into it and lets Usagi go.

Other attempts to shoot the tendrils work, and stabbing the corn with a rose causes it to bleed some form of black ichor. Instead of you know. Juice. It screeches angrily and tries to snap at Tuxedo Kamen with it's maw.

"I'm so tired of being walked all over!" says Lacrima, who's currently like an angry dark energy shade.

She races RIGHT at Sailor Moon, flying through the air as a streak of black, trying to grab onto her. Trying to drain her as she tries to do this before she can get off another one of those Moon Healing Escalations.

That's gonna end poorly for one of the other probably.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara would have to agree with at least ONE of the comments flying. Tuxedo Kamen's hair was FAR superior to that rat nest Hematite had. Mean jerk. And his roses were nicer, too! They were red and looked delicious.

Also, wait. Chiyo thought they were friends?! Awwww. And here she barely knew the girl. Still, it was nice to know she kind of mattered. And-- "For the record, I wasn't rude enough! I wasn't even rude! I don't even remember what she yelled at me about! You know why don't we see how friendly YOU ALL are after living off granola bars for a week and being thrown into a wall?!" Hinoiri yelled.

Why? Because her character was being UTTERLY DEVASTATED OUT HERE!

... Wait. Moon healing-- Oh shit.

Also, if she knew what her other lackey (Adrien) was thinking SHE WOULD BE SO ANGRY! Amy, too, but at least Amy wasn't one of her lackeys. However, IT WAS A GOOD THING SHE COULDN'T HEAR MADOKA'S CONVERSATION AND WAS DISTRACTED OR HOPE WITCH OVER THERE MIGHT EXPERIENCE THE HOSTAGE SLAP! Hinoiri had already made SO MANY POOR CHOICES! What was one more?! She'll get smacked into another wall, she'll do it, her self preservation instincts were almost as bad as Naru's when she was mad!

But then.... the energy drain... oh... she was in no state for that. And she just dropped, groaning and hitting the ground. Okay, she was... just going to--

MOON HEALING INTERNAL FIRE! RIGHT! THAT'LL WAKE YOU UP! She shrieked when suddenly La Crima was getting off her an, you know what? SHE WAS UP TOO! OW OW OW OW OW! And maybe a little singed, but she would DEFINITELY blame that on La Crima and the corn later. On the upside...

... Swiftwind was here. That was the upside. With a weird boy with a bow on his back. Okay then. You know, a nap sounded good about now.

Of course, being her... "Well then don't deserve to be walked over you psychopathic buffalo!" Hinoiri snapped at her. As always, her insults made so much sense.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    There are arrows on the field and Hope Witch didn't fire them. This is a new experience for her. She looks up at Sayaka's new 'friend' and considers him in a new light. "Oh! Hey, I have a bow, too!" Her bow, which looks like it was made from a tree branch, appears in her hand.

    "This isn't a time to make friends," objects Brai.

    When Sharpsong starts defending Hino, Hope Witch is surprised enough to take notice. If Sayaka, of all people, is defending Hinoiri then either she's gone through a significant personality change or there's a lot more to the story than Hope realizes. "Well, Song-chan, if you say so I'll take your word on it."

    Feeling remarkably unqualified to actually defend Hinoiri with full honesty, Madoka instead decides to defend her with arrows and magic. She draws back on her branch bow and a pink arrow appears between her fingers. She lets the magic around it grow for a bit before she releases the charged bolt into the air, where it splits into a countless many which rain all over the ground creating a barrier of pink arrows between Hinoiri and the Corn Monster.

    "Kirara-san, Osaka-san, get behind me! I can get us out of here if you don't mind going somewhere weird."

    Wait a moment. Would it really be wise for Madoka to take Hinoiri to a place made out of her most sincere, honest feelings? As the thought crosses her mind, it causes her to hesitate long enough to not actually open up the portal.

    Plus, she heard what Hinoiri just said. "H-hey, you be nice too!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"What, Obsidian ran out of Dark Generals so they have to make due with Dark Kernels?" Tuxedo Mask yells, flicking the wrist of his free hand and producing what looks like a small stick. Then he sticks his hand in the mouth of the youma!!!

Quickly.

Because the small stick turns out to be an extending cane! It may not do much, but at least it'll be hard for the giant corn youma to close its mouth? If the cane stays in place, that is!

But there's screaming over there after the Escalation, so he knows it hit, and he climbs up further on the giant youma, almost slipping on the black corn ichor a couple of times on his way. That's when he sees Lacrima rushing at Moon and an awful lot of confusion of people, and he is not shooting into a crowd, no matter how good his aim.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Thanks, Hope Witch!", the bluenette exclaims. Maybe one day she will actually be able to explain what Hinoiri's deal.

The displeasing sensation La Crima's drain gives her is stubbornly ignored from Sayaka when she is grabbing her off Hinoiri together with Amy. Right now, it wouldn't be a useful indicator of danger, it would only be a distraction, and she can deal with it after the fight. Instead, she picks Hinoiri up and drags her outside, shuddering as her ears are assailed by that unearthly scream.

By Usagi's account on La Crima's Shade form, this isn't the first time the soldier of the moon has had to deal with it, and anyway, this is supposed to be her weakened self, right?

With that rationale in mind, Sayaka picks up the crawling Hinoiri and runs out of the Labyrinth, calling out "Hey Swiftwind, Bow, please come here! I have Hinoiri here that should mount Swiftwind."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's felt the drain before. She can take a little. Having yoinked Lacrima together with Sayaka, she tries to shove-kick the vampire away, stumbling back herself from being the less massive one here.

    She glares at Hinoiri taking the opportunity to toss insults at Norie. "Run." she directs the hostage, quirking an eyebrow at how she's burning from the Escalation.

    She does laugh at Tuxedo Mask's 'Dark Kernels" joke.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir lands hard in a roll because he totally missed getting anyone out of that draining-touch threesome that just happened. At the very least he springs back to his feet out of the roll with only a wince at the whole 'I just landed on concrete' situation. More importantly it seems La Crima was heading toward Sailor Moon. Away from the two that just got drained at least.

Without even hesitating he dips in to scoop Naru up in his grasp before she might risk falling from the drain. Near as he was, he snaps his head around toward Hinoiri to ask, "Are you okay?" As well. While he might know she wasn't the nicest... He had seen her be kind of nice! There was potential there! He wasn't about to leave her either, if he could avoid it.

There were others helping her it seemed though so he simply nods with a quick, "I'll let you go horse around while I take care of the Naru Deer."

With that he tucks Naru in close to his side and starts to carry her off at a decent run. "Butter get out of here before things start popping off!"

Bow has posed:
"Bow! You've got to do something!" Swiftwind is trying to encourage the Etherian archer, but at the same time, Hinori's in danger! Help Hinoiri! She's his ticket to all you can watch soap operas! "You know, if I had been with her, she'd never gotten kidnapped!"

"And you wouldn't be here to help rescue her and Adora would still be worried about you!" Bow argues back. As he draws back and pull, suddenly he spies the top of the husk opening and all of those teeth that were going to threaten Sailor Moon, and he switches his tactics. "Swiftwind, get me closer!"

"CLOSER?!" the alicorn balks. "Very well, we shall endeavor closer, Bow!" And with that, Swiftwind starts to dive, those rainbow wings tucking in.

As they dive, Bow sits up straighter on the alicorn's back, his knees and thighs tightening to hold on as close as he can, and reaches for his quiver.

"FLARE ARROW!" he calls out, and a canister arrows is pulled out. Drawing the arrow back, Bow's tongue sticks out of the side of his mouth, eyes narrowing, as he adds, "MAGNIFYING ARROW!"

A second arrow appears, this one notched with a magnifying glass on the side of the arrow head, and that's what Bow looks through to aim, making the targetting area of that maw much more visible.

All four arrows are let loose, the flare arrows combusting to life as he attempts to drop them down into all of those rows of teeth, and corn and husk...

As they sweep by after their bombing run, Swiftwind's wings open wide to flare and slow him down as he trots to a halt near Sayaka and Hinoiri. Dismounting, Bow helps Sayaka with Hinoiri to get her over the back of the horse and glances across to Sayaka. "Going with? I'm staying, Swiftwind can come back for me once Hinoiri's safe." A normal arrow is drawn, notched into place to fire.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The corn tendril is snapped by an arrow, and Sailor Moon decides to stop tempting fate by dropping down to the ground as La Crima screams in agony - and Hinoiri does too. Oh no! The energy drain must be hitting her hard!

This turns out to be a mistake, because La Crima's shade form promptly tackles her, draining energy - so MUCH energy.

Sailor Moon is full of energy, bright and pure as the full moon reflected in a lake, warm as a kiss on the cheek, as a shoulder to cry on. She cries out as she's drained, barely managing to concentrate -

"Moon Twilight Flash!"

A beam of pale light flies from the jewel on her tiara, striking La Crima dead on. It's meant for shades, spirits, and ghosts. There may not be purification, but it will hurt.

"Get off me! If you want to be treated better, act better!"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Then get off me!" Naru protests as she gets tackled, no matter that she was the one who got involved. She's entirely too familiar with being drained, it's just a normal day for her.. although this was quite a jolt of sudden draining and she woobles a little on her feet before catching her bearings again. Generally. Until La Crima screeches and discorporates.

That's when Naru's touchy balance becomes Naru stumbling, cause that was a load bearing vampire!

"Define weird!?" Naru calls over to Madoka as she works to get to her feet after the drain and head that direciton. "Wait no.. never mind.. I'm not picky on weird."

and then she's been scooped up by a Cheeky Kitty and taken out of the fray. "Why hello there, my Cheeky Kitty. Fancy meeting you here." She settles her arms around his neck, making it easier for him to carry her.

Norie Okana has posed:
Tuxedo Kamen shoves an extending cane into the mouth of the Caspicorn and it starts to thrash about, angrily as it tries to close it's mouth. It tries and tries and it looks like the cane is bending, it won't hold forever as the corn almost is about to break free....

Then bow fires a flare arrow directly into it's maw JUST as it's trap shuts....and then there's a pause from the creature. It stops dead. Before it starts howling in pain, the corn screaming as it starts to pop. POP. POP POP POP, huge kernels of corn exploding off the corn now and into walls, leaving dents as it screeches and starts to tumble backwards, out a window and fall in a firey mess down to the ground with a gigantic thud. It continues to angrily pop as it goes still.

Well, that's the end of that. You probably don't want to eat the kernels of carnivorous corn, as they tumble about the room now.

La Crima isn't stopping anyone from taking Hinori away now. Nor Naru, right now she's latched onto Sailor Moon, draining her energy, when there's a giant flash of light and she lets go, hissing as she flies backwards a little, finally giving Sailor Moon space.

She looks over to Hinoiri crawling away with friends, Naru being carried away by a sarcastic catboy. She then goes slack in mid air, and just with frustration just goes "NNRRRRGGGGG!"

"N..Not a single one of you understands what this is like and to... to be made fun of for it." she says. "-and now my Caspicorn is dead." she says quietly.

"I give up." she says even quieter. "None of you care anyways. Sorry for kidnapping Naru. She wasn't my target..."

Unless anyone stops her, or tries to attack her, she'll duskport away, back into the Dusk Zone.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara would, admittedly... likely not be a good uhhh... visitor to Hope Witch's inner sanctum. She tended to give people.... unique thoughts about her. Many of which were not altogether kind. Deserved. But not kind.

On the upside, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen seemed to make a good team, that was nice. Especially when it wasn't them trying to beat her ass for something she likely didn't deserve in her mind.
Aaaaand then she was Sayaka's luggage. She yelped as she was hauled away, but you know what? NOT GONNA BITCH! She hurt, she was achey and--

Oh gosh she was on an alicorn. Her eyes actually glimmered for a moment. "O-oh. Oh wow. Say-- Errr, Sharpsong? You're the best," she said. Then blinked. Glanced to Bow and...

'Magnifying arrow'. On the one hand, she wanted to mock. Because he was a sparkle skirt... on the other hand.... Swiftwind let him ride her. So uhhhh.... He had to be awesome. Yes.

"I... ummm... I c-can ride Swiftwind a-alone, I'll be fine. Y-you should go and... and help your friends. And... and..." slow, deep breath. "Thank you. For... this..." And she couldn't really meet Sharpsong's gaze at the moment. She.... knew the truth. Well. At least part of it.... She'd... explain more to Sayaka later. As it was, well... she was going to go on a magical horsey ride! And she would NOT say "Weeee!"

... Very loudly.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Damn. The corn monster is being popped alive. That's kinda messed up.

    When Norie mentions no one knowing how she feels, "I'm really sorry. I never made fun of it. Please, let us help--" But she won't stop Norie from duskporting away.

    She looks around. No enemies left? "I guess we win?"

    ...She looks at Bow.

    "Did you say 'magnifying arrow?'"

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir grins lopsided at Naru when she seems both all right, and holds on to him so that he doesn't risk dropping her. All the better, though he had no intention of doing so anyway.

The others do well enough fighting off the corn, and La Crima, though he pauses at her defeated remarks before she leaves with a shake of his own head. "I do feel bad, but... It's not as if she's actually asking for help right now?" He was a bit confused by this. Maybe he'd missed something It was quite possible, but really the only time he'd run into her before she had just shot Naru's heart gem out.

Looking back to the girl in his arms he flashes another grin. "Come here often? Did they remember to punch your 'frequent abductee' card?"

Everyone seemed okay. Or at least, about to be okay. Tuxedo Kamen had the corn taken care of, Sailor Moon was all right... Hinoiri was also rescued by others. And he was just standing here holding Naru like a big dork.

A big dork who murmers quietly, just for Naru's ears, "I'm glad you're okay. I owe you so many coffees."

Gently, carefully, he lowers her legs back to the ground while keeping his arm around her back. With a look of pure mischief he just... Dips her back in a rather big smooch while everyone else is all distracted with a happy little rumble of... a... a purr? Was he PURRING?

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Scrambling away from the now-popping corn monster, Tuxedo Mask jumps again-- this time to land in a crouch next to Sailor Moon. He puts a hand on her shoulder and there's a well of energy there for her, if she wants it after that drain.

He glances around, sees what everyone's up to, and then leans in to murmur, "Whatever you decide, I want to help. But I thought you should know, Cat Noir is kissing Naru right now."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Seeing how the situation is forming now, Hope Witch decides that whatever kind of place her Labyrinth produces has to at least be somewhat less dangerous than this, right? Maybe if she can control her emotions for a moment...

    No, there's no time to practice that right now, and this is probably not the best time to try to figure out how her Labyrinth would react to Hinoiri and while Madoka might only be imitating Witch magic, Witches aren't particularly known for being forgiving or kind.

    Aside from that, everyone else has found some other way of fleeing. "Y-yeah... go with them, that's probably safer."

    As the rising popcorn tide comes her way, Madoka actually decides that the Labyrinth is her safest, quickest escape route anyways. She opens up the white frilly portal behind her and jumps through, closing it before any more kernels can get inside. After that, the circular gateway starts to move out of the warehouse. It doesn't seem to respect physical boundaries such as doors, but it's moving slowly enough to be caught if someone were quick.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
La Crima goes flying, and Sailor Moon sags with a gasp, her henshin barely holding on after that massive energy drain. That hurt - that hurt, she hated energy drain!

But then there was the breathing room, and there was La Crima feeling sorry for herself, and Sailor Moon hadn't killed her, not even a little. She didn't feel sorry for her either, though. La Crima was someone else's monkey, in someone else's circus. Wasn't it enough she'd taken responsibility for Sunbreaker?

Mamochan is right there with her, his healing energy warm and consoling, and she breathes easier, feeling herself calm. She smiles up at him, bright and tired, and then - wait, what? WHAAAAAT?

Naru and Cat Noir are indeed having a super romantic dip smooch and are sure to be noticed and Usagi has so many questions but also one of her best friends has two boyfriends (a boyfriend and a fiance whatever) and her boyfriend had a boyfriend so can really and truly judge? Ye.....NO!

Still, she shakes herself off and then Sailor Moon goes runnin. Naru and Cat Noir are the first victims of she are victims of TACKLE HUGS, with Sailor Moon launching herself right at them.

"Naru-chan! (Whisper)Are you dating another boy?(/Whisper) Naru-chan I'm so glad you're okay!" And then, mid huge hug squeeze squeeze, just squeezing all the breath from Cat Noir and Naru, she yells, "Hinoiri-chan!!! Get down here for giur hug too!!! But, after your pegasus ride, I guess!"

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Stellar has been sitting on the roof this whole time, watching the proceedings. She might have been tempted to evac Naru (and maybe even Hinoiri) but that turned out to not be necessary as several of the rescuers were on top of it. So she sat and watched, one leg dangling over the edge of the opening in the roof, the other pulled up so she can rest her chin on her knee.

    You might think she'd be saddened or feel left out to be unneeded, but you'd be wrong. It makes her feel like her advice and guidance has been worthwhile, at least to some of those present, that they can handle a rescue operation without needing to call for support.

    Seeing La Crima retreat and noting that everyone appears more or less in one piece, if a bit drained in some cases, she stands, nodding her head in satisfaction, and teleports away.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Another three and a I get a free one!" Naru might be a little overtired thanks to the drain, but teasing with Chat Noir clearly isn't /that/ challenging, at least by her little laugh.

Naru glances around, watching the corn pop, and chaos reign and she leans into that quiet murmur from the black suited catboy.

Naru's not in a rush to let go of her Cheeky Kitty and for good reason, Chat Noir might be kissing Naru.. but Naru is certainly kissing him right back!

Someone should probably warn Adrien.

And then there's a hug tumbling over both of them from Sailor Moon. "We're fine! Mostly bored really." She winks to Sailor Moon at the whisper. Which isn't really much of an answer, but all she's giving right here and now.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy shrugs. "If it worked, I ain't knockin' it. Because, obviously you're nockin' it!" She smiles and points at Bow with both hands! Eyyyyy!

    Then she takes and releases a breath, and... Well, they should get out of there, huh. So she does that.

Adrien Agreste has posed:
GURK. Sailor Moon was stronger than she looked. Cat Noir stiffens with head jerking up and a blush at being caught--Not that he was really HIDING the kiss he and Naru shared. Being caught and interrupted with a tackling hug that squeezed the air out of his lungs was certainly a sobering experience though.

"F-fine here," he wheezes before managing to gasp for air again. Focusing more on the moment he then asks, "Are you okay? She got you pretty good." He had been paying attention even if he was pleasantly distracted enough that he hadn't really noticed the rise of evil popcorn that was now strewn around.

"... At least we have snacks. I don't think that we should try that though. Ramen?" He suggests of the group with a toothy grin as he falls back easily into the laid-back catboy persona.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Yes, I am going with you", Sharpsong confirms to Bow. Norie is still at it in there, and honestly, with Naru already free of La Crima's grasp and Hinoiri entrusted to Swiftwind (hoping the horse is merciful on Hinoiri's ears on the way back), what they have to do now is stop both from continuing the fight against each other.

Except then, the dark energy signature disappears before she can even come back there. Guess Hinoiri's absence was enough to make La Crima reconsider? Besides she sees the kernels becoming popcorn, and she sincerely doubts Norie would do that to her own plant, and things are calm right after anyway, so that's one more signal that the fight is well and truly over.

And if somehow, she still harboured doubts, then Usagi's happy cries resounding in the night would have truly dispelled them. But they are also important because they give Sayaka the reassurance she needed La Crima didn't actually hurt her, or at least, not in a debilitating way.

"Yes, I am alright", Sayaka replies. She is clearly a bit tired as a result of the energy drain, but nothing that needs intervention. "Thanks for coming, Bow", the Puella says, giving the Etherian boy a quick kiss on the cheek.

And then there is that white portal hanging around, that Sayaka quickly recognises from past fight. Well, that means Madoka is safe too, although that is not going to stop her from checking anyway, once she comes out of it.

Bow has posed:
Ready to unleash another arrow, as the Caspricorn starts to pop, Bow finds himself having to dodge a few of the larger kernels, using the bow to knock them aside. "I didn't expect it to blow it's top like that..." he admits quietly, a frown as La Crima is retreating. He feels like he should say something. Adora would know something to say in this moment, somthing that may make La Crima feel better.

Bow doesn't know what those words are, yet. Snapping the bow closed, he places it on his back next to the quiver. "You alright?" he asks Sayaka, just to make sure that Sharpsong is good.

Swiftwind rises off the ground and breathes a sigh of relief, then bristles at Sailor Moon's remark. "Do you not see the horn? THE MAJESTIC HORN?! I am an Alicorn! Wings only, pegasus. Horn only, unicorn. Both? Alicorn! And I can talk too! There are no talking pegasi!" A snort. "A pegasus." he murmurs in frustration. "As if."

On the ground, when Amy calls him out for his arrow choice, Bow scratches at the back of his head at the very short hairs there. "Well... I mean... yes." he says, owning it. "It's really effective for making things look larger and you know and if it's larger, it's easier to see and and... It worked!" he declares.

A little breath of relief and a small fistpump. "Yes. It worked!" he says in a quieter tone to himself. Because he was totally unsure it would work, and it did and small squee. Wait until he tells the... others. Then he realizes that situation and he lets out a slow breath. No. He'll tell them when he sees them again.

And he was about to turn his attention to the others when Sayaka leans in and steals a kiss on his cheek. There's a pause, and the Etherian teen's cheeks darken with a blush. "I told you I wasn't gonna let you do this alone, we're all part of a group now." a small chuckle, almost nervous, almost giddy. "The new Rebellion." He gives her a small nudge. "Let's see about getting ramen with the others."

Swiftwind will carry Hinoiri off and drop her off somepace safe before returning to Bow - in his smaller form, apparently whatever Adora was doing, she was no longer changed, and Swiftwind is back to plush alicorn form. But that's later. Like after this is all done.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was getting an alicorn ride, was getting an alicorn ride, was--

DID CAT NOIR JUST KISS NARU?! "HEY! YOU! CAT BOY! NARU-CHAN HAS A BOYFRIEND! SAILOR MOON! YOU SHOULD HIT HIM WITH YOUR MAGIC CA--STICK!" Yes, she did take offense to that. ALMOST said can opener. However, before she could get TOO angry about it... WHAT?!

"He is an ALICORN! A pegasus has WINGS! A unicorn has a HORN! And an alicorn has BOTH and is AWESOME!" Yes. As angry as she'd been about some weird leather clad cat boy dip kissing her minion when she already had a boyfriend.... The sheer RAGE she had at mis-racialing an ALICORN?! Oh, that was CROSSING THE LINE LADY! She nodded along with Swiftwind and patted his head. "Exactly? You're a majestic alicorn. Way better than just a pegasus."

Although, something else she said hit her. "W-wait, my hug? I get a hug?" she asked. Blink blink. Blink. And um... "I... I don't know if that's.... a good idea... right now... I should probably have the nurse look at my back before I get any hugs from... magic people... Also I would throttle someone for an *actual* meal right now... And Naru-chan probably wants coffee and..." She slumped a little agaisnt Swiftwind, "I... I think we should land... It has been a tartarus of a week..." But...

Most of them were here for Naru. Probably. Most of them... But at least Sayaka, she knew... came for her. At least Sayaka did... And she--

Wait. Did Sayaka just... "Swiftwind, did Sayaka just kiss the boy who was riding you before?" Blink blink. Blink...

Bow has posed:
Swiftwind asides to Hinoiri, "That's Bow. He's from mine and Adora's world." comes the quick explanation. "...I'll tell you all about him later!" comes the promise. "Right after I catch up on the last episodes that I missed!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The kissing kittens are released from their tacklehug, Sailor Moon patting Cat Noir on the back - patting, with just a bit of force. "Don't you drop her now!"

Oh, she will be asking so many questions later, but now? Now she spins around and says, "That's what a pegasus is! A unicorn has a horn, and a pegasus is when you add wings to a unicorn!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara eye twitched. She was exhausted. She was tired. She was hungry for real food past the granola bars and some of the stuff she had shared with Naru. She wanted real coffee. She wanted real food. And she was... so tired and achey and...

"A PEGASUS DOESN'T HAVE A HORN!" she yelled to the heavens. "NOT ALL PEGASI!" GAHHHH!

Sailor Moon would be able to track her by the sounds of her indignant RAGE! But... admittedly... even if she got the promised hug... She'd likely collapse into it. She'd been thrown around... and then dusked... and then purified and... she... she just wanted to go home... Or the korma. Food or sleep. Yes.

Bow has posed:
Swiftwind snorts. "And you're just a biclops!" it's the only real insult that he can think to throw out at the moment towards Sailor Moon. A /huff/ of frustration, even as Hinoiri is soothing his horse-feathers as he lowers back to the ground, and he'll remain near to Hinoiri while she's taken care of.

In the meantime, Bow is walking with Sayaka to rejoin the others. "...I think someone mentioned food?" he asks curiously. "I could go for a bite."

Adrien Agreste has posed:
Cat Noir winces as he's yelled at by Hinoiri as well. He was just squished as it was by the unexpected hug. But he remains at least keeping Naru up and without dropping her at all. "Right, not dropping the Naru, got it," he laughs awkwardly with a hand rubbing at his neck.

The Hinoiri... well. He just oh-so-innocently responds, "She *does*? Oh my, I've been misled! Woe is me! I'll just ... Get out of here then..." Before he gets anymore in trouble.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Ramen sounds good", Sayaka smiles at him, blushing a bit herself for having given him a kiss within the sight of others. "How are you? Feeling good right now?" she exclaims. Granted, archers have an easier time avoid getting hurt since they come with great range, and if you had a flying horse to that, then Bow was contributing without actually being in the middle of the chaos and drawing unfortunate attacks.

"How are you, Red?" Sayaka asks the other Puella on site. She had the same idea as her of touching Norie, so she is probably a bit tired at least.

When Hinoiri has recovered enough to check her phone, either via food or sleep or both, she will find a message from Sayaka that will say "You should probably avoid bothering La Crima again, but don't mention it, Hinoiri. Why wouldn't I come? We are friends."

The Sharpsong Puella is not moving from here till she has seen Madoka get out, though.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Luckily for Car Noir's nine lives, Sailor Moon is hopping up to where Hinoiri has been deposited on her feet, and is hugging her as hard as she can. Well, as hard as she can without breaking or bruising anything.

"I'm so glad you're okay! If you're well enough to yell at me, La Crima can't have done anything too permanent. And if she did, I'll ... I'll ... make her regret it," she finishes lamely. She's still hugging Hinoiri. "I was so worried! We all were!"

Huge claim to make on behalf of everyone.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    A few moments after she's sure everything is over, Hope Witch pokes her head out of her white portal and starts looking around for whoever is left.

    Lydian and Brai are following after her as she starts heading towards Sayaka and those around her. "Sharpsong-chan, are you alright after all of that? Things got pretty messy..."

    Madoka's eyes dart between her bluenette BFF and Bow. She has something of a playful smile on her face. "So... you two are on kissing terms?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and then just... gave in. Let it happen. She leaned into the hug. It was...

... It was nice. She gave a soft, warm, delicate little sigh.... and then, in a gentle tone. "... Please... c-careful... she threw me into a wall and I'm still actually in quite a bit of pain..." she whispered.

The purifying hadn't helped either, even if it was an indirect hit... and... the draining and...

Oh... Oh dear.

She finally just leaned in a bit too hard of the hug... relaxed and... collapsed on the scout.

She was exhausted.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I've got you! Don't worry. I have you, Hinoiri-chan," Sailor Moon says, reassuring, and then - and then, ah. There's a little wobble, but she stays on her feet as Hinoiri collapses all her weight against her.

"Aw, she's exhausted," she tells Swiftwind quietly, and then -

Maybe it's a good thing she's exhausted. She won't remember being princess carried by Sailor Moon.

Bow has posed:
The tall Etherian teen with the bare midriff suddenly wishes he was just a little bit smaller. Just a little. As Madoka makes her way over to the pair, Bow reaches up and his hand rests firmly on the back of his head as he glances aside to Sayaka. "I... guess." he admits, apparently owning it, but seems a little bit shy about it.

And he clears his throat. "My name's Bow. I'm from out of town." That's an understatement as he glances over towards where Swiftwind is just... watching. "Sharpsong was one of the first people to greet me when I arrived."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Hope, here you are!" Sayaka exclaims as her friend and associated Charas finally gets out of the Labyrinth. "Yes, I am alright, just a bit tired", she grins at her, feeling quite well overall with the short exposure that it was. "How about you? Are you ok?" she delivers the promised check up.

And when Madoka inquires about Bow, Sayaka smiles bashfully. "We might be? There definitely is something between us", she replies, sneaking a side glance at Bow, checking on his reaction to her sentence. She knows his life atm doesn't make him comfortable with actually taking the step of becoming her boyfriend, so she think she did good on explaining it to Madoka. Then, in a more private occasion, she can actually tell her more about him, his interests, his character and how they got to that point.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka rubs her chin while tilting her head to the side, giving Bow a look of suspicion. Her two minidoka fairies follow suit, making a, "Hmmm..." sound. The way she glances between him and Sayaka makes it clear that the 'hmm' is coming from 'you're awfully close to my best friend for someone I haven't met yet'.

    Then again, Sayaka could have fairly said that about Homura at some point.

    "Well!" she starts, giving him a friendly smile. "My name's Hope Witch, though I also go by Hope Blossom. Mitakihara Ward is my home." Tilting her head in the opposite way from before, she asks, "So... by out of town... do you mean like... Kyoto? Europe? Whatever planet Kyubey comes from?"

    To Sayaka, Madoka smiles and says, "I'm fine! Things got a little scary for a moment but I'm okay now. It seems like Hinoiri and Naru are getting out okay, too. I honestly wasn't expecting to come across this so suddenly, eheheh."

Amanda Faust has posed:
> How are you, Red?
    Amy glances at her soul gem. There's only a slight tinge of darkness. "Only touched her for a moment. I've let her take energy before. I'm fine."

    After a moment's thought, she shows the soul gem, to show she's not just putting on a brave face.

    She looks between Sharpsong and Sailor Moon. "...I really hope we can help her. She doesn't deserve to be that way. Isn't helping people in such horrible situations what Heroes are supposed to do?"

Bow has posed:
Bow suddenly feels like he should feel like he's in danger. But apparently, he seems ignorant of such flags, as he returns Madoka's smile, his hand dropping down to his side and he gives Sharpsong's hand a little squeeze of reassurance. "She's been kind to showing me around and introducing me. She can be someone to be around?" he offers, not quite non-commital, but not fully sure how to answer that question yet.

But then, we're on to other questions. "Nice to meet you Hope Witch. I know a couple of those back home..." a glance to Swiftwind. "I'm from the same place the alicorn is from." Bow's got your back, Swifty! "If you know Adora or She-Ra, we're both friends of hers. We're from there." America doesn't really seem to fit for horses that can talk with wings and horns. "....what's a kyubey?" he asks obliviously, and then ohs. "I think Sharpsong mentioned that once, when we were hunting a Witch together. Keep away from, right?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Wait, what?

    "Planet? Kyubey's not from Earth?" She looks at Hope Witch in surprise.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon grimaces at Amy's innocent question. "Our job is to protect innocent people from monsters and try to save everyone we can. I'd like to help La Crima, if we can, but - first she was shooting people's souls out to try and feel things, then she was studying witches, now she's trying to make other people suffer like her... I feel sorry for her. But I'm already taking responsibility for one supervillain with a lot of emotional problems. Someone else is going to have to go the extra mile for Ms. Kidnaps People for Insults Instead of Just Punching Them."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka nods at Amy's opinion on La Crima. "I intend to search too. I don't want her to stay like that", she says. "She isn't completely herself at the moment, and deserves to be saved", she remarks, glancing at Sailor Moon.

Cat Noir is gone, and Naru and Stellar aren't quite close enough to hear, Sayaka notes, but to be extra safe she whispers to Amy "Red, I am asking you to please give your full Grief Seeds to me instead of Kyubey. I have a way to keep them stable, as a way to keep them safe until a way to revert the transformation to Witches is found."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara is sleep offended by this. Just a bit. Not that she can show it. But if she could, she would VERY MUCH show how offended she is by that. She does NOT need someone else taking responsibility for her mistakes, she could make mistakes on ehr own, thank you very much!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Adora, or She-Ra? Hope Witch frowns. Two people she hasn't met yet. Maybe she's been spending too much time in Labyrinths. On the subject of Kyubey, Madoka nods. "That's right. Don't make any agreements with him. He's dangerous." Turning to Amy, she says, "Y-yeah... he's... not from around here." She laughs awkwardly for a moment, "Eheh... I kinda forgot he hasn't mentioned that yet."

    She tilts her head at Sailor Moon. "Supervillain with emotional problems? Who-- oh, I probably shouldn't ask that. Sorry."

    Then Madoka gives Sayaka a wide-eyed look. "W-wait, what do you mean by that?" A plan like that sounds really dangerous. "Y-you know... maybe we should have a talk with Gretchen if you're going to do weird things with Grief Seeds. I can understand not wanting Kyubey to have them anymore, but I'd feel better if I knew the precautions you were taking were solid."

    Between all of this, her suspicion towards Bow seems to have faded. Madoka is far too gentle to keep the pressure up for long, and Bow actually seems like a pretty decent guy.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Sunbreaker," Sailor Moon says exhaustedly. "I saved her life so I've been sternly informed that makes her my responsibility. And since she put up that Eclipse Zone, she sure seems ready for me to prove it."

She hasn't told the Outers yet. Sure, she put a notice up in the Shed, but she hasn't personally told everyone, and it's partially because she's sure it will get her an 'I Told You So'.

Bow has posed:
As Madoka seems to be turning the tables on others, and others turning the table on her, Bow seems to be more than willing to listen. But concern flashes on his face when she cautions Sayaka that she may be doing something dangerous. He has no room to really offer an opinion on it all as he lets out a breath.

But then Sailor Moon has his attention. A kiss is pressed to Sayaka's temple, maybe giving her an answer to a question asked earlier as he moves away from her and towards the Moon Princess. "On that..." he reaches into his pack and pulls out a tablet looking device. "This is a tech pad from Etheria. I think... I might be able to retune it to scan dark energy items - I plan to test it on trying to get a scan of the Eclipse Zone generators - Sharpsong and I were going to test it out together."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy smiles at seeing Sayaka won't give up on Tears so readily, and blinks at her suggestion. "Uhh, sure. This one's still only like half-used, though." She demonstrates this by drawing it from her pouch and touching it to her soul gem, making it shine untainted once more before she puts the grief seed away.

    "I'm a bit concerned about... about where they come from, but... what's done is done, and if we're to help them, or anyone else, we need to stay alive, right?"

> What's a kyubey?
    "So you know how a lot of magical girls have some talking animal to guide them? Well... ours -- as Puella Magi -- is Kyubey. Except, it turns out he's just using us. ...Witches... need to be fought and defeated, yes. And we get wishes. Well, we each get a Wish. And I kinda got... everything I once thought I wanted, but..."

    Amy shakes her head. "Anyway, he's using us, and doesn't actually care about us beyond getting girls to agree to become Puella Magi in return for a Wish. He says the process is keeping reality going, but who knows if he's right?"

    Amy taps her chin and she looks at Bow. "Hey, how much do you know about astrophysics? Scholars from other worlds might be able to help us work out if he's telling the truth or not."

> Eheh... I kinda forgot he hasn't mentioned that yet.
    "Yet? What?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
When Bow kisses her temple, Sayaka sneaks a uncertain brush of his hand before taking it back. The bluenette wishes he had kissed her like she did, but she understands his circumstances.

"Thank you, Red, I really appreciate it", the bluenette replies to Amy.

Sayaka turns towards Madoka, nodding seriously. Well, she can't say she didn't expect something like that... "It's ok, Hope, I tested it thoroughly. There are no chances of it going wrong. Even so, if talking with Gretchen reassures you, I am not opposed to it", she calmly looks at her childhood friend.

Then Sayaka looks curiously at Usagi. She didn't expect someone else to know about that. "Moon, you are not alone in that. I also have a responsibility to keep Sunbreaker in check."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch is now starting to feel increasingly awkward. She's giving a bit too much away right now. It's enough to distract her from figuring out who exactly Sailor Moon is talking about, or any subtext between what she and Sayaka are saying. To Amy she says, "I-I... I mean... well... I heard it from someone. The same person who told me that a filled Soul Gem results in death."

    Madoka looks around. Basically everyone here was present when Oktavia appeared, with the exception of Bow. Still... better not to mention details beyond that.

    "Is that why you were talking to Sunbreaker when we went to the Eclipse Zone, Sayaka-chan?" Thinking back to that, she turns to Bow and says, "You know... one of my Chara, Gretchen, was able to touch their consoles, because she's actually got a little bit of dark energy herself. I've been meaning to poke at those, but the last time I got near I saw someone get pulled out of the sky and into the Eclipse Zone. It took two of us to safely get her out of there. Be careful around them."

    To Sayaka, Hope Witch nods. "I'm sure it's okay. I know you're a responsible person. Gretchen sometimes talks to me when I'm merged with her like this and she wants to make sure they aren't eating each other or something."

Bow has posed:
Sayaka's touch is returned with a squeeze from Bow's hand. While distracted, he is giving her attention. There's just a lot to parse right now as he is getting new information from all sides, and he is more than a little overwhelmed. The Etherian archer draws in a breath as he looks towards Amy. Easiest part first.

"I'm a Tech Master back on Etheria. But that is a combonation of technology and magic... and to be fair, this is the first time I've ever seen..." a glance upwards into the sky and comments quietly. "Stars." he admits. "Etheria doesn't have those. But we did have twelve moons that provided light." Go figure on that one.

To Madoka, he gives a sharp nod of his head. "That's why I asked Sharpsong to accompany me. If things get bad, she can keep me covered until we figure it out, or if we need to find our way out. I learned a while back not to do things on my own. Always have a buddy." he quickly comments.

He clearly does not know about Oktavia or what happened to Sayaka before he arrived on Earth, so that's clear on his face as they go off on that tangent for a moment but quickly recover from it. "There is sooo much I don't know. Which is why I'm taking things slow, but I'm glad to have Sayaka helping me."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Bow's technology gets an interested look from Sailor Moon, who hops closer, shifting Hinoiri in her arms to keep her from bouncing too much. "That's really cool! A Tech Master, huh? My friend Sailor Mercury is pretty nifty with gadgets too - I should introduce you too, she's like the smartest person I know! Oh, and my cat too, she's good with little machines too."

And she's just casually mentioning her cat.

To Sayaka though, she blinks. "Really? Well... that's really good to know. Sunbreaker's not all bad, and you must know that too. I want her to stop doing crazy stuff, but... well, she's really passionate about her whole, ascension to Pegasushood - I mean, Alicorn, I guess?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
> Thank you, Red, I really appreciate it
    "Hopefully they do, too. Or will one day." Amy replies, cryptically.

> I heard it from someone. The same person who told me that a filled Soul Gem results in death.
    Hope Witch is equally cryptic. Amy now picks up the intent that Madoka clearly wishes to keep the source of that information, and sees no reason to disrespect that wish.

    "Wait, it pulled someone out of the sky? What?"

> Etheria doesn't have stars.
    Amy looks shocked. "Damn."

    And then her eyes go even wider at the implications.

    "Shit, Kyubey could be right?! If other worlds don't have stars because they all burned out without our wishes..." Amy looks troubled.

    After a moment, though, she finds an angle to tackle the problem: "So. Without the heat and light of a star, how long do your scholars expect Etheria to last? The world growing cold until even the atmosphere freezes solid... Is that considered something that'll happen zillions of years after humans are long gone, or something you have to actively prepare for?"

    Amy frowns. "Wait a minute, with no sun, where's the moonlight come from?? I guess they're just magical moons?" She glances at Sailor Moon as if she is perhaps some sort of expert on the intersection of all things moon and magical.

Bow has posed:
"I don't know of any Puella Magis on Etheria." Bow offers quickly, holding his hands up in an X-fashion. "There's... a lot to unpack when it comes to Etheria, and I'm not sure if this is the time for it, or if it will ever be the time for it and I covered what really is the most important parts of it all when..." A pauses, and he draws in his breath.

"...when I discussed the idea of getting Adora back into her timeline and hoping that when she does, the rest of us return to the proper spot that we're supposed to be at as well." And that's where Bow leaves it. "If you're curious about things other than that..." A glance to Sayaka. "I'll find the time to talk about it, but I doubt that anyone will ever visit there." Oh ye of little faith.

There's a nod to Sailor Moon. "Any help you can offer would be great. The tech of this world is somewhat similar to home, but there is a lot that is different, so I'd like the extra help, if you can put me in contact, thank you."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon is blink-blink-blinking. "I don't... know how you got to Kyubey is right from there aren't any stars on Bow's world, but, I'm not really sure about other Moon's, either? I'm the Senshi of the Moon like, of Earth, not the concept of Moons, ahaha."

She rubs the back of her neck sheepishly.

"And... I think that trusting Kyubey to be right on anything is dangerous. I wish we could ask..." but she trails off with a sigh. Her mother... her other mother... is thousands of years dead. There's no asking her anything.

"But... I guess it's not too surprising that Kyubey's an alien. Luna's an alien, after all."

Clearly it was just common for mascots to be aliens.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy considers this. "Huh. Are all mascots aliens? I think the Cures' fairies come from another world, but like, another magic world like Bow, not another celestial body in our dimension."

    > Help with learning about Earth technology!

    Amy smiles and proudly points a thumb at herself, "You wanna know about computers, I'm your guh-girl!" What a random stutter. "M-Mercury-san too, but I'm happy to help too! I went to college for it... got a degree... got a broad education in the sciences so I could understand how the world worked, and it turns out that's all completely wrong since magic is real--"

    She throws up her hands,

    "--but as far as the principles the world supposedly works on, that technology is based on, that I can tell you about! It'd be nice for it to still be useful in this crazy world."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka is somewhat relieved when Amy doesn't push further. The news that Etheria doesn't have stars is... something that she takes a little differently. Especially when Amy starts talking implicitly about the heat death of the universe. "If all of our stars went out," explains Madoka to Bow, "Our scientists would take it as a precursor to the end of the universe. That yours can exist without them is kind of amazing. Amy could probably explain the science stuff better than me, though."

    As for the subject of Kyubey, she says, "It's... not that he's... wrong on that front, as far as we know. He just isn't a trustworthy source of information. His way of thinking... his values are too different from our own."

Bow has posed:
"I mean..." Bow sighs. "The stars came back. It was near the end. An anctient artifact was keeping Etheria trapped in a dimension called Despondos. When the artifact was activated again, the stars returned. And with it, the Horde armada. It's really complicated, and like I said, I don't think it had anything to do with wishes. But I'll be sure to get your help as well, Amy."

"But Etheria has a lot of magic, from the runestones to... just Glimmer's sparkles." He shrugs his shoulders. "I spent a lot of time trying to figure it out, and it was in that, it's how I ended up here. I don't know how Adora or Glimmer or the others got here. We'll figure that out."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I mean, is the science totally wrong? I think it works for stuff that isn't magic. It's just that most people don't like, see magic or experience it either. It's not like magic changes how everything works. I still can't breathe underwater on my own - I checked! And I don't think it just, like, grows unlimited food or anything. Maybe you're thinking about it too much."

She'd bet it's because Amy was an adult, before. Adults were always thinking about things too much and getting all in their heads and soooo sure they knew how everything worked.

At the thought that Kyubey was just too different... she hums.

"Maybe? I mean, he's the only source we have, though. And he never did say if he was on Earth back then."

And then Bow explains more about his own world, and Sailor Moon would be making 'you see!' gestures, except she's still holding Hinoiri. She's kind of getting a little heavy - she's going to have to carry her out of here soon. "Sounds like Kyubey wasn't right about that one."

Satisfaction.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
The same person that told her that a full Soul Gem is death... That had to be Gretchen, considering all she did previously, and what she got out of Ula when they talked. She should probably check if she knows anything more about the Night of Walpurgis now that all secrets are presumably out, but that can wait for a better moment.

"Yes, that's why I was talking with Sunbreaker", Sayaka confirms to Madoka. "I know a fair bit about her, and there is a lot I am keeping things under control when it comes to her.

"And yes, I have promised Bow I will aid him by standing watch", she confirms before looking at the boy. "I will also have to explain to you what we have been going on about about Kyubey's behaviour", Sayaka declares. That one is going to be a bit much, possibly.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods as Hope Witch backs her up. "It has to do with entropy and there being, well... differences between things in the universe. You leave a hot cup of tea out and it stops being a hot cup of tea. It becomes a lukewarm cup of tea and the table and air around it becomes slightly warmer. It doesn't go the other way, unless you put more energy in by microwaving it or putting it on a stove or something. And the energy for those... everything ultimately comes from stars. Wood? Plants absorb sunlight. Coal and oil? Ancient plants absorbed sunlight and dinosaurs ate them and died and become oil over millions and millions of years. Uranium? Created when some star exploded a zillion years ago, and then some wound up in the parts of the Solar System's protoplanetary disc that eventually became Earth."

    "So when there's no more stars... there's no more energy in any remotely easy to use form." Amy nods. "That's not supposed to happen for like a hundred trillion years, though. But Kyubey says our scientists only came up with that number because that's how long it will take to happen despite his work to keep the Universe running." She shrugs. "No way to be sure if it's true, though. At least, no easy way. But why I was gonna ask you that, yeah."

    She blinks at Sailor Moon. "You... tried to breathe underwater... just to check if the conventional wisdom that people can't breathe water was true?"

    Amy strokes her chin and considers this. "I mean. I wouldn't have thought to do that. And I guess we really can't know, what with the world not working how we were taught..."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch hmms as Moon points out Kyubey's lack of an answer. "I guess we still don't really know how long he's been around then, huh?"

    Madoka hears Bow's explanation of things and can't help but think of the parallels between him and Runealy, except Runealy was basically the opposite when it came to magic and tech knowledge. More than that, it seems like it's something he's trying to skip over. Not because he's hiding anything. He seems too straightforward for that. It's just... complicated.

    "I guess there's a lot of complicated things about this world, too. Well, Bow-san, if you need any help figuring things out around here, I'd be happy to show you around. There are a lot of kind people here willing to help, so don't be afraid to ask!"

    To Sayaka, she smiles and says, "We can talk about things later. I actually meant to get some practice in for this new form, so I'm going to go find a quiet place for that. It doesn't quite work the same way Hope Blossom does and I'm still getting used to it."

    As an aside to Amy, she adds, "You know, as a Puella Magi, you probably could... maybe not breath underwater, but you might be able to hold your breath for a really long time."

    Scratching the back of her head, she says, "A-anyway... It was good to fight alongside you all again, and it was nice to meet you, Bow-san! I'll see you all around!"

    Madoka turns to leave. She starts super jumping away, assuming no one stops her, but she's not exactly as fast about it as she normally is.

Bow has posed:
Bow listens to Amy. And she's laying out ideas. And she seems pretty smart, so when it comes down to it, he draws in a breath and returns to stand next to Sayaka, putting away the techpad. "Everything on Etheria - from light to weather - is controlled by one of seven runestones. There used to be eight, but one was lost."

"So the simple answer, Amy... is... Etheria runs on magic. And there's probably more magic there than in a million wishes." he offers quietly. "I wish I could give you more. But again. Another time."

"For now, I'm hungry and tired and probably need to feed Swiftwind before..." Too late, the once majestic alicorn is once again the size of a house cat and has climbed up on Hinoiri, who was bring princess carried by Sailor Moon, and gone to sleep.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I tried to breathe underwater because when I'm Sailor Moon, I can do things like hold Hinoiri-chan up this long," Sailor Moon says with a little laugh, "So who says I can't do ohter things that I'm not supposed to be able to?"

Hinoiri-chan and Swiftwind, in her arms.

"...so your world is all magic, huh? That... kind of reminds me of what Silver Millennium was like. I mean, there was a lot of technology, too, but magic... magic was really important. Okay! Everyone, thank you so much for helping us rescue Naru-chan and Hinoiri-chan!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    As an afterthought, Amy realizes, at the same time as Hope Witch talks about it, "Huh. I guess I technically don't need to breathe, do I?" So she pulls out her phone and starts a timer and stops. Breathing. Watching the timer.

    It might cost a teensy weensy amount of magic just to see if it works, but isn't it worth is for SCIENCE?

    Madoka bounds off and Amy just waves, smiling.

    Bow talks about runestones and she gives him a surprised look, and then looks mildly confounded. How do you talk without breathing?

    Finally she takes a breath. "Okay, doing that experiment when I'm not in the middle of talking to people. Your world needs these runestones to work and you lost one and things were okay?! How?"

    "And... the offer of magic is appreciated, but I don't think anything but grief seeds can charge us up, as you saw."

    She nods to Moon. "Makes sense. How can you live on the moon if you need air to breathe, right? Wait, Silver Millenium? Is this... are those memories clear enough that you can really... tell what it was like...?" She looks at Moon curiously.

Bow has posed:
"Another time." Bow reiterates. Going to collect Swiftwind from Sailor Moon, the Etherian archer holds him in his arms. "I was glad I could help. And yeah... maybe. We'll compare notes some time!" A quick grin as he passes off Amy to Moon and glances to Sayaka. "Let's get some food!" And off he goes.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Another time! Good luck Bow! The Rebellion is ready when you are to get Adora!"

She waves, and is glad Hinoiri is so exhausted, and that she's missing all of this, and she giggles a little at Amy's well meaning effort to test breathing - well, not breathing.

And then the question makes her blink, and she cocks her head.

"'Course I do. I mean, not everything, but, a good chunk of us remember all kinds of different things. Silver Millennium was the name of our... I guess it counts as an empire, maybe? I'm not totally sure what makes the difference between a kingdom and an empire. But... my mother ruled all the planets in the Sol System, save Earth. We did still breathe air, though? I remember that much for sure."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens to this. "So... you remember being an adult, too, and reigning over this ancient magic kingdom? Err... an Empire, generally, is a geopolitical entity that has kingdom-level entities under it. Rome, Alexander the Great, Britain, for example, all conquered and subjugated other kingdoms. I guess Japan was called an empire because all those formerly warring little states were united under the Emperor, right?"

    "A King or a Queen, or a ruling Prince or Princess, from the latin for 'First', in the sense of a ruler, may rule over other nobles, dukes and marquis and counts and barons and whatnot, but he does not rule over kingdoms, full countries. An Emperor does. That's the difference."

    "Of course, what counts as a kingdom or a country ultimately comes down to what you can get everyone to say is one." Amy rubs her chin again. "If you rule over a bunch of petty kingdoms, are you a petty emperor?" She shrugs.

    "...I would suppose that if anything qualifies one for Empress-hood, ruling over multiple planets should. That seems like it's at least a couple levels of title up from Emperor, honestly. Solar Empress, Emperor of Mankind, that sort of thing."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy freezes at a thought. "Wait, if she's heir to a whole planet, does that mean my girlfriend is an Empress too? Damn..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oh, no, I wasn't the ruler, that was my mama," Sailor Moon says, and she would be waving a hand, but they're both occupied, so she's just kind of awkwardly swaying a bit. "Queen Serenity. I'm - I was? - I am - Serentiy the Second. I never had a chance to rule; we were all killed before that could happen."

She says it almost casually, we were all killed, though it's anything but, and she hurries over that part, avoiding the memories.

"In that case, we were definitely an empire, even if mama was Queen, instead of Empress." She nods, slow. "But - yeah, what people call the Moon Kingdom was the place where Mama and I lived, and where Mama ruled from, but it wasn't like, the only place..."

Not that there are too many people to have that opinion.

"Uh, hm, only if there's other kingdom's on the planet, right? Like how Earth is Endymion's, because he's the Prince of Earth."

She is going to just keep asserting this.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "I mean, if you rule the solar system I presume you can be called whatever you want. If you think Queen sounds nicer than Empress, or Princess sounds nicer than Queen, who has any right to stop you?"

    Amy blinks. Endymion... presumably, Tuxedo Mask, right?

    Still, she tries to lighten the mood with a smile. "Prince of Earth? I didn't vote for 'im."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Nah, I'm fourteen," she says with a shrug, "Fifteen, soon! Waaaay too young to take up the throne."

She doesn't say it's off the table. She doesn't say she's not going to be queen. She hasn't really considered it, not seriously, but the part of her that is Serenity considers it only natural, inevitable - and the part of her that is Usagi think of it as something impossible far off, with no reason to worry about it."

"You didn't have to," she laughs, "That's kind of how Princeses work, you know? You're born to it. Don't worry. Endymion is the best Earth could ever hope for."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Yeah. Amy doesn't have memories of a different person, so much like Usagi-the-teenager, she considers the possible future of life as one of Hannah's princess-consorts to be so far off as not worth worrying about.

    Amy giggles. "That's the joke. It's from... it's from an old movie. A scene -- the movie's a comedy -- a scene where King Arthur meets this one town of peasants who refuse to accept his authority because they didn't vote for him and don't think magic swords are a good way to choose a ruler; he eventually gets fed up and moves on because he can't, personally, make them do anything if none of them will listen to him."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I think Mamochan could make people listen to him, if he wanted to," Usagi contemplates this, "I don't think he'd want to, but he could. He's the prince, after all."

And to her, this is fine, because well, Endymion is her love, and she knows his heart.

"I don't think a magic sword decided things, but.... you'll have to show me the movie sometime."

Her arms are starting to shake, just a bit.

"But for now? I think I need to take Hinoiri-chan home, before I drop her. I'd definitely lose points on this rescue if I did that!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods, and laughs at the comment about losing points. She smiles and waves, "See you around, Sailor Moon!" and jumps onto a rooftop to leap her way back to campus. Or to the train if they're really far away.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Later, Hinoiri Kirara is gently deposited in the bed closes to the window in her apartment. She sleeps through the whole thing, so she doesn't hear Sailor Moon's whining and complaining about how getting osmeone in through a window looked a lot easier in manga.