1496/Dimension Past: End of an Era

Dimension Past: End of an Era
Date of Scene:	25 April 2024
Location:	Silver Millennium
Synopsis:	Those who traveled through Beryl's portal have had a variety of revelations, adventures, and experiences they'll never forget. They might have been separated along the voyage, but now, they've been brought back together for the end: it's the fall of the Silver Millennium, and the only way out is through (well, that, and magical connections to the Earth's very own special guy).
Cast of Characters:	Beryl, Madoka Kaname, Hinoiri Kirara, Jadeite, Naru Osaka, Haruka Tenoh, Erika Shimizu, Makoto Kino, Kazuo Saitou, Bow, Usagi Tsukino, Amanda Faust, Ami Mizuno, Setsuna Meiou, Mamoru Chiba, Zoisite
Tinyplot:	Operation: Past

---

Beryl has posed:
Walking through a portal and landing in a new place might be starting to feel like old hat to our time-trapped heroes, now. Though in reality it's been just over two days, for those who entered that first day, it's been nearly two weeks of traveling across worlds and times, visiting the last year of two grand empires.

Throughout their time in the past, our intrepid explorers have encountered explored palaces and fled city's under attack, have battled ancient monsters in city centers and uncovered long-hidden secrets in the bowels of the Earth. So much of what they've witnessed has been suffering, in one way or another, but equally, there have been moments of romance, of glamor, of existence in this era lost to time itself.

This time, the rainbow-colored portal has deposited them all (including three very pliant construction workers, who, overwhelmed by all the magic and nonsense, are now going to be quietly in the background of everything) in a hell far too familiar to the group that were spirited away in that initial moment of the portal's birth: the Moon Kingdom, under attack.

High above, the Earth is shrouded in black mist, though those areas not composed of ocean are red with flame. Silver light shimmers around the Earth itself, and the shadow that clouds the planet appears caged, though spikes of smoke try to get past this defense.

The glint of the dome that protects the Moon Kingdom's atmosphere is more visible, now, because smoke from the burning buildings and clouds from booming storms define the limits of it's scope. To the distant east, enormous pillars of flame and spirals of fire dominate as Sailor Mars makes her stand at the gates of the city. To their west, but far closer, forks of lightning and gale force winds rage as Sailor Jupiter, flying high, fights her own battles.

Directly to the front of them is the Moon Castle, at the end of a long path, with a grand staircase leading to the grand castle that houses the Queen and Princess. On those stairs fights Sailor Venus, gold-and-crimson whip lashing out with killing blows as maddened civilians, soldiers, and youma alike attempt to climb the stairs to raid and raze the Moon Castle itself.

Welcome to the end of an era.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka has already given the construction workers all the safety advice she can. She's left Sio to look after them, which means she's also somewhat backgrounded. She's invisible to them, so she can't really stop or direct them, but she's got a card with a Witch Sticker on it, so she can telepathically warn Madoka if something bad happens.

    As for Gretchen, well, she's currently merged with Madoka, which is pretty obvious to anyone who sees Hope Witch trudging along and knows how her henshin works.

    As Hope walks through the portal, she finds a familiar sight. "This is close to where we came in. The same point in time and everything." She's starting to feel cautiously optimistic. Could there be an exit nearby?

    "Everyone, look out for another portal! We might be close," she calls out. Looking out at the destruction and devastation caused by this terrible war, her face grows a bit pale and she turns away. There's nothing novel about mass destruction to her, but it's always been at the end of a timeline. A fail condition, with too many losses to be acceptable even if they could somehow win. In a way, this isn't so different.

    "As long as we don't interact with anyone else, we should be fine, but... still be careful! It's not always the fireball with your name on it. Sometimes it's the one labeled 'to whom it may concern'. Call out if you need help."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had been busy. Studying, learning, exploring, studying more, gathering all of the information she could...

And then she'd taken a bit of time to relax and enjoy herself. And enjoy some of the fine dining foods. She had one last thing to do, which she had just finished up...

And stepped out into this.

She was wearing the most elegant red and gold ballroom dress which was, very slightly, singed.

Now, though, she was staring up at the destruction, a gloved hand moving up to cover her mouth and stifle her gasps. Her left hand was at her side, clenched into a rage-filled fist.

Damn it, Beryl. DAMN YOU BERYL!

How could... anyone... ever want this? How could anyone be willing to accept destroying, KILLING, so many... and see it as an acceptable price?!

She waved her hand, fire enveloping her and once again becoming Sunbreaker.

Heh. Ironic, when she'd taken the name she'd meant it as she who would break Sora... But now it seemed there as a sun demon she hated as well.

It wasn't long before she suddenly appeared, a little over Madoka. "Hey there. Say goo--" Then stopped, fireball in hand... and blinked. The flames went out and she coughed. "Sorry. Beating your flanks is force of habit. We missing anybody?"

Jadeite has posed:
The Jadeite of the past is attacking in kind, summoning great hailstones the size of cannonballs to pelt the doors of the Moon Castle. He's in bad shape; he's frozen a broken and burnt arm to his side in a cast of ice, and his formerly spotless uniform is black and brown with ashes and drying blood. A livid burn on his side has also been covered with ice in an attempt to slow the damage. His expressionless face is nearly as pale as snow, and his bloodshot eyes are fixed firmly on the doors. He got past Sailor Mars with the youma, but he's a dead man walking.

The Jadeite of the present looks just as determined, already casting, "Glory of the Snow!" to create icy shields to protect everyone from the shattered ice, stray licks of lightning or rocks being thrown around by the high winds. Even if no one will be attacked on PURPOSE, there's plenty of mindless attacks flying around.

"I believe we've collected everyone," he tells Sunbreaker. "Take a shield. We've got ice attacks incoming from my past self, so feel free to melt any ice attacks you see incoming."

Naru Osaka has posed:
There is one who has a deep and profound sympathy for the poor construction workers. Naru at least isn't confused about magic, but there's been a lot go on that she's found deeply uncomfortable, and confusing and so many layers of sadness.

She's still wearing the blue bliaut with the trailing sleeves, her hair hidden under a veil as she ends up amongst everyone else, and for someone who has spent an awful lot of her time here alone.. she's a little surprised to end up in the larger group again.

Naru loiters back, trying to ensure that everyone is collected close, or at least that they do keep track of everyone.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
Sailor Uranus steps through a portal, seeparated from the rest of the primary group until now. Which she trades for having lost her closer compatriots, Neptune and Pluto. Damned portals.

    She hates this portal almost as much as the one in Titan - no, she didn't -hate- the one in Titan, but it made her sad. This? Makes her sad and angry. But she's had the entire nightmare/dream/prophecy time here to cool down and remeber how casually Beryl beat her, so she's looking for an escape and allies, not a face to punch. Not yet anyways.

    She sees Madoka and runs over just in time to see Sunbreaker ready a fireball, and to get ready to kick Sunbreaker in the face. Once she stops threatening, Uranus stops mvoing towards her, resulting in the blonde coming to a stop just short of intersecting between the two of them.

    "Cool your jets, Sunbreaker. You want out of here, too?" she says.

    She gratefully takes Jadeite's shield. "I don't want to get stuck into a fight with anybody." she admits. "Ghosts and phantoms, it's not useful to do anything more than leave. And I should've been here... but I wasn't, so be careful if they see me." she notes. "I'll try to fall in with the group." It's just so hard for her not to lead. Also, she's tall af. But maybe not directly being up front as the Senshi Who Shouldn't Be Here will help the memory-phantoms ignore her.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Another portal.
    It's been portal after portal into realms of the past and sights of horror since Jolly Roger leaped into the portal for the sake of retrieving her precious hat.
    It has been said before it will be said again: She would rather die than lose her drip to time space portals.
    Never the less, Jolly Roger has spent much of her time running like the dickens from portal to portal. Sometimes she encountered others, sometimes she was on her own. Somehow she ended up collected, and she was okay with that as she staggers through the portal holding down her hat.
    "Ugh. I be here, I be here." She calls out as she promptly collapses face first into the dust and stops moving for a moment.
    She's bone tired.
    "I know most of you'll say 'there's time to sleep when I'm dead, but I kinna be dead already." She points out in a huff before picking herself up.
    Once again they're all back on the moon...
    Once again EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE.
    It really isn't the best of situations as she watches with exhausted eyes as Sailor Venus fends off the horde at the moon castle. As Jadeite of the past presses on with the attack as a dead man walking.
    "This be too much."
    

Makoto Kino has posed:
Whatever path Makoto took to get here, it wasn't with the others. She's still in her borrowed gown, the Earth Kingdom style in deep green with the intricate embroidery... and whatever she's come through up to this point, it's left her badly shaken. She's wrapped her arms tightly around herself, and for a moment or two she seems focused on something a long way off, westward, her eyes dark in a pale and tear-streaked face.

When she focuses on the others, it's with a visible effort, drawing in a deep breath and doing what she can to pull herself together. She doesn't seem to have anything to say, for the moment.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo is in uniform, which means that he's a color change and a couple of years away from being mistaken for this echo's Kunzite. To counter that, he hangs back near Naru; she'll make it plainer that he's himself, and they can compare notes on keeping track of everyone. And if she spots any immediate incoming threats Jadeite doesn't, he can react.

That all means he's in range to -

"If you can't walk," Kazuo says to Jolly Roger, "I can carry you."

He is entirely unaware of the extent of her knowledge of him. He may or may not remain unaware of whether the undead can get adrenaline spikes.

Bow has posed:
Bow was a late comer to the portals, and made the totally wrong impression the first time around. But he's one that quickly adapts to the situation, and now that he realizes that there is no chance of changing this glimpse, is instead taking to the idea of trying to remain out of the worst of it.

Which doesn't really help when you're dropped into the middle of Armageddon.

The cloak has been lost, and while he has the golden Etherian armor, over it, he is wearing a Moon Kingdom sous' chef jacket and pants for some reason. Bow has his weapon in hand, ready to summon and draw an arrow on a moment's notice, just in case they do run into trouble.

As he hears MADOKA call out there's a moment of relief, he's finally made it back to the main group as he lets out a breath of relief. "Oh thank Brightmoon, I ended up in the kitchens!" he says to the others as he links up with them. "I thought the line at Kourma during the dinner rush was rough..." He won't admit that he totally accidentally ended up interacting with the chef's and spent like... a day working the lines there and honing his skills as a 'visiting cook'. There were so many vegetables to peel and cut and meals to prepare and and... crash course in the Moon Kitchen!

Hearing Jadeite's warning, he frowns slightly. "I'm not very good with shields, but I'll help with what I can, though." And then there's Sunbreaker and no more fireballs, thank goodness. "Aye." he offers to JOLLY ROGER before notices Sailor Jupiter and he gives her shoulder a quick squeeze. "You're not alone." he offers to her quickly. "And things will get better." comes his promise to her.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon emerges stands beside Jadeite, a look of grim horror on her face as she observes the scene, as she registers the sounds of screaming, weeping, wailing, interspersed with the crashes of thunder and the oxygen-devouring roar of flame -

But when she looks around, it seems that the group might just be the largest it's been since they arrived.

"It looks like just about everyone, but we're missing Neptune, Pluto, and Rashmi" she reports taking temporary shelter behind the shields of ice. "But I don't see any portals out of here, and I don't know if it's safe to go -"

She cuts herself off, jaw tight, voice hoarse. She doesn't want to say it. Someone has to say it.

"I don't know if it's safe to go anywhere but forward."

To the castle above, where Venus fights a lonely war. To the pavilion beyond that, where a Princess and Prince (newly named King, never to be crowned) will meet their end.

She sees Makoto, shaken and out of henshin, and links up with her silently, offering her hand.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy was wearing Golden Kingdom clothing, but upon seeing where they've ended up, opts to transform immediately.

    There shouldn't be any actual fighting on their part, but... somehow, it feels more right to be a Puella Magi in a disaster zone, than to be Amanda Faust, teenage Radiant Heart student, even if the difference is only veil-deep.

    "Doesn't this mean we've gone in a circle? ...But I guess as long as we don't take the same portal out as last time, there's a chance..."

    Where did Madoka even hear that saying about the bullet labeled 'to whom it may concern'? They've really been through some awful things. Forced to mature early in some ways while still teenagers in others. Compared to Amy, who has been circling around this realization for awhile now but-- they're in a disaster zone. Now isn't the time.

    But hey, thanks to this place, Sunbreaker -- Hinoiri -- is finally coming around! That's pretty great! Amy looks up at her, blinking, when she appears all Boss Mode and apologizes for the force of habit. The Puella Magi smiles up at the prodigal unicorn. "It's understandable."

    Jadeite provides shields! "Oh, thanks! Uhh, how long do these last and what do they stop?" She tries to reach out and touch the shield around her, but of course, it moves with her, so.

    After realizing the pointlessness of this, she takes a look around, and up at the sky. If they do escape... she wants to etch it into her memory now. What happens if Darkness wins. What she as a hero is fighting to prevent.

    Maybe she'll turn her phone back on and get a few pictures.

Beryl has posed:
The events of the past playout unchanged, but brutal nonetheless - the screams of the dying, the wounded, and the maddened ring out as the battles rage across the capital city.

Before them, Sailor Venus is as beautiful as she is deadly - older than the Sailor Venus of the present, a woman fully grown, and all the deadlier for it. Her face is set in a hard expression of neutrality, and her Venus Love Me Chain launches whole groups back down the stairs with every swing, the burning light searing through flesh to the bone. Those who aren't killed instantly drag themselves to their feet regardless - agonized cries of pain and rage leave their lips as they again begin the ascent.

As the Jadeite of the past launches volleys of ice at the castle walls, Venus raises her hand to the heavens and launches a volley of light - Crescent Beam Barrage - to smash through the ice. The pieces crash down, hailing on the stairs, crushing the unwary in a vicious example of friendly fire gone wrong.

"You will not get past me," she declares flatly.

To the west, light falls from the sky as in the distance, Nephrite launches an attack on Jupiter. To the east, the pillars of fire begin to sputter, weakening, as Sailor Mars begins to fall under the assault.

As maddened invaders seak the stairs once more, Venus fires another barrage - maddened invaders fall back, smoking holes through torsos and heads. A heap of bodies has begun to form on the stairs.

And behind them, beginning to close the distance - a familiar, terrible figure, as Beryl herself makes her first appearance on the Moon. She's no longer the sage Sunbreaker and Rashmi encountered, but the seven foot tall, crimson-haired witch that they faced in the future, clothed in a royal purple dress, headpiece glinting on her head. At her righthand side but a few steps behind, stalks the Kunzite of the past.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury works her way diligently through the crowd of people from The Future that had finally managed to gather here so that she could dole out little ear piece communicators to those she had yet to run into in the various portalings that had occured. This was going to be the last stand, apparently, and recalling what she did now she did *not* want anyone to be left in the lurch in such a moment.

"They work like a bluetooth earpiece for simplicities sake, just tap a single time to talk. They're already on and all synced up--And we should be able to contact those outside the portal with them as well soon." It was just a matter of a few computations but she doesn't bother to add that to her generic over-all explanation.

She pauses at Uranus to give her friend's arm a little squeeze of reassurance. "We'll get through this all the easier with you here, I'm sure."

But then she pauses near Naru and Kazuo, and takes a deep breath. Her focus shifts creating ice between her hands as she draws out her power as she'd practiced (with Jadeite's help) to create a saber made of ice. A far sturdier than regular ice saber, but ice none the less. It's then offered out to Naru quietly. "I did promise to provide one if it came to it. I'm sorry I don't have any gloves though."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    As Sunbreaker suddenly appears, Hope Witch's black branchbow is already in hand and her finger is poised to draw an arrow. Only when SB apologizes for her 'habit' does Madoka simply roll her eyes and turn away. She doesn't unsummon her bow, though. She may still need it if they pull aggro.

    Whatever, Sunny. You're not even the one I'm most mad at right now.

    Hope Witch and Gretchen are both exhausted in ways that can't be recovered in a simple night's rest. All of this time spent in henshin, under stress, constantly watching her back, ever trying to keep herself and everyone else alive. It has worn on her. Normally her tragedies are immediate and mercifully short, with no room for recovery. This trial has been harsh in a completely different way. She barely registers the screams. There's no one here they can save other than themselves.

    In addition to the ice shield provided by Jadeite, Hope's Clock Knight familiar steps out of a Labyrinth portal to join her side as her bodyguard.

    Madoka nods at Uranus as she arrives. "I agree. We can look, but we really shouldn't touch." As others show up and gather, Hope Witch gives each of them a soft, tired smile. Even Sunbreaker gets a genuine grin, for about half of a second until it gets replaced with a forced one.

    Kazuo and Jadeite receive no judgment from her. They entered this portal as allies and hopefully they'll leave as such. The Inner Senshi get sympathetic looks. In no universe could this experience have been easy on them. Erika's arrival, and her devotion to her hat, is duly noted. Bow...

    Bow gets a confused look from Madoka. "Th-... the kitchens? You'll have to tell me how they make food later."

    To Moon, she responds, "Alright then, lead the way. You seem to know this moment better than anyone." Forward seems to lead to the Palace, which is a meat grinder all on its own, but it has to be better than hanging out in the inferno.

    The battle to the north with Venus looks deadly, but when Madoka looks to the south she gasps. "Kunzite... and the Director! I mean, the ones from the past!" Memories flash by of a city getting wiped out. If she didn't already have incentive to move forward, she does now.

    As she nears the steps, she and her Familiar start super jumping upwards. As they come down, they don't land on the steps themselves, but on small floating platforms that are clearly made from Madoka's personal world. She lets them linger as she travels upwards, allowing others to use them if they want. She'll just have to hope that Jadeite's shield and the Clock Knight can protect her from any incidental fire.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    From her position face down in the ground, Jolly Roger looks up.
    She sees Kazuo.
    She sees his uniform.
    She sees *him*.
    In an instant the pirate is up and on her feet. It's not quite adrenaline, with the fact that her heart doesn't beat and her blood runs cold. But for a second, for just a breath, it sure FELT like her heart skipped a beat.
    "I'm good mate, I'm good." She says.
    Logically she's pretty sure the past and the present are two differing things, likely two different people entirely in spite of looks.
    But wow she got up fast.
    But then she gets a good look around...
    The carnage, the battle, the senshi beginning to fall, the--
    There's Beryl and Past Kunzite.
    "Ah carp my heart started for a sec, there, but I think it went and stopped again."
    "... So what do we do?"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
Sailor Uranus takes the earpeice from Mercury and puts it in. "Thanks. And I've... had some realizations about things, but this is not the time or place to discuss them." she admits. "If we're going to stop this sort of scene from playing out again, we're going to need as many of us out of this as unscathed as possible." she adds.

    "We're not alone, there are both more of us than there were here, and there's more than just us." she says, motioning to Bow, Jolly Roger, Amy, Naru, Hope Witch. "And she has less than she used to." she continues, gesturing at the members of the Shitennou who are in their group as opposed to the ones giving battle way. "So yeah, let's keep ourselves safe - so that we have as much force as we can in the present day. As far as I know, we don't know what's back THERE yet..." she adds. And she starts to move up closer to Usagi - to Sailor Moon - to the Princess, falling in just behind her.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto manages a wan smile for Bow, and when Sailor Moon offers her hand she uncurls her arms from around herself to take it. "Sorry," she says, barely a murmur. "I saw..." She trails off, with no elaboration.

As Mercury passes around the communicators she takes one, looking at it numbly for a second or two before she tucks it into place at her ear. Her eyes track solemnly from Mercury, to Sailor Uranus, and then to Sailor Moon again; with a certain reluctance, she takes out her Jupiter Pen.

And hesitates.

She ought to transform, but...

The question is put aside, for now. Makoto squares up her shoulders and nods, once, to Sailor Moon. She'll follow her lead, as always.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Thank you." Naru looks to Mercury as she offers over the sword and there's a flicker of a smile. "Good thing I've got ridiculous sleeves at least." She comments as she takes the ice sword, the hilt wrapped in one of those trailing sleeves.

Naru takes a deep breath, armed now and looking around to give a little grin to Kunzite. They got this.

They probably don't, but she's willing to fake it. "Onwards?" She asks, glancing around to the group and to Sailor Moon.

Bow has posed:
"We move forward." That's what Sailor Moon suggested, and Bow's going to defer to her at the moment. As Beryl and Kunzite make their appearance, he feels it all - these weren't the same scale of the battles he fought back on Eternia, but the sounds, the smells, they are all the same. As is the screams. His fingers tighten around the grip of the bow, and he henshins into the armor with a soft, "For the Heart of Eternia."

Back into the more familiar gold, white and red armor, he glances around and asks of the SENSHI. "You all know the layout of this castle more than we do." he asks of them. "Is there any secret passages we can use? Castle Brightmoon had a whole antechamber hiding beneath it.

Though he looks around to his group - "Unless the only way forward is /through/?" he asks of MOON, trying to figure out any other direction that they could go in as he sets his lips into a thin line.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo grimaces a little at what the sleeves do to Naru's hand on the hilt, and fishes for a moment, then offers a folded pair of white gloves to Naru as an alternative. "They'll be too large," he says apologetically. "Your hands are smaller than Endy's." Hopefully he means Mamoru by that. It's not impossible he might have filched a pair from an echo-Prince in passing. "But they might be better." And then there's a short little nod. Onwards, either way.

The past-Kunzite is smiling, now, as if some monster had had its expression torn from its mouth and pasted on his, and some hint of its too-many rows of too-many teeth had come with it. There is no numbed, dead expression. In his eyes, instead, is a terrible joy ... one dyed the same unnatural crimson as Beryl's hair. Accessorizing with underlings. Not the latest fashion trend.

"Then we'll go over you instead, Venus," he calls. There's something like a friendliness in the way he tilts his head. "Give way, and you might not have to die."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker glanced to Jadeite and then sighed. "I'll make my own shield," she said firmly before holding out her right hand and, true to form, forming a shield of fire and using it to deflect attacks as well... because of course she couldn't just ACCEPT help from someone else, then who would she be? Someone with friends? Rude. She'd be annoyed, neigh, insulted, to find anyone thought she might need such things... Even if it was the truth.

Then she saw Beryl. Her eyes narrowed and with her left hand, the one not directing her flaming shield, a bolt of flame formed... she then sighed and shook her head. "She's an idiot. She's a damn, stupid idiot and it's not even her own power and I am going to make her regret sending me here... sending any of us here..."

However, the talk about Rashmi and a few of the scouts being left behind made her freeze. She then put her hands together and the flames went out. "Just keep shielding us. I'll see if I can locate them."

She closed her hands, then pulled them open. Fire appeared between her palms and she stared into it, trying to garner some... semblance, some view of where the missing people in their group were. Just the two who tried to kill her and the... and the kid who she ordered Korma from. And put in the hospital that one time.

"Focus on the exit and I'll focus on trying to find those three. Probably already on the way, anyway..." she grumbled. Sparkles always popped up at the most inopportune times. "But if they do suddenly jump us, you lot just make sure to let them know I'm on YOUR side until we're out of this. No more sparkle hit squads." It happened ONE! TIME!

She did notice the shift in Hope Witch's smile... and Amy's comment that it was okay... but she didn't mention it. Keeping it to herself.

Jadeite has posed:
"The moon sets every night. You too will fall," says the past Jadeite, his voice strangely toneless - the same flat and empty voice as he had before he was purified, before he lost his memory. Every drop of color seems to be being drained from him.

He raises enormous shields of ice as Venus's lightning arcs out - shielding himself, Kunzite, and Beryl, with no thought to the many civilians dying at his feet as he slogs up the stairs.

The present Jadeite drags his gaze away - he cannot let himself dwell on the horror of his brainwashed self, or the other brainwashed Shittennou, or the way Beryl strides through corpses like so many dead leaves. Instead, he tries to focus on the present, preparing to summon more ice shields if the first round he created fall.

"My princess," he addresses Usagi, all business, "I can keep the path clear with my shields as we move forward, and I'll continue shielding everyone as I go. You know as well as I do that the castle will be breeched soon."

And he looks to Bow and the pirate. "The castle will fall to the invaders soon. Beryl and her generals will fall soon after. With any luck, between this echo of Beryl dying and the fighting ending, we'll be able to finally return to our world. I'm afraid things will only get worse before they get better - but in the name of the Moon, we will all get out of here safely. I am your shield."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto had been separated for a long time from the others...but she used her time constructively.

Information was gathered.

Observations were made.

Later, she is going to have some suggestions for certain parties, but for now...now is for trying to find everyone, gete them together and get the hell out of here.

She even has an idea HOW to do that.

For now, however, she needs to connect up with everyone else.

Fortunately...
...or UNfortunately...
...the last portal she just took dropped her back in THIS moment...but THIS time, almost everyone seems to be there with them.

As the crowd from the past tries to move through the event without interacting and getting dragged into events, and Sunbreaker tries to scry for the missing members...she'll find at least ONE of them emerging just ahead of them as Pluto walks out from behind a column, her portal having deposited her at the top of the stairs, allowing her to meet up with the group in relative safety, "Oh, boy. THIS part again."

She then quietly waves the crowd towards the doors of the Palace, "Let's all get inside. We can't change anything here and the cover will help."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"The stairs will lead us to the Moon Castle," Sailor Moon says, loud enough to be heard over the Horrors. Sailor Uranus falls into step behind her, and its familiar-unfamiliar in this place, this time - familiar, because when she first woke, there was Sailor Uranus falling into step, ready to attack any threat, but unfamiliar, because Sailor Uranus had not been a fixture - or even a feature - of the Moon Castle.

She squeezes Makoto's hand.

"Everyone who can, follow Hope Witch's lead - but watch out for the falling ice from Jadeite's attacks!" The platforms will allow them to bypass Venus' deadly barrage of attacks, but not the falling chunks of ice Venus is blasting -

And then there's Kunzite's voice behind her, alight with terrible, wicked amusement, and chills race down her spine.

As Jadeite catches her attention, she strains to ignore his past self, in favor of listening to the present. "Shields are good. Hopefully, they won't notice us even if they deflect an attack, and..."

She clenches her jaw.

"If I remember correctly, we won't have to get far within the Moon Castle to see the next set of awful things. If the castle falls, it might not be safe to seek shelter anywhere within..."

If, because, unfortunately... her memory of these events will come to a halt very soon.

"Let's go!" Tugging Makoto, she follows after the others, not taking the platforms herself, but side-skirting the enemies. The maddened ones part around them, never even noticing, and Sailor Venus is officially preoccupied enough by the approaching Beryl and Kunzite that it's possible for the time-displaced to scurry past.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    This is the last stand of an old world Amanda never even knew.

    The obvious place to go is up those stairs, to where it all ended, right?

    If this were a videogame, as long as the level isn't timed, Amy would check everywhere else first, looking for hidden items and stuff, before going up the stairs because that's obviously what will progress the story.

    Moon thinks they should go forward.

    Amanda takes a look behind them and-- GAME OVER approaches, a chill running through the Puella Magi's veins. The crimson-haired witch, to her, is practically radiating a 'do not let this person catch you' vibe. And also a suspicion that she'll spot them more easily than the other echoes, although they're clearly still outside of the aggro bubble for now. Still... she may be the final boss later, but at this point in the game? Being caught by the final boss early is game over, reload from last save.

    They don't have saves. "I think we'd better stay the hell away from her. Regardless of interacting."

    Hope Witch provides platforms so they can proceed along the stairs without getting into the battle happening there. Amy leaps up after her.

    "Geeze. At least they stop fighting when you put holes through them." Unlike us. "I guess it's mind control, not puppeting their bodies."

    Okay, she was mentally likening things to a videogame before but damn if jumping from platform to platform while avoiding falling ice attacks doesn't feel like something right out of a videogame. "This is a lot easier in third person." She mutters. "At least I have peripheral vision..."

Beryl has posed:
There's a wicked amusement in Kunzite's voice, an almost-friendliness that's worse for not being faked. As he and Jadeite offer their barbed little comments, Sailor Venus tosses her head, long golden tresses swaying like a wave.

"Only you humans are so arrogant as to think the sky turns for your world alone. The Moon goes nowhere - it's you, who turns your face, as you have turned from your prince."

Disdain etches harsh lines into her face, and an object like a microphone appears in her hand, glittering gold and orange, and her voice is amplified when she speaks into it, glaring daggers at Beryl, Kunzite, and Jadeite. She pays no mind to those who rush past her. "The dog's traded his leash for a chain, I see! You make your world a pyre and think I'll take your mercy? Die a traitor's death, and choke on your own blood!"

The last of the visitors' from out of time make it past Venus - whether taking the stairs or going above, on platforms - as she screams, an echoing, terrible of focused soundwaves, shattering the steps below her, cracking the marble flooring, shattering the eardrums and exploding the teeth of the attacking civilians -

Past Jadeite's ice-shield creaks and cracks under the assault, and in the instant of weakness, Venus pivots, launching an enormous golden heart of energy at the shield - it detonates on contact, sending icy shrapnel flying.

Queen Beryl deflects the shards with a simple twist of her hand, casting Venus a cold look.

"Kill her," she orders Kunzite, and strides forward. As she moves, youma rise from the ground, taking form and joining the attack. The sounds of battle sharpen behind them.

But as they climb the stairs, our heroes begin to see a pavilion above, where Prince - King - Endymion, still as sooty and dusty as he was when those who witnessed his last desperate flight from Earth saw him last and Princess Serenity wait, the princess trying and failing to raise hails on the communicator now on her wrist.

"Io is under attack, as are Mercury and Venus and Mars," she says, voice tight with panic, "Mother is stopping the spread of that creature, but there's no stopping her monsters -"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Endymion, so recently become boy king of a lost world, is covered in soot and dirt, with other people's blood on him: on his hands, on his sword, on his face, on the dagger he's using as a main gauche, on his armor. It was the worst month of his life, it's the worst day of his life, it will always be the worst day of his life; he's killed so many, and some of them familiar faces, and all of them his subjects--

He can't stop to think about it, he can't stop to think at all; everything is a reaction as he fights with blades alone, unable to call roses from the moon's soil to keep the masses at bay. He can't even spare a hand to throw one.

All he can do is keep the enemy from getting to Serenity next to him, his love that he had so many dreams with, his Princess whose purification stops the fallen from rising again.

The queen had said she was sorry that those dreams would never come to fruition, and oh, Endymion is sorry too. Every iota of him is filled with grief for the future that will never come to pass, grief for his beloved guardians who betrayed him, grief for the ends he is certain they will come to even if he survives--

But he still has hope. He has hope that the Senshi can win, that the Queen can repel the demon, that someday Earth can be won back from it, that not all who live there have died, that some might survive. That the other planets might be safe, still, that even if they fail, something good might persist.

Anything good...

Maybe they'll win.

Maybe he'll be forgiven the salty tracks through the soot and blood on his face when he hears his oldest, first Guardian Knight's twisted laugh and Venus' justified and furious scorn. He can't afford to look.

Maybe they'll win.

"We can't worry about them right now-- we have to buy your mother time," his voice comes, ragged, tight with exertion instead of panic. If he has to delude himself into thinking anything can be done to stop this, just to keep from panicking, then he'll do it and later! There will be a later! Later he can call it hope. "Maybe she can destroy the creature, and then the monsters will have to stop--"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus is keeping her eyes fixed firmly forward, both literally and figuratively. She can't make any changes here, and she already has gathered as much info as she can - which is far less than her two compatriots. But not only does the situation bother her, the missing Neptune does, too. There's no wind on the domed moon to tell her anything. All she can do is face forwarrd - this place isn't real - not really real, despitee the sounds, the smells, the feeling, and so there's nowhere for anyone to be trapped once it's over, right? Still, she falls back a little bit, closer to Sunbreaker.

    "If you can find Neptune and the Pagemage I WILL get to them." she says, bluntly. Beyond that, she's easily jumping up the platforms; Sailor Uranus is agile and fast, and focused on not going there and engaging an even stronger Beryl in an unwinnable fight, because every time the witch opens her mouth she wants to put a fist into it.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka's smile turns into a tired frown at Moon's warnings. "Honestly, at this point I'm not surprised. I guess there's nothing left but to bear witness to another grim tragedy. It's weird not being able to do anything but endure and survive, but that's how it is."

    To Amy, Madoka notes, "The man next to her wiped out a city. There's no telling what she herself could do." Looking down at the city below, and all of its terror, she adds, "Without the Veil, our own era would look like this too. Open warfare with magic. We should be grateful."

    As she listens to the exchange between Venus and her enemies, Madoka's heart nearly breaks. So brave, even in so great a tragedy, all the way unto the end. This is, after all, a history lesson in its own way.

    When they get to King Endymion, she and her Familiar bodyguard set down on the ground. Behind them, Venus's voice shatters a few platforms. Thankfully it seems to happen after everyone has already passed. Only when Madoka is sure there's no one around to follow them does she let her weird-looking angelic platforms vanish. They don't even return to her Labyrinth. They simply dissipate into black smoke. A resource to be used and expended in order to preserve something more important: their friends.

    "Endymion is still dirty from his flight from Earth. We're seeing a continuation of that other time... I bet he wouldn't remember us, though."

Bow has posed:
As he starts to move along the platforms, jumping from one to the next instead of using his grapple arrows, Bow is sticking with Hope Witch and Puella Red. The warning about the castle not being safe is heeded as he watches those that he now calls friends as they defend their home to the last. He had so many questions - but this is not the time of place to be asked.

Venus' fight is noted, unaware that she is the same friendly girl that is Rei's other half, two of his truest friends at the school as he catches up with the group.

"It's like you told me - if you're away from them for a few minutes, they reset." Bow reminds Madoka as he takes out his tech pad for a moment, just to see if there's any kind of reading he can get on where the next portal may be appearing.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"The defense tower at the palace falls, but not until after... quite a bit else." Sailor Mercury supplies this particular information to Sailor Moon and the others while her expression turns a bit chilly, eyes averted toward the sight of Venus, Jadeite, and Kunzite of the past over there. It only lasts a moment before she moves along with the others keeping pace.

"It's locked, but I could probably get us inside if we need. But it will come under siege at a point. Until then though, it should be relatively safe. I'm not sure about --"

And she pauses as she catches sight of Endymion and Serenity up there with her expression turning pained.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto needs no more than that first tug as prompting; she sticks close to Sailor Moon, automatically taking up something like a guard position at her flank even though she's still yet to transform. With her Jupiter pen still clutched in her hand she runs up the stairs, taking in the battle around them almost despite herself, with a sense of resignation and deep-creeping dread.

At least, until the sight of Serenity and Endymion occupies her full attention, like iron to lodestone. "Even Io... he wasn't lying, then." She says it more to herself than anything else.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
To the east, the flames defending the Capital City's gate go out as Mars breathes her last. To the west, the constellation of Orion shines in the dome as celestial arrows strike Jupiter to the ground as her battle with Nephrite reaches it's next stage.

Sailor Moon tries not to see it. Selfishly, hopelessly, she doesn't want to see it, doesn't want to know that Mars of this time has fallen once more, that Jupiter is fighting for her life and kingdom against Nephrite, that Venus sheds blood and energy to defend the pair of royals she runs towards -

For all that she's walked through easily dozens of portals since she landed in this time, this is the first time Usagi has laid eyes on Princess Serenity. Light flashes from the Princess' hands as she purifies the fallen.

It's true, the corpses don't rise. These people are not mere puppets, but worse: infected, infested, driven mad. It's the purifying light of Serenity's power that burns the madness away, leaves them slack and limp upon the ground - downed and now dying as themselves, at least, rather than living as rabid things, pushing themselves past physical destruction. It isn't many who have made it past Venus, but none who have were able to pass Endymion.

"I know," the Princess says, and there are tear tracks on her own face, soot and dirt on her gown,from where she has embraced Endymion, blood where she has tread upon the tracks of enemies. "We just have to hold them. We just have to hold them."

Far above, the silver light that cages the shadow around the Earth glitters and gleams as the shadow tries to force its way free.

Sailor Moon looks beyond the royal pair, taking in the sealed doors of the castle. Mercury gives a report and she nods in understanding. "You probably could, but once the gates are open, they'll notice us for sure. And if they notice us, Beryl and the rest might too."

It's an option, but a risky one, and yet, she doesn't want to see this, she doesn't want to see this...

Jadeite has posed:
Past Jadeite allows Past Kunzite to walk on into battle with Past Venus alone - he knows his ally will not fail. After all, they are there to regain their prince, to return him to Earth. Safely. Together.

When he hears his prince's voice, a spark of life returns to his eyes. He staggers forward, a smile on his face even as another mirror-like ice shield manifests itself. "My prince! We're coming for you!"

In his mind, the words are joyous. Coming out of his ash-choked throat, they ring a death knell.

Present Jadeite focuses on his shields and jumping from platform to platform, landing and using his shields to create a path free of projectiles for the Senshi and other Mahou to walk through safely.

"The brunt of the fighting is going to be attacking Endymion's pavilion. Beryl is going to come straight for him. Do not get in her way," he warns Madoka and any others passing the pavilion for the last stand. "Beryl is at the peak of her power here and when she sights him, nothing will get in her way."

He nods to Mercury - "As the princess says. Once Endymion and Beryl fall, the pavilion should be clear of enemies."

He remembers what's coming. He's seeing double, his memories overlaid over this memory.

"My princess - I remember when everything ends. I can tell you when to look away."

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Jadeite of the present offers reassurances and protection.
    "Can't say I've ever had a shield before." Jolly Roger admits, "But ye don't need worry, I'll keep close."
    She says before casting a glance askance at the approaching Beryl and Kunzite. It is time to go.
    She quickly follows after the others, leaving behind the din of battle for the time being.
    "This is nuts." She mutters, breaking pirate character for a beat. Everything is burning, people are dying, and the moon kingdom is slowly falling.
    She's... In way over her head for this one.
    "Wait what are we looking away from?"
She knows she's not the one Jadeite is talking to at all, but WHAT will they have to look away from? What could be so bad after all this?

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker was, admittedly... not paying attention to the world around her. Because, frankly?

It made her too hurt. Too furious. To much desire to MURDER! To HURT!

If she focused on it, if she focused on Beryl...

Instead, she had a job to do and...

"Hey, you! Sailor assault and battery! I think I got a lock on Sailor Waterboard!" she snapped. "Maybe... Pagemage too. Come on, let's get them." Pause. "And don't think I'm doing this for you lot, either. I just don't like the idea of Beryl getting *any* victories for this. She built this barn so she can sleep in it." She held out her hand to Uranus, before glancing towards the others. "We'll catch up. I should be able to teleport a few of us, but the closer the connection to them, the better it'll be."

Luckily, she could do a couple... because there was one other person who had a very strong tie to the Sailor of Water.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Madoka retells in as few words as possible what happened with Kunzite. "He WHAT?!" Amy shouts as she makes her way up the platforms, then looks alarmed. Gods, she hopes none of the echoes heard her!

    It's weird to hear Sailor Venus -- even a little older -- deriding you humans. Actually it's weird to hear such words at all in a non-fictional context.

    Such talk always hits Amanda kind of weird. Like, on the one hand, yeah, biologically speaking, she's human, but on the other hand, mahou-involved folk aside, for most of her life she's felt more like an alien or robot trying to understand the crazy society she's stranded in. Feels a bit unfair to be lumped in with humans, they didn't want her!

    And on the other other hand, she's a magical rock puppeting this body.

    Again, though, now's not the time for especially deep and involved self-reflection. She passes by Venus and has other things to concern herself with.

    "'That creature.'" Amy echoes, looking to Sailor Moon. "Is this a chance to get vital information, if we explain it might help stop her in the future...?"

    She'd probably make a reference here but Sans's time travel password isn't something you just say in a serious moment, and also even if people did play it she suspects few encountered that part of the game.

    Amy turns to look at Endymion. So this is where he went after that other vision. He looks like he's been through hell.

    She wishes there was something she could tell him to make it better.

    Instead, she looks back to Sailor Moon. "This defense tower... is that where this ends? Even if we don't go inside, perhaps the portal out of here might be near it?"

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Thank you Kunzite." Naru takes the gloves, and even too big, they are an improvement over wrapping her sleeve around the hilt of the ice sword.

And then? There's a lot of people grimly making their way up and onwards towards more flavours of awful. Because there is just so much .. /so much/. Naru is quiet as she heads up the platforms, listening to the various conversations and ensuring that everyone stays together. She looks head to where Endymion and Serenity are, pausing a moment to watch them. Only a moment mind, there is little time for loitering, as they keep the group together.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The crimson-eyed echo of Kunzite is doing perhaps the worst thing he could do to Endymion. He is simply ... paying him no attention. Endymion is there; this is acceptable. He is unlikely to attack directly; this is preferable. That means he can wait, while Kunzite follows Beryl's instructions.

He lifts his hands, and darkness swarms from the cracks in the flooring, crawls up about her into a dome filled with something like lightning. The colors are as wrong as the colors of the Earth in the sky, and there is no crackle of electricity, no crack of thunder. Enough to separate the Senshi from Beryl, to keep her occupied with attacks too widespread for her quickness to dodge.

Last time some of them saw this, it was the death of a city. Now, it's targeted at one person - and Kunzite doesn't seem to think what he did to that city is sufficient for her. Particularly not when, while that dome of blackness still holds, he also draws his sword.

Kazuo does not look. Because he's too busy trying to keep tabs on everyone else, and because he's watching Naru's back and Mercury's, and because Amy is ... almost loud enough for him to hear with ears still ringing from the echoes of Venus's scream. "No telling about the portals," he calls to Amy after. "But Mercury's been working on ways to reach across this whole time - if there are enough of us here, enough connections, and we can get her a safe space and whatever help we can give, it might give her a chance to try to get a path back --"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
As the battle with Venus spirals, Pluto sighs and closes her eyes.

She takes a deep breath, then she looks around.

Everyone is here EXCEPT for Michiru and Rashmi.

When Sunbreaker declares that she's scryed the two, Pluto looks for a few moments...then sighs.

She turns to Moon and says, "Princess...we'll go and get our wayward allies."

She looks at Sunbreaker...then back to Moon and says, "...and when you pull everyone out, I'll be able to follow you in that moment, so don't worry if we don't make it back."

She winks at Usagi, "Remember...Time is on OUR side."

She then turns back to Uranus, gives a little nod, then dashes over to Sunbreaker, "Let's go. I've got another out if we don't make it back to catch the one they use."

Bow has posed:
Putting away the tech pad as it seems to be of little use for the moment, Bow is letting the others ask the questions he wants to ask - but they are quicker to it. For now, as Sunbreaker says she's going after the others, he adds, "Be careful you two, and get back quickly."

With that, he's back to the situation at hand, and will let those that are of this world decide about the gates and what way they are going to use to move forward.

Beryl has posed:
Venus is captured in a force bubble, dark almost-lightning striking all around her, too much to be stopped, and she hisses, near-soundless, with every blow, every strike.

Queen Beryl makes her way up the stairs, unimpeded, Jadeite rushing ahead, a dying man propelled by envy and warped love, by hate. Beryl prowls slower, with the steadfast calm of a predator who knows the prey is wounded, weak, faltering.

This earns a cry from Venus, a piercing sound of rage. There is nothing so wrathful, so violent, as love, and she proves it, as her hand goes to the stone impaled in the ground -

Impaled? A stone?

It isn't a stone, after all. It's a sword, the blade seemingly carved of solid stone, and Venus holds it in her hands as if it were as light as a wooden practice tool, her stance ready. Not-lightning strikes her, and she does not flinch, as she pulls back and swings that sword with all her might, shearing through the force bubble and the two youma nearest her as well.

This crimson-eyed Kunzite who has not bothered to speak yet more - this villain who betrays his world and his prince, he is worth nothing more than her contempt, and Venus launches another Love and Beauty Shock, this time aimed at Kunzite, aware it will feed the monster, equally aware it may buy a moment to get closer to Beryl, a moment to be a wall of protection between that which is most important to her and the enemy of all the world.

And meanwhile, Beryl has nearly reached the top of the stairs. If they are going to interact with the royal pair, or try to get through the gate? Now is the moment to do so.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"We can do it, Serenity," Endymion says, only just loud enough for her to hear it over the din, squinting through sweat, nothing for him to wipe his face on-- "we can, we just have to hold--" and he falls into her mantra, cutting down another one of his subjects, pushing someone who's finished dying down toward those approaching, to roll and hopefully trip them.

He wouldn't recognise them if they got his attention, no -- and his attention being split from its current balance would be disastrous for him and Serenity both.

It's wretched, but useful, that Kunzite is paying Endymion no attention. It means he doesn't have to fight Kunzite and probably lose, given the amount of wrong that's curling around in his guardian's energy and coating his soul, making their connection a painful and choked thing.

It's horrible, but useful, because Endymion can keep protecting Serenity, can still... that's all he can do, is protect Serenity. And it won't be long before he can't do that, and he's not innocent enough to think that if he falls, she won't. But they can buy time. Something may yet persist.

But Jadeite has gotten past Venus and Kunzite, Jadeite is coming for them, and Endymion's eyes widen. "Don't--" he says, a horrified little broken-voiced sound, punched out of him. But nonetheless, his sword and dagger lift to protect Serenity from his bright-eyed, excitable guardian, turned to-- to what he's turned to, under the terrible influence of the demon.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    There's really no force in this world, or a past world, or other worlds, that's going to prevent Haruka from going back for Michiru, in the end. It was one thing when she didn't know what to do, when she didn't know where she was. But Sunbreaker's spell changes the calculation.

    "I'm going with easybake oven here." Sailor Uranus says, thumbing a finger at Sunbreaker. "To make sure she doesn't try to go all threatening like she did with Madoka. We need everybody out, anyways." she notes. It's totally not that one of them is her love. It's totally not that she's been trying to ignore the fact that she's not here.

    "Don't worry, we'll be back in time." That was a joke, delivered with a half smile. "Alright sunchips, let's go." She has in no way learned the lesson of 'use the right name when someone's helping you' but sometimes you just can't change a person.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch, still trudging forward, glances aside to Mercury and Moon as they discuss a hiding place. She suggests, "I might be able to use my magic to get us past the door without opening it, if we absolutely need to. Unless it has some kind of warding around it. Although..." Madoka looks over at the now-King Endy. "That one has been able to detect me before, so it might not be as stealthy as we'd like. Even now, I think we shouldn't get too close to him if we want to stay unnoticed."

    Her eyes then go to Jadeite and she gives him a firm nod. "I understand. Thanks for the warning. Let's get out of the way, then." She doesn't really know for certain what deaths he's talking to Moon about, but when she looks over at Endymion and Serenity... she can guess.

    Hope Witch winces, in spite of herself.

    To Amy, she says, "I thought of something similar, that maybe we could see what fighting Beryl is like so we can plan around it, but... I don't think that's a good idea with the shape we're currently in."

    To Kazuo, not Kunzite, Madoka offers, "I'll be willing to lend whatever power or energy I can. If Gretchen's darkness gets in the way, I can use Sio's instead, though I mean... Gretchen is the powerhouse, so I'll leave it up to you."

    Madoka gives a pitying look at the drama happening in front of her. Should she say something to them? To warn them? What would there even be to say. "I'll remember you," she whispers. "It wont be in vain."

    Pluto and Uranus get a nod. "Watch your backs," she says. She doesn't specify whether or not she's dissing Sunbreaker with that.

Zoisite has posed:
There's so much chaos that it's hard to distinguish much, amongst it all, but the now-dying flames from Mars putting up a valiant fight at the gates suddenly reignite, nearer now. Coming from a nearby tower, much closer to the fight.

What could this mean?

The fires burn bright, licking towards the sky, as great concussive blasts knock buildings down and fling debris into the air. Closer and closer, the blaze comes, and a figure is wreathed in its glory, a dark shadow against the light.

But then a crackling wall of ice obscures the fire's path forward, and a disarming shriek of laughter preceeds a million pinpricks of light showing through the deep blue of the frozen water, and suddenly with a great boom the wall shatters, sending vaporizing shards into the sky.

"You won't keep me away for long, Mercury! You can't! Not any longer!"

The heat of summoned flames creates a haze in the air from which the shadow emerges, revealing Zoisite's slim frame. His hair flows behind him as he stares down his once-friend, and sakura petals begin to blossom from his palm, filling the air again. He smiles, and it's a cruel, unhappy thing. "Step aside and--"

"--Let. Me. Pass."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I think if we distract them, they'll die faster, and we'll die after," Sailor Moon answers Amy honestly, her voice distant to her own ears. "Uranus, Pluto - go. Find them, and make it back to us. That's an order."

She can't deny the necessity of finding their friends, though she hopes they're in another echo entirely, hopes they aren't on the Earth that burns or lost in the city at war. There's a part of her that's bitter, that's grim, that can't be happy for Uranus or Pluto, getting to avoid seeing it, getting to turn their eyes from the end, but maybe that's just fate.

They weren't here for this, after all.

Beryl is approaching, and Jadeite is making an offer, his voice soft, and Usagi shakes her head. "It won't help.'

And Jolly Roger is asking a very obvious question, concern in her voice, and the words are caught in her throat, but somehow they come out, anyway: "The moment I kill myself."

Princess Serenity hears none of their words, most particularly not Madoka's soft promise of remembrance. Her attention is focused on Endymion, on purification, her mantra passing her lips, and then there is Jadeite, there is that bright-eyed artist, the one who was always ever so slightly distant from her, but who was polite and earnest and is now a mockery of himself, a twisted wreck. She stands behind Endymion, eternally the protected, but she raises her hand nonetheless, purifying light cloaking it. "I won't let you touch him."

There's an explosion of ice, not near far enough, and as the winds pick up and the thunder booms, there's Zoisite, finally making his appearance.

All four generals on the battlefield. One Senshi down. The vicious witch who calls herself queen, approaching.

"We have to hold them. We just have to hold on."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury says nothing immediately in response to the mention of the doors because her attention has shifted in the direction of that tower where a familiar voice is calling out.

From where they were they could easily see the Pavilion and the expansive staircase to the defense tower she had mentioned. It was all wide open to view, and another Sailor Mercury was currently entangled in a battle with Zoisite. The Sage Lyre is in her hand, fingers poised over the glittering strings strumming over them creating waves of water which washes out to turn into more encumbering ice walls. Taking some inspiration from Sailor Jupiter rather than a sheer wall she creates a spiked wall hoping to press the Shittenou further back.

"I can't and I won't!" Sailor Mercury of the past cries out as she turns to race back up the stairs trying to make more progress before he can get past her wall.

Sailor Mercury of the present looks away from the tower back to the group she was with. The path there would be open and clear from where the future-travelers were currently. If they left now they would reach the tower before either of the other two figures.

"It would still be safe and out of sight of ... You don't need to see this, Sailor Moon. We don't get to the tower until after the worst."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Sunbreaker blinked a few times. Easybake... oven? Did... did this girl think that baking was EASY?! Or was a reference to something else? She sighed and realized she'd need to look this up later. Like tartarus she'd admit to not knowing what it was...

However, Pluto's comment made Sunbreaker get just a little huffy. "I could get us out if it comes to that," she grumbled. Maybe she could. She didn't know. She had power, though! But...

But these two knew Neptune, so it was likely best if they all came with her. She blinked and glanced towards Bow. For a moment, she wondered if she should ask him to tell Sayaka she was sorry if she didn't come back...

Then shook the thought away. No. Her destiny wasn't hit yet. She wouldn't be trapped here. They were ALL getting out of here. And then? Then Beryl would pay.

She gave one last fleeting glance to Beryl and her gaze hardened. "You're going to lose soon, you mockery," she mutterted. Before black flames enveloped all three of them and they were gone, teleporting away to go grab the missing parts of their group.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Moon nixes the idea of talking to the echoes. Amy nods.

    She quirks an eyebrow in surprise at Serenity taking up arms, or at least magic. Even the sheltered princess has valor. It's a shame it will come to such a quick end here, rather than whatever works she might have done as Queen.

    Oh dang, Sunbreaker and others are splitting off. Amy takes a deep breath and opens her mouth wide--

    --and then remembers the communicators. <<"You'd better make it back, Sunbreaker. You only just opened up to us! I look forward to talking to you again after all this is over.">> Pluto said she has her own way back, and Sunbreaker seems far more likely than Uranus to decide to go off on her own in a way that will make it difficult for the others to find her.

    The rest of them are still here, and Beryl is almost...

    Amy glances back. "She's too close. We gotta move."

    She walks, then runs towards the gate. Looking around for any portals.

Jadeite has posed:
"Endymion. My prince. Please, it's safe now," the Past Jadeite babbles, reaching out with his unbroken hand. Now that he's so close, it's as if the world has narrowed down to the two of them. He's oblivious to the fighting around him, Kunzite and Venus at each other's throats, Zoisite bursting in, and to his mistress stalking past him. "Get out of my way, Serenity." No honorific, no politeness - but some of that light is washing away the glazed look in his eyes; his voice turns pleading. "I have to take him home. It's not safe here. We have to go home."

"When Beryl gets to the top of the pavilion, she'll kill Prince Endymion. Princess Serenity follows soon after," Jadeite tells Jolly Roger and anyone else listening to his warning - as if Usagi's warning was not enough. "Beryl and the Moon's forces kill each other in quick succession after. The other me will be the first to fall. I don't remember how quickly Beryl dies afterwards, but it's an ugly battle. You don't want to see it."

They've all seen enough. They don't need to see the deaths incoming.

"I'll keep up my shields until the barrage ends. We WILL make it back home."

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    "Oh."
    Jadeite explains it all. More death. More sadness. More being unable to do anything in this nightmare image of the past.
    "Barnacles." She mutters at the answer that she clearly doesn't like.
    "Let's get goin' then."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I'm not sure how much it matters, how close we are." Makoto's voice is soft, but she's composed now, pulling together under the necessity of crisis. She's still pale, her face still tear-damp, but she's steady as she looks to Mercury, to Sailor Moon. "I'm with you," she says, "no matter what."

Just that. It's all that's needed, here.

Beryl has posed:
There are no portals, no easy ways out, but there is the clear path that Mercury has identified, that leads to a tower where Sailor Mercury and Zoisite will meet their deaths - but not yet.

In this world, where the end comes too fast, not yet is the best they have.

The gates to the Moon Castle are securely locked, both with magic and with mundane methods - it will take force to unfasten them, and it will be noticed.

On the other hand, aside from dodging any misfired or run away elements from the battle of Zoisite and Sailor Mercury, there's nothing to be lost by going for the tower.

Beryl reaches the pavilion, standing atop the last stair. There is a sword in her hand. Where Jadeite pleads. Beryl commands.

"It is time to return to Earth, King Endymion. You are not for the Moon."

She says the title so easily, as though it were not her own fault that he is a boy king rather than a prince.

There's a power that can be felt by anyone even mildly sensitive to such things, a tremendous darkness and evil, beyond even that which they would have felt in their battle in the present. This is Beryl at her strongest, the woman who brought an end to an entire era. Her crimson eyes burn with malice and obsession, and she looks at Endymion with wanton eyes, lingering on the streaks tears have left.

"There's no need to keep breaking your own heart."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
It's only a sword, that Venus has in her hands. A light thing. Nothing of any visible power. But when Venus brings it around in its arc, Kunzite's echo flinches visibly even while it's only inside the darkness - when it strikes the border and carves it open, he stifles a sound in his throat, drawing back a step. The cracked marble under his foot dislodges and falls, breaking into dust and shards itself. He doesn't notice, only stands there, supported part by the wreckage of the steps, part only by air.

The crystal at his ear gleams oddly for an instant, then floods with blackness, and the blade of the sword he lifts crackles into an eye-searing color, fuchsia gone to radioactive rot. His free hand clasps the edge of his cape and he tosses it out and sidesteps, catching the golden heart Venus tosses, swallowing it into the black, then levelling his sword and spitting it out again. There's no gold left in it; only streaks of blackness and that awful pinkish glow. It's not even an attack, not directly, so much as interrupting Venus's path to Beryl, doing more damage to the steps, lowering her chances to intervene. Trading moments - keeping Venus from getting too much closer to Beryl. After all, Kunzite needs her to do -- something? She has a job. That's all he has time to know.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury shakes herself out of her own memories playing out in front of her eyes--Again, so soon. She'd only recently stumbled through the portal that played out her past death once again and now here she was once more. Seeing Makoto with cearer eyes, and Naru, and Kazuo. Tamaki and Usagi. Hope Witch and the others.

"We'll make it," she agrees only to take a deep breath as she focuses ahead. "This way," she urges suddenly as she strikes out down the open path toward the tower. Cutting across the back side of the pavilion, well out of sight, to head for the defenses that had gone unused for so long by the Moon Kingdom if only due to lack of necessity.

Once she reaches the double doors she raises her hand to press against the side where a computer console lay in all it's Silver Millenia glory. "Let us in. You know me, you have always known me!" She pleads knowing there's little time even now. All she had to do was get the computer locked in this time loop to recognize the HER of now so that it would open.

So much was going on they may not even be noticed.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka is close enough to hear Beryl's words. She clenches her teeth. Even with all of the Witches and other horrors she's seen... Beryl just instantly creeps her out.

    No need to keep breaking your own heart?

    No one thinks that Madoka is capable of murder up until the moment she whips out her bow and just ends someone. Today, they'll probably continue to think that, because she keeps her magical fury to herself, but only because she knows it wouldn't actually work.

    As to why those words in particular set her off, well, that's something she'll have to explore later. When they aren't in a crisis. Instead she simply mutters, "How dare you," as she clenches her teeth and balls her hands into fists. The Clock Knight sets its hand on her shoulder, and she turns to her Familiar. "Right... sorry. Let's move on."

    She follows along with Mercury, letting the Senshi do things her way. The magical wards on such a place are probably respectable enough that she couldn't just portal her way through easily. Not without getting a lot more experience in circumventing magical countermeasures. Instead, she nocks an arrow and turns around. The moment anyone turns to stop them, she'll be ready to do battle, but she's not going to start anything with multiple Raid Bosses on the field at once.

    "I'll stand with you, but... hurry."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's no point in taking the gate, but Mercury has a strong point about the tower, and there's no - they don't need to be here.

Everything is so open, they won't be able to miss what happens next, but they don't have to be right next to it, either.

"To the tower then, maybe - maybe we'll find a portal."

But she doubts it. Beryl had wanted them to witness, and it's not over just yet. They haven't witnessed it all.

Still holding Makoto's hand, tears starting to prick at her own eyes, she follows Mercury's lead, looking back to make sure that everyone is with them. It doesn't look like they have any stragglers...

The computer is unmoved by Mercury's hand - initially. But at her plea, at her cry, at her power that resonates through her being, something is recognized, and the tower doors open, offering them shelter - but there are windows in the tower, windows that couldn't be seen from outside, that offer a perfect view of what's coming.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"We have to make it." Naru agrees with Mercury, wiht a firm nod. She lets Mercury lead the way and she follows along, twisting to try and ensure that everyone who is coming along is actually coming along.

Naru hurries along and comes up alongside Mercury. "Can I help?" She asks.. not that she's sure /how/ to help, but she'd figure somethign out as needed.

Her thoughts on all of the tragedies in progress, she is keeping to herself. Focus on what they need to do. Not that it's terribly clear.

There's a breath of relief as the door opens to Mercury's touch and Naru waits at the door to help usher people into the shelter. Even with the windows.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"No! Have you SEEN what you DID to our home, Jadeite?? Look to the sky! Look at our world! It's ON FIRE--" yells Endymion at Jadeite, "it's on fire-- and my mother is dead, I'm not your prince, I'll never be your prince again! Stay away from us or I'll cut you down too--"

And then. There's Beryl. There she is. Right there-- trying to command him even as she calls him King--

"Foul woman," snarls Endymion then, holding his sword ready, "You have stolen and killed everything I am for, and you murder all that I have left-- is that enough for you? You who would be the ruin of whole worlds, what sick fascination propels you? What wretched filth is this energy you press on a place of peace, on the lives and hearts and souls of so many, so many I cannot save?"

He can only hope-- he can only hope that Serenity's light will be bright enough to wake the ones living out a nightmare. To make them stop. Maybe it will finish what it started with Jadeite, maybe it will be bright enough to rekindle the sun before the darkness here is complete.

"FUCK you!" he half-shrieks, eyes glittering with tears of absolute fury as he attacks the seven-foot witch in front of him.

He's a good swordsman. No one has gotten past him so far. He's a very good swordsman, trained by the best, trained by Kunzite, only just over there--

Zoisite has posed:
There is little to be said about the ongoing fight between Zoisite and Mercury. Fire against ice, darkness against light, both sides desperate in their desire to reach their goals.

"I will not be delayed any longer!" he calls out, but there is no time left; the confrontation between Endymion and Beryl begins.

Zoisite sees it, but he does not understand. The veil of dark energy pulls at his eyes, obscuring the truth from his gaze. So he only launches another attack at Mercury, petals glittering in the air like fireflies before they combust at once, concussive blasts erupting across the area.

This may cause some trouble for those trying to cross to the tower, but as of yet Zoisite's focus remains glued to his current foe.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto's grip on Sailor Moon's hand is solid and warm - a point of security, for however much that's worth at the end of the world. She squeezes it gently, and when the tower opens to Sailor Mercury's plea, she gently urges her friend inside.

"We will make it," she says, echoing Mercury and Naru. She can't promise it'll be all right - it's not, and it won't be. But they'll make it. She can promise that at least.

To the west, the sky is black and roiling.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a light coming into Jadeite's eyes but it's too little, too late, and even Serenity's forgiving heart, her naive kindness, can only stretch so far. "There's no home for you to take him!"

But she doesn't have to defend her love, as he defends himself, as he lambasts one of those who tore out his heart.

But then.

There she is.

A menacing figure, a monster of a woman, towering and wicked and blaming Endymion, and oh, she hates her, and the glow of her purification is bright and strong, stronger, as great as she can make it.

The Silver Crystal, in her mother's grasp, in the Prayer Chamber of the Moon Castle, glows brighter still as it responds to the strength of the Princess' heart, and Queen Serenity gasps. The gleaming cage of silver energy that ensnares the whole of the planet Earth tightens, forcing the shadow to coil, entrapping it.

There is a terrible scream, in the minds of those ensnared by the beast called Metallia.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo points construction workers at Naru, guiding them her direction so that she can hand them on through - Naru is so much more normal than all the rest of this that she might as well be a beacon in the chaos. Let them look at her. Let them focus there. This isn't anything that any of them should have to --

-- damn. Kazuo raises a shield around the humans, around the door, so that at least there's a space safe from Zoisite's explosive flowers. Which just ... puts ... a black partial dome --5r
"I swear this one's mine," he says to Jolly Roger, quickly enough. "Won't hurt you."

Jadeite has posed:
"It's the only way. Please, my prince - " and as Serenity's light purifies him, his face crumples, tears beginning to wick at the corners of his eyes, "Endymion, I'm begging you, I don't know what else I can do - I'm sorry - "

It's too little, too late. He tries to stagger forward to help Endymion, to save him (from what? from what?), but his foot slips on the stairs; he falls to his knees, his hand outstretched to his best friend, his prince, his love -

As they rush to the tower, Jadeite raises his shields to protect everyone from Zoisite's explosions - as some shields crack and burst under the flame, he raises more and more even as his face grows pale from the effort, a cold sweat breaking out on him.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Can't believe this was all over a boy. How could anyone..." Amy-with-a-y has run ahead to the tower, stray blasts raining down on the ice shield she was given. It's probably not looking so hot. Anyway, even if they can't open its gate, she was hoping maybe a portal or other path forward would be obvious from there...

    Ami-with-an-i arrives. "I don't see any portals here. Hey, was Beryl ever healed by-- wait, is that a computer?" She starts to walk towards Sailor Mercury, then her eyes widen. "Wait, didn't you say this would attract attention?! I don't want to find out what happens if Beryl catches us!"

    The redhead looks around nervously, and poofs her clothes back into the senshi disguise from before. Red skirt, black bows, red gem, tiara symbol of a circle with the handle of Venus's hand mirror and Mars's spear both jutting out of it. Her normal boots (recolored red) and gloves remain.

    Appearing as an unknown senshi probably won't help much, but Amy hopes it's got at least some chance of staying friendly fire as long as she doesn't mess up someone else's story this time.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    It's a horrible feeling.
    It's a hello of a feeling to be so powerless as to be able to do nothing.
    This is the past. It is written in stone and cannot be changed, and Jolly Roger can only look on helpless, confused, and learning only more and more horrors of the past as time goes on.
    Taking refuge in (the present) Kunzite's protective shield she fumbles in her greatcoat as she watches Endymion lunge to attack that woman- Beryl.
    "Ah no don't do that..." She mutters, as though she knows it won't go well.
    In her hand she holds a flintlock pistol.
    She knows it'll amount to nothing. She knows it won't do a damned thing in this twisted vision of terror and horror.
    But just the feeling of the weapon in her hand reassures her... Somewhat.
    But she already knows.
    This is going to end in tragedy.

Bow has posed:
"This isn't just about a boy." Bow says flatly to Amy. "If Beryl controls Endymion, she controls everything on Earth through him as King. And perhaps beyond." With that, he's following after Ami as she gets the doors opened, and his attention turns to Sailor Moon. "I'm sorry you're having to relive this."

As he's gathering himself, he turns to glance towards the shields with a terse 'thank you' offered to Kazou for them as he draws in his breath. "So, I assume we wait this out for the end, and that's when we'll get the portal. At least that's the working theory."

Beryl has posed:
Construction workers obediently follow after Naru, bewildered and terrified, traumatized by the death and destruction they've seen as much as any of the children are, only, they at least will receive the grace of the veil. They won't remember any of this, not with any true clarity.

Hersnd meanwhile, there is vitriol from Endymion's lips and a moment of - is it hurt in Beryl's eyes? Perhaps, but more so, it is fury, and scorn, and she spits vitriol in return, "You who are Prince and King, who have all the Earth's power, and would rather hand it off to a Moon witch to satisfy her wishes, you wretched, youthful fool, as empty-headed as you are handsome! I will bring it all back! I will raise the world anew, and there will be no Silver Millennium above our heads, no gods that spurned us until you, shining and golden, were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and power in your touch -"

And he comes at her with a sword, and he was trained by Kunzite, and he is as skilled as ever there have been, and he has cut down every opponent in his path -

And she deflects his furious swing with a shriek of steel against steel, and drives her blade through armor, cloth, flesh, bone. Through the beating heart of the Earth itself in human form, and out his back.

For a moment, there is breathless silence, and then, with a contemptuous, scorned gaze, Queen Beryl draws the sword from his swaying body.

She looks him in the eye, and then, beyond him, to Serenity, her blue eyes, deep as the infinite span of space, wide with horror, with a grief too terrible to name.

"This is your fault. You should have never come to Earth. He dies because you could not be satisfied until the Earth itself danced to your tune."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He's going to kill her-- he's going to kill her-- she's wrong, everything coming out of her mouth and her heart and her hands is wrong, and what's she's done to his planet, to his heart already--

Endymion does not kill Beryl.

The sword slices through armor, cloth, flesh, bone; his heart tries to beat around it, and his bright blue eyes are shocked as his sword clatters to the marble floor of the pavilion. A thin trickle of blood from his mouth, and Beryl draws the sword out, and there is then so much blood, so much, as he crumples where he stood.

He's still trying to breathe-- and then he is not, and his eyes see no more.

It's over quickly, at least.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Endymion crumples, and Serenity with him, and the blood pouring from his wounds stains her white dress crimson as she reaches or him, as her hands glow and glow and glow but there is nothing to heal, there is nothing left - the light has gone from his eyes and Endymion is no more.

And there is a cry that echoes through the area, that tears through the city and the world, or so it seems, to a girl who is losing her world and now has lost her heart.

"ENDYMION!"

His name echoes, bounces off buildings, is carried through the city, and then, as Serenity is on her knees, with Endymion's body cradled in her arms, is heavy with grief, with horror, with an agony that feels it will split her in two, Beryl speaks, her poisonous, venomous tongue at work -

And there is no hope in her. The light sputters, dies. There is a girl who might have been seen as a goddess, brought brutally to the Earth, and there is a sword, Endymion's sword, and there are her hands, grasping it, and her voice, whimpering, and her eyes, pouring tears, and her mind filled with grief and agony and guilt as the world burns and she knows it is all because she saw that boy and dared to love him, to want him, to wish they could have a future.

The sword cut through delicate finery and soft flesh with ease. Serenity had not thought, had not planned. She does not aim for the heart, protected by ribs - she drives the blade through her stomach and out her back with all the strength in her body, and sinks to the ground.

It isn't so quick, this way, but the pain is nearly as tremendous as that in her heart, and she fades into unconsciousness - into death - before tooo long has passed.

In the tower, Sailor Moon's sob is a tiny, choked thing.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The flurry of explosive Sakura petals hit the ice wall that Mercury-of-the-Past had erected sending ice shards flying. An exceptionally large chunk cuts into her arm drawing a cry of pain from her as she staggers on the stairs. Her knee hits jarringly hard as she keeps herself from completely falling.

The senshi of the past twists to throw her hand up crying out with a familiar command, "Sabao Spray!"

A disorienting mist envelopes the staircase helping to hide those that were working to enter the tower. It obscures Zoisite's view of her which is the point--But it does absolutely nothing to obscure her view or the view of the battle on the pavilion not far off. Whatever happens, both she and Zoisite would get a free and clear view of the horrors about to occur.

"Oh thank you," Mercury-of-the-present blurts out leaning her forehead against the tower wall when the doors open allowing others to bustle in. As the mist starts to sneak up the stairs she looks up again flashing a grin toward Naru. "Just make sure everyone is inside." There's a small quiver to her lips as the smile slips away entirely. "Get inside with them. Take the stairs to the second level---We won't go up there," she assures knowing that the actual control center was in a hidden door on the first floor. "But leave after our past selves enter. *Go*," she hisses urgently to Naru. And as soon as they're all inside? She shuts the door behind them.

<<I'm sorry, I have to re-close the doors from out here, or they won't open for my past self. I'll be fine.>> She just wouldn't watch what happens. Again. Her step leads her around the side of the tower simply standing well away, pressed to the wall so as to not be noticed.

Past-Mercury hears the clash of steel and Beryl's accusatory words causing her to pause in her fight up the stairs to stare in open, abject horror with a gasp as Endymion falls and Serenity... "Oh, Princess...!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
It's a good thing that they're sheltered within the tower.

Good - because after that first heartbeat of terrible stillness, after the sword has pierced through the Princess, thunder BOOMS out all around them, powerful enough to shudder even the tower walls. Nearly loud enough to drown out the unearthly scream that rises from somewhere to the west. Outside the tower, it's as though a hurricane has descended; the wind roars and howls like a maddened thing.

And then, bare moments later, there's another explosion as the western sky breaks open in starlight and lightning. This one shudders through the ground underfoot, a massive eruption of light that engulfs a portion of the city.

When it clears, it's like a hole has been punched in the skyline. What's left, off to the west, is a crater.

Inside the tower, Makoto wraps her arms around Sailor Moon. She's crying again, but silently, tears tracing wet paths down her face. She might've opened her mouth to protest Sailor Mercury's decision, but the words just don't come out.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
There had been a scream in the minds of those corrupted by the demon from the sun. It is - nothing. Nothing. Not compared to this. His cry, lost in Serenity's, is only a human one - horrified, the crimson shroud torn from his eyes and the shadows from his jewel. Too late. Too late for anything, but for gray eyes to meet blue, for Kunzite to see exactly how wrong he's been.

Computations are mechanical, even as the thunder echoes around them. Who has the greatest chance of striking Beryl down? Not him. How long would killing him slow her down? A split second, but too long. The Kunzite of the past dips once more, only once more, into the pool of tainted power, pulling - not enough for an attack. The sword has already fallen from his hand; he hadn't noticed. Enough to wrap a shiver of darkness around himself, to teleport, to be out of Princess Venus's way.

In the distance, outlined for an instant against lightning, is a flash of darkness. For a moment, the silhouette of a man.

Only Pluto will have to know the details of what happens next, at that new crater. But the devouring darkness does not return.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Hopefully Beryl will stay focused on the King," says Hope Witch to Amy. "Otherwise... well, we have a few other escape methods. All we have to do is break line of sight long enough and they'll go back to what they're doing."

    Once the door is open, she waits for others to filter in before following after herself. Clock Knight, knowing itself to be an expendable defender, waits until Mercury says that she wont be joining them. Only then does it go inside.

    Once they're on the second floor, Hope Witch looks out one of the windows, watching as...

    Yeah. Yeah that's about what she expected. Beryl confirmed everything that Madoka had suspected about her in one movement of her blade. Her wide pink eyes are filled with horror as Serenity, also---

    Hope Witch looks away, hand covering mouth. She sinks to her knees and tries, hard, not to vomit. Being familiar with tragedy doesn't always make it easier to cope with. Sometimes, it just makes it worse.

    That Beryl would do this for no reason other than her own arrogance and entitlement... That she would invite, even embrace, this horror... That she would deny responsibility for it, as if the rest wasn't damning enough. All this misery just so she could have-- what? She got power, sure, but she didn't get a single thing she actually wanted.

    "Horrible..." is what Hope finally manages to say. After an uneasy moment she stands up again, and then starts looking to everyone else. "... is everyone still okay?" Her eyes go to the construction workers, and to Sio who is still hovering over them. "We'll get through this."

Jadeite has posed:
Serenity's light partially freed past Jadeite from Beryl's influence. Endymion's lifeblood spattering on his face banishes the rest.

But that control isn't the only thing that's shattered. So has Jadeite's mind, staring at the twin corpses of his prince and his prince's love lying arm in arm on the marble. Dead. Both dead. All dead. And he had, he had, he had -

"No!!", and his scream turns into a wail of horror and remorse, a near living thing tearing out of his battered throat.

And then - it's not obvious if what happens next is a result of Jadeite holding his dying body together with ice, or the backlash of Beryl's power overtaking him once more, or the fulfillment of one final, desperate wish before he could sink back into darkness -

An ice rose bursts from his chest, over his heart. Another from his head. Another from his shoulder - his hip - and soon his entire body has been been consumed by ice, leaving only a glittering statue as a monument of his grief.

But not for long. Jupiter's winds smash through the pavilion, and the ice roses shatter on the marble at Endymion's feet.

There will be no body for Pluto to find.

Inside the tower, the present Jadeite uses his ice to barricade the door after Mercury slams them shut and sinks to one knee, a sob reverberating in his chest as tears freeze on his face as he lives through the worst moment of his life. Again.

Zoisite has posed:
In an instant, all is lost. The viciousness, the cruelty, the deviousness fades from Zoisite's gaze at the shock of watching Beryl drive the blade into Prince Endymion. Even from a distance, it is enough to stop him in his tracks.

Everything has led to this moment. To the realization that everything Beryl has told him, ever insidious little whisper, every covertly shared secret, has been a lie. Her pretend concern for Prince Endymion had never been real. His eyes are opened to the truth.

"No," is the only reaction he gives, a quiet, timid thing. So unlike Zoisite, who loves his theatrics. There is no falling to his knees, no tears, no desperate cries, only the somber acceptance of reality.

The explosions cease. Mercury's mist parts as Zoisite walks forward, his hands at his side, grief silently reflected on his face. What happens next does not elicit so much as a whimper from him, as all of his injuries up to this point begin to ache along with the pain in his heart. In his side, a wound from a shard of ice gushes, turning the grey fabric of his uniform crimson.

It is clear on his face when he locks gaze with the Sailor Mercury of the past, that the darkness that had him in his grips is no more. He shakes his head at her and then, wordlessly, he steps aside, no longer intent on stopping her progress. If she strikes him dead there and then, it will be the least of what he deserves.

Zoisite takes one final look back over his shoulder at the death that pervades, before he turns and walks away.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Senshi Amy glances at Bow as everyone rushes into the tower. "Someone told me this all started over--" but then Enydmion and Beryl exchange sharp words, and then blades, heard and seen through the one-way windows inside the tower.

    He's--

    Dead of a rotten wound, searching for his sibling, and as a spirit departed from her original body, she will help him search.

    So that's what that meant...

    She scowls at Beryl's words to the horrified princess. "How dare you blame her for this. That's not what she wanted!"

    Amy doesn't actually shout it, she's not so foolish! But, like WTF, someone had to say something. If only in a normal speaking voice.

    And then it gets worse.

    So much worse.

    Serenity's light dies. Oh. Oh no. She's going to rush Beryl with the sword and get annihilated. At least it will be over qui--

    Oh.

    Amy winces. Reflexively, she detaches herself from the situation, like she's watching a movie. "Terrible way to go. I've heard it takes a long time..."

    Outside, the weather itself seems to cry out in vengeance. The Fisher Princess is dead, and her kingdom will tear itself apart in grief. Or something.

    Amy turns and looks around the room, offering a steadying hand to help Madoka up if she wants. "As okay as anyone can be in the circumstances, I think."

    Then she turns to trudge up the stairs.

Bow has posed:
"Second floor, got it..." Bow is starting to say, just before Ami is moving to lock them in. "Wait!" he starts to protest, and gives the bluenette a look. "Don't sacrifice yourself." he grouses, before stepping back to turn to help with the herding of a group that is getting a front row seat to the worst day of their lives.

Bow can relate, he can understand. While the near fall of Eternia was not quite as bad as this, he rememebers the battle well. The hopelessness, the lost, the fear that things will not get better - and how desperate things can feel.

But then Endymion falls - followed shortly by Serenity and his heart catches in his throat for a moment. Normally, he'd try to rally the others. He'd have something to say. Some comment, some way to bring them around and push on. He can't find those words for a moment as he fights the urge to draw back an arrow and fire at Beryl's head, but forces that thought down.

He glances to the assorted dizidens of this world with a new-found worry and respect for them all, before he draws in his breath. "Come on. We have to get upstairs." he says hoarsely, moving to touch Jadeite's shoulder... but even before he does so, he can feel the chill on his skin, so opts against it.

The feeling of helplessness that washes over him is even felt as Crystal Hope chimes in his ear, "Bow. Time to move." she reminds him. "We can't stay here."

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    To the surprise of no one. This ends in misery.
    Jolly Roger-- Erika Shimizu watches on raptly. Even as the door closes, she rushes to a window and looks on as the young King Endymion lunges at Beryl. She knows as soon as Beryl's sword pierces the young king's breast that the fight is over.
    She watches the light leave Endymion's eyes.
    She flinches visibly as Princess Serenity takes her own life in grief. As Jadeite and Zoisite of the past free from the witch's control and there is only more pain as a result.
    Slowly... The dread pirate reaches upwards and takes off her hat.
    There's a dark shadow across her face as she dips her head, blond bangs shrouding her eyes as she holds her hat over her heart for a good moment out of due respect. She follows the others though, turning her back on the carnage of war, a mournful song burning in her throat as she does.

    "I thought I heard the Old Man say...
    'Leave her, Johnny, leave her'.
    Tomorrow ye will get your pay,
    And it's time for us to leave her.

    Leave her, Johnny, leave her...
    Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her...
    For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow,
    And it's time for us to leave her..."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo catches Bow's movement, and the pulling back of his hand; he takes a moment to fumble through his stash of energies he's absorbed this trip, searching for some kind of heat that won't try to electrocute him if he uses it. ... fire from a burning city. Well. He can dilute that enough just to keep his fingers from freezing. He touches Jadeite's shoulder in Bow's place. "Mercury's got a plan," he says quietly. "Someone will make it in here and stay downstairs. We go up, get out of their way, come back out when they've gone past. Come on." The pirate's singing a shanty. That means that the work's not done.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Zoisite!" The reproach in Sailor Mercury's voice is obvious. Sharp, and snappish, to garner his attention. Injured herself she rises to her feet properly on the stairs watching the now-fully aware Shittenou she had been fighting start to walk off. Start to.

"They're... they're gone, but that hussy still needs her nails clipped. Queen Serenity still stands. I need to cut her and her troops off from Earth. *Help me stop her.*" With that she turns to head up the stairs for the tower doors either with or without Zoisite by her side.

As the empassioned plea for help is given to Zoisite-of-the-past, Ami has sunk down to her knees beside the tower side further away from the control panel she knew her past self would access. Her cheek is pressed against the wall as she stares at it all with tears quietly streaming down her cheeks. It was all going as she remembered and she could join the others when they exited soon enough. For now she allows herself what she hadn't back then-- A moment to mourn.

Beryl has posed:
Endymion, dead. Serenity, dead. Jadeite, dead. Zoisite, fled. Kunzite, fled.

Even against hurricane winds, Beryl stands, the sole survivor of a slaughter, confident in her power, and any disappointment at the loss is soothed by the monster, the beast that shrieks and screams and glories, for she has bartered her soul to the beast and the beast has become one with her and she is so sure that she can recoup her losses. Once she has the Silver Crystal -

And that wish, that desire, to possess and to have and to grow stronger still, it grows, because with the Princess' death comes the weakening of the silver barrier that holds back Metallia, black mist lashing out, reaching for the Moon, for the lives and the light that still persists.

She throws back her head -

The Holy Sword of the Moon is driven through her back and out her chest. Venus, blood-stained and marred by wounds, grips the hilt with such fierce strength that the bones of her hands grind and grate against one another as she pushes - pushes - pushes -

Until the sword is buried to the hilt in Beryl's bowed body, and the Princess of Venus kneels above her. The witch who burned the world is dead and she feels nothing, because so is Serenity.

She can't even move, all the strength gone from her. She can only bow her head, tears slipping down her face.

The tower does indeed rattle them to their bones, as thunder echoes in a death knell for the world. The western sky explodes in rain of light and a burst of lightning as wide as a house.

They see it, all of them - they see it, because when the lightning strikes, the buildings blocking their view crumble, their foundations taken out from under them as the lightning punches a brand new crater into the surface of the moon.

Nephrite, dead.

Sailor Jupiter sways in the center of the pillar, standing atop glass born lightning transforming the earth itself.

Kunzite, appears at the crater's edge. It's a mercy that the cloud of dust whipped by the maddened, raging wind hides what happens to him, then.

When next they can see, a tree stands at the edge of the crater, an enormous oak with a gnarled trunk and jutting branches.

A limb dangles from it, still cloaked in the remnants of Kunzite's uniform, the fingers dripping blood.

In the center of the crater, Sailor Jupiter stands eternally, propped up by vines and roots sprouting around her.

Kunzite, dead. Jupiter, dead.

Jadeite has posed:
Kunzite is right. They have to move. Jadeite scrubs his face, then follows him. "Let's get out of here. Does anything need reinforced shielding or can I take a breather?"

His dying scream is ringing in his ears. But he's fine. He has to be.

He has to help them all get home.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka smiles at Amy as she's helped up, though that smile is diminished with grief. Only when she's sure that they're relatively safe, aside from those who had to split from the party, does she go back to watch. Seeing the Shitennou just... give up the moment Endymion dies. Give up, entirely, on everything. Is this the bond that they share with Endymion? With Mamoru?

    Jolly Roger sings, and it only seems appropriate. Yet, Madoka still has her eyes open and out the second floor window. She's watching, not out of curiosity, but for a portal. If there's an opening, they need to use it.

    Madoka wants to grieve, but she can't right now. She'll save her tears for later, and weep when it's over. As she watches, her curiosity grants her one small bit of hope, even amongst all the other sorrow.

    "So... she can die."

    Hope Witch gains a bit of respect for Venus. She already had that, but now there's a bit more, like finding out one of your childhood heroes is even cooler than you realized. A grim way to find out what the Senshi of Love is made of, but... no less noteworthy.

    Turning to Jadeite, Madoka says, "I'm fine for now. Thank you for protecting us so far."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Count the seconds. One, two, three, four...

As abruptly as they roared to life, the hurricane winds die away. There is no more thunder.

Silence.

Makoto swallows hard, tries to blink her eyes clear. It doesn't really help. She keeps a protective arm around Sailor Moon as they retreat upstairs to the tower's second floor.

Zoisite has posed:
Silently, Zoisite nods. There is nothing to say here, at the end, but he nods, and he follows after Mercury. There are no words, but he will do what he can with what life still exists within him.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi wraps her arms around Makoto in turn, sobbing into her chest, barely resisting the urge to scream, as she sees what she hadn't, before. What she caused, by dying - no, by falling to Beryl's taunts, by killing herself, by -

"It's just Mercury and Zoisite left, to handle all of - to handle the rest of her forces," she manages, hiccupping, grip tight enough on Makoto that she has to remember she can bruise her, that she's transformed and Makoto isn't. She lifts her head, turns to Jadeite, catches sight of Venus' body, eternally bowing, her final victory a hollow one.

Overhead, there's an ominous creak, a crack that echoes. The only one who can see the cause is Ami, is the Sailor Mercury of the present - it's the dome. The dome, that protects the Capital City, that provides the atmosphere, the air, is cracking. Punctured, by Jupiter's final, titanic bolt, and gradually the air is escaping.

That seems... bad. It will take time, for a barrier this grand to succumb to the pressure of the void, but it will come.

Usagi scrubs at her face and breathes out. "Come on. Let's at least see if we can find a portal up here, or if we're better off trying to find a way out, before Mercury and Zoisite get here."

Her voice shakes, but she's trying, dammit.

Bow has posed:
Bow watches, transfixed as Venus avenges the fallen King and his chosen Princess. To be fair, he would do no less for his own Princess should it befall his Queen, Glimmer, as well. All of this only has reminded him of glimpses of home, of things that weren't, of things that could have been.

He's finally grasped that the group of Senshi are the Best Friends Squad of this world. And they have expanded to invite in and have others, as much pain and heartache that they've been through.

His heart aches for them - and for himself. And his own failings and shortcomings. That he let his own home down. And now he's here and not sure if it will ever be right.

"I'm sorry, Glimmer." he says quietly to himself as he rubs at his eyes for a moment, before Moon's words catch up to him. The rattling of the tower as Jupiter unleashes her electric finale reminds him that they may not have much time left. Duly, he falls into step with the others, ever upward, if slowly.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury summons her powers again drawing forth moisture from the air to coalesce into a sharp dagger-like form. The hurricane force winds were difficult to deal with even transformed so she stabs the knife into the side of the tower using it as a handhold. Her hair is whipped around, her clothes tugged at, and she endures.

It's the unsettling crack which she hadn't noticed in the haze of her prior life that causes her gaze to sweep upward. The Mercury Visor feeds readings in front of her eyes informing her that the rate of escape of the air, or rather implosion of...

A lyrical chime sounds out from the Mercury Computer informing her that the computations it had been running constantly had finally managed to reach fruition as much of the magical interference has suddenly died down. A small blessing. It was time to send a signal outside the portal--Hopefully.

<<Mamoru! Luna! Can any of you hear me out there?>>

The tower doors open a second time. Sailor Mercury steps in helping Zoisite along as his injury was becoming more apparent. They speak, breifly, and then walk past the stairs that the others had gone up to a hidden door behind the stairs. It's there they vanish into leaving the way free once again.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Jolly Roger starts singing.

    Amy's eyes water and her throat tightens. When she reaches the top of the steps she just sits on the floor with her knees drawn close to her chest and listens. She just can't. She can't be bothered to care how cold the floor is. She can't even sing along when the chorus repeats. She just...

    Can't.

    She listens to the song, and to Sailor Moon's muffled sobbing. So much for trying to detach herself.

> So... she can die.

    Amy takes a breath, looks around, blinks her tears away, slowly lifts herself to her feat, and looks at the scene now outside.

    "So... y'know... we just have to do that again. Without everyone dying first this time."

    She pulls a bit at the unfamiliar costume on her. "...These uniforms are horrible for sitting in."

    Amy glances tiredly at Jadeite. "...Don't wear yourself out topping me up. I'm immo-- well, I won't die easily." She could explain, but... Madoka knows what to do if the worst happens: Grab her soul gem and as much of her body as possible.

    So, this is the life of a magical warrior. Amanda thought she understood that, in her final moments as Mallory, but she really, really didn't. She knew there'd be death and monsters and horrible things, but living it...

    She looks down at her gloved hand. Worth it, though.

    The life of a normal girl was never on the table, anyway.

    She finally takes another breath and stands up straight again. "So... what now?"

                                     CRACK!                                    

    "Oh, what now?!" Amy tries to look up from the window.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    And then Beryl is felled. Stabbed by Venus and ending the madness. But at the cost of *so* many lives.
    Jolly Roger trails off and slowly sets her had back in place upon her head with a slow huff.
    "Doin' that again, I suspect won't be so easy, lass." She points out to Amy. Someone with that level of power... If it cost this much to defeat her the first time, It'll likely be a bloodbath to do it again. But I'll be damned if I won't be there when it happens to try and put a powderball between the hag's eyes."
    She pauses silent as Sailor Moon suggests pushing on with a trembling voice.
    "Ye'd best start believing in tragedies, Amy." She says glumly, though.
    "Yer in one."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Take a breather," Kazuo says to Jadeite. "At least for a minute. Maybe even two."

The hurricane winds die, and there is the creak, then the crack.

"... one and a half," Kazuo mutters under his breath, and waits silently, listening to Amy and Jolly Roger, for the footsteps of the pair outside to fade. Listens after to the silence, counting as silently as he'd waited, and finally risks the stairs again, starting down as Mercury suggested. Taking advantage of the lull to try to get out to Mercury again, before whatever else is going to happen starts.

Beryl has posed:
From within the Moon Castle, the great gates burst open, and a figure emerges - the Moon Queen, so alike in appearance to Serenity, the Moon Stick in half, Silver Crystal glowing dimly. At her heels race two cats, one white, one black.

The shadow enveloping the Earth has breaks through the light that cages it, reaching for the Moon, and Queen Serenity raises the Moon Stick, a barrier of light covering the slowly breaking dome.

"Serenity," her voice is a whisper in the dead air, audible through the one-way glass. Grief, agony, it cloaks her. "Oh, my Serenity."

The vast darkness that envelops the Earth, that reaches for the Moon, above L A U G H S.

The laugh isn't a sound. It enters the body through not the ears, but the mind, the soul, seeking to twist, to turn, to corrupt. It is madness itself, devouring, hungry, eternal, and to hear that laugh is to feel the mouth fill with saliva, the stomach clench with hunger, want and need and want gnawing insatiably.

The Queen bows her head, and raises the Moon Stick.

The Luna of the past cries out, "Queen Serenity - if you do this, you'll - "

"There is nothing worth living for, in a world without my daughter," Queen Serenity says, and her eyes are hard, as she stares upon the laughing thing which knows only how to devour and consume. "At least this way, she'll have a chance. If it will take my life, then I gladly give it away."

As the Silver Crystal in the Moon Stick shines, another shines at her chest, their two lights growing, glowing, silver and white.

The laughing, devouring, hungry thing S H R I E K S, as the light grows, expands, pulses out, from the Queen and the Silver Crystal, and the barrier that covers the Moon spreads out, recreating the silver cage, and expanding, until a bubble covers the planet itself.

The bubble begins to shrink, to shrink, to shrink, compressing the darkness, which continues to scream, a rancid sound of rage and want.

"I will use my power and Serenity's, to seal this creature away. To ensure that Serenity and her court will find each other again... to ensure that all those who have fallen on this awful day may find one another again. Even you two. It's the only way."

"But - my queen... is there anything left at all, for them to reborn too?" Artemis' voice, the laughter long gone. He pads to Venus' side, looking upon the guardian he favored above all.

"There is always life, which comes again," Serenity says, and her voice is weaker, growing weaker. She stumbles, leans against a pillar. "Perhaps... perhaps part of the problem was power, and the knowledge of it. I cannot take magic away, but I can - I will hide it. When the world is new once more, it will be a world where power is hidden to those without it. A world where my daughter's very nature will not garner her scorn, and her love will have no challenge for the sake of covetuous desire. She will be a girl, able to live her life, and you two... you will be there to find her and her court, to guide them in these new lives."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A crackle of static, like a long-distance radio, and a voice, familiar only to some of those trapped in this echoing nightmare, speaks across the communicators that Sailor Mercury shared. It broadcasts to them all, but it's only receiving from one end - Sailor Mercury's.

"Mercury! It's Luna! You were finally able to reach us! Oh thank goodness, listen - we think we have a way for you all to get out!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Suddenly in the hearts, in the backs of the minds, of Usagi and Kazuo and Tamaki -- the still-there connection to Mamoru glows bright, like coming up from underwater. A direction to look in, to search in. Over there, a location that's sideways from here... but it's not a signal that he's in trouble. There's only urgency, no fear or hurt or anger. Here I am, is almost audible--

--and it's as Ami manages the contact through this terrible, terrible bubble of the past, and then it is audible. <<--e're here!>> Endymion's familiar voice agrees with Luna, cheery and firm and crackling through on everyone's bluetooth-ish communicator devices.

It's Mamoru, urgent but happy, happy to hear Ami's voice, happy that the line's been established. <<And yeah! Get everybody together! Have Moon and Kunzite and Jadeite focus on what I'm sending them, and then do that group thing! Sailor Teleport, Luna said! Group teleports can be rough for one person to handle, so if everyone carries their own weight and a little more, you can cover for everyone else. So just make a circle, hold hands, pour your power in, and follow the connection-- you can do it! I believe in you!>>

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka hadn't noticed the crack in the sky at first, but now her attention is upwards. Is that... how they kept air here? Some kind of barrier? It... makes sense of course, but... what happens if...?

    Same thing that would happen if you visited the real moon, Doka-chi.

    Great. Another incoming disaster. "If that thing breaks completely, I don't think that hiding in a tower will help us. I'm also guessing that we can't really fix it, either. Which means... whatever portal we see next..."

    Kazuo starts heading down, and Hope follows suit. There's absolutely no reason to stay here longer than she needs to, and she already decided to let this era's denizens take the lead. She exits the tower in time to hear Queen Serenity talk and--

    "So... the Veil didn't exist in this era, but now..."

    Whatever her thoughts are, they cut off the moment she hears a familiar voice.

    Oh hey, it's the cat that almost ate me.

    That was a misunderstanding! She wasn't gonna eat you! A-anyways now's not the time to think about that.

    Madoka looks over to Ami, and then over to the construction workers. She speaks over the provided comms, "Well, here's hoping the karmic potential that Kyubey coveted so much can carry the weight of a few construction workers."

    Can Mamo and Luna hear her? Probably not, but that's not who she's coordinating with right now. She runs over to Ami's side. "Is it like what Endymion did with us before? When he let us borrow Serenity's clothes? Because if so..."

    Hope Witch offers her hands for the circle. It doesn't much matter to her whose hands she holds so long as no one is left behind.

    Her eyes go back upwards as she watches the lightshow, and Queen Serenity's final acts. Come to think of it... did she make it to the modern era? Because... Madoka doesn't recall any mention of her.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto doesn't protest, no matter how hard Sailor Moon holds onto her - let it bruise. Bruises will heal in no time. Even untransformed, she's a sturdy support.

When those voices come through their communicators, though - Mako's head lifts sharply. And after Mamoru has spoken, that's when, very gently, Makoto disengages herself from Sailor Moon, and gives her a small, tear-streaked smile as she steps back.

"Sounds like we've got our way home," she says, and holds up her henshin pen.

"Jupiter Power, Make Up."

The flare of electricity around her is brief - just long enough to chase away the borrowed dress, the bits of clinging dust, and replace them with the familiar fuku in its white and green and pale pink.

"We'll make it," she says firmly, and holds out her hands.

Jadeite has posed:
"Endymion!" Jadeite's voice cracks with relief. His hand slams into the communicator so he can tell his prince: "Everyone's safe, Kunzite and Usagi and most of the others are here, Pluto is fetching the rest - "

He's alive, his Endymion is alive and they're all going to make it out and he came to save them and they're all alive - "I understand! I'll get started!" he says, and then turns to the others in the tower.

"YOu heard him! We need to make a circle holding hands. Tuxedo Kamen is going to get us out but we need to work together! I'll be one of the anchors for the teleport and start charging up - we have to pour our power into the circle!"

He holds out his hands to Usagi and Kazuo and concentrates, starting to whisk up what remains of his power after that marathon run - it's time to go!

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury rises to her feet from where she had hidden only to pause as the others start to come out. Just in time for the voice of Luna, and Mamoru to come across her comm. Though dusty and wind-battered from being outside (she may look like she stuck her head out in a literal hurricane!) she looks so very relieved at all of this. "Yes," she agrees as she reaches to take Madoka's hand with a firm nod. "Exactly like that. We can focus but any power that can be leant will help greatly."

<<We're here! We're safe! We'll give it a try.>> More than try though it will work, she knows it.

Meeting back up with the others she helps to form the circle, holding her free hand out to take whoever else is nearby. "You'll have to find the focus," she remarks to Kunzite, Jadeite, and Usagi. "I don't think the rest of us have a link with him. All our power is yours to use though," she assures even if perhaps she can't really speak for everyone. Hers certainly would be.

Bow has posed:
Where Bow comes from, there's no hiding of magic. It was on display, it flowed through most everyone. It was a constant, helpful thing for the people of Eternia. Bow was always just one of those was a little bit jealous that there were those that wielded magic so easily - Glimmer, Perfuma, Netossa, even Adora once she had the Sword of Protection - always seemed to be so... easy at it. And at ease. Now he realizes the weight of that, here on this planet full of people who are envious to the point of destroying each other to have that power.

He didn't understand why there was a Veil, a Fade on Earth. Now he sees why they have to have it. And it breaks his Etherian heart that it has to be that way - because how much more amazing Earth could be if they had embraced the magic that seems so deep on it as it is back home.

As the voice of Endymion sounds off in his ear, Bow stows his bow for now, and joins in the circle, his hands offered to those that want them - so that he can offer what he can to help, but as the non magical one here - he doubts it will be much.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Gathering up people is something Naru is good at. Including the poor bewildered construction workers. They are going to think they had /such/ nightmares. So many nightmares.

The likelyhood that the rest of them are going to come out of this with nightmares of their own, high.

Naru doesn't look griefstriken.. she looks stoic. She will deal with emotions later, they are busy right now. Even she looks relieved as she hears Mamoru.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kazuo returns with Mercury, to take Jadeite's hand in his own, and offer Naru another. Because one doesn't have to have magic they can use to have magic of a kind; because Earth is Naru's home, and while it's not Bow's home, some of the people on Earth right now might be.

His mouth tries to quirk at the corner as he glances back at Mercury. He can't manage it, but he tried. "The focus might be ours," he says, "but teleporting isn't a thing I remember how to do. It's all right. We'll share." If the last while hasn't been enough to make some of them bond well enough ... he's not sure what might be. "Those who need their energy to survive, though -- just ride along. We'll manage."

And all he has to concentrate on is what he wants right now to concentrate on most. Endymion is dead. Mamoru is not. And they've been worrying him enough.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Jolly Roger informs Amy she's in a tragedy. Amy just blinks and looks at her, showing only 'slight' surprise at this pronouncement. Looks down at her soul gem. Looks back to Jolly Roger. "I know."

    Still worth it, though.

    Madoka's worried about the dome. "I doubt that they'd build something that would catastrophically fail from a single break. It'll probably take plenty of time for the air to seep out of that crack." Amy tries to reassure her.

    Her attention is drawn back through the windows by the opening of the castle gates. There's the Queen. She has cats. Amy wonders if one of them is Luna. She steels herself for what she's about to see--

    But she doesn't expect the ...laugh. The hunger. The need. For the impossible happy life others had. For a world she'll feel comfortable and at home in.

    Queen Serenity sacrifices herself to save the world. The hunger, the want, the need, recedes. So that's how the Sun Demon was defeated.

    This... was the last thing they needed to see, right? The portals will appear soon, right?

    The memory is still going. And Queen Serenity makes one final act. For the sake of her daughter, to give her that wanted and treasured normal life. She places the veil.

    "EH-HAH!" The irony is too great. A cackle bursts out of Amy before she cuts it short.

    The Puella Magi turns, looking a bit maddened herself, to explain. "Eh-heh. Sorry. But--"

    And then Luna's voice comes over the comms, and Endymion-- no, Mamoru's.

    It's here. Their ticket out. She takes a breath, and smiles, and holds out her hands for the others.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mother," Usagi - no, Serenity, speaking through Usagi, and she can't tear her eyes away from the queen, nor quell the shame as she watches her mother discover her body, or the twin sparks of pride and grief, as she watches her wage war with Metallia - and begin to win.

And then, Luna's voice, crackling over Bluetooth communicator, and Usagi's knees shake with relief.

If she cries when she hears Mamoru's voice, literally no one could blame her. As soon as she sees Mercury, she's covering her in a hug, squeezing so tight she might leave bruises again - "Don't you ever scare me like that again," she whispers in her ear, breathless, before she's taking Mercury's hand, and she's focusing with all the strength in her heart on the feeling of warm and love and home that is her bond to Mamoru.

"It's going to be like going home," she says quietly, "Just think of that. Think of your energy, passing through to everyone here, and think of how much you want to be home."

She can't help but look, over her shoulder, at the light that shines from mother the queen, her mother the goddess, her first mother but not her last.

Thank you, Mama.

Energy flashes, the jewel on her tiara glowing - the jewels on all the Senshi's tiaras are glowing.

Beryl has posed:
The ground cracks beneath their feet. Energy lances around them, surges outward into a multicolored bubble wide enough to encompass them all. Four hearts, connected as one, all focused on the golden tie that binds their hearts.

Light flares, and for an instant, they are not people at all, but lances of energy, racing up, up, up-

    and behind them the world shifts and warps and swirls and there is not a planet reduced to rubble and a queen slowly dying as her last advisors watch, but a sunny day in a meadow, where a dark-haired boy in armor cheers encouragingly as a silver-haired girl in a white dress tries to mount a calm bay mare - only to burst out laughing as she slides right off, landing on her back in the long grass with a look of utmost shock.

The past is past. But in this echo of a long-lost time, of people dead and gone and vanished from history itself, for as much as there was horror and grief, there was love, and laughter.

And then their shining light-selves fly through a shining rainbow-colored nebula and land -

In Juuban, where it all started.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch holds nothing back in terms of power. She's far too caring to do otherwise. Some of their present company might not be able to contribute as much as others, so she takes on that responsibility as her job. Let others guide, let Moon and the Shitennou lead the way back home, let Mercury coordinate with the other side. All Madoka has to do is invest her power, and she's in the right henshin for it.

    She closes her eyes to concentrate, and Gretchen helps by showing her how to share energy like this. To her credit, the Witch Chara actually tries very hard to keep dark energy out of the equation, though that's not exactly a simple matter and she's not entirely perfect about it.

    An aura of power rises out of Madoka. Witch runes dance around her as psychedelic colors mixed with black fog seep from her. It's there for a moment, and then--

    They get one last glimpse of a brief moment of happiness before they wind up back home, where they belong.

    Well, close enough. They're in the right city at least.

    Almost immediately, Hope Witch's smartphone blows up. Not in the sense of a literal explosive device, but... well, there are a lot of texts. "Eheh... I still haven't figured out what to tell momma."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury lets out a little rush of air when Sailor Moon grips her in that tight hug henshin or not. It was unexpected--not unpleasant--but certainly tight. She dips her head down letting her eyes shut a moment as she hugs back breifly. "I'll try not to." That's the best she can promise for now.

Glancing to Kunzite at his explanation she flashes him a smile as well, thankful for the guidance. "I think we can manage to recall how to do it together. Though it may not quite be 'like riding a bicycle'."

Her eyes shut as she focuses on home. Home. Tokyo. With it's sparkling lights, and modern conveniences, and all the people she cared about--other than those here with her already.

The noise of the city settling in around her again was almost jarring but it was a welcome noise compared to what they left behind.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
There to greet them as they land is Prince Endymion, but-- Mamoru. He's in his armor, there in the barrier with Zoisite and Luna, waiting for them all to arrive. He's so happy, his face wreathed in smiles so familiar, his blue eyes the same, but he's Mamoru, Japanese, taller, ...still sixteen...

And then he gets a look at their faces, at the shape they're in, and he steps forward, still looking relieved and affectionate, but not so gleaming bright anymore. "Welcome home, everyone. Sorry I didn't bring anything. Stay back from the portal, Riventon still has to close it."

The three construction workers are outside the barrier, away from the portal, back where they were two days ago.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Think of home? Where is even home, really?

    But, images come to mind of smiling friends, against a backdrop of Tokyo and Radiant Heart.

    They're all living in a tragedy... But even tragedies have moments of happiness too.

    Amy opens her eyes. "Holy shit, we're back!" She looks around. "We're back!" She will happily hug whoever's nearby and up for it!

    And her phone blows up with notifications too. She reaches for her belt pouch to-- oh, huh. She switches back to her normal henshin and pulls the phone from her belt pouch to glance at-- huh, honestly that's fewer than she expected for being gone two weeks. "The school knows about us. Inai-sensei was out here. They probably... I dunno, they coulda made something up about a school trip, maybe."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
They're back.

Usagi sags and releases hands as they land, back, and she's running, diving for Mamoru, hugging him, yes, but honestly?

After all that?

Let's be honest, she is pulling him down, closing the gap between them, she is kissing this boy, her boy, the love of both her lives.

When, eventually, the kissing stops, she rests her head against his chest.

"I have so much to tell you. But first... how much trouble am I in with my mom?" And she's waving Kazuo and Tamaki over, encouraging them to get over here already.

Luna prowls closer, and, hearing Amy's comment, says -

"Well, the good news is you were only gone for two days, on this side of the portal."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Back. Back in Tokyo. Kazuo nearly goes into a coughing fit with his first breath, and he's all right with that. Mamoru is --

Mamoru is Usagi'd. All right, then.

He glances Makoto's way, decides that now is not the time for him in particular to check on her; slides a glance over Tamaki rather than look him over overtly; concentrates on Naru for a moment. He does not ask if she's all right. He does let out a breath, and then ask, "Is your room soundproofed enough for any screaming you might need to get out later?"

Because it's important to get these things checked on before Usagi rejoins the same world as the rest of them again and pulls him and Tamaki over. He knows she's going to, and he knows that when she waves, he'd better be over there or have a very, very good reason. After all. He already lost his cool points. Competent goes next.

Jadeite has posed:
It's an easy spell. It's impossible. Long forgotten, ever present - he forgets again as soon as they land on the outside,folding the old magic memory away under the weight of two lives.

He'll look at his phone when he gets back to his apartment. Call his family from this life. But right now he has to - this old live clings to him like ice on metal. All he can think of -

He lets Usagi run to Endymion first - after what they just went through, she deserves it. But soon enough, he and Kazuo are waved over.

Jadeite does not so much hug Mamoru as collapse into his arms, holding him tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe. I knew you'd get us out." The tears frozen on his face are melting as he tries to pull himself up, make room for Kazuo. "I hope we didn't worry you badly."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru takes a deep breath as they land back in Tokyo. She's still in a blue gown, and while she certainly appreciated having an ice blade, it was probably for the best that it never actually got used.

Naru glances to Kazuo and she notes to him. "Not dead yet." She considers his question and then shrugs. "We'll manage something." She gestures at him to go join Usagi and Mamoru. "Shoo. Go hug."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The modern-day Prince de-henshins as soon as Sailor Moon runs at him, not wanting her to collide with his armor; he enfolds her in a hug, and then ! as he's dragged down and kissed within an inch of his life! He kisses back, and it's sweet and fierce all at once, and when she lets go enough for him to straighten up, he laughs a little. Looking up at Kazuo and Tamaki, he gestures too-- and he tells Usagi, "Like Luna said, you were gone two days. Unless you talk to your mom every day, you can just say you lost your phone charger."

"Everyone all right? Should I call a few Ubers or are you not too tired to hoof it back to school?" he calls sort of vaguely in everyone else's direction before the hugging increases by 66.67%.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
As people begin to move and step away from the teleportation circle, Ami steps away as well. Usagi's greeting of Mamoru earns a smile of relief to see them all again, and her smile deepens when she watches her wave over Kazuo and Tamaki as well. Though Tamaki certainly doesn't hold himself back which draws a little chuckle from her.

Makoto seems to need some time, so she offers her friend a little pat on her arm before she just stands awkwardly a moment. Then her feet shuffle her closer toward the others to stand, and watch, with her hands twisting together in front of her not sure what to do with them as she watches the joyous and weepy reunion with a little lingering pang of pain from reliving everything again.

There's a blonde here waiting for Naru as well. As soon as everyone breaks away, Adrien's striding forward to her. He hesitates from hugging to flash a worried, tense smile. In his hand is a thermos that he offers over silently. Then, "... I'm so glad you're back." Without further ado he leans over to hug her without further hesitation. "You've had a very worried stupid cat you know," he mutters cryptically.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Witch looks around at everyone gathered, and it's plain on her face that she is outright exhausted. For once, she lets her henshin fade, expecting to see the clothes she borrowed from past-Serenity. Instead she's... wearing a gown?

    A long white gown with gold trip, ornate and varied in texture and embroidery yet mostly white. Even her usual black ribbons have been replaced with fluffy white ones.

    "Um... what?"

    She looks down at herself, tries peeking over her shoulder, and twirls around before looking at Gretchen, who is now wearing a similar gown in smol fairy size. "So..." asks Madoka, "... our clothes changed?"

    "Looks like it," says the Witch fairy. "Mine too, so we're a matching set."

    Sio, who did not change clothes, circles around them in her usual suit attire. "I bet the others are worried about us. I'll let the other minidokas know we're back."

    "Thanks, Sio," says Madoka, as her exhaustion starts to really set in. She is tired. With weary eyes, she looks over at the happy family reunion happening over there with the Earth Court, smiling once more before scratching the back of her head. Responding to Mamoru, she says, "Honestly? I think I'll just walk home. If I have to go another day without papa's cooking I think I'll start a rebellion."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"... why do I think the 'something' starts with espresso," Kazuo says to Naru, and then Adrien is offering her a thermos and he stifles another short laugh. Obviously he is talking about Luna being worried. Clearly.

"I think I owe you an entire pizza," he says to Gretchen. En route across to the wavers. Arm around Tamaki, arm around Mamoru, hand on Usagi's shoulder. It fits.

Bow has posed:
As everyone returns, and the happy reunions conviene, Bow glances at his phone, making note of the time and the texts from Sayaka. He really should make contact with her - they haven't done anything together in a while.

Putting his phone away, he watches for a few moments, before he moves to slip away. They have definetly all earned their reunions and time together - he's just going to go reflect on things for a while and get his head back on straight.

Naru Osaka has posed:
It is probably a commentary on Naru's priorities that she hugs Adrien first, before she gets into the coffee. She isn't in a rush to let him go either, not even for the prospect of coffee, instead resting her head on his chest and just staying like that. For a while.

"I'm glad you're here." Naru murmurs to Adrien. Even if they were only gone for 2 days of Tokyo time, it was so much longer. And so much heavier.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Just two days? Oh that's great, Mama only calls me once a week unless there's something in the news, she's really proud of my grades going up, she doesn't even know I was gone!"

This is, as far as Usagi is concerned, the greatest thing ever.

She does not drop her henshin, because Riventon is here off to the distance, fiddling with the portal, and she doesn't need him knowing who she is, even if he like, probably suspects, especially with Luna not being the world's most unrecognizable cat.

Speaking of Luna, she's wound herself around Usagi's ankles, then briefly around Naru's ankles, before trailing to Makoto, and then finally - just outright leaping up into Ami's arms, paws on her shoulders, head nuzzling against her.

"Thank you, Ami-chan. We'd have been lost without you."