1640/A Silent Interlude

A Silent Interlude
Date of Scene:	06 June 2024
Location:	Penguin Park - Penguin Playground
Synopsis:	Oresky, in an attempt to become Mirage's #1 General, summons a Mime Terribad. Rashmi, Amy, the Princess of Sarek and Sailor Charon all help conquer it and find out exactly how the Oresky Trio handle things.
Cast of Characters:	Phantom, Veronica Perenna, Rashmi Terios, Sho Ishino, Amanda Faust, Hotaru Tomoe

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Phantom has posed:
Early afternoon at Penguin Park. Elementary school has let out, and there's a group of students playing on the playground, enjoying the warm Japanese afternoon as they chase each other, some bouncing a soccer ball between them, and just living their best life. As children plays and people relax, a street mime is performing. He's dressed in a black and white striped shirt, red scarf, beret, wearing white paint and is entertaining children with his antics and giving away balloon animals.

It really is an idyllic scene and a slice of life that would be great for a painting, but there's one person that is not enjoying it. Standing on top of the penguin slide is a large man. Broad of shoulder, he's dressed in an olive drab military uniform with a single medal on his chest. He folds his barrel like arms over his chest before pointing out dramatically. "How can you enjoy someone like that? He's not even making an INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH! But I will! Give your energy to me and together we will make the world DESPAIR! There's no need for LOVE in the world, except to ADORE ME! I, ORESKY, will show you the true meaning of silent solitude! And then Queen Mirage will forget Phantom and become my #1 FAN! You too can be my fan, I will show you how to join!"

With that, he grabs the medal from his chest and lifts it into the sky. "Let the future reflected in the mirror turn terrible! Come on, Terribad!"

The mime is captured in a coffin-like mirror, red tape holding him in place, as in his place, a ten foot tall Terribad appears! Barrel-chested, black and white stripes cover his frame, a red scarf and beret. Large, pointed red sunglasses on his face. He hunches and starts to make moves like he's trapped in a box...

And suddenly a group of kids are actually trapped in an invisible box, unable to escape as dark energy is absorbed from them.

But oddly enough? There's no screams from the kids in the box. There's no noise anywhere. There's no birdsong, no wind rustling. No sirens or horns honking or laughter or anything... everything is in the MIMEWORLD.

As Oresky realizes this, he jumps up and down, yelling something that can't be heard, before he slips and falls, sliding down the slide and hitting the ground. Even that doesn't make a sound. It's all dead silence.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
It hasn't been long since the night Veronica had first seen the one known as Phantom and her and Cure Seismic pushed him back. What followed was learning about the Phantom Empire's most dangerous Executor, and yet for all his power he had disappeared without a trace at just about the same time people started getting into hispitals en mass and even after the second sun was restored, she had yet to hear anything of him.

Until the season had started turning to summer on a beautiful day at Penguin Park, while she was just on a pleasant midday walk. She wasn't really paying attention to the mime, she more of a fan of other tricks, and that didn't really start improving when some grandpa started yelling about inspirational speeches. He even wants to plunge the world into despair, how dumb. Wait, plunge the world into despair?

Turning her attention to the grandpa fully, eyes widen in recognition of everything he rants about. And if that didn't make the situation clear enough, the Mime Terribad did. Rushing behind a large mural, she tries to speak while extracting her calling card out of where her breastpocket would be before stabbing the ground with her calling card at 45 degrees with nothing happening.

A silent groan excapes her mouth (at least it looks the part) when she thinks she knows what the trick is. Picking the card up again, she tosses it again, but this time she accompanies it by mimicking putting up clothes and the calling card shines this time, projecting its moonlight all around. The Princess of Sarek smiles as she touches the shards moonlight as she rolls and jumps around them, making sure to keep miming putting up clothes until the transformation is done.

What follows next is swinging her cane above her head as she still tries her best to mime getting dressed before adding for emphasis drawing a sword. It is then her Phantom disguise comes out in a burst of red energy. Rushing to where Oresky is, she gives a strong kick to the Terribad before jumping on a nearby wall and glaring at Oresky.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It has been... actually kind of relaxing, not having to worry about imminent apocalypsoi. And with the weather warming up, Rashmi has elected to return to her old stomping grounds, and just... enjoy a book and a sweet drink in the park. Because sometimes you just want to be outside and reading.

So of course she's just at the part where the Rune Sky Princess is about to take the fight to the Dark General, when Oresky hops up on the playground to complain that someone else is more entertaining. Sighing, she marks her place in her book, surreiptitiously slipping it into Nicomachea's space, and gets to her feet, drinking the last of her bubble-tea...

And blinking, as no sound is made when the straw finds mostly air.

Confused, she shakes her cup next to her ear, frowns, stamps on the sidewalk a couple times, then throws up her hands and stomps off behind a tree.

    << This is so stupid Nicomachea, Set Up! >>

Thankfully, her Device responds with a brief flash of << SET UP >> across his crystal, and with a burst of golden light the redhead henshins, pelting toward the playground and stabbing an accusatory finger at the prone Oresky. Her mouth opens to castigate the General... then she pauses, and sighs. << Right. This is so stupid. Flier Fin? >>

<< FLIER FIN >> scrolls across her floating, armored book's display, and wings of golden light unfurl from Rashmi's ankles.

One would think it impossible to fly off toward a Terribad in a huff without making a sound, but Rashmi is a teenager. And a properly motivated teenager can do *anything* in a huff.

Sho Ishino has posed:
It's a wonderful day to be out and about... unfortunately for Sho, he's busy running deliveries for his family's store, his bike loaded down with bags and packages galore. He's not at Penguin Park at the moment, but he is cruising down the street past it, looking forlornly towards the sounds of laughter and fun...

...until some of it goes mysteriously silent. That's strange, who just turned down the volume? And then all Sho hears is a loud rap-rap-rap upon his noggin, as Don Pekku, his fairy guide, knocks his beak against Sho's skull!

"Lad, best be transformin' with a quickness, there's dark energy afoot!" says the woodpecker-shaped fairy. Don Pekku takes flight, and beneath him Sho nods, climbing off his bike so that he can tuck it in an alleyway off to the side. For a moment he looks concernedly at the many items stowed atop it, but there's just nothing to be done about it at the moment. Not when bad guys are around!

From a pocket of his overalls, he pulls out a fancy hammer that looks like it might be made fully of... some kind of crystal? Though it has a metallic sheen to it, oddly. He holds it aloft and, after checking back and forth down the alley to make sure no one is looking, he grins.

"Hardworkin' Pretty Cure! Clock In!"

Moments later, a figure in a bright yellow and white outfit with blond hair, much changed from the shabbily dressed dark-haired Sho, darts over the fence of Penguin Park and in leaps and bounds, makes it to the playground. He alights upon one of picnic tables near the outer edge, his hammer now an impressive sledgehammer that he swings up over his shoulders. He looks bravely across the area, trying to ascertain the source of the sudden silence.

Until he sees the Terribad, and there's no mistaking the way Cure Sledge's mouth opens on a scream, even though it's deathly silent.

Maybe he doesn't like mimes?

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Oh dang, is that an actual mime?" Amy comments, upon sighting the silent performer on a walk through the park. "I didn't think they were a thing anymore, outside of maybe France..." She might actually chirp this on social media. It's pretty weird to see a mime! And not, like, the magic kind of weird she can't talk to most people about!

    As she's typing on her phone though, that military guy shows up. "Just what military are you actually a part--"

    and then words stop working. Hey! Hey! What'd you do?! Gaaaaaahhhhhh!

    She runs out of sight behind a tree or fence or playground equipment to transform.

    Magical Rocket Girl Red hops back onto the field, pointing dramatically at the mime-ster! "       ", she shouts! Then facepalms. Right.

    How do you do a justice speech without talking? She crosses her arms, rubs her chin and taps her foot.

    Then her face brightens and she holds up a finger, smiling!

    She points at the terribad.

    She points at her butt.

    She kicks the air.

    And then she grins and waves a hand with a fluorish as if asking, how's that?

Phantom has posed:
As Veronica successfully pulls off her henshin, Oresky is pushing himself back to his feet. With no way to shout and call out for attention, he frowns, finally grabbing a kindabad helper and sends him off! When he returns, he's carrying a poster board and a marker, and he writes on it: 'ISN'T IT AMAZING?! PRAISE ME!' How are people supposed to do that if they can't talk??

The Terrimime moves his hands, making a shield, holding it up and 'Phantom' strikes against it, before he flies backwards. The Terrimime steps back for a moment, as Oresky is staring, slack-jaw for a moment. He was sure Phantom was still missing! But he's already committed to the fight, so he doesn't go running. But that Kindabad is put in front of him. Just in Case.

And that's when the Page Mage shows up! And she's all huffy and stuff, but Oresky? Oresky is using this to his advantage? How? He's frantically jumping up and down and POINTING. What is he pointing at, you may ask?

Why he's pointing at Phantom, of course! Because what better way to deal with a threat than by getting someone else to attack it? It's such a brilliant plan. You should make sure to praise him for that brilliance!

Oh ho! Hello, Cure Sledge! The Terrimime sees the Hardworkin' Pretty Cure! and the horror on his face! And he just wants to make a friend. And drain him of his energy. With that in mind, the Terrimime moves his hands and pop, a balloon appears! He twists, twirls and turns. And he makes it into a balloon giraffe! Setting it on the ground, the giraffe gets glowing red eyes of evil and starts to bounce lope at Sledge, looking to attack him and get his energy... even if he's only about half the size of the Pretty Cure. Squeaku Squeaku!

When Amy poses at him and points at her butt? The Terribad holds his fingers up to his nose and waves his hand dramatically. PE-EWW! And that waving of his hand? It's kicking up a windstorm aimed at the Puella, looking to sweep her off her feet and knock her backwards!

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Earlier:

Hotaru Tomoe was lounging on a couch, lightly tapping on the tablet as she went over her homework. A shame she couldn't really turn it in, making it truly more 'home'work. But homeschooling counted.

Either way, she was having great success in the stuff she had been getting... when her device alerted her of a magical disturbance. And then groaned as it recognized the magical pattern...

Especially when Hotaru's eyes lit up.

Now:

Sailor Charon announced her presence by landing and... nothing. She blinked and put a hand over her mouth. What?! Silence? She looked thoughtful for a minute, before a lightbulb went on over her head, figuratively. She then pointed at the sky, before making a circle in her hands... Then a small little heart, bouncing forward little bit, giving a big thumbs up!

It made no sense.

However, then her eyes fell on Oresky and she... well... She leaped into the air, landing besides him silently (as all things were)... and then tugged on his sleeve.

Once she had his attention, she made a small little square with her hands, then reaching out with her device, and pulling out... a pocketful of yen from it, holding it out to him. And smiling up. She wants her fanclub membership card, now!

She of course had to help, though, so she silently put a hand under her chin, looking thoughtful. Then, her eyes went wide and she gasped! She reached up as if plucking the stars from the sky, gathering a whole bunch of them. She then tossed all of them into the air and swung her glaive like a baseball bat, launching the 'stars' at the mime!

... She had no idea if this would do anything, but hey. Miming attacks at a mime SEEMED plausible. And fun!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Mime youma, evil balloon animals, wildly gesticulating Oresky, and... is that a dark magical boy attacking the mime?

Rashmi stares for a moment at Oresky apparently urging her to attack 'Phantom.' Then simply gives him a Look, in the flavor of 'Seriously, *you* are telling *me* to do a thing and I'm supposed to just *believe you?*'

Pausing to give Red a helpful pat on the shoulder, and an encouraging thumbs-up, she flies toward the horrified Sledge, and the balloon giraffe bumbling his way.

Swooping down to come to a sliding stop in front of the boy, she glances over her shoulder to give Sledge an encouraging smile, then holds out her hands in front of her.

<< SOLAR BLADE >> scrolls across Nicomachea, as a trio of holographic swords resolve into being, all pointed at the eminently poppable balloon.

    << SHOOT >>

Poor evil balloon giraffe, to have some of the pointiest of ranged attacks launched at his own little self.

As Sailor Charon drops onto the quiet scene, the redhead offers a hopping little wave of greeting. Finally, they're going to fight on the same side!

Sho Ishino has posed:
Cowering in fear is not the way Cure Sledge wants to represent himself, so after a moment he straightens up, hands balling into fists at his side as he gathers his courage. He can Do This! It's just a... terribly scary mime creature! That's totally fine and not scary at all!

Oh no he's still terrified. But he's fighting through it, and he hefts his sledgehammer again, pointing it as if it weighs nothing towards the Terrimime. Only for it to start twisting and tying a balloon animal together.

This seems to intrigue Sho, whose head tilts to the side like a bird's, his eyes blinking wide. His mouth opens into an O of delight, because who doesn't like balloon animals? They're fun and cute and oh my god this one has evil, glowing eyes!

He'd be shrieking if he could, but for now he just jumps away, onto another table. Frantically he looks back and forth, then waves with relief showing on his face, eyes wide, as Rashmi arrives to save the day. With a bouncing jump he waves his free hand in the air for her, cheering supportively (if silently) from the background!

But he's not going to count himself out just yet.

Spurned on by Rashmi's heroics, Sho drops down into a crouch, gathering up an immense amount of energy in his legs so he can jump high, high, high into the air!

And then he's sailing back down towards the ground, sledge brought forward to attempt to slam into the Terribad's head like he's playing Whack-a-Mime!

Veronica Perenna has posed:
A surprised look is given to Charon when she arrives and starts giving Oresky money. Whatever she wants to buy, is it really the time. No matter, there are other things to tackle. Such as the fact Oresky is trying to set Rashmi against her.

Veronica turns her eyes up when she notices the general's current and rather idiotic plan. As if the fact there is a Terribad out and about isn't a much worse threat than a Phantom attacking the Terribad too would pose.

'Phantom' looks back at Rashmi and points first at the mirrored Mime, then at the trapped children, then at the Terribad and then towards herself. After that, she also points at herself and mimics rushing into someone to knock them down before grabbing a bunch of leaves and throwing them all over herself. She is trying to remind Rashmi of her stunt as Sunbreaker against Tellun.

A composed nod when Rashmi doesn't show she is going to follow Oresky's indication, the Phantom lookalike glares at the Terribad, a punsh towards its right side ready when she runs at him. What the Terribad might not expect is 'Phantom' switching to its left side at the last possible moment, dropping

Amanda Faust has posed:
    > ISN'T IT AMAZING?! PRAISE ME!
    Amy shakes her head while making an X with her arms, then gives a thumbs-down.

    And then PHANTOM(?!?!?!) attacks and is rebuffed by an invisible shield. She looks at him in shock, shrugging her shoulders and holding her hands close then sweeping them out: WHY?!

    THEN she does the 'justice speech' and gets interrupted by the mimeibad reinterpreting one of her... poses? She looks properly indignant, and then tumbles to the invisible windstorm! Ow ow ow ow aggh what the--? why you...

    Standing up again, she rubs her head and dusts herself off.

    She grins again. Idea! She points her right index and middle finger, then shakes her head and tilts them downward making sure not to point at anyone, then turns it over slightly as she mimes ejecting the magazine, inspecting it, and reinsering it, then mimes racking the slide to chamber the first round before bringing her two hands together, left hand gripping the right, still with the right's index and middle extended as the 'barrel'. She then closes one eye and 'sights' the terribad before jerking her hands back as if from recoil, pointing at the terribad again, and jerking them back again in under a second. Double-tap!

    It seems she's got the same idea about mimed attacks as Charon, but is miming something a bit less abstract and magical. But will it even work???

Phantom has posed:
When the Sailor Senshi lands next to him, Oresky was all ready for a fight. That is until she tugs on his sleeve and pulls out a handful of yen and holds out her hand expectantly. The large military man blinks a few times and then his eyes light up with delight! She's a fan! Not just some internet troll that convinces him they're a fan and when he shows up, there's noone there! (His dating life is similar).

Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out an official signed Oresky Fan Club! card and he presents it to Hotaru before stamping it once. If you show up for five Oresky attacks, you get a free replica Terribad medal!

But not just that, but he takes out a picture of himself and he signs it, "To a great soldier!"

    ___                    
   /(,  )            /)    
  /    / __   _  _  (/_    
/    / / (__(/_/_)_/(__(_/_
(___ /                 .-/  
                      (_/  

But then his mouth drops open as she attacks the Terrimime with stars and the poor creature is hit and stumbles back several steps. But it was a good attack, and Oresky while stricken that she attacked, is proud of Charon's power!

...He's weird like that.

But Page Mage doesn't fall for the bait of attacking the Fauxtom and instead, she goes after the poor balloon animal that just wanted to hug/drain Sledge, the swords fall into the poor giraffe and it *POPS* explosively. Like a big explosion that may actually knock back anyone that is near it.

The Terrimime? It's miming swinging a rope around and around, and it sends it flying out towards Rashmi... and she will feel a hard tug around her! Oh no, it's a real rope and now the Terrimime is trying to reel her in! Heave-ho, heave-ho!

But that leaves Sledge free to come in on the attack on the Mime and his large sledgehammer collides with the Terrimime's head. The rope is dropped, allowing Rashmi a chance to get out of it while the Terrimime grabs his head and storms around, a comical dance of pain.

As he recovers from that attack, his attention returns to Sledge, and he starts miming making something. He's rolling out dough. Opening an oven. Shoving something in. Pulls it out! Oh it's hot! Look at how he has to juggle it in his hands - and then he flings the HOT PIE at Cure Sledge, who will be blasted with a gout of heat if he doesn't get out of the way!

With Oresky distracted by Charon, that leaves Fauxtom open to the chance to make her way over to where the children are being held captive, currently captured in what appears to be an invisible box that is draining their energy. Will she be able to figure out a way to free them? Well, that would be a thought, but instead as she joins in the flurry of attacks on the Terrimime, it takes the hit and stumbles to the side, further knocked off balance. As he manages to get himself back to his feet, he reaches out to bracket Phantom in his hands and starts to push them together and Phantom will fill the squeeze as he tries to crush her in his hands!

Amy's buffetted by the wind, but she seems to be able to recover. As she goes through the mime of the weapon, she can actually feel the bolt-action, the heft of the weapon, and the pull of the trigger. And then the recoil as she fires! The Terribad is struck and takes several steps back, hands clutched over his heart as if wounded. And then he spins around, pumping his hands against his chest - and starts to groove, stepping to the left. Then the right. A twirl and a spin and a dip... trying to make Amy dance with him! Which means Phantom is left alone after a moment.

But he's taken a lot of hits. He may be getting close to where those that can finish him will be able to launch their attacks.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy... actually feels it. What. Open-mouthed surprise again! But as she sights the weapon again, dancing forces her to drop it. No!

    She's forced to leap this way, and that... Frowning, she attempts to gain some control.

    Her upper body mimes looking at him through a pair of binoculars.

    She leaps to the side.

    Amy mimes turning a horizontal crank, then a vertical one, as if looking at something in front of her.

    She dances back!

    She picks up... something heavy, stumbling a bit as she dances forward, tries to position the heavy thing, then lets it drop into place and slams the hatch shut. She reaches for the crank but--

    She's danced off to the side again! She lifts the 'binoculars', looks through them at the terribad, then turns to one side, opening and closing her mouth as if emoting shouting something before

    She leaps back over to where she just was, nodding, adjusting the cranks a bit before, apparently satisfied, before grabbing and yanking whatever it is that activates this contraption!

    Look out, Terribad! Incoming artillery!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Bracing herself against the force of the giraffe exploding, Rashmi peeks back up, nodding as 'Phantom' mimes a message to her.... ah! Oh! *Ooooh,* okay, that makes sense. Hoisting 'Phantom' a thumbs-up, she takes off into the sky, peering at the Terribad's latest antics. What could that thing be swinging?! A ball and chain, one of those fire-dancing things, or--

*YOINK*

--A rope! Straining against the inexorable pull of the Dark Mime, Rashmi does her very best to slow her descent, and when Cure Sledge comes in off the top rope, and the 'line' goes slack, she lurches back into the air, frantically tugging the invisible rope off her ankles and just *staring* down, giving the Terribad her very best stink-eye. With 'Phantom' attacking the cages, and Red being lured into a dance... Perhaps it's time to let close-in work finish this fight.

<< DELTA STRIKE -- BOOST UP >>

Three wisps of foxfire-like light appear around her, then dart down to their targets; 'Phantom,' Sledge, and Charon, filling them with warmth and strength and the feeling of the sun on face, giving them just that little extra reason to swing that much *harder.*

And with her boosting magics added to their own powers, their next strike will hit very hard indeed.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Charon grins wide as she takes the card, yessss. Now she has two. But she can't let him know that she's really Firefly, the other magical girl with a glaive who has joined his fanclub! Instead, she gave him a polite little bow, stored his awesome loot, and then gave him a happy little wave before she ran towards the mime. Time. To. BATTLE!

She ran towards the mime, flipping her glaive around and pushing it against her back, as if it was being holstered. Fortunately, nobody could hear the devices indignant sounds at such treatment.

Then she reached down to her belt and pulled... out an 'invisible rope'. Yes, she was imitating the Mime! Except... she then looked around. Kneeling, she picked up a 'weight', struggling to pick it up! Oh no, it was so heavy. She then dropped it, shaking and almost falling over, as if the sheer weight made the ground shake so much. She then knelt down, tied the rope to it, before flying up into the air. With a 'great deal of difficulty', she began to spin the rope overhead. Slowly at first, then faster and faster as Rashmi's power boost amplified her power, finally... RELEASING IT AT THE MIME! Miming the good ol' ball and chain at it! She then called out, silently.

'Moon Strike Chain attack!'

Alas, nobody would know this attacks name as she would never use it again.

Sho Ishino has posed:
Everything happening with Oresky is somewhat lost on Cure Sledge, who only has eyes for the Terrimime. Maybe because he's shaking in his (bright yellow) boots, but Sho is still putting up a fight! Actually he might not have figured out that Oresky has anything to do with this at all, as fearfully focused as he is.

He dances backwards after his attack lands, and he looks somewhat bolstered by the way the mime reacts with pain to it. Not a knockout, but that's okay!

Yes, he is definitely mentally cheering himself up, trying to keep himself from being scared again. The expression on his face turns from timid to determined, his eyebrows pulling together as his lower lip sticks out with intense focus.

Because he's trying to figure out what the mime is doing. Oh, he's terrible at charades!

Okay, so that's... cooking something, sure. Oh it's hot, okay, Sho understands that. Then something invisible is being thrown at him, and it's only thanks to fast reflexes that he drops down to the ground in time to be missed, but that leaves him exposed with one arm covering his head and his sledgehammer at his side, not in a defensive position whatsoever!

But the warmth of the boost that Rashmi provides has him back on his feet in an instant, and he thinks he's figured out this whole thing.

So he reaches down and wraps his hand around something that isn't actually there, something vaguely spherical. A rock, perhaps, though of course a playground doesn't just have big fist-sized rocks laying around. He hefts it in his hand a couple of times, testing its weight, and then he lifts up his sledgehammer.

The invisible rock flies up into the air, and Cure Sledge's eyes track it sailing up, up, up, and then back down, down down, so that he can swing his hammer with perfect timing to slap right into the falling rock and hit it right towards the Terrimime!

FASTBALL SPECIAL!

Veronica Perenna has posed:
With Amy looking at her wondering what the heck is going on, Veronica just shrugs and points at the Terribad, then giving it a thumbs down. Hopefully that's a clear enough message about the result of her participation.

But she has other problem when in response to her attack, the Terribad starts closing in on her, moving further and further in with each passing. She has been put in a tight spot in more ways than one, but a way out still isn't precluded to her.

And she has never been more thankful for having Rashmi there, because not only has the redhead understood her message (which is a miracle in and of itself since Veronica's miming left a lot to be desired and could have meant a plethora of things), but she also send her a spell to boost her strength.

With her enhanced power, she starts pushing back against the mime's vice attack, at least with one hand, because with the other, she is trying to tickle it. Hopefully that will leave her the opportunity to actually reach the children's prison. If she does, she likewise gives Rashmi a thumbs up (slowly, because she has to make it seem like Phantom is doing things unwilling), then she rushes towards the children's cages, where she pulls out an imaginary set of keys then starts trying the first few ones on an invisible lock.

Phantom has posed:
The poor Terrimime is now drawing all the aggro! While Amy is being able to dance, she manages to drop artillery on the large creature, which stuns it - you can say he's even... SHELL SHOCKED. And that's when Charon comes in like the old ball and chain, swinging it around and around, striking the Terrimime a-mid-ships and there's more stumbling back as Rashmi's support role is increased with every successive attack on him.

Cure Sledge comes in, rocketing a rock at him, and it's a line drive that strikes him in the head, and a large knot appears there, the Terrimime stumbles backwards as Phantom manages to free herself from the crushing vice that she was pushing back on!

Rushing over to the prison, as Phantom tries the first few keys, the door remains stubbornly closed. But when she tries that fourth key, she feels a pull, and the door comes open! She can help free the kids now!

In the meantime, Oresky is watching all of this, and finally realizes that yeah, that Terribad isn't going to have much time left, so he starts working to gather up the canister with the energy he gathered so that he can give it to Queen Mirage and prove that he's so much better than the real Phantom! As compared to that younger Phantom over there.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< SOLAR STINGER >>

With the Terribad on the ropes, it's time to distract him to let the others line up their strongest possible attacks! Thus, three high-endurance Barrets materialize around the Page Mage, launching out to batter at the evil mime, the Barrets landing with all the force of a trained boxer's heavy punch... but over and over and over again, swarming the youma like glowing golden moths to batter at any part of the Terribad they come into contact with.

Time to see Oresky's evil-but-barely-competent scheme to its close.

Sho Ishino has posed:
Huh, so miming attacks works! Cure Sledge just figured that out for himself, after watching the others successfully manage it. He looks down at his sledgehammer, and with a tap to one of the photoreflective buttons on a pouch from his toolbelt, it begins to glow and reshape itself... into a hammer?

It's a much more portable hammer, for as little as Sho seemed to struggle with the weight of the sledge. And then he bends over, picking up what seems to be a great big stack of something, which he carries over to the Terrimime.

Soon enough these invisible things reveal themselves to be... well, they're probably planks of wood, judging by the way Sho is lifting them up and hammering them into place.

While Rashmi is boxing the Terrimime in, Sho is literally boxing him in... via an invisible box with three sides, leaving one open for attacks! He quickly assembles a lid and holds it aloft, ready to slam it closed on the Terrimime after everyone else gets their finishers in!

With a great deal of gesticulating, he motions for everyone else to attack by, uh, well mostly he's just punching the air in the direction of the "open" side of the "box", and sometimes pointing thataway too. Hopefully that gets the idea across.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Charon did not have a big, purifying attack. However, she did have a hand for timing. And so... she ran back to Oresky. Holding up a finger for him to wait. Watching the youma... waiting.... waiting...

And the moment it was gone, and sound could return? She'd call out. "And don't forget, Oresky!"

"Pluto is a planet in every way that matters!" she said, proud of her senpai. "Also, see you next time! I can't wait to show the picture to Pluto later!" ... Listen, she liked this kind of stuff, okay?

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Okay, so.

    It has kinda been fun and games. There was mime nonsense. The terribad had fun. The mahou started to have fun with it.

    But the kids did not have fun. They were stuck in an invisible box getting drained. They're gonna feel awful and not even know why, and if any of them remember adults will say they're insane. That's not a good feel!

    Seeing Oresky going for the canister, Amy points at him and tries to shout, but again, it's silenced.

    With the terribad reeling from Invisible Artillery, Amy swings her leg over the seat of an Invisible Motorcycle, grips the handlebars, then kicks up the stand and twists the accelerator. At least, she thinks that's how motorcycles work, maybe? She hasn't ever actually ridden one.

    If this doesn't just make a fool of herself, she tries to ram Oresky to stop him!

    Although this might just end up with her falling and tumbling when the mime is defeated.

    ...It's probably a good thing she doesn't have room to get up to really high speed.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Honestly, if Oresky goes and complains about Phantom actively aiding their adversaries, then that will be a goal achieved for her. But she has a 'present' for him anyway for daring to do this to children just enjoying their time. Oresky will be actually getting a light punishment, but that is better than nothing. Hopefully Queen Mirage gives him a harsh wake-up call.

But when the invisible keys find the right one, she leaves them dangling in the lock while she mimics the form of a large cushion on wheels to just drive them away. She picks the kids up and gets them all in there. Hopefully that works or something. She has no ideas.

Phantom has posed:
As the finishers come in, the Terrimime steps back, running into a wall?! His hands go out to the sides and he realizes that he is trapped within whatever creation that Sledge has created around it, and he's trapped within! And that's when the attacks rain down, Rashmi's stingers slam into him, driving him further back as he swirls and twirls and his hands go to his heart as if he has been mortally stricken! So many attacks, all so powerful. It's just way too much for a mime to take!

In the meantime, Amy is miming a motorcycle, and Oresky is unaware of that as he notices that Charon has turned to face him and now has a finger held up as if waiting to say something to him that must be very very important if she's willing to be that patient in order to wait for...

Phantom frees the kids, which is at the same time that the final attacks slam into the Terrimime. She pulls the kids out as Cure Sledge slams the door on the Terrimime and it falls back onto the ground, destroyed!

...and that is just when Charon's words reach Oresky's ears and he starts to say, "Pluto isn't...." the rest is lost, as Amy's attack slams into him and knocks him off his feet and sends him tumbling. He ends up face first in the dirt, with a little white flag sticking up. A group of Kindabads, dressed as medics come running out, throwing Oresky onto a stretcher and carrying him off as the playground returns to normal.

The children start to wake up, wondering what happened, and probably needing a long nap when they get back to their parents.

The mime stumbles out of the coffin mirror as it dissipates. He pauses. He makes a motion, opening a cabinet, finding a bottle. He pours himself a drink and slams it back. Then he decides to wander off in search of the real thing.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy leaps off the Invisible Motorcycle at the moment of impact and lands, declaring: "It's a planet in our hearts, buddy!" Pluto has grown on her, lately!

    She goes for the capsule and tries to figure out how to open it, not interested in attacking Oresky further. The kindabads can take him away. "Just which senshi are you, exactly?" She wonders, but is also occupied with: "Dang, how do I... there's gotta be some way to put it in reverse and get the energy back into the kids, right?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Charon gave a happy giggle, before making a V sign! Then waved bye bye! "Bye bye, Oresky! We'll be here to stop you next time, so look forward to it!" Only four more stamps to go and she'd get the toy, yes!

She then turned to the others, before glancing to the gathered energy. "Uhhhh.... I... don't know what we can do with that, but I trust you will put it to proper use?" she offered sheepishly. She didn't know if it could even be released... "I am Sailor Charon, guardian to Sailor Pluto! Now, I must go back, as my duties are many! However, always remember! Pluto is *still* a planet, regardless of what some judgemental bullies may say! For now, though? I wish you all the best! Away!" And then... she ran off. Because she got so excited by everything she forgot she could fly.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Bye, Sailor Charon~!" Rashmi calls after the zooming little, uh... 'Senshi'... then looks to the dark magical boy gathering the children to safety. "Good work, person who I definitely don't know! Thanks a *whole lot!*"

Wandering toward Red, she frowns at the canister, tilting her head. "Well... Can you open it, at least? Maybe it'll go back where it needs to be if it's freed?"

Despite the puzzle in the Puella's hands, this fight was... actually kind of refreshing. Sometimes it's nice to just thump some Obsidian jerks and stop their energy-gathering nonsense.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
A sigh of relief is what can be first heard from 'Phantom' when the whole things ends we despite everything. And now that Oresky is out of the picture, she lets the disguise fade away from her as moonlight particles drop off from her and her real self is revealed.

"Maybe I can try to force it open using my cane as a lever?" she suggests, approaching the group.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy quirks an eyebrow. Pluto didn't mention a Sailor Charon... "Bye, Sailor Charon..." She echoes Rashmi's words.

    "I dunno, maybe? I thought about trying to destroy it, but... what if, like, it just spreads dark energy around? Is that stuff toxic?"

    Oh right, Phantom is still here. He might want the canister... Amy steps back. And then stares when Phantom turns into the Princess of Sarek. "You put HER in a mirror too?! No, I'm not trusting you with this. You can just go... since you helped, this time. Hurry, before I change my mind."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...Nuno, Red," Rashmi says hurriedly. "Other way around; That *is* Sarek, she just *looked* like that other guy. ...Is he new? I haven't seen a villain like that running around. ...Oh you weren't *there* last time, were you? When Sarek disguised herself as Sunbreaker? Anyway..."

Rashmi gestures to the canister. "That's got all the energy he pulled from the kids, right? So... You hold it down, Sarek levers it open? ...Does your cane have a blade, Sarek? Feels like unless we wanna just break it, we'll need something thin to wedge it open."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica blinks when Amy still thinks she is Phantom despite letting her disguise drop. "No, this is the actual - Wait, Phantom can disguise himself too? And this is what he kidnaps all those people for?" In her misunderstanding of the situation, she isn't sure if she should be horrified or angry. Maybe both.

"I am the real one though. And you make for a good clownfish mermaid", she tells Red, both as a tease and as a way to prove she is who she claims to be.

"Alas Rashmi, I would like to pay you back for your enormous help in the fight back there, but I am afraid there is no blade in my cane", she shakes her head. "I could also turn my arm ethereal and get it in there, but I don't think I would be able to get my magic to affect that energy, so I wouldn't be able to get it out then."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks between Rashmi and Veronica, and relaxes. "Yeah. He turns into them and copies their powers. I was gonna give him such an earful about it next time. Hoping it'll confuse him, since as dangerous as he is we'll need any advantage we can get in a fight.

    She blushes and looks away at the unusual compliment. Although, the mentioned transformation just serves as a reminder of why she's confident she can improvise a rant on the subject with ease. Even the painting knew she's obsessed.

    She starts to hold the container out and widens her stance a little to brace while Veronica pries at it, but she doesn't have a blade after all, so Amy straightens up and turns to Rashmi. "Can you maybe scan it with your magic to tell if it's safe to release in the first place? I guess if it's not, maybe someone can keep it as a bargaining chip to give anyone working under Beryl who's hoping for an excuse to not get tortured for going back empty-handed."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean, I can try," Rashmi says diffidently, lifting her shoulders in a brief shrug. Nicomachea floats down into her open hand and flips open, a series of holographic 'screens' blipping to life above the pages. "Might as well have something to analyze for later, anyway... Nicomachea?"

    << *BONG!* >> << MANA INVESTIGATION >>

A series of ribbon-like loops, sketched in light and dense with runes, move up and down along the canister's length, and the screens come alive with charts, graphs, numbers, and more. "Okay, so... this kind of energy containment is *really* interesting and all, but how do we ope--"

*bing!* *bing!* *bing!*

One of the screens switches to a silhouette view of the object from behind, and *right* between two of Amy's fingers.... is a button. The button has writing on it.

'THE BEST RELEASE VALVE!'

"...No. No it *can't* be."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Hey, Red, I know it is in your name and all, but I didn't know you liked compliments that much", Veronica comments impishly at seeing the blush. "That's quite fair, then", she adds, totally meaning that "fair" both ways.

"You mean I could have still used my powers and handwaved it as him having captured me?", Veronica frowns at Amy's explanation. To think she could have helped so much more had she known. Sure it's a trick that would only work once, or at least until she is seen free and roaming about next time, but it would have been actually good to have.

"Do we have any idea to free the other magical people? Those he captured? He did actually try to capture me and Cure Seismic. He used something he called an Eternal Gauge. Does knowing that help any?" the Phantom Thief inquires. Probably not, but she doesn't want to leave any stone unturned.

"That Oresky can't be so obvious..." she mutters, before looking at Amy. "Do you want to do the honours?" she asks, though Rashmi might have some objections then, maybe?

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy reddens more, but it does distract her thoughts!

    She's smiling as she gets back into the conversation, "Yeah, but he has to turn into you first to use your powers, so remember to un-disguise first. So is that an illusion, or do you physically change?" She quirks an eyebrow.

    A way to free people? She shakes her head. "Even when Sunset drained his magic, the girl in the Shed wasn't released." She taps her chin. "Althoooough. When Sunset used the stolen magic to trap Bow and Sailor Mercury, they were released when we defeated her and restored everyone's magic."

    She looks at the screen Nichomachea is projecting, and looks between her fingers. "Seriously?"

    She presses the button.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
*click*

What follows is an explosion of confetti from the top of the device, and a tinny recording of Oresky's voice.

[ Am I not *so generous!* It's astounding! PRAISE ME! ]

And the top of the canister flips open, releasing all the stolen energy into the air. Whether or not it actually goes back to where it came from, a mystery best left for a day when the victims aren't already on theor way home.

"...Seriously," Rashmi says with an awed, and faintly disgusted voice. "...It sounds like Sunbreaker wasn't using *his* power, just, like... a copy of it? But okay... now I know where the girl in the Shed is from... I guess we'll have to find a way to *ask* this Phantom, if we want any real answers?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"It's something halfway through, I think", Veronica tells Amy over her inquiry. "It's real enough to stand up to most evaluations and tests, that's for sure", she confirms what she can.

That guy didn't seem intent on giving any answers", she informs Rashmi. "As soon at it was clear he wasn't getting what he wanted, he went away of his own accord. "Well, that was easy", she remarks as the energy gets dispersed, hopefully to its righteous owners. "Anyone up for a walk and maybe something to eat?" she offers the other two.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "He... planned to lose?" Amy wonders at the recording. "Well, maybe it does make him an iota more likeable..."

    She shrugs to Rashmi. "Why would he give us information? He's dangerous, and I don't think anyone's actually beaten him when he's serious. I don't wanna see more people end up in mirrors."

    It dimly occurs to her she could end up in a mirror, but she doesn't want to think about that.

    She holds the now-empty capsule out to Rashmi. "You have some kinda storage space, right? Maybe it'll come un useful someday."

    A walk and food? "S-sure..." Amy answers, startled out of her thoughts, walking along with Victoria.

    "Real enough, huh?" She glances over the princess. "So is it neat to get to try being a boy? Or do... or do people really not think about that?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean neither do I," Rashmi says, taking the proffered canister. "But, do we know anyone *else* we could get the knowledge from? I don't... So I just hope that there'll be a circumstance where we *can* get it from him, one way or another."

And indeed, he does have a storage space; tapping the canister against Nicomachea's display crystal has it disappearing in a blink. "I would *adore* a walk and food," she says, bobbing her head. "And we're pretty close, if you guys want some curry? I'll buy!"

...Then Amy asks a fairly large question, and the other redhead pauses, eyebrows rising."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Or maybe he is just the kind of guy who has to praise himself no matter what", Veronica suggests. "I have something to do over that. It just requires a quick trip to the Botanical Gardens, a phone and a new Clock App account." She can be fairly vindictive over certain matters, and she still hasn't gotten the image of those kids being left to struggle in a box as they were being drained out of her head.

"I definitely prefer being me", she replies to Amy. "It feels different for sure, and I guess it is something that is just there for those bursts that require it, but I have really felt the desire to give it attention. Should I have?" she asks in return, now curious.

"I like that suggestion", she smiles at Rashmi over the notion of food. "Do you know of a place with pumpkin curry, by any chance?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy shakes her head at Rashmi. "But why would he tell-- ah, nevermind... Curry sounds fine."

    She smiles at Veronica. "Probably not. I just..." She glances between them. "I still kinda... it's hard to really understand some things must be true, I guess."

    "...Like... pumpkin curry? I've never heard of that. That could be interesting."

    "...We should probably de-henshin, unless we're going as a group of cosplayers."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Given that I want to say hi to my parents, yeah, probably a good idea," Rashmi says, casting a look around. With no onlookers in evidence, Rashmi takes a deep breath, and her Barrier Jacket shines, and shatters into shards of light, leaving her in her civvies, with Nicomachea a sunburst charm hanging from a cord around her neck.

That done, she grins at Sarek. "I *think* pumpkins might be in season! If so, you'll be glad, Papi does an *amazing* pumpkin korma! C'mon... let's go."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Awesome!" Veronica smiles when they have an agreement, following Amy's suggestion and undoing her henshin. "I didn't your family specialised on that cooking. Please, show the way, I can't wait to try it." She is sure Rashmi wouldn't have suggested it were they intruding, so she is all too happy to follow her lead.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy also de-henshins. "Pumpkins? Aren't they kind of... emblematic of fall harvest season? But, in today's world, you can get stuff year-round." She shrugs and follows along. Curious to try this new (to her) type of curry, in any case!