2147/Rabbit Hunting Season

Rabbit Hunting Season
Date of Scene:	06 December 2024
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	On Makoto's birthday of all days, the Black Moon Clan finally arrives in Tokyo. Star Devil, Sailor Charon, Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, and Tuxedo Kamen risk it all to keep Chibiusa from the cruel clutches of Crimson Rubeus and the Spectre Sisters. And they win. Even if they're aching.
Cast of Characters:	280, Usagi Tsukino, Chibiusa Tsukino, Molly Skyline, Mamoru Chiba, Hotaru Tomoe, Makoto Kino

---

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
            On a spaceship rocked by the storm of Space-Time.

"How much longer is this going to take?! Do you even know how long it's been?" The harsh voice which cuts through the tense silence is punctuated by the slam of a fist colliding with metal.

The speaker is a flame-haired young man named Crimson Rubeus. He's tall and muscle-bound, the sort who would be called handsome on the street, and the burgundy muscle shirt and green cargo pants he wears highlight his fit physique. It's the callous cruelty in his eyes and the disdain which twists his mouth that would warn anyone sane from him. Those eyes are presently narrowed in a glare focused squarely on the man at the ship's helm. His fist is still planted in the dented metal.

"We are brute forcing our way through space-time itself, and you think we have an understanding of how long it's been?" Said man, Blue Saphir, meets the glare with a scoff, turning his attention back to his workstation, and the great shard of Black Crystal his interface is manipulating. "If you want this journey to be over you'll stop acting the fool and keep your hands away from my machines."

"A fool?!" Rubeus demands, crimson eyes darkening in rage. He steps. "A fool, for calling you out on your failures?!"

"You know, I hate to agree with Rubeus on anything, but he has a point," the new speaker is an elegant young woman with green hair, and a sleek black dress marked by large green gems. Green Esmeraude smirks dismissively at Saphir. "You were the one who said that you could stalk the Rabbit wherever and whenever she went."

"A promise that I would be closer to the feeling without your interruptions. Why don't you two focus on your own matters and leave me to my work? Or did you think damaging my console would be a helpful contribution?"

"Oh, would you rather I put your face through instead? It seems that would be as 'helpful a contribution' as all your work! You're the one who-"

"Silence."

This new voice, sharp and commanding, cuts through the noise. Rubeus, Esmeraude and Saphir turn as one, magnets to a lodestone. The disdain in their expressions has dropped away in favor of respect for the man who now commands their mutual attention. "I will have no more of this petty bickering. Rubeus, back away from Saphir's station now. Esmeraude, hold back that vicious tongue of yours. There will be no further disruptions to his work."

He stands as a vision of strength in white, a tall man with shoulder-length white hair and deep purple eyes. He is Prince Demande of the Black Moon Clan, commander of these two.

Rubeus' eyes darken, but he bites his tongue and obeys - as he had not when the demand came from Saphir, who scowls viciously to see that.

"It was my order that we follow the Rabbit and retrieve the Silver Crystal. In questioning Saphir, you question me. Is that what you want to do?"

"No my prince, I would never," the words are steady and confident - Rubeus lifts his head to meet Demande's eyes for just a moment, before he turns an accusing stare towards Saphir. "It's only we've been trapped in this storm for ages, and half the time he's playing around with his droids instead of giving us the solution he promised you! I have followed your orders - the Spectre Sisters and I are ready to take action as soon as we've arrived! But we haven't arrived, your highness. And he hasn't offered a word of explanation as to why not!"

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
It's Saphir's turn to face Demande's dark stare. "Well, brother? My generals are not wrong to question you - we have wandered long and far. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Saphir's hands curl to fists, though his face is as smooth and set as ice. "To Rubeus' unskilled eye, it may seem that I am playing with my droids, but the interface I have crafted to link them with the Malefic Black Crystal is the only means we have of navigating this storm. Time and space themselves roil about us, trying to topple our ship, to disperse its pieces throughout all the universe that ever was and ever will be, but I have kept us intact, all this way. I will fulfill my promises - you know this, for I always have. But every distraction he makes is just that - a distraction. If I can focus, then I will - wait, there's something - "

Motion on the scanners, a spark of energy that crackles across the chunk of black crystal at his workstation, and then, an eruption of noise from all around as the ship's sensors detect pressure and movement, an opening - Saphir falls silent, eyes focused, hands moving rapidly across the interface, and at a sharp glance from Prince Demande, Rubeus and Esmeraude fall back.

Saphir pays them no mind - all his considerable intellect focused on the process of guiding the ship through the storm of time-space, even as dimensional space screams around them, twining and twisting as if to tear them apart. There is a moment where time seems to bleed free, seconds lasting hours and minutes flying by in microseconds of motion, where color inverts and shape twists - it feels as though their very bodies and bending warping out of control, and a cacophany of screams rise and echo throughout the ship - and then, without warning, it all stops.

All around is a blue sky dotted with silver and grey clouds, an old-fashioned metropolis spread below them. It is a metropolis unlike any they've observed on Earth - there is no sparkling modernity, no towering crystal, no wide green spaces and crafted waterways. No, the city they hover above is crowded, metal buildings stacked practically atop each other. The tallest thing in sight is a mere tower of metal, not a rather than a towering spear of crystal.

It was the Tokyo of the ancient past, memorialized in saccharine texts.

"We've made it," Saphir says, smug with victory. "The Rabbit is here, somewhere in the city. Which means you can all stop worrying about my role in things, and worry about your own."

"Worry?" Rubeus' grin is a slash in his face, baring teeth. "It's the Rabbit who should worry."

            At the same time, in Juuban Ward, Tokyo

It's a perfectly ordinary Friday afternoon when the sky itself seems to split apart, clouds bursting, winds howling in the sky high above even the tallest buildings, as a - a thing appears in the sky.

It's large, even when viewed from the ground, which only speaks to the fact that it must be massive in person, spears of green and black material joined in an onimonous star-shape, light shining through a darkened interior. Purple lights wink at the corners of those numerous spikes, adding to the surreal image of this strange, floating object set against a perfectly ordinary sky.

All around, people stare in gobsmacked shock - but its those who are magical who will sense the roiling darkness coming from it, before it seems to simply - vanishes, without a trace.

No one in this time will recognize that ship... well... almost no one.

After all, there is a certain girl in this time who is all too aware of what the Black Moon Clan's vessel looks like.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's not any old Friday! It's Makoto's birthday, which happens to be on a Friday! So, naturally, Usagi and Mamoru (and Chibiusa was there too) had decided to make Makoto cookies for her birthday.

The problem with that? ...not a single one of them can cook, and Usagi and Mamoru don't have the excuse of being five to justify themselves.
R
Naturally, that's resulted in an excursion! An adventure!

"There are all kinds of amazing shops here in Juuban," Usagi is saying with the kind of forced cheer of someone still embarrassed with their epic fail. "We're definitely going to find one with sweets worthy of your birthday, Mako-chan!"

And then? As if in direct defiance of this innocent wish? The sky tears open. Usagi goes stock-still right there on the street, staring up alongside all the others who witness the unbelievable sight.

"What... what is that?! It's like some kind of - some kind of terrible, scary, Christmas tree star?!"

And then it just vanishes, and Usagi is whipping her head around left and right, but there's nothing anywhere that she can see...

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    It was a perfectly nice day aside from the cookie disaster.

    Emphasis on was. Chibiusa was constantly looking for opportunities to take Usagi's Silver Crystal, but never felt like the time was right. It would've been easier to take if Usagi didn't already know exactly what she was going for, but that bridge has already been crossed and hindsight is 20/20. Still, as far as the tint pink princess was concerned, she had all the time in the world. She had a Time Key.

    Chibiusa is not the first to see the ship.. She lacks Pluto's innate connection to time, and she doesn't have anything other than the Time Key to help her navigate the time space storm that the Black Moon Clan is currently lost in. Or rather, are currently escaping from. When Usagi asks what it is, her little innocent red eyes look up and...

    She covers her mouth. She's frozen still. She's turning pale. Luna-P, floating next to her, starts to make a pinging noise while its antenna gently but urgently pulses red. Immediately she hides behind Usagi's legs, terrified.

    "They're... they're here. I thought they wouldn't follow me or they would get lost but they're here!"

Molly Skyline has posed:
it's Friday afternoon, and Molly is out of school early thanks to the teacher of her last class of the day getting called away on a family emergency. So she's free! Hurray! And she's using her time very productively; she's lurking about in the mall, using up some saved allowance money so she can buy one of her favorite things...

LEGO.

In her hands she's clutching tightly to a big box, labelled 'The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr', and is just in the process of paying when...

Oh good lord. She definitely felt that. She finishes paying, gets her receipt, and dashes with the box out of the mall and into the nearest back alley. The lego set gets stored in Starcrash's extradimensional space -- that's never going to stop being wonderfully convenient -- and there, hidden by a couple of dumpsters, she swaps her civillian look for her Barrier Jacket, summons her Flier Fin wings, and takes off into the skies, skimming up along the outside of a skyscraper until she's high up into the air.

Starcrash, any analysis?" she asks.

<< NEGATIVE. DISTURBANCE HAS ENDED. >>

"Got anything on a location, where it happened?

<< AFFIRMATIVE. >>

On the purplenette's battle visor, a location is marked with a little waypoint; and immediately, Molly heads in that direction, forcing as much extra mana into her Flier Fin as she can to get there as rapidly as possible.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Job security," Mamoru starts answering Usagi's 'what's that' as he pauses on the sidewalk, squinting at the now-empty sky. And then he notices Chibiusa's reaction and his expression instantly sharpens.

He crouches down next to Chibiusa and says, urgently, "We have to get you to where it's safe. We can hit the alley and I can transform, and then we can leave-- and I'll carry you, and everyone will protect us getting you away."

He starts straightening up, holding his arms out to the little girl, and he says to Usagi, "We'll go to RH, that thing was bleeding dark energy. And who knows where it is or how well it can see!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Yokina Meiou felt pretty great, all things considered. She was out, she got a few little takoyaki's from a nearby restaurant. Enjoying the treat and reveling in a bit of freedom.

Only for Luminous Titan to warn her that... something was up.

Her eyes lit up. "Ohhhhh. Evil demon christmas ornament!" she said excitedly. "I wonder if this is going to be a like, christmas carol themed youma?" she asked.

Luminous Titan just gave an exasperated sigh.

She disappeared down a dark alley and took off and... and Sailor Charon stopped on a rooftop, staring.

"Awwwww... the demon star of evil is goooone... no fair... someone beat it already..."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Honestly (though Makoto would hardly admit to it) in a way, she's grateful for the disaster that was the result of her friends' well-meaning baking efforts. It's been a long time since her birthday was celebrated with this much enthusiasm. If it weren't for the kitchen hijinks giving her a reason to laugh, she'd still be teetering on the verge of tears. Happy tears, to be sure... but still awkward.

So she's smiling, warm and fond and genuine, at Usagi's assurances. "Really, you've all already given me so much, even without the sweets." She glances down for a moment to admire her new flowered purse. "Anything else seems like an embarrassment of..."

Her voice trails off a split-second before the sky opens above them, leaving the thought unfinished. She snaps her head up, her green eyes going wide with shock at the sight of the shape that looms above them and the sheer oppressive sense of the dark energy that rolls off of it.

And then it vanishes, and Chibiusa is panicking, and the wind is still whispering of something wrong. Recovering from her flat-footed shock, Makoto nods firmly to Mamoru. "It's still there," she says in a low voice. "I can't tell where exactly, but the wind is disturbed. We should get out of the open."

She's already shifting her hold on her new purse to slip a hand into it, closing her fingers around her Jupiter Pen.

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
Mamoru is more correct than he could have ever hoped, for just as there are five heroes - some closing in, some already gathered around that most precious of victims - there are five figures, who appear in the sky above Tokyo, floating as casually as anything, cruel smiles on their faces.

One of them is Crimson Rubeus, sadistic delight in his eyes as he looks at modern Tokyo and the people staring in frozen shock.

"Look at these slack-jawed fools," he declares, loud enough for all to hear. "Too stupid to realize when it's time to run. Why don't we help them out, Spectre Sisters?"

And then he thrusts his hands forward, a beam of Dark Energy blasting from his open palms. The ground where the beam lands is turn asunder, and people caught in it's path are blasted back. A riot of panic breaks out, as people begin to scream.

"Oh, Master Rubeus, you're right!" The speaker is one of the other four figures, a beautiful woman with dark green hair pulled back into a severe style, and runway-fashion clothing. Her height only adds to the effect of her clothes - a long green shirt with a blue-and-gold bust and feathery boa, dark leggings covering her shapely legs.

The other three women are just as beautiful - the shortest is a young woman with long purple-black hair, in a striped purple outfit with a fluffy purple tutu skirt. Beside her is another woman with pale blue-white hair drawn into a single braid, blue wrap-like gloves protecting her hands and forearms in swimsuit-like leotard. The third is the second-shortest, with her brown hair pulled back with a gold bow, dressed in a golden-armored top with a red skirt. Each of them bears a sigil on their foreheads - an upside down crescent moon that's entirely black.

"We are the Spectre Sisters, under the command of Crimson Rubeus," the girl with purple hair calls, "I, Koan, declare that we will lay waste to your city until we find the Rabbit!"

And then thrusts her own hands out, crying out, "Dark Fire!"

And green-blue flames rocket out towards the screaming masses - and the group of Mahou, licking just above Mamoru's head.

Other attacks follow - ice from blue-haired Berthier, lightning from green-haired Petz -

But it's the brown-haired Calaveras, lashing out with her twin whips, who snags the urgently flashing Luna-P straight into her arms.

"Ha! The Rabbit is here - look at this awful toy, it's got Her symbol!"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Luna-P stares up at Calaveras with a blank, empty smile. It most certainly has the mark of the crescent moon, just like Luna does. Just like many of the Moon Clan occasionally do. The Luna-P ball does not fear death, Calaveras. Do you?

    Chibiusa, on the other hand, very much does fear death and is watching in silent terror as another one of her friends has been stolen away from her by these murderers. Is she going to lose Luna-P, just like she lost everyone else? She's not like her mother. She hasn't been hardened by combat. She can't make a split decision right away. When Mamoru tells her to come with him, she obeys... partially. "But... Luna-P!"

    She's been told, several times, that her life is more valuable than any toy. That doesn't make this moment any easier.

    She shouts, "ABRACADABRA! TURN INTO TEAR GAS!"

    Obediantly, with a playful poof of pink smoke, the catball turns into a canister and starts shooting gas directly at the offending whip-wielder. Which might give Chibiusa and Mamoru time to escape, but... well...

    Now they know where she is. Oops.

    Chibiusa really needs to get better about the whole 'planning' thing. She clings to Mamoru and squeaks out, "Help!"

Molly Skyline has posed:
For once, Molly's Battle Visor skips the step of marking new targets as unknown; this time it's pretty clear just who is who and what is what. On the ground below, it also marks Usagi, and all detected Mahou in the area with their respective tags as friendlies -- everyone that Molly knows, at least, which certainly does not include Chibiusa, who gets marked with a yellow 'unknown but likely friendly'. We can hope, right?

"Starcrash, charge Solar Barrage, forty barrets with homing. Lock target on..." Wait a minute. Molly's eyes narrow. "Lock on the purplish-haired one!"

<< AFFIRMATIVE. ARMED. LOCKED. >>

As she gets closer, she dips down to approach where Sailor Moon is standing. As she gets close she snaps her fingers to cast Neutrino Rush, and disappears into a burst of light, reappearing right above where Sailor Moon and her companions are at. "I'm here!" she shouts, as if she needed to to be heard, which she doesn't. "And I have absolutely no idea what's going on, but I hope you do. Starcrash, accept all communications from Sailor Moon and allies.

<< AFFIRMATIVE >>

"Alright I'm going for it. Sailor Moon-chan's got my number. Hi I'm Star Devil. Don't let the name fool you!" she shouts as she starts flying back upwards, "I just really like Tieflings!"

Maybe if she realized how serious this was, she wouldn't be so glib. Maybe she's about to realize it. Either way, she rockets upwards, rushing more or less straight towards the invaders; and with her target locked onto Koan -- and her tag changed from 'unknown' to 'Koan' with a little >:| beside it -- She waits until she's getting close to yell "Fire!!"

A stream of searing hot barrets issue forth from the business end of Starcrash, and all rocket one by one up towards their intended target. Might as well get in the opening salvo, afterall; and as the payload is on its way, Molly issues forth her challenge.

"Hey! Koan! There's only room here for one magical girl with Purple Hair, and it's me! Ever watch Highlander?! There can be only one!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
"Halt, evildoers!" a voice calls out and... Wait, where is it coming from?

"Your reign of injustice is at an end! I am the apprentice of Sailor Pluto, guardian of little moons everywhere and reminder that size doesn't matter!" Sailor Charon yelled.

And then, as their attacks went out... Sailor Charon appeared, landing in front of some of the fleeing civilians and jamming her glaive into the ground! A barrier of purple energy appeared in front of her, stifling some of the assaults and... and already cracking. Oh. Ohhhh wow. They were strong. They were--

EEP! The barrier shattered and she stumbled back, a shard of ice blowing past her and cutting her cheek. Well... hopefully she bought civilians some needed time. And--

"Oh. Okay then. Ummmm. She turned towards Mamoru and... Chibiusa! She then smirked. "You should know better than to come here, evildoers! This city and those within it are under our protection!" Then she ran forward and leaped into the air!

... And then off a car, then off a light pole, then off a window ledge, then off a... okay, it'd take a while, likely by which time the tear gas has cleared, and she took a swing at Calaveras with her energy glaive! "And that's not YOURS!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi might have stared for longer if not for Chibiusa's immediate and obvious panic, and the worrying news that whatever that was, it was here for Chibiusa -

But then things go from bad to worse, because there's not just one, but five obvious dark generals not just calling out, but attacking, and this is what Chibiusa has been running from?! Is this the secret she's keeping, and why she wants the Silver Crystal? To be safe from these -

Fire, ice, lightning, dark energy, and whips go flashing down -

THESE ABSOLUTE MANIACS?!

A shower of ice and fire that collide with the ground create a burst of steamy smoke for plausible deniability. Usagi grabs her broach.

"Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

Sailor Moon emerges from the steam and smoke with a furious look on her face, but there are two justice speeches made before she can, and instead, she smiles grimly.

"Chibiusa-chan, run with Mamochan, okay? We'll hold them off, and get back Luna-P!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
As if between one moment and the next, all hell has broken loose. Under less drastic circumstances, Makoto would look for cover before transforming. Just now, with destruction raining down and screams filling the air, she can't spare the precious seconds it would take.

"Jupiter Power - MAKE UP!"

Electricity flares out from the Jupiter sigil that caps her henshin pen, a bright contrast to the dark lightning that Petz unleashes. When it fades, Sailor Jupiter stands in Makoto's place, planting her boots firmly against the pavement in a sturdy stance.

"Don't worry about a thing," she promises, glancing quickly over to Mamoru and Chibiusa. "They won't get past us."

Then, with a single step forward, she spreads her arms to either side. Roses bloom in her opening hands and scatter into the wind that whips up around her, filling the street with a blizzard of petals. By the time the tear gas from Luna-P has cleared, the gust is rushing up and out, driving the confusion of color and fragrance directly into the sisters' faces.

"FLOWER HURRICANE!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Ducking the fire that shoots over his head with an unhealthy-sounding reverse hiss sort of noise, Mamoru crouches over Chibiusa and gets out a choked-sounding, "Earth Prism Power, make up."

Chibiusa's clinging to him? He just--

--Tuxedo Kamen doesn't have time to acknowledge anyone else, but it's not like they weren't already doing what they all do best. Instead, he hauls the little pink-haired girl up bodily and books it, running-- running-- then superjumping from that running start. They're in the air, they're in motion, they're heading for the school, and Tuxedo Mask is absolutely not looking back. Looking back never actually helps if you're being chased.

He assumes they're being chased.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asks instead, holding Chibiusa tightly but not awfully tightly. "'Look where you're going!' is a fine answer."

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
The appearance of fighters was expected - the appearance of these particular fighters? Not quite what the Black Moon Clan anticipated, but you know?

Rubeus' smile widens, and he flips back into a seated position in the air, smirking at the show unfolding. The Spectre Sisters tense with rage, their energy flaring with hate.

They're plenty okay with this.

Sailor Charon's shield stands strong long enough for civilians to stream away in terror. Good heroing, hero!

"Sailor Charon? Never heard of you," Calaveras sneers. "You must have been so irrelevant that no one cared to mention you. Just as they didn't care to mention your precious Pluto!"

She does not fear death at the hands of even the creepiest, eeriest toy that stares for too long and does not blink, for it has a mouth and that means she can make it scream. She is ascendant. She is triumphant.

Or at least, she would be if not for the fact that in a burst of smoke, the Luna P ball has become a tube of tear gas.

They don't have tear gas where she's from. This isn't a great first meeting.

The tear gas streams right into Calaveras' eyes and she shrieks in surprise and pain - what do you know, dark powers don't protect your eyes from this.

"I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE RABBIT!"

This is when Charon launches her attack, and Calaveras feels the energy of her weapon come for her and lashes out with a whip which ensnares the glaive's blade.

"You want this wretched thing? Then TAKE IT!"

And Charon gets a tube of tear gas right to the face. Even if Luna-P transforms back, she'll still get a squirt.

As this is happening, Koan launches a wave of fire to block Star Devil's volley of barrets.

"You think you Terrans get to control who has what hair?! Think again! You're pitiful and pathetic if you think that rag you call hair can compare to my luscious locks!"

"DARK FIRE

And they're both evenly matched, but there are still two more sisters -

And then Jupiter lashes out with Flower Hurricane, which sends the sisters rolling in the air before they catch themselves, and Berthier scowls furiously, blasting out with a bolt of streaming water, that whips about her body for a moment, before striking out towards Sailor Jupiter.

"DARK WATER!

"You're not strong enough to stop us, Sailor Jupiter," and there is hatred in her voice.

And the final sister? Petz?

She goes chasing after Tuxedo Kamen and the Rabbit.

""DARK LIGHTNING!" She flies through the air, chasing Mamoru as he takes off,

"You won't get away so easily, Rabbit!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
"Yes I do-- EEEK!" Luckily, she closed her eyes.

Unluckily, it was tear gas. She flailed and then dropped, crashing down below with a shriek, hitting the ground with a loud, pained groan.

But, luckiest of all? She was a devicer. Sure, she pretended to be a senshi, but she was a devicer incognito. And she could still see the alerts of where the threats were.

Unfortunately, she had landed on her back and was now holding a little cat face. "O-ow... d-demonic... cat... head... acquired..." she said with a groan. "S-saved... the hostage... yay... Oh... hi Sailor Moon!" she called, waving to her.... Waved the wrong way.

"Can... can you turn into a washrag?" she asked Luna-P. Cause... ummmm... she had burning stuff all over her eyes, her sinuses kind of burned and she really did not want to open them for fear of what would happen if they DID get into her eyes.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Welcome to Earth!" Molly yells at the Terran Wench with Purple(ish) hair, "Where we have a truely wonderous invention called HAIR DYE so guess what, yes you can control your hair color! AND MY HAIR IS BETTER THAN YOURS!" Molly snaps her fingers, vanishing into a burst of light and reappearing outside the trajectory of the DARK FIRE, but only just; she still comes away singed, and the vents on her staff and jacket are already letting off a little steam. But now is now the time to slow down! "Starcrash, charge Eclipse Barrets; forty barrets with homing, don't trigger homing for one to five seconds, randomized for each barret."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. WARNING; MANA USAGE HIGH. >>

Mana usage warnings?! Bah! Molly has a fight to win.

<< ARMED >>

"Lock target on the dumb chick with purple hair-- that isn't me that is! -- Fire!!" Molly points her staff in a random direction, and basically just waves it all around, firing freezing cold barrets off in all directions; and at random, they all change direction within a few seconds, zooming straight for the Dark General who thinks she's all that.

While everything's on its way, Molly glances down at her side, where there's a little proto-canister hanging off her belt; like Rashmi's, but much smaller. It's already starting to glow purple.

"Starcrash, deploy Vulcan Active Defense," she instructs. "let's try this out."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. DEPLOYED >>

Hovering in the air behind Molly's head, right between her shoulderblades, a little purple orb with a ring of arcane runes around it pops into view, hovering and... just hovering there, waiting for... something. Something will happen that sets it off, surely.

'Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa is being carried away, looking wide-eyed over Tuxedo Kamen's shoulder at the fate of her toy. She's too far away to keep shouting orders at it.

    It was just like this. With the senshi standing in the way of bloodthirsty enemies, promising exactly what Jupiter just did. "They wont get past us.

    Small Lady clings her little arms around Tuxedo Kamen's neck, holding for dear life, eyes clenched shut. The heat and crack from the dark lightning getting a little too close. This is absolutely terrifying, and there's nothing she can do about it. The Silver Crystal hanging from her neck, the one from her world, still wont respond to her.

    As for Luna-P... well, it's a child's toy. Expecting it to defend itself at length from anything resembling a serious threat is expecting a bit too much. A cannister only has so much gas in it, and it was running out by the time Charon caught up, but its reactions aren't quite as fast as a dark general's. Once released, it tumbles through the air for a second before it poofs back into the ever-smiling catball, bounces off of something (or someone?) before being caught by Sailor Charon.

    It doesn't respond to the request right away, partly because it takes a moment to decide if Charon is a friend, and largely because it's an AI that doesn't really know what to do. It's also wireless and, most terrifying of all, has access to the internet which it uses to look up questionable medical advice. It turns into a soapy wash rag that floats and moves on its own, trying to clean off Charon's eyes, then afterwards turns into a bottle of water to wash it all off. When it returns to catball form, it stares at Charon to see if the job is complete or not.

Makoto Kino has posed:
As the water lashes around Berthier, Sailor Jupiter slides one foot back. Her fist meets her palm for a moment; as she draws it back, bright threads of energy crackle across the space between, collecting in a hissing, spitting halo of electricity. She thrusts her fist upwards at Berthier in the same instant that the stream of water blasts down at her, two fingers extended, releasing a lance of lightning that meets the dark water and chases it back to its source--

In the next heartbeat Jupiter springs backward into the air, only just evading the torrent by the skin of her teeth. It slams into the pavement where she was just standing, the spray from the impact drawing an involuntary hiss from Jupiter. That was more serious than she'd expected.

Still, she lands on her feet and glares up at Berthier, green eyes sharp with defiance: "Try me!"

--and pivots on one foot, turning her back on the Sister in blue to leap into a sprint. One long, ground-eating stride - two, three, building momentum - then Sailor Jupiter gathers her strength and leaps, hurtling through the air with the wind behind her, easily high enough to clear a modest-sized building, lightning trailing white-hot from her drawn-back fist--

--on a collision trajectory with Petz as the green-haired Sister flies in pursuit of Tuxedo Kamen and Chibiusa. "Oh no you don't...!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
They're absolutely being chased.

There, see! He didn't have to look back at all to hear Petz yelling, and Tuxedo Mask braces himself because he can't tell exactly where she is, but cannot slow down to look back. He is not a quark. You can measure -- and target him -- in motion. She can shoot lightning and she warns him--

(There's something Endymion has historically had a problem with doing too much, and that is 'stopping attacks with his chest'. It's so bad because he can cape tank so good.)

The lightning splashes off the back of his magical armor, his black silk cape, and Mamoru tenses and shifts his grip on Chibiusa so he can lift a hand and jam his hat on his head. Might as well armor that too. He keeps his jumps lower now, zigging and zagging, making of himself a worse, more unpredictable target. A couple of times they even hit street level, and Mamoru's just thinking-- this little girl should be able to feel safe.

"Sailor Moon was back there," Mamoru murmurs. "It'll be okay."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's too many Dark Generals, and Sailor Moon doesn't know anything about them besides Dark Energy, so there's only one thing to do - as Jupiter goes after Petz, she lashes out at Berthier, left alone after her opponent vanished.

"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

She spins, faster and faster, hearts blooming around her before finally a single, enormous heart emerges and blasts off into the air, leaving a trail of pink hearts behind it!

<<Star Devil-chan, Charon-chan, we've got to keep them busy so Kamen-kun can get Chibiusa to the school! They shouldn't be able to take her from there!>>

"You weaklings who pick on little kids! How dare you ruin a perfectly good day! I, Sailor Moon, will strike you down!"

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
"Pathetic punk, you think I'm going to change my hair for you? Aw, is the poor, pathetic girl from Earth afraid of competition? Afraid you won't stand out because all you have to your name is hair?!" Koan sneers, lashing out with fire to block the barrets - but this time they're not all striking at once, so it's harder, and she cries out as she's struck on the sides, on the back -

"MY CLOTHES!"

She's not hurt too bad. But she's furious that her outfit is at risk.

That's about to be Molly's problem, because instead of firing from a distance - she's flying right at Molly, blasting fire directly at Molly's face as she does so, before - flying past her?!

It seems that fashion insults aside, she hasn't actually proven willing to abandon the mission for Molly, and she's chasing after Sailor Jupiter, Tuxedo Kamen, and the Rabbit.

"Stop crying already, Calaveras," Berthier snaps, lashing out with water in wave only to be utterly foiled by Sailor Jupiter -

Not like before. Before, they were able to take them all, and this Senshi is weaker, she just has to take her down.

"Stop crying, Calaveras," she snaps, before slapping a jet of water towards her younger sister's face - clearing it of the tear gas, rather than striking her down.

"I'm not crying," Calaveras mumbles. Her vision is still blurry and her eyes sting, but she races off in the direction of her sisters' voices -

Berthier makes to the do the same, only to get bowled over by an energy heart that feels like taking a four by four to the skull. It hurts. A lot.

But she still flies on, doggedly chasing the Rabbit.

All four Spectre Sisters are on the chase now, but Rubeus isn't. He slowly straightens up in the air, looking with a snarl at Sailor Moon. There's no more smile, no more smug amusement.

"You."

And then he fires a beam of dark energy the width of a beach ball directly at Sailor Moon's face.

"DIE."

Petz was the first sister to chase, and thus, she's closest to Tuxedo Kamen, snarling with rage that her first attack was blocked, and that rage is giving her strength, power, control -

"Not today, Rabbit! You don't get to escape anymore! Die, like the rest of your -"

And then Sailor Jupiter's collision course collides, and she's bodily rammed in the air. Petz wheezes in startled shock, and in that moment, her ankle is snatched by Sailor Jupiter's gloved hand, and she's hurled back to join her sisters -

"Oh yes," Petz snarls, as her sisters catch her and push her forward, "Yes, we do!"

And together, all four Sisters lash out as one:

"DARK POWER! SPECTRE STRIKE!"

Water twines around blue-and-green flame around vivid green lightning around a gleaming beam of burnt orange energy -

And together as one, with all their dark power behind it, they strike Jupiter down.

Makoto Kino has posed:
For a second, maybe two, Sailor Jupiter gets the chance to feel the satisfaction of having foiled Petz's chase.

It doesn't last.

She's still hanging in the air, borne aloft by the wind and not quite facing the right way, a fraction of a second too slow to let the fleeing Tuxedo Kamen and Chibiusa leave her peripheral vision. Not that it might've done that much good anyway.

Alarm flashes over her face as the intertwined blast of dark elements bears down on her. There's no chance to evade - all she can do is cross her forearms like a shield in front of her, before the beam strikes her out of the air like a hammer-blow.

She drops. Hits the ground hard. A faint noise escapes her, the effort of trying to get air back into her lungs.

The only thing she can hear is the thudding of her pulse in her ears. Uncoordinated, shaking, she gets her arms under her enough to lever herself halfway up...

...then the blackness of unconsciousness reaches up and swallows her whole.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Close quarter battle isn't really Molly's thing. When Koan comes flying straight at her, Molly backpedals, trying to keep some distance; as that fire comes at her the purple orb hovering behind her snaps around her to get a better angle and little, shining bolts of energy come rattling off it. The first handful don't do much, but after that they shift to be little cold bolts, and while they don't stop the fire attack completely the take the edge off it. Molly's barrier jacket is glowing from the heat, and her vents hiss, letting off a cloud of steam to try and dissipate the effects of the attack.

"Your clothes?!" she snaps, "Girl when I'm done with you, you'll wish your clothes was all you had to worry 'bout!" She turns, and rockets after Koan, stopping the back-pedal and trying to close the distance again. "Starcrash, overcharge Stellar Buster!"

<< AFFIRMATIVE. WARNING: MANA USAGE HIGH. WARNING: RESERVES BELOW SEVENTY PERCENT. WARNING: SPELL MAY INCUR DAMAGE. >>

Molly opens her mouth to speak; but then, that huge, combined attack hits Sailor Jupitor... and she's down. The stunned look on Molly's face says it all; and her battle visor shows the overall situation, with Rubeus trying to kill Sailor Moon, and the chase on for Chibiusa.

<< ARMED >>

Well, she's still got a job to do. Best way to help everyone is to keep going after the target she's got assigned. Or, rather, that she assigned to herself. So she flies after Koan. "I just don't want people mistaking you for me!" she yells after her. "Not that I think they will -- I'm desperately cool and you're BEYOND PATHETIC! And your fashion sense is only going to work on people wearing BLINDFOLDS!" As she gets closer, she holds out her left hand, and snaps her fingers.

Molly disappears into a flash of light and rematerializes in front of Koan. "Remember ME?!" She levels Starcrash at the woman. "FIRE!"

Molly grips her staff tightly as a brilliant, unstable beam issues forth from it, the force of it pushing her backwards as it lances right up at Koan; and where it hits it detonates, unleashes a powerful explosion -- which Molly is at the edge of herself, and gets blown backwards by it. Her Barrier Jacket is pitted and glowing, and her vents are unleashing purplish steam in clouds, as she focuses on regaining control of her own flight after the blast.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    They're really chasing her. The people who hurt momma are coming after her and she doesn't know where Luna-P went and...

    Chibiusa is really having a time of it. Everything is happening so fast and everything is terrifying. She's putting her full trust into Tuxedo Kamen right now because, let's face it, she doesn't really have a choice. Small Lady knows full well that Petz will straight up murder her if given the chance. She doesn't even have Luna-P nearby to help her out at all.

    Chibiusa wasn't watching the last time they fought the senshi, back on her world. She didn't stick around to see because she was busy running for her life. This time she could see it. This time she had a full view of Sailor Jupiter getting struck down.

    She's... she's losing them. All over again. That isn't the same one, that isn't the same Jupiter, but she's still... she's still a kind person, still sweet, still being strong in the face of sheer horror just to keep others safe, and now she's hurt too and it's all her fault.

    Again, it's her fault, and she can't do anything to make it right.

    She can't do anything...

    Tears well up, gathering on her cheeks. "Stop it!" she demands. A glowing crescent moon appears on her forehead. Mamoru can likely feel the energy spike coming from her.

    "I SAID STOP IT!!"

    There's a flash of power. The air around them darkens as a beam of moonlight fires directly up into the sky. Wild magic storms around Chibiusa like a beacon, too unfocused and misaimed to be truly dangerous but big and loud enough to be impossible to miss.

    As for Luna-P, it's still checking up on Sailor Charon, or at least one can reasonably assume that it is with the way it watches her. The catball turns to watch its owner's magical outburst. It's flying a bit low, and still within grabbing distance to Charon.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Charon could see! Oh, thank you demon cat head! Okay, she... she... Oh.

The other girls were flying ahead, they--

And they struck Jupiter down. Charon froze. Her eyes went wide. She'd... never actually seen one of the senshi go down. Not like that. And her eyes went wide.

"J... Jupiter..."

And deep, deep within her, something... tore. It felt like her heart. Did they kill her? Was she... She gripped her glaive. One hand grabbed the ball and stored it away. It would be safe. Chibiusa's cry echoed in her ears. She grit her teeth... and ran...

And she leaped up, over the air. "How DARE you do that to JUPITER-SENPAI!"

The energy on her glaive, normally only a foot or so long, extended massively as she lifted it over her head, the blade sparkling purple and nearly as large as her, the magic within it radiating so bright it could be likely felt by all around...

And then she brought the glaive down on the girls who had bunched up so conveniently so they could attack Jupiter. HURT Jupiter.

And for a moment, there was silence.

Then there was the sound of glass shattering as the strike erupted, the purple crackling from the tip of the glaive tearing down, the shockwaves of it shattering windows throughout the street. Molly on one side, Sailor Charon's glaive on the other.

Sailor Charon twirled through the air, landing and skidding along the ground, positioned between Jupiter and these other girls... Her head tilted forward slightly, casting her eyes in shadows.

And ooooooh wow, she felt... very light headed all of a sudden. She was trying to play it off, but her glaive was also being used to hold her up for a moment. Did... did she black out there for a moment?

Luminous Titan... was... very much... feeling that. If a device could feel aches, he was feeling ALL the aches... He wondered if he could just... have a repair day after this? Please? Rashmi? Please?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Die, he demands, and the beam he levels at Sailor Moon is bigger than her head, bigger than anyone's head, and she throws her arms up, skidding backwards as she tries to block the beam - tries to keep it from hitting anywhere central, wishing she had the breath to offer a witty rebuttal, but there's nothing that she can pull -

And then she feels it. Something she's felt before, in another life, the vanishing of someone close to her, practically a part of her, and she can't even see it from here, can't turn to look with him bearing down on her, but she feels it -

"JUPITER-CHAN!"

And there is something to be said about new lives built on old lives, about strength that rebounds, that grows, fractures that heal into stronger foundations, because once, Princess Serenity lost everything because she was a helpless princess stuck on the sidelines, born to be protected while her heart broke.

She is no longer stuck on the sidelines.

Her gloves are shredded, her skin bruised and split from the effort of blocking the beam, dark smoke rising from her in sickening curls wifts and it hurts and it is nothing compared to that.

Sailor Moon goes rolling across the ground as Crimson Rubeus laughs and laughs and laughs -

And she stands, swinging her rod, spinning not her entire body, but her arm, in a rapid, snap of circles. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"

The giant pink heart is the height and width of an eighteen wheeler, and it blazes across the path to Crimson Rubeus -

Discretion is the better part of valor. He teleports away, just as it impacts his body, before the full crushing force can apply.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He hears Jupiter behind him, he hears Petz taunting Chibiusa with oh she'd better not have just been about to say 'die like the rest of your family' -- oh no, no, he can't stop and fight her, but it's all right, Jupiter will--

He hears the four-voice combo and blanches, but doesn't stop... but Chibiusa sees what happened, and when Mamoru hears her say 'stop it' the first time and feels that energy start to well up and spike, and then she yells in his ear and he can't help flinching sorry but ow, and then the sheer power that blasts from Chibiusa and sends a flare deep into the sky?

It has Mamoru breathless and so worried, so worried for this tiny girl, that devastated city in her recent past, these people chasing her, trying to kill her, it's all over again, someone wanting power by taking it from a Usagi, and he's had enough--

And he feels like if she knew how to use that power she would be, maybe he can teach her, somehow -- the distracting thoughts are actually custom designed to keep him on-task because otherwise he'd go back, he'd go back, those guys took out Jupiter and it's just Charon and Moon and Star Devil, they need help getting away, there's not enough of them, and-- he considers teaching Chibiusa how to use her magic.

And closer and closer they get, and there's OHHHH there are finishers going off now, and as Tuxedo Kamen makes the final jump from the last rooftop to the school grounds, he drops down right next to the dorms, in formalwear and all right where anyone could see.

<< We're safe. >>

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
Sailor Jupiter goes down and the Rabbit lights up like a firework on New Years, the sky darkening, the beam flaring up, and Rubeus has disappeared for a moment, but he's still around, the four Ayakashi sisters an feel it, and they know their mission.

Killing these warriors is optional. Killing the Rabbit is what they have to do to finish things. Just one, last, little, Rabbit.

And so, moving as one, they abandon Jupiter's fallen body and launch themselves after Tuxedo Kamen, towards the blazing light that is the Rabbit's wild outburst of magic.

Star Devil flash steps in front of Koan and unloads a spell of truly vicious proportions, energy exploding out and sending them both flying, and Koan screams as the heat and energy send her rolling -

But when the smoke clears, she's singed and bruised and she will be aching, after this, and her outfit certainly is damaged, and her eyes are full of hate. Full of murder.

Has anyone ever looked at her with true murder in their eyes, not just rage and pain but the desire to bring her not to her knees, but to her grave?

If not, then they have now.

"No, little girl," she says, coldly, "You are the one who is pathetic.

And then she is on Star Devil, and her fingers are longer than nails, they are talons and they are wrapping around Star Devil's throat with one hand, digging into her jaw with the other, and it's a good thing her henshin helps protect her even in the places it doesn't cover, because otherwise those talons would be going through her skin.

Koan's eyes are so very cold.

And then Koan lights her ablaze, with every intention of immolating her, of cooking her alive, pouring every ounce of her dark power into it.

"DARK FIRE !"

Star Devil and Starcrash have gotten so much stronger than they once were. Koan hasn't burned Starcrash away before it hits -

Petz and Berthier and Calaveras are chasing after the Rabbit, are flying and hunting and following, blasting attacks after Tuxedo Kamen, but he is locked in, he is focused and the destruction doesn't stop him - windows are blown out, buildings are struck and fractured and cratered, falling down, and the civilians who were in buildings, who were hiding, they are screaming out, they are howling, they are terrified.

"We'll do worse than that to you little brats!"

It's happening all over again, Tokyo is in danger, is being destroyed, and Chibiusa is being carried away, is running, because she can't do anything, just yet. It probably stings.

It probably -

And then Sailor Charon's strike hits, energy sliced and whipped down the path, and the windows blow out, and the energy strikes, and it's not fatal but it hurts -

Koan is knocked free from Star Devil, her fire gone out, and she rams into a building, and between all those hits, she's down now.

Petz and Berthier and Calaveras though? They roll through the air, crash into a building, but they get back up.

And Sailor Charon certainly won't be able to do anything about this, because she's worn out, exhausted, and -

"Maybe you are a real Senshi," a cruel voice says in her ear, as Crimson Rubeus reveals himself once more, now directly behind her.

"Maybe they were just hiding you, all this time... you should have stayed hidden."

And then he blasts her, point blank, in the back, with the same bolt he'd used to wear Sailor Moon down with.

"Broiling Darkness!"

Black Moon Clan (280) has posed:
"We're so close," Petz snarls, "Get her, Calaveras. Berthier! We're finishing this!"

Calaveras obeys with sneering disdain on her face, and when she reaches her sister, she hauls Koan's unconscious body up in a floating fireman's carry -

"I've got her, finish the mission -

And then Tuxedo Kamen crosses the grounds of the school and keeps running, as the attacks fire -

"DARK WATER!"

""DARK LIGHTNING!"

And then fizzle out, as soon as they cross the school grounds, lightning shimmering into sparks, streams of water into bubbles.

"What?"

"What?!"

Echoed cries of frustration and confusion - and when they reach the edge of the school, those boundaries, they - it - burns.

"What is this?!"

They fly back - and they can breathe, it's normal, they aren't burning - they fly forward, and it burns -

"Rubeus-sama," Petz grits out, in furious humiliation as she activates a comms device, "We can't go any further. There's some kind of - barrier, over this, this place he's taken her. We've... lost the Rabbit."

There's a moment of silence.

"Fall back, Spectre Sisters."

And just like that, the enemies are all gone.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
They did it! Ha, did you see, Jupiter-senpai! They-- oh, right. That was why they were so mad. They--

Wait, what? Who was--

And Luminous Titan forced a shield behind her, just in time. It didn't stop the attack... but it had possibly protected all of their lives. Sailor Charon was sent flying, disappearing into a building that had, conveniently, had its windows blown out earlier.

Later, they'd likely find her on the ground, buried under some mannequins. Everything hurt. SHE hurt. A lot. And her glaive...

Her glaive was cracked, its energy blade more of an energy shiv at this point, sparking out slightly. It had held far, far too much power that Hotaru was NOT supposed to be capable of. Yet, she had, somehow... and it hadn't been that... thing... either. Had Sailor Jupiter going down upset her that much?

Alas, it wasn't a researching device. But this information... would be logged for later.

For now? She... she was going to lay here. And whoever came to find her... would find a very bruised, achy girl, with a very cracked glaive... holding a very demonic looking kitty head.

Buried under some mannequins and rubble.

"M-Mission... s-success... doot doo dah doo doo dunt doo doo... ow..."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Oh it stings alright. For Chibiusa, it does more than sting. That pain is as much a threat as it is a reminder. They've already ended one world. They could easily end another. They would not hesitate, even for a second.

    Yet she's so, so helpless. So weak. So pathetic. She could never stand with Sailor Moon and fight monsters like this. She's not even a bystander. She's a liability. People got hurt because of her and all she can do is cry about it.

    And cry she does. Even when she's safe. Even when it's over. Even when the spectre sisters are gone. Though her eyes are blurry and shut, she unwraps one arm from around Kamen's neck and pats her collar, checking for the hidden gem and key hanging from her neck. They're still there. Thank goodness they're still there.

    "Jupiter... Luna-P... Charon..." She's trembling, and probably will not be fully okay until she sees proof that the others are alive, but her magical outburst is starting to fade away.

    As for Luna-P, it's somehow managed to escape subspace, and starts trying to squeeze itself out from under the rubble, only to stop when it realizes that such a thing might be both dangerous to itself and Charon, and futile besides. Instead, it makes that pinging noise again, repeating it like a distress beacon so that others can find the two of them.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Alright that hurts.

Actually that hurts tremendously.

Every square inch of Molly's body is on fire, and Starcrash is busy delivering some kind of warning that Molly really can't hear; talons, fire, dark energy, all of it pouring through her and rendering her Barrier Jacket halfway to slag. What's going on? Is the target of their assault safe yet? How is that what's on her mind while she's being roasted alive?

<< WARNING BARRIER JACKET INTEGRITY FAILING. MOLLY SKYLINE VULNERABLE >>

Oh well that sounds important doesn't it? "Buh," she gasps, her eyes peeled wide as she's trying, struggling, to get words out. "Breh, Breaa," she gasps,

"BREAK WALL."

Starcrash doesn't respond, at least not verbally; the mini-cannister hanging off Molly's belt crackles with energy and then overloads brightly, and a globe of energy snaps into place around her, pushing Koan away; and just in time, right as Sailor Charon's attack hits. The shield absorbs the last vestiges of Koan's attack, along with most of the shockwaves from Sailor Charon's; but that's when it fails, overwhelmed. The cnanister is glowing, and Molly gets buffeted hard by the last of it, as well as pelted by broken glass as she tumbles from the sky. For a moment, it looks like she's just going to plummet all the way to the ground; but with Starcrash giving constant altitude warnings, she snaps out of it just in tim eto right herself and use her wings to slow down and land, hard, going down to a crouch on one knee.

her barrier jacket is slagged, and half of it is missing; she's burnt; half the vents on her jacket are non-functional but the ones that are billow steam to dissipate the heat. The purplenette is panting heavily, and looking wide-eyed at the battlefield around her.

"Oh..." she gasps. "Oh that was... that was... a lot."

She pauses, and while she looks over the various warnings blinking at her on her battle visor, sends out a message to everyone, << How is everyone? Did the little one escape? Are we good? ...Did we win? >>

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
He wants to go back. He has to go back. But:

"If you want me to, instead of staying here, I'll go find them," Tuxedo Kamen says, crouching down in front of Chibiusa again. "But if I do, I need you to stay with Luna and Anko."

Anko who is already curling around Chibiusa's knees, of course, being warm and big and fluffy. Anko who doesn't need to be bribed anymore but still delights in it.

"And I'll make sure they're okay. I can heal them, I can get them to the infirmary, it'll be fine." He's using more words than he normally would to communicate this kind of information. "But I do need to go there and do it."

<< Chibiusa and I are safe on school grounds. I'm coming back for Jupiter. Anyone else also need a ride to the infirmary? >>

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
So much happens and Sailor Moon does not have any super speeding abilities, so she just has to run with her ordinary Mahou legs, faster than a regular person but nowhere near superspeed, and that is not enough to get in the way of either of her friends (and she will realize, later, that unbeknownst to even her, Sailor Charon is now in the friend category in her heart).

She still runs, towards Makoto's fallen body, towards Charon being attacked over her, towards Star Devil, singed and smoking in the aftermath -

She is burning on the inside, like a swarm of wasps stinging inside of her skin, and she was nauseated, and her vision swam, and everything hurt, but she keeps running, as Sailor Charon is sent flying towards a building.

She stumbles over Jupiter first, dropping to her knees, checking her over, but she's breathing and there's no blood and she doesn't know where Charon or Star Devil ended up.

"I'll be back," she promiseds Makoto, whoozily, and starts heading to the building Charon landed in.

She doesn't see anyone, at first glance.

"No, no, no, come on," she murmurs to herself, as she looks around the destroyed shop, as she looks around for - a giant stack of really creepy mannequins, and a little singing voice.

"I'm going to get you out of there, Charon," Sailor Moon calls, and bends over, hands on her knees, wheezing for breath. "But - if you can sing - I think you're okay enough to - make sure Koan didn't actually burn Star-chan to death -"

And so, wheezing, she turns, just as Star Devil's communication reaches.

She wilts down.

<<Mamochan and Chibiusa escaped. The bad guys ran off. We won. Ya...a... ay...>>

And then tumbles down to the ground. Everything still stings, and she mumbles, cheek pressed to the dusty flooring -

<<I think I... need the... ha...ammmm...ster ball... also? Alsssooooo... a concert? Yeah... yeah, one of those... at the same... time..."