1009/A Tale of a Cursed Painting, The Shining Deep

A Tale of a Cursed Painting, The Shining Deep
Date of Scene:	16 January 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	While investigating a painting, Taro, Veronica, Usagi, Amy and Anna get stuck inside it, exploring the world it contains and then finding their way out again.
Cast of Characters:	Veronica Perenna, Taro Yamada, Usagi Tsukino, Anna Domenico, Amanda Faust

---

Veronica Perenna has posed:
It's a calm afternoon, all in all. Some weird rumours have been circulating, but none of them seem lethal. That said, just because they aren't harming people, it doesn't mean they are doing nothing. People are disappearing from an art gallery, and the only thing known for sure is that they come back several hours later with no memories of where they have been. Not even the cameras have been able to catch their disappearance or return. The only clue is that according to the rumours the only memory the victims keep is that of the sound of humpback whales.

For those who choose to investigate this rumour, or maybe are just walking around in the art gallery by accident, there aren't really many people around. This art gallery has become quite unpopular as a result of all the rumours. Veronica is one of the people investigating the oddities, though she is not far from the entrance and has only just started looking around.

Taro Yamada has posed:
Taro Yamada is here primarily because it's a place he can stay for several hours for free with a minimum of people bothering him. Weird rumors? All the better to hang around indoors without being disturbed!

But that doesn't mean he's unaffected by the art.

Taro drifts between the paintings, squinting at the plaques beside them before giving them evaluating glances. Portraits and realistic pieces are often disdained, while cartoony paintings and anything involving animals get a beeline.

Right now he's peering at a modernist painting of a tiger in the tall grass, holding his fingers up in front of his eyes and waving them back and forth to try and find the motion the plaque says the painting evokes.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi's in the art gallery in an on-going effort to become more educated, cultured, and refined in her movements through the world, in order to live up to the legacy of her past life and her mother before her -

Haha, that's such a life, could you imagine? No, Usagi's in the art gallery because she heard a rumor from Rinki Omotori in class 9A about people disappearing and reappearing from the art gallery, and it had sounded like something that should probably be checked out. School was still out, but there were plenty of people still in the dorms, and if she hung out in her room, she'd just end up following asleep.

And she didn't really want to sleep - she'd been having nightmares, pretty consistently, and she was yawning all the time, the bags under her eyes heavy, and sleep sounded great, except for all the ways she knew it would go horribly wrong as soon as she actually fell under enough to dream.

So, art gallery. Plenty of beautiful paintings and sculptures and artifacts, lots of pictures to take, it was great.

Not boring at all. Definitely not!

She was definitely not yawning as she walked through the halls. Half her pictures are motion blurred. She won't realize this until later.

Anna Domenico has posed:
People are vanishing. In an art gallery. Okay. That's strange. As an artist, Anna is curious what's happening. Is one of HER paintings in the museum? No. No there isn't. Not yet at least, so Anna comes to the conclusion.

"Gallery's haunted." she says with a terse breath, looking around the gallery, as she looks up ahead and sees a familiar face.

"Oh. Veronica. Hey there." she says with a wave. "Checking out the art too?" she asks. "I like to come to get ideas and inspiration." she half-lies. It's a truth! But not the point of this visit.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Weird magic bullshit! Investigating this is Amanda's life now. This is probably a place where someone is draining energy from people and the veil is covering it up. So... here she is! And when the villain strikes, she'll transform and fight them.

    And she spots that guy from the alley. Well. 'Guy.' Probably. She wonders...

    "[Tiger, tiger, burning bright. In the forest of the night.]" She's probably misquoting. Heh. Tiger. "Taiga." Like that punny shirt she thought up-- anyway, she offers Taro a smile if he turns around. "Hi! Today going better, I hope?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
It's not an odd assumption that Veronica would be here to check out the painting, so she happily goes along with Anna's story. It's not like she can reveal to a normal person (as far as she is aware) that she is chasing magic. "Oh, you are here too, Anna-san, nice!", she smiles widely. "That's true, I really was in the mood to scratch that itch. And besides the paintings in this gallery are really charming."

With that, she continues walking and she spots Usagi and upon recognising her, she approaches with measured pace to first say normally "Hi, Usagi-chan, glad to see you here" and then whisper "Are you here for the rumours too? What do you think?" After listening to her reply, she adds that she will be going along now and that she should keep her wits about her.

She similarly notices Amy and she waves at her. "Hi, I see you are with a friend, I think. How have things been going?" To Taro she bows and says "Veronica Perenna, at your service. Are you enjoying the gallery?" In a similar manner to earlier, she soon parts ways with them, checking out more works of art.

It is not much later that she approaches a painting called "The Shining Deep", a beautiful reproduction of the sea with both normal animals and mythical creatures swimming around a golden sword. As soon as she peers at it, she vanishes from sight, not even a sound or light to attract attention.

Taro Yamada has posed:
"What immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?" Taro quotes back. The creature that had turned him into a temporary vampire had gifted him with a smattering of knowledge, including the ability to pronounce the poem that every nature documentary used when they saw tigers.

He turns, squints, and then his eyes widen. He knows this girl. The, the, what had she said she was...Someone who wasn't affected by the opinions of others, who said what she meant - ?

"Oh! The sukeban!" he says, and then grimaces. "The...metalmorph? That's not what it was called. I forgot your name and half those terms you taught me. The art is good, though. There's a lot of good nature paintings. Are you... doing good?"

It's not the hesitation of being unsure about her, but being unsure he's saying any of this right.

Hold on. He sees buns.

"I think Usagi Tsu-ki-no is here too. She's your friend, right?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Veronica is the first person Usagi passes, and she blinks at her, caught off-guard - entirely too sleepy - and then shrugs, whispering back, "I don't really know what to think about it. But it seems worth checking out, right?"

The reminder to keep her wits about her makes Usagi pout - is she so tired that even a younger student can tell? - but she keeps looking through the museum, taking pictures here, and thinking about maybe doing something reckless, like tapping the paintings to see if that helps, when she stops at one, "The Shining Deep". It was beautiful - the sea filled with creatures normal and not, all swiming near and around a golden sword painted with extraordinary detail.

It's likely only because Taro has pointed her out that he and Amy could be looking in the right direction to notice when she vanishes into thin air.

Anna Domenico has posed:
Anna Domenico slacks a little in her stance and says to Veronica. "You know, you should warn people when you have a cute dormmate." she gives a sly smile. "But in all seriousness I met her the other day. Apparently. I am the worst." she says, flicking her hair a moment.

"Now. Did you hear stories about people vanishing?" she wonders. "I wonder if..." she trails off in thought, as she makes it to the painting with Veronica, and Veronica speaks to Usagi and Anna gives a little wave and goes. "Yo." to Usagi.

Then when Usagi's attention is taken away. She vanishes too. Whoops.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy snaps her fingers as Taro completes the poem. "That's right!" She points at him. "Wow, you know English poetry?" She blinks. sukeban? She has a mental image of herself with an overly long skirt and a bat. "Uhhhh... I dunno how to take that. I'm not a delinquent, but I'm not exactly supportive of the establishment either..." She rubs the back of her neck. "Not that I have much of a position in it as a [joushi--] I mean as a student. I'm doing OK I guess. Um. You?"

    And then he points out Usagi and Amy turns just in time to see--

    "What the hell?! Usagi!" She runs towards the painting, looking around.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
True, Usagi had looked quite tired, and that too was cause for concern. She hopes it's something positive like staying up to read too much manga and not her being plagued by nightmares. That would be horrible. Maybe she should send her some high-quality remedies when this is over.

When passing by Anna, the brunette emits a 'hmm' of surprise when her roommate is mentioned. "Oh, you have met Norie-chan? She is a good person, and a nice roommate." she comments in case first impressions have gotten in the way. Which it probably has, though for Anna instead. "What has happened for her to call you the worst?" That's something else Veronica has said before leaving Anna.

When the painting claims her, the unsettling darkness she finds herself in soon vanishes, her sight returning to her - or maybe she had been in complete absence of light? - and more importantly, feelings to her body, because the next thing she notices is that her hair is just like when she is in her magical girl form, and she can't separate her legs. 'What's up here?' she gazes down curiously.

A mermaid tail. She has a bona fide mermaid tail, of a very pale blue colour? And not just that - she is wearing the stereotypical mermaid getup. "Uh, so this is a thing now", she comments, glad at least that whatever is going on is letting her breathe. Odd thing she has no gills though. And what's up with the nymphaeacea in her hair?

Leaving those odd questions for later, she starts looking around, trying to get used to swimming with the singular mass that has replaced her legs.

Taro Yamada has posed:
Taro Yamada says, "I know some English. It's not a very useful skill," he says with a shrug. "You said you weren't a neurotypical, who is someone who doesn't say what they mean and get offended easily, and you said you were...that word, I'm forgetting. But I thought that if you say what you mean and don't get offended and wander into alleys without fear, sukeban was probably close?"Apparantly it was not close at all. He has questions! Many of them!

They go up into smoke when Usagi is eaten by the painting.

"Usagi!" he yells, following after Amy to the painting. "It ate her!"

No, absolutely not! He's not dealing with stuff being weird! Or other people getting hit with it! Once was bad enough! Forget it!

"If I'm not back in an hour, go get the cops!" he tells Amy, and then runs into the painting.

He twirls down, down, down, his body transforming in the water in a spiral. His head and torso merge together, and his legs fuse, then split into a red skirt of eight legs connected with webbing. Two huge, luminous eyes blink under ear-like flaps as he spins, getting his bearings -

"....Well, that solves the problem of breathing. Let's go!!""

Anna Domenico has posed:
"Huh?"

Anna Domenico wakes up in her hunters regalia, right hand clad in a silver gauntlet, wearing her muted pink tailcoat and frilly white blouse underneath as she sinks and sinks until she hits a sandy bottom. She stands up and brushes her coat off, which currently still respects normal physics almost as it comes down around her slowly.

"Well that's a strange feeling." she says bluntly as she stands there and looks around and there's... a mermaid. And a squid/octopus. And--

"Ah. One of those days." she says dryly, as she grasps at her whip, held on her belt, as she holds it, but keeps it furled.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There had been the painting and then there had been darkness - and for a moment, Usagi was pretty sure she'd falllen unconscious. Thankfully that hadn't happened, at least. But instead, when the world came into focus again, it was awfully... wet. And blue. And her legs felt funny, and her thick purple jacket was gone, and -

And she was a mermaid. Her hair had gone silver-white, like starlight made silk, and her legs were melded together into a matching white tail, long and scaled, with a long, flowing fin trailing like a ruffle down her back. The end of the tail was marked with equally flowing fins, and her clothes had been replaced by a ruffled halter-top that looked a lot like the bodice of her gown as Princess Serenity...

And the Silver Crystal, which she always wore around her neck, glowed softly in the dim light, making it easier to see - and to be seen.

"This is new... but kind of cool," she says to herself, testing out her new tail by trying to walk - and managing to propel herself forward. There's a lot of open ocean, but there's got to be someone else here, right?

"Heyyyyy! Is anyone out there?!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy does stare wide-eyed at Taro as he explains, perfectly logically and sensibly, how he arrived at 'sukeban'. She smiles. "Wow, that's pretty good. I said I was autistic, but... not bad for coming up with that."

    And then she looks over at Usagi and she's gone and Amy runs over and--

    "What ate her?" And then he disappears into the painting. Amy shouts at the painting, "You think the cops deal with magic shit?"

    She sighs and stomps her foot before muttering under her breath, "Ugh. It's A-my-a, Dire Dire Docks here we come." and she attempts a long jump right into the painting!

Amanda Faust has posed:
                     Ax1              $x0               *x0                    
                                                                                  
                                        1                                        
                                        *                                        
                          The Sound of a Humpback Whale                          
                                                                                  
                                   My Score $x0                                  
                                      Course                                      
                                        1                                        
                                 The Shining Deep                                

                                      ---                                      

    Amy awakens feeling... off. The air is... thick. She's... floating? And her legs are stuck together. She looks down to see what's wrong and glimpses, first, that she's wearing a black swimsuit top with a white stripe down the middle, cut like a sports bra, and when she kicks her legs to look at them a BIG FISH TAIL RISES INTO VIEW. A bright orange fish tail, with a big white stripe limned in black around her hips and a second near the end of the tail, with the fins tipped in black with a white fringe. Were this an anime, casual viewers may assume this is because of the earlier mention of tigers, but those don't look like tiger stripes...

    Amy, however, has bigger fish to fr--errrrr, bigger concerns than tail patterns, like WHY IS SHE A MERMAID. Wait, is she underwater? She moves her arms and kicks her tail a bit, feeling the resistance of water, not air, on her skin (and scales?) And wait, what about breathing? She's been breathing, but now that she's thinking about it... it felt like, and still feels like, she's breathing air. It must be magic. Didn't Coco say she breathes water like this? Amy tries to remember... and then her brain notes that she is apparently stuck in a magic painting and turned into a mermaid and maybe should investigate that over sitting around. Well, floating around, she corrects, kicking her tail. Flipping?

    It soon emerges that as long as she's not thinking about it, her body responds automatically. Swim that way, turn this way, turn that way, tight turn slow turn loop-de-loop, she wills it and her body does it and it feels natural until she thinks about it and then she gets tripped up. Or... whatever the equivalent of tripped is for a fish. Fortunately, her hair is in a series of ties for a braid-like effect, preventing it from getting in her face all the time.

    She's kind of having fun just swimming around and feeling the freedom in three dimensions, until she misjudges a turn and tumbles through some kind of plant (seaweed? kelp? What's the difference? She's not sure) and into sight of Serenity, looking at her and gawping in wonder like a... well.

    Amy-fish points her finger. "Usa-- err, Sailor-- err... It's me! This feels like a dream but I guess we're in a magic painting? Wait, how does talking work underwater?" She sings a scale, "Aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa... Huh. So uh. This has never happened before, right? Like, suddenly becoming a mermaid isn't just a part of magical girl stuff no one told me about yet, right?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
One thing had to be said about this environment: it was very pretty, with colourful animals of all kinds swimming around and the majestic corals dotting the ground. It's almost a pity they are here trying to find the cause of this mess.

On the other hand, this thing isn't lethal whatever it is, which means that she is willing to abandon herself to the moment when a whale melodiously passes above her. Such a beautiful song...

"I should be thinking about finding the others, though, they probably got caught inside too, she refocuses herself. And there is no lack of people to ask, fortunately. In a twist of irony in this place it's Anna who stands out the most as the only one who who isn't some sort of hybrid or straight up animal. Though, there is another mermaid here, with the beautiful candor of moonlight, and that's the one she approaches first. She is not the only one doing so, because... is that Amy!?

"Huh, Amy, you are a mermaid too", she exclaims noticing her pattern like that of a clownfish, quite unlike her monochromatic one." Veronica hasn't heard her speak, and either way, that comment would be lost on her. "Have you seen Usagi anywhere? I think we should make sure she too is alright before trying to understand what's going on here."

Then she addresses the moonlight mermaid too. "Your look is quite charming, friend", she compliments first. "I happen to be looking for someone, a person I am looking with blonde hair styled in bun-twintails. Have you seen anybody like her around?" Though, she hopes Usagi hasn't transformed too much, else her description is useless.

Anna Domenico has posed:
"I see you don't have a reasoning for why we're in the painting, but the will of the artist is embodied here." she says, gravely, as she has no idea why she hasn't transformed into some sort of sea creature, mythical or non, but it's probably the holy protection of her gauntlet in some reason she fathoms.

"Oh, are you looking for someone. Maybe this is where everyone has been vanishing to." she says. She gives a wave. "Hello everyone. I am. uh..."

"I am 'Pink'." yes she is. "That's a silly name." she whispers to herself.

"Anyways." she says. "Anyone come here often?" she asks, a silly question. But undermeaning. 'Where the heck are we and what are we doing'.

Taro Yamada has posed:
Ok. He has no idea who any of these mermaids are. Usagi does not seem to be here either. If he's in the painting, then they're probably from the painting... or could they be people transformed by the painting?

Oh! That conversation...!

Taro swims over with a few elegant puffs of his tentacles, his ear-fins twitching as he tries to listen in on the mermaids - the blue one mentioned Usagi, and the pink one and white one were curious, and that orange one is also looking for her...

"How did you all end up in here? Usagi just vanished. Did the sukeban send you?" Taro asks, rubbing his 'head' with one tentacle. "We need to find Usagi and figure out how to get out of the painting before it eats us all permanantly."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy is called out to and looks over the Mermaid of Sarek, eyes wide. "So, we're all mermaids now...?" She asks, cocking her head to one side, and then sees Anna. And Taro. Who is definitely not a mermaid. Asked about Usagi, she glances at Mermaid Serenity, but doesn't say anything.

    "The will of the artist?" The clownfish-mermaid turns to Anna curiously. "And who was that? Is anything known about them? Nice to meet you, Pink!" She swims over and holds out a hand. And laughs at the question. "No, I have never been inside a magic painting that turns you into a mermaid before."

    And she slumps and sweatdrops at Taro's question. "I'm still not a sukeban. Apparently I'm a clown. I ran in after you." She puts her hands on her hips. "You think we can call the cops for someone being sucked into a magic painting?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I definitely think we're in a magic painting," Usagi - Serenity - Usagi, says, frowning, "But I don't know why we're mermaids, and I didn't really wonder how we could talk? I mean - I just kind of figured we could, since Yellow can, and... yeah?"

She shrugs, looking around - and then, suddenly, there are all kinds of people, and she realizes -

Oh right, Amy's the only one here who knows I'm Serenity.

"Um... I saw a girl who looked like that, but she was only here for a minute or two? Maybe whatever brought us here sent her back out?" It's not like she's bad at lying, but she's relying heavily on the hopes that everyone will just buy into this.

"I'm Serenity. It's nice to meet all of you, and I'm sure if we work together we can all get out of here!"

It's probably for the best she not blow her identity to strangers, right? Princess Serenity and Sailor Moon were too closely linked to risk it otherwise.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"Your name is very nice, Serenity", Veronica smiles at the friendly introduction and relief Usagi is just alright outside. Well, the sooner they deal with this, the sooner they can check she is fine. "Sorry to bother your life here, we won't stay much. But thanks for telling me my friend isn't in danger, I really appreciate it."

"Well, hi, Pink", Veronica comments. "I..." She looks at herself, her pale blue tail extending in an indication of inhumanity. That's quite different from her usual look. What moniker would she use? Whatever, let's just go with the usual, it still feels right, somehow. "I am the Princess of Sarek, and I am actually not like this normally", she says, kicking up a bit to come closer to the other curse hunter.

She looks uncertain at Amy. What name should she use for her here? Giving up her identity to a complete stranger is probably a very bad idea, nevermind the fact that she probably wouldn't like it even if Pink were someone she knew. She should probably feign ignorance. "Well, I was chatting with these friendly mermaids here, hoping to gather information. There is probably something inside the painting that is sustaining this curse, I would wager. Our priority should be to find it."

She turns towards Amy and Usagi, then says "Miss Clownfish, Serenity, would you happen to be willing to assist us? Miss Pink raises a good point. Regardless of whether someone else altered the canvas or the painting creator is responsible, it is using the will of the artist as the focal point of the enchantments." Veronica's hunch is on the sword right now. That's literally the painting's certerpiece, and the others probably have reached a similar conclusion.

Taro is worried about Usagi too. Guess he couldn't hear the moonlight mermaid. "Worry not, she is safe. Serenity has seen her get out of the painting. How does it feel being an octopus?" she asks curiously. He is the only one to have turned completely into an animal after all.

Taro Yamada has posed:
Serenity White, Pink Pink, Orange Amy, Blue Princess of Sarek.... If he repeats them in his head, maybe he can get the names to stick properly. It seems like Amy followed. Him in?

"Of course the cops are going to be useless, they can't even solve normal people crime," he tells Amy, "But if we weren't able to get her out, better to let her parents know sooner than later."

When he'd been attacked by a weird magical beast and everything had slowly gone from bad to worse, his mother had taken it poorly. Moreso when he could barely explain what had happened, much less the way he'd sometimes warp and transform. @emit He'd eventually left before he turned into something that could hurt her - but she at least knew he was still alive. Probably. It'd be bad -

No. No. Don't get distracted. "If she's out, that's good, but that means we're still in. You weren't supposed to jump in," he says, jabbing his tentacle at Amy. "Now we're all stuck."

Though. Hmm.

"Serenity. Did Usagi do anything in particular before she poofed? That could be a hint about the artist."

And he turns to the Princess. "It feels natural? Like putting on a coat." Like the way he transformed into a vampire - but he could hardly say that here. He can't exactly poof into a vampire in front of people much less - someone he knows - ohhh he jumped in here without transforming, he thought he'd be alone in here and he isn't, how's he going to put his coat on now??

The thought is so alarming that his body instinctively poofs open to reveal the spines on the bottom of his squid body and rolls through the water until he bounces off a nearby rock wall, then flops onto a thin object jutting from the rock.

He grabs it before he can fall with his tentacles. "No one saw anything," he says, pointing one tentacle at the mermaids, and then, "am I holding a sword?"

Anna Domenico has posed:
Anna Domenico snorts. "It's a painting. Someone painted it." she says. "Ergo, the will of the artist is embodied here. Wether the intent is there or not. Is something else entirely." but she quickly tugs her whip a little now nervously. "All this water is making me nervous." she says as she hops into the air and lands atop a coral reef and then further away with the next jump.

"Let's look for that sword then she says.

She'll do another leap, and slide down the rock cliff that Taro bumps off of. Is he holding a sword.

"I saw that." she says.

"And maybe. Is that a sword?" she asks.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Serenity hadn't meant to imply that she was actually from this world but - she has to admit it's a pretty good cover story. She usually only takes this form when she needs to use as much of the power within the Silver Crystal as possible, and she looks the part of a mermaid, right?

"Well... no? She just appeared, looked around, and then was gone. I don't think that will be much help to getting the rest of you out of here, sorry."

She's even more sorry when it's clear Taro is worried about her family being notified if something happens -

And then he goes shooting off, which. Well, then.

"No, we definitely didn't see that," she says, loudly, over Pink. "It would haved been really embarrassing if we saw that, and it's totally unnecessary for us to have seen it!"

Is she glowering just a little at Pink? Maybe.

She swims over to Taro, willing a little more power into the Silver Crystal - it shines with bright, purifying light, which might sting a little for poor Taro. "It's definitely a sword."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy looks down at her tail, giving it a flick. "Yeah, I'm not like this normally either." She smiles. "But it's kinda cool actually. Swimming is almost like flying."

    'Miss Clownfish'

    Amy covers her face, blushing at being given such a moniker. She takes a breath, then uncovers her face, grinning. "Yeah, of course I'll help."

    Taro is here. Amy now realizes that some kind of cephalopod. Not also a clownfish, although it isn't entirely clear what the metaphysical significance of that is. Her brain is really reaching, looking for patterns to make sense of things...

    It is a pretty pattern, on her tail. It's a very nice orange. She looks from her tail to the princess of Sarek. "Yeah, this feels... natural, except when I'm thinking about my legs and then it feels kinda weird. And if I try to think about how swimming works instead of doing it I get all Centipede's Dillema'd."

    'Miss Clownfish' looks over the others. "Are you particular kinds of fish -- or cephalopods -- too? I can't tell..." She wonders... and then Taro goes all spiny. "Uhh, are you okay?"

    Amy gives Anna an odd look. "The water is making you nervous? Have you never had an underwater dream before? I don't think you're gonna get away from the water. The surface is--" She looks up. "I wonder how far away it is? Can we breathe air, like this?"

    She swims over for a closer look at the sword. "Yeah. You just pulled a sword from a stone. Congrats, you're the king of England and anime is going to make it weird."

    She looks around. "Or maybe that makes you the king of... wherever this is?" She looks between the others. "Did anyone get a good look at the painting, outside? Was the sword visible in it?"

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"It sure looks like a sword", Veronica agrees, kicking the water to approach the shining object, not bringing attention to the fact that whatever Taro did is apparently really embarassing for him. Nope, she saw nothing, it didn't happen it was all just a dream.

And water is making Anna nervous. Is it due to the fact that she stayed human? There couldn't be any other explanation, right? "Maybe it's due to the fact you stayed human, but we will try to be out of this as soon as possible.

Bringing her attention back to the sword, she blinks a little as she tries getting adjusted to the golden intensity of the light. "There is a writing here and the culprit is certainly having fun here. It reads:


Wouldst know what tricks, by pale moonlight


are played by me, the merry little Sprite.

I think we have found the confession from the culprit to us all.

"As a local, do you know anything about this sword?" she asks Usagi.

To Amy she replies "I looked at the painting in detail, the sword was clearly at the center of the group of fishes and mythological marine creatures. I think the painting needs it."

Taro Yamada has posed:
Taro instinctively cringes away from Serenity's light - it burns his eyes and makes his skin feel all weird and crispy, as the sun does when he goes out in day in his vampire form. Ow ow ow, whatever kind of squid he is must come from the deepest parts of the ocean - what other reason could make a simple light sting this much?

He manages to bring one tentacle down from Pinapple Mode TM to shade his eyes against the glowing crystal to peer at the sword.

"Think if we take this thing to the surface and expose it to the moon, that would work? The tricks are played by pale moonlight."

Anna Domenico has posed:
Anna Domenico frowns. "Deep water is creepy." she says. "That's just a fact, you know." she says as she looks upwards. "I wonder what the surface is like. Probably. More water." she says with a little sigh as she looks back down to the sword.

"Maybe the sword is the key out of here, regardless, and shutting down the door?" she asks. "People we're vanishing from the gallery so this painting is probably to blame. But it seems harmless enough." she says as she tosses her hair again. "Rather than malicious." she says with a pursed lip, rather than assume the worst. "This must be some entities idea of a joke."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It's very well-constructed," Serenity says honestly, looking over the sword in Taro's hand. "And it did belong at the center of a mass of sea creatures... but I'm not sure if sea creatures surrounding it will release us - er, release all of you. It's probably very sharp, too?"

She's got nothing. Lying was probably not the best idea, but she's committed to it, now!

"Well... if it needs moonlight, I can offer that," she adds after a moment, covering the Silver Crystal with her hand. "Would you mind letting someone else hold the sword, Squid-san? If my light is hurting you, it will get worse if that's what the sword needs."

Anna expresses that this must be someone's idea of a joke, and she frowns, "Or their idea of an adventure. I mean - most people would probably be thrilled to be a mermaid, you know? I agree with you that this doesn't seem malicious... but I don't know that it seems cruel, either."

Fish dart around above and below them, and some are moving closer, towards her light. She hides the Silver Crystal even more.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    'Stayed human.' Yes, because all of them were certainly human before, heh-heh, yup!

    Amy glances at the ring on her finger, deep red but for some darkness on one side.

    Even in here, she's remote-controlling this body from there...

    Sarek-hime's found writing. Amy reads too. "A sprite playing tricks by moonlight... That could be a lot of things. Is that a quote from Midsummer Night's Dream? I haven't read it since high school-- uhh I mean-- yes I, Miss Clownfish, am, uh, older than I look. Mermaids are just like that it turns out." She's an even worse liar than Serenity if she's not acting a part.

    Amy clears her throat and looks to Anna. "Well then it wouldn't be the surface, would it? Presumably, there's air." She grins. "...I knew what you meant."

    Amy glances to Serenity. "So it was important to the local sea life... I wonder where they are now? Oh there they are." Drawn by the light.

    "Hey uh. I mean any of us could swim it to the surface, probably... assuming magical sea creatures don't get the bends... but now that you mention it, the people trapped before... didn't they all say they remembered whale song? Where's the whale song? Maybe that's the key out of here."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"If the tricks are played by pale moonlight, doesn't that mean that moonlight is an ideal condition for them?" Veronica points out. "It could also just mean that whoever did this usually works at night."

Though, she certainly knows less than Serenity, so it's probably best to follow her initiative. "I don't mind leaving this to you: your world, your rules."

Amy mentions A midsummer's Night Dream and Veronica shakes her head. "I actually have the complete collection of Mister Shakespeare's works, and I am fairly sure this doesn't figure anywhere in it." But then again, it is familiar to her, so where did she read it before?

She curls herself, gathering her tail to her chest while she thinks, trying to recall those words. And -oh, right! It turns out Amy wasn't really far from the truth. "It's not by Shakespeare, but by Thomas Moore, an except of a poem called The Legend of Puck the Fairy", she exclaims relaxing herself.

Which leaves her to nod towards Anna. "Puck is a very whimsical creature, so I would not be surprised if they were just messing around and using this sword as the linchpin of the curse."

Taro Yamada has posed:
Taro breathes a sigh of relief as the glowing crystal is turned away from him - now he can actually help with things!

He floats over to Pink and offers her the sword in his little tentacles.

"How about YOU hold it while Serenity bombards it with her laser beams?" he says. (Is a little of this spite for her watching him puff up like a balloon and bounce? perhaps!)

"And if that doesn't work, we find Puck and show them business!" and he balls up his tentacle and shakes it like a fist.

Anna Domenico has posed:
Anna Domenico isn't familiar with other works that isn't art. So she doesn't have much to offer in help with figuring out the phrase on the sword, but she takes the sword and nods. "I'll hold it." she says as she holds it high, the vampire hunter waiting for Serenity to bombard it with light.

"I'm trying to imagine you doing this." she says.

"It isn't working." she says with a sly smile. "Little fins balled up. and all that."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Anna can't imagine them holding up a sword? "We have hands..." Amy mutters.

    There's a name Amy hasn't heard in a long time, but it was exactly the fairy she was thinking of. She looks shocked to have it confirmed. "PUCK! I knew it sounded familiar. Wait, shit, is he real?!"

    Images of Mirror, Mirror rise up from childhood memory. Man, that was a long time ago. Sword in the Stone too, for that matter.

    Taro suggests fighting an actual real fairy if he indeed exists and Amy looks alarmed. "Is, uh... is that really a good idea? Starting a fight with a fairy? I guess it can't be more powerful than a Witch... but he might also be a lot smarter. And we're already under a spell. This is like, get trapped in here forever and possibly lose our memories of who we are territory."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Shakespeare... another thing Serenity had absolutely never studied. Mostly because Shakespeare hadn't existed in Silver Millennium, a fact which Usagi was exceptionally jealous of.

"I don't know about any pucks, but I can absolutely help shine the Moon's light."

She reaches out and the Moon Stick drops into her hand, the Silver Crystal vanishing from around her neck and instead set in it's fastened place.

"Look away, Taro. Moon Healing Escalation!"

The silver light of the moon beams out and passes over Pink and the sword. She, will be unharmed, so long as she possesses no Dark Energy. The sword? Well...

Veronica Perenna has posed:
"The only thing I can't explain myself is why a golden sword. It's true Puck can be pretty random, but that wouldn't be their first choice according to things I have read", she murmurs.

As soon as Princess Serenity's connects with the sword, the golden light shines even brighter before shattering together with the blade, its shards vanishing instead of becoming dangerous projectiles. With the curse's focal point ceasing to exist, so does the underwater world and everyone finds themselves back in their human form in the art gallery in disparate locations.

Veronica does a double take at suddenly having all 4 of her limbs again. It sort of feels weird, even after all the swimming, but it actually feels nice to be back. She still can't explain herself why the transformation made her wear a nymphaeacea in her hair. That's so random.

She looks around the gallery to see if everyone else has also returned. "Hey, so, is everyone alright?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's a moment of freefall - at leasr, that's how it feels. And then, Usagi realizes she's back in her normal clothes - puffy purple jacket, green leggings, black miniskirt and all - and just as quickly, realizes everyone else is back too.

Once again, violence solves problems. She should probably be concerned about that, but she's got to lie.

"H-hey! You guys are back! That's super awesome, I've just been, ah, waiting for you! Trying to figure out where you went, after everything went all dark and stuff. Yep. Totally."

The Silver Crystal is carefully tucked down inside her shirt, no longer glowing.

Taro Yamada has posed:
It feels like being peeled out of a winter coat as a toddler and being pushed into the snow. When Taro lands back in his body, it takes him a second to adjust to being curled up in tentacles to being back on his feet. He wobbles, steadies himself -

Spins around, finding Usagi and Amy nearby! "There you both are!" he says, relief naked on his sharp face. He lurches forward as if to reach out - but stops himself before he can dare. "Do you remember what happened?"

He remembers. He always remembers. Maybe, if they saw it, maybe this time...

Anna Domenico has posed:
Anna Domenico is holding a sword aloft, being bathed in a harmless, but pleasant light that feels all so familiar to her- being used to being bathed in purifying light herself, but now she's standing in the gallery, hand aloft and posed weird, still in her tailcoat and everything.

"Yeah.. yeah I'm fine." she says as she brushes herself off. She then gives a little salute with two fingers and then hairflips.

"I should get going. Vampires to hunt and all." she says as she suddenly somersaults backwards and leaps up to a window to escape the cool way.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy shrugs. "He could hardly have used a steel sword, could he? It's got iron in it. Although, I've heard 'cold iron' was an expression akin to 'hot lead' today, meaning not a mystical weakness but just 'they can be killed'..." The sword... shatters! "Ohshi--"

    Amy is back in front of the painting. She looks down, and pats a knee. Wiggles her toes inside her shoes. She stretches, holding her arms out over her head. "Well that was pretty cool, I guess. Would be fun if there wasn't the concern of, like, something magically bad going on. Or potentially being trapped..."

    Amy blinks at Taro. Smiles at his happy relief... sees him reach out for the hug, then abort it. She looks sympathetic. Of course. He clearly feels wrong, ugly, disgusting. Poor guy. But Miss Clownfish won't look down on him.

    She steps forward to hug him tight. "Yes, I remember."

    And then she blinks as Anna says she's hunting vampires, and turns her head that way. "Wait, what?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'm okay! And so are you! You both just like, fell out of that painting!" She feels bad to not admit she was actually there, but the thing is, well - that would reveal Usagi Tsukino has a pertinent connection to Serenity...

Before she can say anything else, Pink is literally somesaulting out of a window.

"Did... did that just happen?"

Taro Yamada has posed:
Taro watches Pink roll out the window after declaring she's going to hunt vampires. That might be. A problem. For him. He hasn't started hunting properly in this town yet, and there's already a vampire hunter?

"Are vampires real - oof!"

He knows vampires are real. The issue is if other people do. The issue is that - he is being hugged by Amy. That Usagi's smiling at him.

It's warm.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Everyone is back to normal, and Usagi is here as well! "I am glad you managed to get out of the painting", is the first thing she says, remembering to keep her voice down.

"I was worried when you were nowhere to be seen despite going after those rumours as well. I would like to know which shortcut you found out of the the painting another time, if it's a thing that works for many. It could be useful if things like this happen again. And it was so beautiful inside there, like an actual painting."

As for vampires, well, she knows fully well they are real, her roommate is one, and she doesn't react well at all at the notion that there is now a vampire hunter in Tokyo. She will have to warn Norie.

To Amy's concern she replies Every other person got out fine after a few hours and they were mundane. There was really no worry of us getting stuck. And the sword was made of steel. It just shone with a golden light."

For now, she looks back at the painting. Except... it is wildly different. Gone is the golden sword. Gone are the fauna and mythical creatures. All that it is left is a sunken tower and an arc of stone. Even the title has changed. 'The Sunken Dwarven Opus'.