128/When Succulents Attack!

When Succulents Attack!
Date of Scene:	21 July 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	A sunny afternoon of painting and fun with learning (ew learning) about succulents at Radiant Heart Academy becomes a battle when ait's revealed as a youma plot! Can Snow Angel Mou Fubuki, Cute Wolf Tsukiko, Ginga Otome, and Puella Magi Red save their fellow students? Can Darien believe his ears when he finds out what the youma's plan was? and can anyone be prepared for the threat that rears it's head when the youma is defeated?
Cast of Characters:	Usagi Tsukino, Wako Agemaki, Laisa Samuiko, Chiyo Sakai, Amanda Faust, Ikiko Hisakata, Mamoru Chiba, Jadeite

---

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
One of the things students at Radiant Heart Academy love is that there's always something going on, be it club activities, school events, or staff lead activities. Today is no different - under the shade of one of the large trees carefully maintained by the campus lies an extra large picnic blanket, a nondescript man in a green baseball cap with gardening tools standing beside a table piled high with small ceramic pots, dozens of minitature succulents in planter cups, and a sign up sheet. On the blanket are cushions for students to sit on, along with a variety of paints in every color in the rainbow, along with brushes and cups of water for cleaning them in.

It's a planting program! The nondescript man - clearly a staff member - is greeting students as they walk by, tempting them with the opportunity to decorate a pot and plant a succulent of their very own. Several students have already taken him up on the offer; one of these students is one Usagi Tsukino, still in her school uniform, and eagerly coating the small pot in her hand with green paint.

"Now, everyone, make sure not to paint inside of the pots! While these are nontoxic paints, there's no need to introduce paints to the soil. These succulents are hardy, but we don't want to harm them!"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
It's quickly becoming one of Wako's favorite things about attending Radiant Heart - unlike her normal everyday experiences up to this point, around here, it seems there's always something new to see or to try. She'd been on her way somewhere or other, her school bag at her side, but when she catches sight of the table and the man offering pots and paints and plants to students, she changes course to head that direction.

"Excuse me," she says when she gets within easy conversational distance. "May I do one, too?"

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Laisa Samuiko is sitting under the shade of a nearby tree in her Radiant Heart uniform. She watches with a calm gaze as others paint the pots. Is she interested? Maybe a little bit, but is she into it enough to get up and join them?

    ... Maybe. Laisa never got to do anything artsy back home. It might be a chance to expand her horizons.

    Striding towards the nondescript man at a casual pace, she glances down at someone else's project with a frown. When she hears Wako ask, she adds, "Me too, actually."

    Pursing her lips, she considers what kind of thing she's thinking of painting. A lot of her ideas are somewhat unseasonal.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Usually Chiyo would either be tucked away inside reading a manga, or at the sweet shop helping Ojiisan make wagashi. It was Summer though! He insisted she spend more time outside for her own health to 'enjoy her youth' while she could. This year was much different than the last few as well -- She'd made friens that were more thoughtful than ones she'd had in the past so she actually *wanted* to get out as he always had encouraged.

Seated on one of the pillows as well she's got a pot in hand which she'd turned upside down for ease of painting by simply holding it on her hand, and turning as needed. No one TOLD her to do it this way, it just made sense with her own experiences. The pot was currently blue but she had begun dipping her brush into some white only to pause, and lean to the side looking over at Usagi's.

"... Would it be 'cheating' if I painted wagashi on it? I don't know many other designs. Some of our candy does look like these succulents, too."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The heck is a succulent? They look like cactuses or something. Amy looks it up on her phone real quick. Oh. So basically cactuses and the like. She learned a new word today! She should learn *something* at school, right?

    Amy just sort of wandered in, and got handed a pot, and now feels vaguely awkward about leaving. She supposes it wouldn't hurt to add a plant to her and Mio's dorm room. The activity vaguely reminds her of memories from her first childhood, somehow, this feels like an activity they might've had the children do at church, long, long ago when she still went.

    She stares at the pot. And then at the paint. She has absolutely no idea what to

    ARTISTIC INSPIRATION HAS STRUCK!

    Mio is Cure Daybreak, right? So she can put it by the window, right between their desks, with a sun on one side for Mio, and the moon on her own side just because it's a good motif. Certainly, this makes more than enough sense for a childrens' craft project!

    She's soon sat down with the paint and getting to work, intently painting one side of her pot a light cyan and the other a dark midnight blue.

    She does glance over at hearing someone speak, though. "What's a wagashi?"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Some days there's not much for the official activities of certain clubs, and today happened to be one such day for the Animal Care club. Similarly, there are days when the unofficial club activities -- such as a certain fifth-grader's little hobby -- likewise aren't going to take that much time.

Which means that on days when both happen (such as today), Ikiko can easily find herself with ample spare time.

She had been contemplating whether to visit a relatively local pack of strays now and have the rest of the evening to herself, or take a break now and visit the strays later... but the sight of the little activity helped make her decision.

Taking an offered pot and nodding quiet hellos to Chiyo and Usagi, Ikiko takes a seat and considers what to paint. Bold colors are always fun, but perhaps she should go for a more personally significant design?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It's a sunny afternoon, the tree's leafage offering an abundance of cool shade to beat the heat. Several of the students who were already gathered have made substantial progress on their painted pots; one is using orange and black to make their pots opening look like the opened head of an unseasonable jack-o-lantern, another is painting a lovely forest scene - complete with tiny flowers and trees, and still a third is adding Hello Kitty and friends.

Usagi is... adding yellow dots to the green background of her pot. She's focused intently on it, looking up only when Chiyo speaks. "I don't think you can cheat in arts and crafts," she says dubiously. "Besides, wagashi are yummy!"

The staff member leading the activity looks at the two new arrivals with a kind smile and laughs boisterously. "Of course! I'd be happy to share the beauty and joy of succulents with you! Once you've completed your designs and let your pots dry, you can select your succulent. I've gathered a nice variety for you, don't be afraid to take a closer look!"

The man gestures at the succulents, which certainly look very... succulenty, some that look like cartoon cactuses, others with tall, spiny leaves, and still others with rounded fleshy leaves with reddish tips. Each is nestled into a planter that holds six small succulents in dark soil. Each student is handed a pot - Wako one of reddish terracotta, Ikiko a peach-colored one porcelain one, and Laisa a mint green one.

As the students take their pots and select their paints, the staff member begins what every student will recognize as a lecture. His voice is energetic, but the cadence of the words, the flood of information, and the undeniably education nature of the conversation combined with the heat of the day may make some sleepy. "Succulents aren't actually a single variety of plants, but instead, succulent is the botanical term used to identify plants whose parts are thick, fleshy, and engorged, and which are typically able to retain water in arid climate and soil environemnts -"

"Ikiko-chan, hi," Usagi whispers, trying not to draw the attention of the staff member. She waves to the other new arrivals, encouraging them to find seat.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Something about the way the man is talking is weird. .oO( Is he literally reciting the wikipedia article? ) Amy wonders. She checks on her phone, still having the browser tab open... no, it's not the exact same words. .oO( Still, he sounds like he's quoting a textbook... )

    Amy looks at the teacher to see if he seems as uninterested in the topic as he sounds.

    And also to one of the other students that spoke. She looks kinda familiar... blonde twintails is pretty distinctive, actually. Was it in class or just walking around, though? "Hey, uh," she tries to loudly whisper, more of a hiss. "You're, um... sorry, I'm terrible at remembering names. Was it, uh..." she makes a snapping motion with her fingers. "History class?"

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Thank you!" Wako accepts the terracotta pot with a bright smile, and moves out of Laisa's path to find herself a place to sit where she can reach the paints. Once she's settled and her bag is tucked carefully behind her, she looks about her at the other students who are already at work on their pots or just finding seats nearby.

"Hi!" she says, pitching her voice in a whisper after Usagi's example. As she dips a brush into yellow paint, she ventures, "Could it be that I've finally met the famous Usagi-chan?"

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Laisa looks down at her mint green pot thoughtfully, offers a short and informal, "Thanks," and starts considering what colors would work right. She decides on blue and white, and after a moment also picks some yellow paint. Sitting down with the other students, she becomes firmly absorbed in her craft, first visualizing the image that she wants, and also where it needs to go. A part of her wishes that she could make a sketch.

    She reaches into her bag to get a thin pencil. The graphite wont stick or stand out on this material, but that's not what it's for. A few quick marks lets her plan out the image before she gets to work. Then she starts painting the rough image: Yellow for a beach. Blue for the sky. The Mint green is left alone to represent the sea, and little bits of white are used as the crests of waves.

    It will probably be a bit before she completes the project, and she will probably never be fully satisfied with it, but it passes the time.

    The teacher's? brief lesson goes mostly ignored. Laisa's not about to pretend to be interested in that. In the back of her mind she's vaguely aware that students are chatting.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai considers her pot with a slow nod as Usagi replies to her. "I know it's not cheating, really, I just wonder if I should focus on something else... Oh! Flowers!" Right, she also did flower arrangements. Would this be much different? Other than being a live plant by itself, perhaps she could use some of the same skills in decorating the pot though.

Amy's quiet question earns a smile offered to the other girl. "Wagashi are traditional Japanese candy. WWe make them at my Ojiisan's store. They can be plain, or we can design them to look like flowers."

She might say more on the topic but the teacher starts to drone on in that tone of voice that could put many to sleep. That was the issue with lectures sometimes. At least there was the distraction of painting to add in. The white dipped brush starts to make some florishes on her pot until it starts to resemble the petals of a flower.

When Ikiko and others join she flashes them a grin of greeting, pausing to wave with her paintbrush held delicately between her fingers.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko flashes a quick grin at Usagi and a small wave to Chiyo, then focuses on her own design -- or at least, contemplates some ideas for it. The color of the pot wasn't too far off from her Tsukiko coloration, but that seemed a bit too on-the-nose for her. On the other hand, perhaps there's still some inspiration there that could be used a bit more obliquely...?

Taking the black paint and a thinner paintbrush, she starts drawing the outline of a paw print -- a wolf's paw print, of course! -- that takes up most of one side of her pot. It might not be the best drawing of a wolven paw print, but she is doing it from memory (after catching herself looking at the bottom of her shoes, only to rememeber that Tsukiko is the one with a pawprint design on the soles of her shoes!).

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Eh? Famous?" Usagi blinks, startled to be referred to like that - though she's quick to laugh, and quicker to stifle it before the staff member can hear her. "I am! Usagi Tsukino, at your service! Are you a friend of Naru-chan's?"

It's only natural for her to assume that if someone knows of her then it must be because of the one, the only, Naru Osaka. Obviously.

Talking, at least, is keeping her awake, because this teacher is boring her to death. This is why she turns her attention to Amy next, offering her usual megawatt smile. "Ah, I'm bad at names too, but - you're right! We're in history together! You're... Amy-chan?" She squints, hoping she's remembered the right name... "You know, if you've never had a wagashi - and I bet you haven't since you had to ask - you should go to Chiyo-chan's family shop! They sell the best traditional sweets, and some really good non-traditional ones too!"

The staff member, still lecturing about succulents - now onto the care and tending of them - clears his throat, looking meaningfully at the crop of chattering students. Usagi wilts, sinking down. "As I was saying," he continues in the overly energetic voice of a teacher trying to force students to enjoy a lesson they have no interest in, "Succulents are a joy to raise, particularly for those without an especially green thumb. These simple, easy to care for plants are quite hardy, and will live well, even in the confines of a dormitory - much like you students!"

There's that pause teachers make, when they clearly expect a student to laugh along with them. Usagi offers one of those standard pity laughs and the instructor looks wounded.

"As you start to finish up your designs, you can fill your pots with soil. Make sure to leave a space for your plant, and it's root bundle! You want to carefully ensure you don't break the bundle..." again, the drone of a lecture. Usagi, who had been hard at work before some of the girls arrived, is among those who have finished by the time the staff member gets to this point in the lecture. She yawns, stretching her arms above her head. "I'm going to get my plant! Keep up the hard work everyone!"

The staff member, looking rather exasperated, doesn't bother to clear his throat this time, continuing to lecture on the proper way to plant their succulents.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    D-did she say her name is Tsuki no Usagi?! Well *that's* memorable. Her parents must feel so clever. At being addressed in turn, she smiles and nods. "Amanda Faust, but... Amy-chan is good for short! Heh, like me..." she holds a hand up near her head to indicate her height. "I'll have to try them out! Where's the--" she sees Usagi wilting, and turns to look at the teacher... Oh.

    Even if she's really a grown-up, dammit, a teacher looking at you that way has an effect! Her face reddens and she turns to her pot. She mutters, "It's not gonna grow much, though. I'd rather have a geranium..."

    D...did the teacher just joke that they're living confined? That's a little weird.

    Amy just HAD to do something a little involved. When Usagi gets up to get her plant, she's still putting the finishing touches on the sun, with the moon yet to go...

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako nods in answer to Usagi. "Naru-chan's mentioned you a couple times," she confirms. "It's nice to meet you. And everyone else, too." She looks around again, taking in the mostly unfamiliar faces with a pleasant smile. "My name's Wako Agemaki--"

She catches herself when the staff member clears his throat, her smile turning chagrined. Time to quiet down and work on painting. Whether inspired by Amy's choice or simply by coincidence, she begins painting a yellow sunburst onto the side of her orange-red pot.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Laisa glances up at the teacher as his lecture continues. What? Did they expect them to learn?! Was this all just a clever trap to educate poor unsuspecting students? She doesn't know who this guy is yet, but she's already silently judging him. That joke almost sounded like an insult.

    When it gets to the actual care of the plants, she starts listening, because that might actually matter. Plants are living things and deserve respect. Unlike this teacher.

    Laisa looks at the other students around; including Amy, Wako, Usagi and Ikiko; but she doesn't give her name after the throat clear. She just waves at them briefly before going back to working on her painting. She starts making little seagulls on the side of her pot.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai ducks her head a little trying to look unobtrusive when the teacher clears his throat. She's even gone a bit pink-cheeked at being caught talking during a lecture. It was rare she was ever in trouble in class much less called out by a teacher. Though Usagi was far louder than her. Her voice tended to be quiet no matter what.

Once things seem to move on from that she flashes Amy a smile. "I can show you later. The shop is Nounamu Sweets..." The names start to be given around and she realies she hadn't mentioned her own. "I'm Chiyo Sakai. It's good to meet you all," she offers in her soft voice with her head tucked down a bit to focus on her pot, and on avoiding the teachers' gaze. Hopefully.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
There's a brief blink of confusion on Ikiko's face when Usagi mentions Amy's name, but after a slight pause to adjust for difference in outfits, Ikiko nods to herself in recognition: the girl Hannah-senpai danced with!

The staff member's dorm joke does get a weak smile from Ikiko; the humor's there in its truth, but she does wish that it was a shorter walk to get outside to enjoy the open air.

With the pawprint outline complete, she starts painting the rest of the pot a dark midnight blue, like a night sky. Stars might be an idea, but those could probably be added later if she eventually decides the pot needs them. And finally, a crescent-on-dark moon, inside the pawprint outline: white for the illuminated crescent, and dark grey for the shadowy remainder of the moon.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I know your pain, Amy-chan. I'm short too." Her face holds the despair of a teenager who has recently been told she will probably not grow anymore. She is resigned to her heightless fate. She glances with joking enviously at Wako, who honestly isn't even that tall; she's just taller than the rest of them - if only barely. "Wako-chan, you and Chiyo-chan both managed to beat me... Ikiko-chan, you'll have to be tall for the rest of us! Avenge us!"

Those gathered will understand why she was shushed.

Usagi isn't the only one to begin filling her pot with soil, though she's the last to pick her succulent, eventually selecting a tiny aeonium kiwi and carefully patting it into the dirt. Once she settles back in her cushion, plant in hand, she digs out her phone, taking a picture - her pot is messily painted, but the strokes of green and dots of yellow make it a look a little like a field of dandelions seen from above, which is definitely what she was aiming for. She's quick to text the picture to two people - Naru-chan and Darien.

Once each student with a plant is settled, the staff member begins walking around, handing each student a small watering can. "Each of these plants has a name tag. You can look them up later, to understand how much water each needs, but for now, go ahead and sprinkle your plants with water. Those of you who are still painting, go ahead and take your time!"

A brunette boy and red-haired girl are the first to receive watering cans. As they water their plants, they begin to yawn. There are only six students who have already planted their succulents - each of them yawns as they start to carefully water their plants, studying them intently. Usagi is the last to receive a watering can.

"Now, when it comes to plant care, you also want to think about plant food -" the staff member drones on. Under his baseball cap, he's watching the yawning students. The brunette boy who watered his plant first waves, then lays back on his cushion, blinking slowly.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Wako laughs softly, bending her head over her pot as she carefully brushes on more paint. The outline of the sunburst is a little wobbly, but for an impromptu freehand she's doing pretty well. And Usagi is proving to be very much in line with how she'd imagined from Naru's descriptions.

A furtive glance at the staff member - busy handing out watering cans - and she looks toward Chiyo. "I'll definitely have to get directions to your shop," she says, sotto voce. "I'd love to see it sometime." Hopefully her stomach won't start growling before she's done painting and getting her plant. That would be embarrassing.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Laisa looks over at Ikiko's pawprint with a moon in it. "Neat," she comments towards the younger, taller kid. That might be the first words she's spoken to anyone other than the teacher. She doesn't comment on the height discussion, first because she's among the shortest here, and secondly because she's still got time to grow, darnit!

    Granted, even after a growth spurt, she's probably not going to ever be a giant. Such is life.

    She notices the yawning. The first time she doesn't think that much of it. After a couple of kids start doing it, she raises an eyebrow.

    "So like... did people miss sleep last night? Or what?" she asks. Laisa stops painting to look at the brunette boy. "You're not gonna take a nap here are you?"

    She's ignoring the strange adult's lecture for the moment.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko is practically done with her design! After looking at it carefully (partially so the paint can finish drying), she decides to do some last linework, outlining the crescent with a thin line of silver, and completing the un-outlined part of the shadowy moon with a dark brown.

And then, after another moment's thought, traces a heart across the middle of the moon, in the relevant outline colors of each part of the moon. A bit of flavorful variety, without having to use boring craters!

Laisa's initial comment draws an appreciative grin from Ikiko, but the older girl's observational questions prompts a worried frown in response. "I don't think people usually take a nap while watering plants," Ikiko quietly replies, glancing over at her friends nervously -- especially Usagi, with the watering can in her hands...

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Pain? Amy cocks her head to one side curiously. She doesn't really... mind being short. Although come to think of it, she recalls one of her aunts, who must've been about this height, maybe an inch taller or so, saying she wished she was taller.

    It's a shame people can't just be whatever height they wish, have whatever bodies they want. Maybe one day technology will get there...

    Amanda is one of the later ones to the plant-picking party. She picks the colorful plant with the red-tipped leaves. She waters it, but not much. This is a desert plant, isn't it?!

    'Plant food'. She dimly remembers some special mixed liquid being given to the houseplants when she was a child, but can't recall what's in it. But fertilizer is supposed to be high in nitrogen, right? Why there's some way to use it to make explosives, those are also high in nitrogen, although she can't recall WHY it's good for explosives. It's a pretty nonreactive gas, isn't it? Although maybe that's all that's needed. If it's part of a solid compound, then any reaction that releases that elemental nitrogen will suddenly go from a compact solid to an expansive gas...

    Wait, she just totally missed the teacher explaining plant food while her thoughts were wandering, didn't she? Dang it. Oh well, she can look it up later.

    She whispers to the others, "Yeah, where is your shop, anyway? And, I dunno, I think maybe it's the heat. It is really warm, sometimes that makes me feel sleept..."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai had placed her own pot down and taken up one of the plants. Just enough to start potting it and pouring the water over. She was lost enough in her own thoughts and trying to keep the calm conversation going while the teacher droned on that she doesn't notice the others at first. "Oh, it's down by..." She starts, only to yawn wide.

"Oh. I'm... It is warm." The water still pours down into the pot while she sits, swaying a bit with eyes growing heavy. The conversation from her end just tapers off completely.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Yeah, I think so," the brunette boy mumbles. His eyes blink open a few more times, each time taking longer to open, before they finally slip shut. It's a warm, sunny afternoon. Why not take a nap here in the shade? He's definitely not the only one. The redhaired girl's jaw cracks on a wide yawn and she slides down onto her side, loosely curling up against her cushion. Her succulent pot is still cradled safely in her hand.

The staff member shakes his head, eyes fixed on the sleeping students. They glint with an unnatural light, if anyone happens to be looking. "Ah well, there's nothing for it, I guess. It is a summer afternoon. At least they finished their projects! Now, for the rest of you, I hope you've thought about what you'll do with your succulents!"

Usagi pours a little water into her pot, then frowns a little. Hmmm... now that she's added a little water, it looks lopsided - as the conversation goes on around her, she frowns a little, tapping her chin (leaving a little smudge of dirt), feeling the urge to yawn bubble up inside her too. "A nap sounds good to me, but even I'm not usually shameless enough to nap right in public, right Chiyo-cha- Chiyo-chan? Hey, Chiyo-chan, wake up!"
    he sharp panic in her voice ought to be enough to rouse anyone, but none of the sleepers - because two more students have dropped - even stir.

"Young lady!" The staff member scowls, stomping over. "You've been disrupting this activity all afternoon, and now you're even trying to disrupt your fellow classmates sleep? How rude! All of you should be focused on your plants!" He reaches down, and grabs Usagi's wrist before she can try to shake Chiyo awake.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
The spike of alarm in Usagi's voice - and the staff member's harsh reaction to it - drags Wako's attention fully away from what she was doing. "Hey!" Hastily putting her pot and the paintbrush aside without much regard for where they end up, she scrambles to her feet. "Don't manhandle her like that!"

She's moving a little awkwardly from having been seated on the ground for a bit. All the same, she makes quickly for where Usagi and Chiyo are, ready to intervene if not quite sure yet what form that intervention will need to take.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy was just trying to ask Chiyo where her shop is! Usagi trying to wake her and getting no response is a little concerning...

    And then things get MORE concerning.

    The short redhead leaps from her stool, then steps close to the teacher and Usagi, trying to grab his wrist in turn and shove his arm away from Usagi's. "Hands off!" She glares up at him with disdain.

    It would probably be more intimidating if she hadn't wished to be cute...

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Laisa squints. Ikiko's comment confirms that, indeed, weird things are happening. Weird things that the ice-cursed maiden doesn't like. At first it seemed like almost nothing. Just some kids getting drowsy. Maybe it was the heat or something. Laisa is relatively new around here, and she's only had to deal with one curse before, so she doesn't really know the significance of people passing out yet. Now it's... starting to get suspicious.

    It weirds her out. She sets her pot to one side, and stands up wondering if she'll have to catch someone when they fall over.

    When the staff member starts grabbing Usagi's wrist, Laisa squints at him. She doesn't like him at all.

    The icy girl takes out her cell phone and starts filming the staff member grabbing Usagi. "Hey, is that really appropriate behavior from a staff member?" she says, loudly.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"This doesn't feel right," Ikiko growls, mostly to herself but it is loud enough for Laisa to hear. Going after the staff member would probably be troublesome for everyone, but how to get Usagi free of him...?

A cunning grin crosses her face as she realizes the answer: Make him have to choose between preventing Chiyo's awakening and preventing someone else's awakening.

"Hey. Hey! You need to wake up," Ikiko calls towards one of the sleepers further away from Chiyo, approaching them. And if her voice is pitched to make sure the staff member hears it, and if she happens to be keeping an eye out for his approach, well... sometimes the best tactic for a pack to use is divide and conquer their target's attention, after all.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Let me go!" Usagi tries to yank herself free, only to be dragged in further as the staff member stands to his full height.

He's glowering at two protesting students, grip tightening on Usagi's wrist as he scolds Wako and Amy. "All you children had to do was enjoy your projects and take care of your plants! Don't you understand how wonderful these beautiful creations are?"

He swings about to look at Laisa, dragging Usagi with him. "And you! You paid the most attention to my lecture! I thought you at least cared about these plants, would give your energy to them!"

Unfortunately for him, yanking a klutz around is not the way to demonstrate ferocity - Usagi shrieks as she's dragged, legs tripping up and going out from under her. The staff member isn't prepared to be holding up the full weight of her body, and his body pitches as Usagi drops to the ground, arm stretching unnaturally. His baseball cap falls away, revealing leafy green hair. Literally, leafy that is, and pitch black eyes. "Now look what you've done! All you had to do was give me your ENERGY!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy tries to shove the man's arm away from Usagi with all her might.

    All the might of a tiny teenage girl.

    ...Oh.

    "Hey! I'm not a KID! I'm a *teenager!*" she protests as she's dragged along with Usagi. Geeze, this guy is strong.

    Oh shit, he's not even HUMAN.

    A martial arts class taken many years ago comes back to her. Left jab! Right punch! Elbow to the gut! Knee strike! ...she's too short for that last one to connect. Change in plans! She turns away and tries to help Usagi up. "Tsukino-san! Get up, we gotta go!"

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Uh... What?

    Laisa frowns at this whole situation. "Y'know... screw you." She makes a rude gesture at the staff member before turning around and storming off. She doesn't fully know about energy drainers yet, but she this guy is making her mad. Her pendant, which is hidden beneath her loosely-tucked shirt, is starting to grow cold. She reaches up to touch it through the cloth.

    She rounds a corner, and then ducks through a doorway.

    A few moments after she leaves, the air grows cold. A snowball is thrown at the staff member from out of nowhere. Then another, and another. Some strange blue girl in cosplay is standing on a nearby roof, but she's not giving a justice speech. She's just throwing snow. In the middle of July. Kinda rude, to be honest.

    "Don't you know to keep your hands to yourself? I, Snow Angel Mou Fubuki, will teach you a harsh lesson in personal space!"

    Oh, there it is.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
"Usagi-chan!"

Things are definitely out of hand. For a long, uncertain second, Wako hesitates - a monster has revealed itself, and she needs Wawna's power, but they're out here in the open with other students all around - how long would it take to find some cover--?

"What would you do right now, Takuto-kun...?" Wako murmurs to herself. She has a feeling she knows.

"I don't think so," Wako tells the plant-creature slash staff member, and draws herself up to her full, not exactly substantial height.

"Apprivoiser!"

Pink light envelops her, transforming her school uniform into a much grander military-style affair in a flurry of sparkles.

"Brilliant entrance! Illuminating the stage! Ginga Otome!" As the white and gold of her costume take shape, she gestures dramatically toward the youma. "That's quite enough of that!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Oh.

That explains a lot, actually.

Ikiko narrows her eyes at the erstwhile 'staff member'. A youma? Here, on school grounds? Apparently it's more likely than she thinks.

Well, only one thing to do, then. Taking advantage of the distraction inadvertently provided by Usagi and Amy, Ikiko dives behind the bushes near the wide tree...

    ...and, a muffled glow and one or two faint rustlings later, Cute Wolf Tsukiko emerges on the other side of the tree. "Let. Them. GO!" the wolfgirl snarls ferociously, her righteous anger only slightly ruined by the handful of twigs and leaves stuck in her hair.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi goes down, flat on her back, and the monster's - for this staff member is definitely a monster - arm stretches down with her. She shrieks, scrambling away, trying to peel his fingers away from her wrist. The monster, meanwhile, is unmoved by Amy's perfectly ordinary strength, and merely scowls when she strikes out with martial arts attacks. As snowballs rain down on his head, he starts to look up, to where Snow Angel Mou Fubuki stands on a roof, only to be blindsided by the brightness of pink light and sparkles as one of the girls simply transforms, right in front of him. An enemy! Here! At a school! Who could have foreseen that?! When yet another magical girl joins the fray, this one a wolf girl who literally growls, he laughs. "Let them go? Alright then! You asked for it!" He flings his elongated arm out, the stretched flesh revealing a green. The motion sends Usagi hurtling into Amy and will knock them both to the ground.

"Owwww," Usagi groans, facedown in the dirt. "I've got - I've got to help -" and then she freezes, remembering something very important. Her broach. The gold broach with it's five colorful orb-shaped jewels, the one she always wears - the one she left on her dresser. She can't do anything without her broach and this - this is a fight.

What's she supposed to do?

There's Inai-sensei's voice in her head, telling her to call - but even more than that, there's their fight (her yelling). Usagi digs her phone out of her pocket (of course she remembered her phone where she forgot her transformation broach) and texts the most recent number. <I'm at school by the big tree! Chiyo-chan got sick, please come help me get her home!> And then she forces herself to her feet, trying to side-skirt the monster in favor of getting to the unconscious students. "Cute Wolf Tsukiko-chan! Everyone! Please stop this thing!" Ikiko-chan, I'm sorry!!

The monster, meanwhile straightens, flesh bulging and rippling under his clothes as green vines erupt, covering the human-like flesh with a thick mass of vines. "If you want to get in my way, I'll take your energy the hard way!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Tsukiko nods towards Usagi with a slightly quizzical look, but questions can wait for another time. Right now, there's herself, Landlubber Usagi, little Amy, the youma, several unconscious students, and... Ginga Otome, plus an ice-throwing magical girl?

This could work.

Lunging forward, the wolfgirl aims some feinting kicks at the youma, trying to draw its attention away from Usagi and the unconscious students. The attacks might not be doing much damage, but if the youma directly aims at Usagi, well... it'll quickly learn that her fanglies can be much sharper than they initially appear. "Get mulched, you overgrown cabbage!" Tsukiko yells at the youma.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Darien Shields is on the roof of the tallest building in the Obsidian complex with a laptop, watching results come in from an operation he'd set up in Australia a couple of weeks ago while eating leftover korma; Usagi's first text, the picture of the succulent in the little pot that she sent him and Naru, comes while he's learning that the emus were a hilariously bad idea, so he forgets to text back.

Her second text comes just as he's finished up and shut his computer, and he sees the plant first and the text second, and squints, and then he lets a breath out through his teeth.

The laptop and leftovers get put in the same dimensional weirdness that his absurdly expensive suit does when he henshins into his black-trimmed grey Shitennou uniform, and Hematite duskports back to school -- as close as he can get to the tree without being seen, which in this case is the side of Snow Angel Mou's roof's building, which is TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT but what can you do. And then he de-henshins, back into the boy who got a text from Usagi, overdressed but in a zaibatsu way.

He stares at the number of magical girls present and looks at the youma, and then looks at the youma, and gets this look of absolute professional disgust on his handsome face. It's not long until he spots where the odangos and twintails are, and he sprints over and falls into a crouch next to Usagi immediately. And Amy's there too but he doesn't know her. "Usagi-chan. Let me get you out of here first," he says urgently. "The magical girls can take care of the monster, but you're still moving, and if it sees that it won't ignore you." He's holding out his hands to help her up, or check, or-- his face is so worried, and he looks angry as he glances back over his shoulder, but it's gone when he's looking at her.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    You'd think she'd learn after trying to grab the guy's arm, but Amanda's impulsive martial arts do nothing.

    At this reminder of her physically weak state, alarm bells get louder in her head.

    A classmate being thrown at her was not one of her fears, but it IS unexpected and inconvenient. "Aah!" She goes down with a person on top of her. People are heavy! That's not a dig at anyone's weight, people are 70% water, have you tried carrying a person-size container of water? It would be very heavy!

    "Tsukino-san... we've got to go!"

    And then she stares as a student she as painting pots with minutes ago just up and transforms in front of her. In the open?! How could she be so careless? No, the situation was desperate. She's courageous, buying them all time...

    Usagi is up, and Amy decides to just run out of sight so she can transform.

    ...Although she does stop, briefly, to look back at the werewolf girl. Excuse me, she's seriously named 'Tsukiko'...?

    Amy shakes her head. No time! She hurries out of view.

    A moment later, the mysterious puella Red runs onto the scene, cloak billowing behind her, as she makes her way towards the table. This isn't the best situation for a rocket launcher or clubbing things, but she's already got a plan to try using the pruning shears with her magical girl strength... But, seeing Usagi trying to help the unconscious students, she has to concede there may be a better plan, and a more important immediate objective. There are already three other girls here, at least two of which are better equipped to fight a vine monster than she is.

    So she changes course for the sleeping students, calling out to Usagi, "Little girl, just go! We'll handle it! I'll get them out of here!"

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Snow Angel watches as Usagi tries to help the unconscious students. Awfully brave for someone who doesn't have magic. The new mahou in town is quick to realize that there are at least two other magical girls at this school. Well, that beats taking on this thing alone.

    "You're not taking a single thing from us, monster!" she shouts in response. She raises her hands, palm up, arms spread wide, as wings of ice grow out of her back. The wind picks up, and snowflakes appear in the air between the monster and the sleepers. Snow gathers, compresses, and turns to a wall of magical ice, hopefully keeping the youma away from the helpless draining victims.

    The ice and cold wind are pretty chilly. Freezing, even, but that alone isn't enough to be dangerous even to unpowered folks. Yet.

    Mou leaps down from the roof she was on and starts... skating? She is just moments too slow too see Hematite henshin into Darien. Mou Fubuki gives him a look but he at least seems concerned about the right people. "Get to safety. We'll handle things!" she shouts to Darien and Usagi.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
On the bright side, Usagi is free of the monster's grasp. "It's okay, Usagi-chan!" the Galactic Maiden calls out. "We'll take care of this! Darien-kun, please help Usagi-chan!"

Even as she says it, she's bounding into motion, moving to put herself between the plant-youma and the unconscious students while Tsukiko is occupying it with her direct assault.

Arm outstretched before her, she jabs her index finger towards the youma. "You're welcome to try it," she declares. Pink light collects at her fingertip for half a heartbeat--

--then releases, a bullet of pure energy flying out at her target. Then another, and another.

Beside her, a bubble of transparent pink energy shimmers into being. Inside it hovers a mechanical white-and-gold figure. < Miko-sama, the barrier! >

"--aah, right!" Flustered, the Ginga Otome presses her hands together, focusing her effort.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I'm a vining plant! Cabbages don't have vines!" The plant-man youma snaps, throwing up it's long, vine arms to defend from Cute Wolf Tsukiko's kicks. It's attention has been thoroughly captured, focus having left the downed Amy and Usagi in favor of the much more lively and energy-rich target in front of it. From it's back sprout all new vine-limbs, thick things the size of well - tree branches, slamming around wildly at Cute Wolf Tsukiko. Honestly? It looks a little like a whacky inflatable arm man. "I'll make you into mulch, watch my words dog!"

Meanwhile, Usagi feels terrible for getting up and leaving Amy-chan behind - but Amy is awake at least, and Chiyo-chan and the other students are unconscious, utterly vulnerable. She doesn't know if Darien will actually come. Doesn't know if he's anywhere near the school, even. But she thinks - hopes - he will come.

And until then? She has to do something, right?

There's another magical girl, then. One in red that Usagi doesn't recognize (how many of them are there? Does Inai-sensei know there are this many?!), but who tells her to go - but she can't! She can't! She's supposed to be in this fight too! "I can't leave everyone!"

Another magical girl gets in the way - the snappily dressed Ginga Otome, whose attacks distract the monster enough for one Tsukiko's attacks to strike in the face. It roars and slams one of those whackily waving arms into the ground at Ginga Otome's feet, making it quake. Behind Ginga Otome, Usagi jolts back - right into Darien, crouched next to her. "Darien! You - you came?" Her eyes fly to him, watery and huge, and - "But - Chiyo-chan, everyone-"

As if to prove Darien's point though, the monster turns at the sound of their voices, and it sees - "YOU RUINED THOSE PLANTS!" - the upturned pots that held Usagi and Chiyo's poor plants, abandoned by their owners when everything went wrong. And snow. So much snow, falling first in flakes and then heavy piles. "I'LL TAKE YOUR ENERGY!" It launches an attack, but the snow, falling so heavy, is compressed into a wall by Snow Angel Mou Fubuki, tanking the attack and cutting off it's sight of Darien, Usagi, and the drained victims. "You meddling kids!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"I'd like to see you try, you trellis-faced sprout! Tsukiko taunts the youma, even as she rapidly has to focus on dodging the drum solo of its branch barrage. At least the Snow Angel has provided a more enduring method of protecting the others, meaning that the wolfgirl no longer has to weave prepped-to-intercept darting strikes in among her evasive maneuvers. And with the arrival of the magical girl in red to help evacuate those who are asleep, that's even less for Tsukiko to worry about!

Still, Tsukiko can still contribute to an indirect offense, and so she circles the youma with increasing swiftness, trying to once again split its attention in two separate directions -- but this time, with an intent to strike the youma, rather than waking fellow students.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Oh hey, an ice wall! Good job, Mei-- err, Fubuki!

    'Red' looks at Usagi. This dumb kid...

    ...No... This is her classmate. Didn't she herself just days ago say she'd risk incredible danger to help a friend? Who is she to tell anyone else not to?

    Amy nods. "Alright. Grab one of the younger students, we'll get them outta here as fast as we can." She glances at Darien. "You too, we need that big strong man strength." She sighs and rolls her eyes at the irony of her being presently so much stronger, and the larger irony only she is aware of.

    'Red' calls out, "Thanks for the wall, ice lady!" as she picks up the unconscious Chiyo in a princess carry, leaps over the table, and runs her to safety.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
The energy gathering between the Ginga Otome's hands ripples, then rushes outwards on her call of "Zero Time!" In the blink of an eye, the grounds are vacant save for the magical girls, the monster, the unconscious students, and Darien trying to help Usagi out of danger. The summer sky is replaced by a spangled starfield in a myriad brilliant colors.

"All right," the Galactic Maiden says, fixing her eyes on the youma again. Rosy light glints around her, forming a spherical shield; within it, her feet lift from the ground and leave her floating. "Invasive weeds ought to be pulled out!"

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Tch. Almost didn't make it, Snow Angel notes. The ice wall cracks from the impact of the youma's attack, but it stands. She leaves a path of ice along the ground as she ice skates towards the fight.

    It looks like Usagi doesn't want to leave. Pretty brave to stay here, all things considered. Mou is almost impressed. She'd be a lot less impressed if she knew about the brooch, though.

    It's fine, Mou Fubuki decides. It's just two more people she'll have to protect. When she makes it to the ice wall, she stays on the dangerous side of it, looking at Usagi and Darien through the cracked transparent rime. "Whatever you do, make sure you stay safe!" she says to Usagi. To Darien she adds, "You watch out, too."

    Amy thanks her, and Mou gives her a wave, "Don't mention it. It's all cool."

    Mou Fubuki holds out her hand and more snow swirls around her, solidifying into several icicles which orbit her as she skates around the youma. As she circles the monster, the icicles launch one after another at the youma in a rapid barrage.

    "Winter's coming early for you, creep!" she threatens.

    Zero time happens. Snow Angel Mou Fubuki has never seen this before, but she doesn't have time to be impressed. She'll just have to get used to the weird around here.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Flashing a thumbs-up to everyone who calls out in his direction -- somewhat haphazardly -- Darien's shoulders only de-tense when the ice wall goes up. "Did that thing give you the succulents? That was some nice painting you did. How dare it use an arts-and-crafts project with plants to drain energy so soon after the nonsense at the beach!" A beat. "How was it trying to drain energy, anyway?"

He's just talking, trying to get Usagi to be more confused than distressed probably, and he sits back on one heel, expensive knee in the grass, and looks at her. "Nevermind. There's a wall in the way now. Do you think you can move? I can carry Sa-- or not." Darien looks somewhat peevish at being told what to do, but gets up-- and gives Snow Angel Mou a little salute before once again leveling his attention on Usagi. "Can you move, or do you need carried yourself?" he asks Usagi, holding out his hands again.

And then he just stops.

And looks up at the cosmos for a long, accusing moment.

And then he looks back at Usagi. "It's just going to keep getting weirder if we don't get out of here."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The youma shouts with anger as Tsukiko continues to sass it, and now that she's not focused on feinting alone, the attacks that break through it's vine-gaurd are hurting it. Some of the vines burst as her kicks and strikes break through their flesh, sending trickles of water and oozing green fluid pouring down it's body. It lashes out, a stretchy arm vine launching Tsukiko's way - only to be pinned to the ground by a series of launched ice cycles!

As Zero Time activates, the youma bellows, "I WAS TRYING TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL THE JOY OF GARDENING!"

It is thoroughly pinned in place for attacks!

The world goes strange in a way Usagi recognizes - the sky a starfield where it ought to be midday - and her eyes shoot to Ginga Otome, abruptly remembering where she last saw her. The two-headed bear youma! She only just barely manages not to utter the words, keeping them trapped in her mind. There's enough to distract her, at least - the red magical girl helping drag classmates away, and Darien's voice - "He did, the jerk, we were all just painting, and planting and then - and then." She frowns. "And then everyone watered their plants, and fell asleep."

Their succulent plants, Darien.

She doesn't want to leave everyone behind, but Zero Time - it means no one else can get in. And it means they - she asked him to come. And he's asking her to go, now. Everything is so scary - how scared is he? And he still came. "...I can walk. And - everyone's saying we should go... will you help me get our classmates out?"

And I'll get out too, is left unsaid, communicated by her frustrated frown and teary eyes. "Red-chan! We'll - we're going to take some of them and follow your lead!"

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou Fubuki doesn't know what's going on between Usagi and Darien, but she's pretty sure they're dating. At least that's what she's assuming. She doesn't really have time to think about it. What she notices more is that the youma is shouting his protests. "Buddy, your teaching methods leave something to be desired."

    With the youma pinned, Mou decides it's time for her named attack. Her skates vanish, and she roots her feet firmly into place. The icy wings grow even further out of her back, the weight of them at the ends reaching a point where they shatter and fall.

     "SNOW..."

    Cold wind, snow, and ice gather around her outstretched hands, fingers spread wide as Mou gathers her cursed cold magic into one spot.

     "... HEART..."

    The snow begins to glow a bright white, as calming purifying energies are gathered into it. An icy halo appears above the Snow Angel's head.

    "... SOLSTICE!"

    Mou releases all her stored magic in one large blast, intended to pelt the target with ice and then cover them in purifying snow. It's the best answer she has to curses and darkness.

    When her cold winds abate, the wings fall from her back and shatter.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Their succulent plants. When they watered them.

Darien's frustrated for the exact same reason he's enamored of Usagi in the first place: she's so honest, and she cares, even to her detriment.

He lets out a small breath, then smiles a tiny smile and tilts his head a little to one side, regarding her. "Yeah," he says just loudly enough for Usagi to hear, "I'll help. But you just picked yourself up from a wall, so let me do the carrying, and I'll help you drag another at the same time, all right?"

He moves to pick up one of the kids in a fireman's carry, but can't actually help looking back past the ice wall and making another face. "Gardening is a joy. Yeah," he says half under his breath, "but setting an energy drain to activate when kids water their succulents is just stupid. God damn." Then he's got a hand sort of free if he's careful, and if Usagi needs help dragging a student, he will absolutely use that sort of free hand to take the student's other arm to do so.

He does, however, flinch at the sound of a finisher getting called out behind him.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
Okay. Darien's persuaded Usagi; they and the red magical girl are taking care of the drained students. That's a couple worries dealt with... which just leaves the biggest problem still to squash.

There's a thought.

"Hey, Wawna," the Ginga Otome says, angling her face slightly toward the small figure that's still hovering near her.

< Yes, miko-sama. >

Her shield glows steadily around her, dawn-colored and familiar. Out of all of this, it's the one thing that's most familiar. She doesn't need a shield right now, though.

"I want to try something."

< Ready, miko-sama! >

She extends both arms outward, palms out, feeling the resonance of the Maiden Cybody's power and taking hold of it.

"Here goes nothing..."

The sphere of pink light around her shifts, radiance gathering itself in an arc in front of her - and, with a shout, she shoves it with all her will, sending it flying at the pinned-down youma in one big, very unsubtle shield-bash.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"We don't like being farmed!" Tsukiko yells back at the youma. 'Red', Usagi, and Usagi's poison-licking ice cream thief are evacuating more of the sleeping students, Ginga Otome has the area protected from collateral damage and unexpected mundane visitors, and the Snow Angel--

    --just turned the youma into an ice cube.

Cool!

With a fierce grin, Tsukiko accelerated even more, then with a pivot launched herself as a silvery blur at the youma, slamming into its solidified form and coursing around?/through? it, erupting from the other side just ahead of Ginga Otome's shield bash and skidding to a once-more-humanoid halt several meters away.

The wolfgirl might not have much 'run' left in her legs right now, but the youma is undoubtedly (un)health-food shaved ice now.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It's BIG FINISH TIME, and 'Red' probably *could* do something flashy with her rocket launcher... but she's not sure she really *needs* to? She may as well keep watch on the civilians (she sets Chiyo down outside the barrier). Individual rocket shots don't seem to take much magic, but... she remembers the sight of that bit of darkness at the edge of her soul gem, and Cure Wukong and Blue's words about conserving her energy, and... why waste it?

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Deal." Usagi agrees without hesitation. The fact that Darien agreed at all is enough, really. If he had said no - she would have still left with him. Even if she wanted to help everyone. Because he's only here because she asked him to be, because she messed up, and that's not fair. The fact that he's still helping?

As she finds one of their classmates (the original brunette boy) to drag to safety and Darien scoops another up over his shoulders (no, her heart does not skip a beat at that, shut up), she can't help but hear some of his muttering, as she drags her classmate up, taking Darien's offer of help because she needs it. Yeah, she does. Adrenaline's been keeping the worst of the pain away, but as she moves around... but still. Usagi doesn't put two and two together though, missing enough of what Darien said that instead, her mind makes it's own connections - "You know, I half thought you would take that plant when I sent the picture?"

The ice wall holds. Usagi and Darien can't see what's happening at all. The youma, on the other hand? It can see everything, and it wishes it had an ice wall to hide behind.

First, there's the hellish frost of Snow Angel Mou Fubuki's attack, a blast of frigid air so powerful the youma ices over in an instant, only it's dark, glinting eyes able to move frantically. Curls of energy wisp up everywhere the purifying energy touches.

Then, there's Ginga Otome, creating a shield - which the youma still manages the energy to scoff at - of pink energy, a bubble of bright radiance. At the exact moment that it thinks, well at least that won't do much, she proves him wrong, the radiant shield ramming into it with brutal force that transforms it into a shooting ice cube -

Right into Cute Wolf Tsukiko's finisher. The combination of her incredible speed and strength and the launch force of Ginga Otome's bubble mean the last thought the youma can muster is Well, fu- right before Cute Wolf Tsukiko literally slams through it's body. Talk about keeping your word - she really did turn it into mulch.

The last thing the youma sees before it crumbles to mulch and dissipating dark energy is Red not even bothering to attack it. How embarrassing! One of the magical girls doesn't even think it's worth attacking. What a way to go!

Jadeite has posed:
    As the purifying and destructive powers of several Magical Girls erases the youma from existence, it seems the conflict is at an end. Another random monster attack dealt with. Another scheme totally disconnected from any large-scale plan is foiled. Another--

    Flames that cast darkness instead of light burst into existence in mid-air. After a few seconds, within the flames, a giant pair of eyes appear. The eyes are semi-transparent, like they aren't actually here. But then, neither are the flames. The eyes are cold, malicious, and >angry<. They look over the assembled forces. The Enemy. The sheer amount of magic thrown around was enough to catch the attention of Someone or Something.

    "So," the voice of a man begins, a mix of disgust and annoyance dripping from his words. "These are the warriors who keep getting in the way. Defiying my minions is the same as defying me." Evil radiates through the projection, something much more malevolent than the cruelty and manic violence of a youma. It's older, deeper, and more thoroughly entrenched in the speaker. It's almost like there's something inhuman speaking through him.

    The eyes narrow further. "I do not tolerate such defiance!"

    The eyes go wide and glow red, as a wave of force rushes over the area, half physical, half emotional. "I may not know your identities, but I swear that you will regret challenging me. From now on, oh youma-hunters... I will be hunting you!" The invisible pressure gives way as the eyes disappear, engulfed in the flames, which in turn devour themselves as they curl into a ball and disappear. The light returns. Or whatever's left of it.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou Fubuki freezes the enemy in place, and then Ginga Otome and Tsukiko strike and shatter it. That... wasn't a synergy she expected, but she's played enough Zelda games that she probably should've seen it coming. The snow angel waits a moment just to make sure that the youma isn't going to make some last minute snap-back to life, not quite sure whether or not they've actually won, but... it looks like they did?

    Mou walks up to whatever's left of the youma, and then looks to Ginga and Cute Wolf. "Well! Looks like we got it. Whatever it was. It said it was after energy? Crazy. Crazy world."

    Then the Eyes show up. Mou opens her mouth to sass the dark being, but she's cut off by the sudden wave of pressure. She braces herself against the pressure, spreading out her feet, leaning against it, gritting her teeth. Then it's gone, and she's left there wondering what exactly she's gotten herself into.

    "Y-yeah... like I was saying. Crazy world. Um..." She points towards the unconscious people who are being dragged away. "Are they gonna be okay?" she asks the other mahou nearby.

Wako Agemaki has posed:
As the youma dissolves, the Galactic Maiden lets out a slightly giddy, shivery breath. "It worked!" ...a lot better than she'd expected, honestly. That ice was very, very fortuitous, thank you Mou Fubuki.

Unfortunately, she doesn't get much of a chance to enjoy the sense of satisfaction before dark flames burn the air to reveal those hateful eyes. The anger, the threat, paint a cold chill down her spine. She only just manages to re-form her shield before the wave of force batters against it, and that does nothing to blunt the emotional assault that comes with it.

There's a long interval after the last ominous dark flame vanishes, before the small figure hovering by her shoulder speaks in its small clear voice. < Miko-sama. I believe the threat is passed. >

Letting out another shaky breath, the Ginga Otome lets her shield and the barrier maintaining Zero Time dissolve together. The summer sunlight returns, shining down from the midday sky.

"I think I can help them," she answers Mou Fubuki. "Anyway, I think we should get them inside."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    DAMN. Amy whistles as the others pull out a triple-tech finisher!

    The fight is over! The day is saved!

    Except... maybe not?

    Red summons her weapon and takes aim, but she suspects this is just a projection. She is *completely* not expecting the PRESSURE. Knocking her to the ground, she grunts as she resists, made to regret being this small and weak... and then it passes. She quickstands by crossing her legs, sitting up, then jumping up while uncrossing her legs. Feeling like she has to... *do* something.

    Her eyes fall on the table.

    And all the crushed, broken flowerpots.

    She... she actually got into making that, darn it! And some BBEG pettily destroyed it! Sorry, little plant... guess you're not getting a home by my window after all.

    Are the people gonna be okay? Red shrugs. "Hell if I know. I'm gonna go before whoever the students called for help show up." She leaps out of sight.

    Amy Faust swings by the botany club or the school landscapers or whoever to let them know there's a bunch of plants that need caring for and maybe also pick up another pot, and then runs to the school nurse on duty, making sure to arrive out of breath to help sell it as she announces that students collapsed, what if it's heatstroke, someone should check on them!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Well I would have taken that plant if I'd been here while you were painting it," laughs Darien, not seeming to break a sweat in a three piece suit in the summer carrying a kid over his shoulders. He stops and turns, though, and stares at the eyes. They're in this galaxy place though? How did he get in here? Darien's just sort of. Baffled. He still doesn't seem scared.

"Do we have to talk about this later?" he murmurs in Usagi's direction right before the wall of force hits.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
With the youma eliminated, Tsukiko lets out a 'thank goodness that's over' sigh, then winces when the Presence makes itself known. There's a brief moment of startlement, then her eyes narrow warily. Whoever is behind this display, they are definitely a threat.

Still, even though she is a bit nervous, Tsukiko is not scared. This threat definitely has power... but Tsukiko has a pack.

    (even if the core of it is still pretty small.)

Once the Presence has vanished, Tsukiko looks over at the Snow Angel. "Thanks for the ice wall!" the wolfgirl beams. "I don't think I could've otherwise kept him distracted from the sleepers once that youma went extra-fierce at me. My name's Cute Wolf Tsukiko; nice to meet you!"

While she's saying this, Tsukiko starts gathering up all of the still-supporting-a-succulent fragments of pots, placing them on the table with the unplanted ones. After giving Ginga Otome a smile of thanks while the other magical girls get the last of the sleepers to safety, the wolfgirl takes a deep breath--

    --and starts to hum.

Tsukiko might not have the greenest thumb, but she does know that speaking to plants is said to be good for them. Why not try a small purifying not-quite-howl to try scrubbing away any lingering dakr energy, while also encouraging these surviving succulents to grow in defiance of the destruction of their pots?

Once her hum is finished, Tsukiko carefully gathers up the succulents that are on the shards of hers and her friends' pots, intent on taking them to her dorm, at least long enough to get them replacement pots to recover in... and paint, so she and her friends can revive their artwork.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The wave of force and sheer presence from those burning eyes does what the youma could not - shatter the ice wall. Usagi goes stockstill, horror and dread filling her body as she sees those awful, burning flames that cast shadow instead of light in the star-filled plain that is Zero Time. Those eyes scan the fighters, focusedn on the gathered magical girls, ignoring she and Darien enturely. (She hopes. Oh she hopes that that awful vision is ignoring Darien.)

The worst part isn't the flames though. It isn't the eyes, enormous and malicious as they are.

No, the worst part is the skin-crawling evil. The worst part is the presence. The worst part is that Usagi thinks she might almost recognize it in, in some small, terrifying way. This is the enemy. The Enemy, the one that Luna warned her about.

What else could it be?

She swallows hard, only now realizing that when the eyes appeared she'd dropped her poor unconscious classmate to the ground, his head rest on her shoe. "I'll make a new one then. You can steal it from me, and maybe I'll get more sweets out of it."

Her smile wobbles, showing some of the fear, but hopefully, he'll think it's just from their near escape.

"Just another weird day at school, right?"

And then the force hits, powerful enough to blow Usagi's hair back and ruffle her school skirt. She steps back only partially under her own power, half-pressed by the force of the wave into Darien. He's warm at her back, and she flushes. "Th-the nurse! For now - we should get them to the nurse!"

All around them, some of the other magical girls are leaving - Red and Ginga Otome, mainly, Ginga Otome with some of the unconscious students - but Snow Angel Mou Fubuki stands as if utterly unimpressed by the delay (which is REALLY impressive, in Usagi's opinion) and Cute Wolf Tsukiko - hums. It's not the howl of a wolf, but it's enchanting in it's own way. The succulents, abandoned by their owner, scattered from their pots by the force of evil - glow, a little. As dark energy curls away from them, the succulents seem to lose their luster, becoming ordinary rather than extraordinary objects. By the time Cute Wolf Tsukiko gathers them up, there are no obvious signs of dark energy taint.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Darien doesn't seem to notice the skin-crawling evil, either, but who's counting? He smiles back at Usagi's wobbly one, and it's little and crooked and the corners of his eyes crinkle a little behind his glasses. "I'll definitely steal it," he says, "if that's the case." He's set his own student down in the meantime, because you know, he doesn't want the kid waking up while over his shoulders, honestly??

Then she's saying it's another weird day at school, and there's still a smile in his voice as he starts to agree-- but then Usagi gets whumphed back into him, and she's so... real. Blushing, and stammering, and she's something to focus on instead of the shattering ice, the shattering pots, the bad youma, the work he still has to do, Jadeite's unexpected presence. She's real, and she knows about magic, and he doesn't want to think--

"All right," he says agreeably. "I'll follow your lead."