974/Save Santa Claus!

Save Santa Claus!
Date of Scene:	07 January 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Backdated to Christmas Eve!: Toymajin, evil dictator of toys, has captured the North Pole. Can the crew save Santa and the Spirit of Christmas from him!?
Cast of Characters:	Nanoha Takamachi, Amanda Faust, Laisa Samuiko, Kureha Senkenzan, Erika Shimizu, Hotaru Tomoe

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Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Welcome back, intrepid mahoushoujos! When last we met our merry band they we're on their way from the Miser Brothers caverns and on their way to the North Pole to rescue Santa Claus from the vice grip of Toymajin. The trip was fast and cold, but soon, lights! It's Santa's Workshop! And it looks exactly like a ideal small Christmas Village scene version of it. A little tidy cottage, a big barn like structure... tons of Nutcrackers making a mess of the place. Wait. What. What's that last bit!?

Indeed, there are Nutcrackers everywhere, chasing elves, making a mess and overall causing chaos.

Standing on the top of Santa's workshop, is a green and red clad figure, with highlights of blue, broadchested and in a black cape. He looks like a big toy robot of some sort.

"Yes, shoot down the sleigh, my nutcrackers!" he commands in a high pitched whiny voice.

And soon, walnuts, dark energy infused walnuts start bombarding the sleigh!

This is gonna be a rocky landing.

"Hold tight, kids, we're in for a rocky landing!" say Mrs. Claus as she attempts to go for a clean, albeit hard landing into a spot in the midst of all the chaos. Safe? Perhaps not. Required? Yes. Yes because that barrage of walnuts is hitting harder than it looks and the reindeer can only take so much more!

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Magical Rocket Girl Red is stirred from her melancholy by the news that they're getting close... But then they're taking anti-aircraft fire! "Oh no they don't!" She stands up and fires a missile down at the nutcrackers, then has a better idea and switches to smoke warheads that airburst below them, making them harder for the nutcrackers to shoot accurately while Mrs. Claus focuses on landing.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou Fubuki wasn't exactly expecting a warm reception, but the realities of getting hit by anti-air walnuts was something she hadn't considered. Fortunately, she has something of a terrain advantage here: It's already well below freezing.

    The Accursed yuki-onna holds out her hands and summons a swarm of icicles, each of them breaking formation to intercept the incoming fire, hoping to provide a bit of cover for their reindeer escorts. The moment they get close to the ground, the snow angel jumps off the sleigh.

    The snow beneath her feet hardens into ice, and frozen skating blades appear beneath her shoes before she lands. As she skates towards the nutcracker army, a shield appears around her left arm, and a halberd in her right hand. Both, naturally, are made of ice.

    So armed, she skates into battle.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    It's been a contemplative, thoughtful sort of ride. Clashing views of the world. Broadway musical numbers. An expanse of snow and ice nothing like Kureha has ever seen. But as they descend down upon the North Pole, the Youkai Musume of fire finds herself at last in territory where she's not uncertain or hesitant.

    An oni upon the field of battle is an oni in her element, after all.

    As they descend, Onihime stands in her seat, and brings her arms up across her front to shield herself from the Dark Walnut barrage. The very instant the sleigh touches down, Kureha lets her knees flex, lets her body crouch down to absorb the impact - and then pushes off, hurling herself up into the air. As if being launched from a trebuchet, the Ogre Princess flings herself towards the horde in a high arc.

    Even the act of falling right through a barrage of particularly creepy nuts- twice, no less- does not so much as slow Onihime down, for as soon as she lands amidst the Nutcrackers, she begins leveraging her strength. Bursts of short-range fire, crushing blows, powerful shockwaves; she even reaches out to grab one, wielding it as a club against its own allies.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Once again, Jolly Roger hunkers down in the back of the sleigh, hat tugged down over her face. She said to wake her when they arrived, but the sudden krak-boom on anti-aircraft walnuts being launched at the sleigh wakes her up earlier.
    "Blasted bloomin' barnacles *WHAT NOW*?" The pirate-themed mahoushoujo snarls, irate and irritable, scowling.
    Then she sees what's going on.
    "Bloody hell, I hate Christmas." She grumbles once she's awake enough to realize what's going on, and rummages in her greatcoat.
    Jolly Roger pulls out an anchor.
    An honest to god ship anchor, with a length of chain trailing from it.
    With a heave-ho she HURLS the anchor off the sleigh, trying to crush a nutcracker or two with it before holding on and bracing for the sleigh's landing impact.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gasped when she saw it. Santa's WORKSHOP! Oh my gosh Takashi was going to get SUCH an earful about this later! IT WAS SO AWESOME! She couldn't help but squeal with delight as they approached! Until, of course, the first barrage hit. She shrieked, before... "My time has come!" she called out, standing up and...

< Silence Shield >

Was the shield quiet? No. Was it silent? Nope. Was it good at making other things quiet? Nope.

What it did do, however, was surround them in a barrier of MAGIC to help block the walnuts.

"I'll protect the sleigh, eliminate the anti-sleigh weapons!" she called out to the other girls. Probably... a bit weird. Having the villain protect things. Eh. Not too weird, though. Tonight had been all about weird things, afterall.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
The sleigh comes down for a crash landing, more on point thanks to the anchor drop by Jolly Roger, and Firefly's shield and Amy's smoke bombs stopping anymore damage to the sleigh, or from wounding the reindeer further. Mrs. Claus ducks down in the sleigh and lets the magical girls do their work.

Meanwhile, Nanoha Takamachi, who's been holding on for dear life, finally stands up and blasts an array of shot barrets into the nearest group of Nutcrackers.

The Nutcrackers are easy to fell. They pack a punch but they can't take it. The poof into dark energy wisps when defeated- they're not real, in the end!

When the sleigh lands, the figure on top of the roof jumps down and starts an approach. "Soon, this foolish holiday will end and toys will stop being abanonded when children don't get new ones!" he says as he starts his approach.

Oh no!

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou sees the figure jump from the roof to the battlefield. Hearing his words, and considering his overall vibe, she voices her suspicions. "Toymajin, I presume? Who are you to dictate how children should be allowed to play? What of the young children who don't have toys yet? Don't just assume that we'll let you have your way!"

    She skates forward and slams her shield into the nearest nutcracker, then pushes it aside to boost her own speed. A cold wind pushes at her back, accelerating her further as she thrusts her icey halberd into another nutcracker minion. With speed and fury, she weaves between foes and lashes out at them with her cold weapons, and when the crowd becomes too thick she forms an ice ramp in front of her and uses it to jump over the common minions.

    Landing in front of the figure, she points her polearm at him and declares, "I, Snow Angel Mou Fubuki, will not allow this injustice to stand! We're here to save Santa, and Christmas itself, and we'll oppose you to the end!"

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    In the middle of hitting a Nutcracker with another Nutcracker, Onihime stops. The sound of the Toymajin's voice catches her attention, and she throws aside her unfortunate bludgeoning weapon, standing herself up straight to listen - with only the occasional swing at an enemy that comes too close. But it's a short speech, and her reply comes as a swift, dismissive snort. "What a selfish and shortsighted plan." She begins marching towards the Toymajin, smashing, punching, and blasting with every step she takes.

    "Do you really think that simply stopping Christmas will achieve your goal? Do you earnestly believe that Christmas is the only day on which toys are given, ever? What will you do about New Year's? Golden Week? How will you eliminate the entire concept of birthdays? You will only remove a day that makes humans happy; you will do nothing for toys!"

    A spin, and a smash, and then she adds, "And what of the new toys? Are you saying they don't deserve owners? Happiness? You are pushing for only your own selfish happiness, at the expense of other toys who deserve it just as much as you!"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    "BRACE!" Jolly Roger calls as the sleigh goes down. "ALL HANDS BRACE FOR IMPACT!" She shouts, holding on for dear life as the sleigh makes its landing...
    No sooner than it hits the ground, the pirate is launched, sailing from the the sleigh butt-over-teakettle as she flails through the air.
    Landing in a snow drift with a POMF, the dread pirate is silent for a long moment before she picks herself up.
    First and foremost she reaches for her hat, which landed a short distance away, and puts it back on her head where it belongs as she stands up, muttering darkly.
    "Bah... Humbug I say to ye." She spits at Toymajin as she draws a flintlock pistol from her greatcoat.
    Taking aim she casually just... Shoots at him before tossing the spent pistol aside, where it turns into seafoam and sparkles as soon as it hits the ground.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy leaps out of the sleigh before impact, using her launcher to slow herself down if needed.

    The nutcrackers... poof when she shoots them? "Conjurations? But what they were shooting still hit us..." Amy does tone down her weaponry from rockets to a gyrojet rifle after firing another shot and seeing that, though.

    Also, Toymajin is approaching. "Ummm... that's your beef? Like, if you wanna take on mindless consumerism and planned obsolescence, I'm fine with it, but you realize it's not Santa you should be going after, it's every big business that only cares about their next quarter earnings... and the society that makes the businesses care about that, right? Santa's not the one coming up with new toys and making kids want them."

    She walks towards him, rambling in a strange mood after what happened at the Miser encounter. "Or is that, like, what this is all about? Santa and Christmas are a metaphor for consumerism ran amok, and that's why you're fighting them? Even then, though, I don't think you're actually changing anything here."

    She dismisses her rocket launcher and holds out a hand to Toymajin. "Why don't you stand down and come talk with us about it? Mrs. Claus makes great hot chocolate."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly gasped when the villain revealed himself. So quickly! She hadn't expected THAT of all things! And his cries of... well... He wasn't wrong. A lot of toys were abandoned each year. BUT! A lot of toys were also loved. And new ones. "You can't just have the same thing, every day! It'd be like eating the same rice and sauce for every meal! Adding new toys is how new adventures begin! New stimuli create new worlds and, for those who play with them, new treasures! And sure, sometimes toys are lost, but sometimes old toys become like new! Also, kidnapping Santa is just WRONG!"

Her objections weren't quite as... strong as the other girls. But you know what she did have? A STICK! And so, with protections in her heart, she leaped off the sleigh and raced towards the kidnapper of Santa, ignoring any dangers.... and... and it was a distance so it would take a while to get close enough to hit him with her stick.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Toymajin, the villain, draws his cape up as various attacks come his way, using it to block the flintlock pistol blast. He then flourishes his cape off and dramatically bellows. "Of course this won't be the end, but merely the beginning... Allow me to introduce myself... I AM THE TOYMAJIN, TRUE RULER OF THE TOY KINGDOM!" he bellows as he gathers dark energy within his hand and then with a dramatic blast, blasts it out at Onihime ad Mou Fubuki and the approaching the Firefly.

Nutcrackers... continue to be easy to fell, but spit walnuts out from their mouths in rapid succession still, like dark energy bullets. They're cannon fodder, but there's numerous of them...!

Nanoha Takamachi is in the background, providing fire support for all the crew as best she can-- it's what she's good at overall, trying to lance shot barrets while countering with her own shields.

The Toymajin stops his approach to the sleigh as he says, in his still really whiny voice. "Why do I care what a couple of peons say before me!? Fight me, then!" he says.

Mrs. Claus is still hiding in the sleigh, away from all this, cowering as best she can, the reindeer hiding behind the sleigh aswell, finally.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    "'Fight you', you say. So you have no intention to listen to reason."

    The oni in the fiery kimono reaches up and gives her hair a contemptuous flip.

    "Very well. Youkai Musume, Onihime. Have at you."

    Ice and stone crater under Kureha's feet. She simply hurls herself past the remaining Nutcrackers, throwing herself right into the Toymajin's blast. Arms folded in front of herself, she plows right through, heedless - and her toughness is such that, though she comes out the other side a little battered, she doesn't even slow down.

    And there's a certain surprise factor to just taking the enemy's blast head-on. They usually don't expect it. Onihime intends to take full advantage of that, landing and bursting into a powerful charge towards the monster that would dare attack Christmas; not only does the tiny girl put all her superhuman strength into the crushing blow, she adds a burst of flames to it, her right fist flickering with concentrated fire that explodes on impact.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Offer of diplomacy: DENIED! Amy sighs. Of course...

    She drops a smoke bomb at her feet and then runs out of the smoke in a random direction, taking a few gyrojet shots at nutcrackers but trying to find cover. "Where are they all coming from?! Why's he have endless minions?"

    Fight him? "Dude, is that really' what you want? You saw I have a rocket launcher, right? Like, you know Die Hard and Gundam 0080 are Christmas stories too, how far do you wanna take this? Please let's just talk. I don't wanna accidentally kill you--oh, she's running in..."

    She gives Toymajin a few more seconds to come around, in the meantime taking down nutcrackers to keep them off the group... and maybe spot where they're coming from...

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou holds up her icey shield as the darkblast comes, and the power of the assault melts the shield away. As it shatters, she changes her tactics, creating a thick wall of ice between herself and Toymajin. A pair of crystalline wings grows out of her back, impractical and fragile, a side effect of the sheer amount of magic she's pouring into this defense.

    Once she gets a free moment, she leaps to the top of her ice wall and starts twirling her halberd around. Tiny snowflakes and sparkles trail behind the arc of her weapon, gathering and forming into a swirling mass of ice and snow.

    "Have it your way!"

    She suddenly points the ice polearm forward, and with that motion she launches a spray of icicles and purifying snowballs at Toymajin. Mou then jumps back behind her wall to avoid return fire from the nutcrackers. Those will have to be handled later.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    "Toys..." Jolly Roger mutters darkly, blond hair shrouding her face in a dark shadow, lips curling into a scowl as her shot is deflected by Toymajin's cape.
    This does not deter her as she steps forward. There's a grunt as she eats a dark energy walnut from behind, staggering from the impact as she wheels around and guns down the nutcracker in swift and vicious reprisal.
    "You think... Christmas... Be about toys...?" The undead dread pirate mutters darkly, gritting her teeth.
    "New toys... old toys..." She mutters, glancing up, a look of sheer fury and hate burning bright in her green eyes. "You think it be about *TOYS*?" She nearly roars as she draws another flintlock.
    She unloads it at Toymajin and tosses it aside, drawing *another* gun from her coat, which she shoots at him with.
    "Christmas ain't about the *toys*, mate." The pirate snarls as she tosses her spent pistols away and draws another- another shot- another- another shot- another- another shot- she pours her magic into summoning pistol after pistol in a flurry and barrage of lead as she storms her way towards the king of toys.
    "Christmas be about *family*. Christmas is spendin' time with those ye love. Christmas is seein' the faces of people ye ain't seen in forever showin' up to spend time with ye!" She growls at the challenge, simply intending to gun the toy king down then and there in a pit of pique.
    "THAT be why I *hate* Christmas!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly let out a loud, glee filled battle cry. "Have at you!" she yelled.

Yes, she did in fact use Onihime's battle cry. Because she was a villain. Her glaive cut through the air, slashing the blast aimed at her in half. "Ha!" she yelled, leaping into the air. While Onihime came from one side, she leaped from the right, glaive up--

BANG!

A walnut blast hits her in the back, sending her flying *over* Toymajin and crashing into the snow, skidding a bit. "O-owie..." she whined. It hurt. Quite a bit more than she wanted it to. "I-I was gonna be so cool..." she complained. It was gonna be a duo attack and everything! Stupid walnuts. "I don't even LIKE walnuts!" she cried out to the universe.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Toymajin gets barraged both verbally and physically, he responds first, verbally.

"Christmas is about nothing but toys in the toy kingdom!" he says, throwing his hand out dramatically. "Every year, discarded, old toys arrive. Lost. Afraid! Let me show you just a fraction of their rage!" he says in overtones as his voice gets deep.

When his blast is taken head on by Onihime, he isn't expecting that, the fire fisted attack getting through and sending him flying backwards, before being bombarded with a blast of freezing ice to the chest, before taking a barrage of flintlock pistol shots to the chest and body aswell, as he grunts and takes all these attacks, but it's still not enough to put him down as he launches himself towards Onihime, raising a might fist and attempting to punch her square in the gut, into an uppercut, the robot-toy like figure almost gliding along the ground a he rushes forward, kicking up snow in his wake...!

Nutcrackers continue to be a nuisance. They seem to sort of materialize out of thing air. Though they're not being replaced as fast as Nanoha and Amy can destroy them to cover for their friends.

Except Firefly get pgged by a walnut blast, Nanoha gasping out as she flies closer and calls out. "F..Firefly, are you okay!?" she calls out.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Endless minions... although she and Nanoha are making progress, and will eventually have them under control. Still, she's about ready to just blast Toymajin.

    She supposes she should let Onihime have her fight, though, rather than rushing to end it. Besides, Toymajin brought up something interesting.

    "Where is this kingdom of discarded toys? We should all -- including you! -- be there helping the toys instead of fighting here!"

    It frustrates her that Toymajin should be an ally, if he'd only listened to her... but then, just how much would he really be able to do, in the mortal realm?

    Firefly crying out gets her attention, but at a quick glance it doesn't look like she's in serious danger, and Nanoha's already helping her. Still, some words of encouragement: "I don't like walnuts either! I'm glad you're here, Firefly."

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    "So for that, you'll kidnap a man and ruin Christmas for everyone else?" shouts back Mou. "I understand you have your pains too, but this isn't going to solve them!"

    The nutcrackers keep coming, and Mou Fubuki can only use her ice wall for cover for so long. The constant pelting of walnuts and unending swarm of reinforcements means that her created structure is starting to crack, chip, and even split in some places. She'd have to do something to at least keep them at bay, or at least make Amy and Nanoha's jobs a bit easier.

    Holding one hand up, palm facing the sky, Mou Fubuki sends her magic upwards as her icey wings grow ever larger and more bulky. The wind picks up, the cold air grows slightly colder, and pure white snow gathers and swirls around them. Each snowflake carries with it a bit of purifying magic, and the storm leaves a blanket of cleansing snowfield all over the battlefield.

    The winds keep the snow away from Firefly, just in case the purification has some negative effect on her.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly groaned and, using her glaive, she slowly picked herself up. Digging the dull end into the ground. She shook her head. "Hnh? Oh! I'm fine! Keep knocking their numbers down, Nanoha-kohai!" Firefly said quickly. "The glaive Riventon-senpai made for me makes me very durable! I can even get--" And then eeked, ducking under another assault of walnuts. "Eep! I'm okay though!"

Firefly turned her focus to Toymajin. Oh my gosh. FIRE AND ICE WERE SO COOL! Her eyes almost sparkled. And then she charged at him, time for round two! This time, ducking under the walnuts. And then swung her glaive, trying to strike the Toymajin in the back of the knee! Melee fighters unite! And from this angle she wouldn't have to worry about the pirate's flurry, either.

And then... purifying. Uh oh. She, unfortunately, didn't know it was dangerous to her.

Fortunately, it looked like Mou had the right idea. And so she was spared the effects of such an attack.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    The good news for Toymajin is that he manages to connect his blow with Onihime's abdomen, drawing a pained 'WHFF-!' and lifting her off her feet.

    The bad news is that it's like hitting a concrete wall; despite her tiny size, she seems to be built out of solid iron. If the goal was to knock her flying, then the goal has been failed - almost immediately, Kureha's hands snap out and grasp the Toymajin's fist, and then as he lifts upward, she shifts herself to the side and rolls off his fist. "I see. So you decry the selfishness of the world while focusing only on your own struggles, and disregarding how your solution would cause struggles for others. You don't want 'justice' at all."

    No sooner do her feet hit the ground than she pushes off, another plume of snow touched off as she hurls herself after the Toymajin. She doesn't even skip a beat in her counterattack, reaching out to snag a nearby Nutcracker and hurl it at her foe's legs. It's only intended to trip the Toymajin up for a moment - but that will give her a chance to hop up, turn a flip, and bring her heal down in a monstrously strong, burning axe kick.

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Tonight... Tonight there are no gay shanties. There's no bright singing or laughter or joy to be had.
    Not for Jolly Roger.
    More nutcrackers appear- the dread pirate jerks bodily as she's caught by a barrage of walnuts, pelting her from all sides, the dark energy searing her greatcoat and making her jot with each painful impact, but she grits her teeth.
    "Ay well..." She mutters darkly. "This ain't the Toy Kingdom innit?" Jolly Roger points out.
    "This be the North Pole. Santa's domain, not yours."
    Thankfully the purifying blizzard should deal with the nutcrackers. Further thankfully she's just undead and not powered by being an actual Creature of Darkness- somehow. Look it's weird curse shenanigans, so she's pretty alright with the helpful flurry of snow.
    But once again a dark shadow shrouds over the dread pirate's face. Once again she reaches into her greatcoat.
    Somehow. SOMEHOW she has *another* ship anchor in there. Look it's best to not question these things as she storms towards Toymajin with murder in her eyes.
    Because as soon Onihime lays into the toy king with that axe kick, Jolly Roger is going to just start swinging her anchor like a cudgel.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Toymajin feels his punch connect but then there's that retaliation against him, the axe kick coming down at him, just in time to be kicked to the ground, and then stabbed in the leg from behind as he stares at the girl who stabbed him over is shoulder before, purifying snow washes over him, and this causes him tremendous discomfort as mostly a dark energy construction. But it isn't enough to end him.. before an anchor just keeps swinging and swinging into him, before he has enough and hovers directly into the air a good two stories into the air suddenly, hard and fast..

"ENOUGH!" he bellows in an echo, as he begins to charge up something in his hands, "I will end you all, along with this holiday, forever!" he bellows as he keeps charging.. something. Whatever it is, it feels bad. Like really bad.

Luckily, he's weakened much by the fighting, surely it's time to put the kebash in on him finally! Go for it, you can do it.

"YOU CAN DO IT, CHILDREN!" yells Mrs. Claus. "BLEAT!" go the Reindeer, cheering in tune!

Nanoha Takamachi, beams at Firefly with a smile, before turning back towards the Nutcrackers. "KEEP GOING GUYS, I GOT YOUR BACK!" she says as she fires more Shot Barrets, and tanks Dark Energy Walnuts with her round shields.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    Mou feels Toymajin charging up for some ultimate attack, and it's up to all of them to stop it. The winds pick up again, this time focusing solely on her. Her halberd shatters in her hands, and its fragments are caught up in the wind. Clumps of purifying snow are picked up and swirl around her. Her white hair whips wildly behind her. When she speaks, it's like a whisper, but that whisper can be heard across the battlefield.

    "Snow... Heart... SOLSTICE!"

    The declaration of the attack name, the cheers from the others who are backing them up and relying on them, and the intensity of combat bring her up to an emotional peak. All at once, the winds still, the gathered snow and ice gather into one large projectile that flies directly at Toymajin. Purification seemed to hurt him, so what about blasting him with a whole lot of it?

    After such an exertion, she has to rest. She hides behind her broken and cracked ice wall, peeking out to see if they manage to bring the monster down.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Something doesn't sit right with Amy about Onihime's words. "At least he has a legitimate grievance. And was motivated to act on behalf of others who lack the power to help themselves. His presence in our way is far more Just than the Heat Miser's was."

    Unfortunately, it seems he's not going to calm down and talk. He's charging... something. "Dammit..." Amy mutters. "These freaking spirits... won't change anything." She shouts, "STAND DOWN BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, TOYMAJIN!"

    Having cleared out most of the nutcrackers with Nanoha and Mou's help, she stands by one of the walls of the workshop so at least one direction will be free of surprise walnuts and braces to fire as she changes her weapon back to launcher form. And just starts shooting Toymajin with her classic magic rockets. She'll stop if he powers down whatever it is he's charging, but... it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

    She also acknowledges a quick "Thanks!" to Nanoha as a shield stops some walnuts from hitting her.

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    As soon as her kick lands, Onihime backflips out of the way, dropping back into a ready posture and... well... wow. Erika is mad. It's enough to bring the oni-blooded young lady to a complete halt in quiet awe. "...goodness." She spares only a brief glance Amy's way, before replying with a dry, "The difference is that Heat Miser didn't delude himself, or try to delude us. He never claimed justice. Petty he may have been, but he was no hypocrite."

    But Kureha's instincts are telling her the assault thus far is not enough, so she quickly drops into a peculiar sort of ready stance, with her right arm held back behind herself, fingers spread open. "Haaaa..." A moment of focus, concentration, effort. And snow begins to melt around her. Steam begins to rise near her feet. A noticeable heat radiates from Onihime, even in the bitter cold of the North Pole, as flames begin to dance along her form and flicker in the air around her.

    "Haaaaa...!" Bit by bit, the fire flows into her hand, forming first a corona of flames, then a whirling fireball, then a small sun so bright it's hard to look at. The air shimmers with the heat of Onihime's flames, until the Youkai Musume passes a critical point only she can sense. Then, her body drops low, and once again pushes off, her right hand a brilliant comet trailing a streamer of fire.

    "REKKA KAIHOU!"

    A geta-clad foot plants. An ogre princess takes flight. A ball of brilliant fire hurtles into the sky, fingers curl into a fist, and the daughter of Mount Ooe swings all of her Herculean strength into a single blow powered by an utterly inhuman blast of magical fire, a punch like a powerful bomb going off that lights up the landscape of the North Pole.

    "KANABO STRAIGHT!!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly nodded. "Yeah! We're not letting you end christmas! Even if some of our christmas suck and our families are gone or busy or off with their girlfriends rather than hanging out with their little sister doesn't at all mean that we're okay with you ruining it for everyone else!" Oddly specific, that.

While they purified and launched attacks from one side, Firefly leaped and slashed with her own glaive, striking at the giant Toymajin's back in a flurry of strikes, the glaive spinning around as a wild purple blur. The fact it was an energy glaive would at least mean it wouldn't do... too much damage.

But hopefully it would soften it up enough for the sparkle skirts to sparkle it pure!

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    Mad is certainly one way to describe how Erika Shimizu feels. as Jolly Roger casts her anchor aside. It turns to glitter and seafoam as it hits the ground, another magical construct much like her flintlocks. The pirate adjusts her hat, holding it to her head as Toymajin starts charging something big and nasty.
    Can she shoot him? Yes, but it most certainly won't be enough to stop the onslaught of whatever he's charging. Quickly, Jolly Roger weighs her options on how to best and quickly help save a holiday she holds no love for.
    That's when the clouds part overhead... The full moon shines down.
    And the haggard zombie that is the dread pirate grins... or perhaps she scowls. It's difficult to tell with her skin turning a ghastly shade of grey, dark bags hanging under her eyes as the moonlight hits her and she draws a cutlass.

    "RISE FROM THE SEAS OF THE DEAD..." She booms. "ALL HANDS ON DECK, LADS! COME FORTH MY SCOURGE OF THE SEVEN SEAS, AND SET SAIL: DISASTER'S WAKE!"

    It is as though on cue, the snow shifts... And as though rising from the depths of the sea, an old and ragged full on PIRATE SHIP bursts from the snow. Tattered black sails, a ratty Jolly Roger flies from the mast, a spectral crew of ghosts and undead manning the ship as it veers around.
    Jolly Roger cuts the air once with her cutlass before pointing it for Toymajin...
    "ALL BROADSIDE CANNONS... OPEN FIRE!"
    Like a sudden riot, cannons go off, one after the other, a repeated 'KRAK-BOOM!' after 'KRAK-BOOM!' as spectral cannonballs rain down on the toy king.
    There's no need to worry about friendly fire, the spectral cannonballs only hit who Jolly Roger intends them to hit. And they all focus on Toymajin.

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Toymajin takes...numerous strong hits.

First comes the gathered snow and ice of Mou Fubuki... crashing into his form, purification, concentrated, wracking his form and knocking him lower into the sky... "I won't...can't lose to you!"

Then rockets from Amy fire into him and knock him back into the air, juggling him around as he tries to quickly pull his cape up to block the blows...

But Onihime is too fast before he can accomplish this, a brilliant firey hit lighting up the sky temporarily, just the first layer of snow melting and turning back into ice from the blast on the ground below, sending Toymajin flying down into the ground, finally.

That's when a flurry of strikes strike out at him from behind as Firefly gets in her strong hits, slashing into his back, tearing up his cape...!

And finally, that's when Cannons. upon cannons and cannons fire into him from a spectral ship that crashes through the ice and snow, pounding his form into the ground...

It's all he can handle as he curses loudly. "I..I'll be back next year... you can't...stop me forever!" he yells as he seems to duskport away, damaged, hurt and more importantly. Stopped.

With his defeat, the Nutcrackers all stop and turn into mist, apparently conjurations tied to Toymajin.

That's when Elves peek out of the workshop as things go quiet. "Is he gone!?" one asks.

"Who saved us!?" cries another elf.

"I think they did!" says another.

Mrs. Claus finally stands up, but quickly runs to the cottage, finally, to perhaps find, you know who.

Now you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why... Santa Claus...

Is right here. Missing his trade mark hat but returning with Mrs. Claus who looks pleased. "Thank you all!" says Mrs. Claus.

"Yes!" says Santa Claus. "Thank you so much. That was simple terrible..." he says as he adjusts his coat. Mrs. Claus hands him his hat back. He quickly puts the tasseled hat back on.

Laisa Samuiko has posed:
    So, Toymajin is forced to retreat, but not completely destroyed. Mou Fubuki isn't sure how she feels about the prospect of a rematch with him, but at least he's gone for now. As the nutcrackers start to poof out of existence, Mou remains tense for a minute or two. She's half expecting an ambush or surprise attack, but it never comes. When it all turns out to be fine after all, she lets her frozen armaments and ice wall vanish, releasing the cursed magic that created them.

    Slowly approaching the workshop, she awaits news from within. Surely Mrs. Claus went in to check on her husband, and when he finally comes out unscathed she lets the relief wash over her and carry away her tension. "Looks like we won this year. It's good to see you're alright, Mr. Claus."

    She looks around at her companions for this adventure. Cold weather doesn't bother her at all, but she's hoping that everyone still has their winter coats or whatever they were using to keep warm.

    "Is everyone alright?"

Kureha Senkenzan has posed:
    The explosive Kanabo Straight hits home, and Onihime lets herself drop back to the snow in the aftermath. There's so much other firepower on display that, for now, the best plan is to stay out of the way and wait for any possible retaliation.

    She's very, very thankful she does so. Because she's never seen Jolly Roger call forth not just her crew, but their vessel itself, under the gleaming light of the full moon. There's a moment of quiet awe at that. 'I... I had no idea she could...'

    Once again, though, it's not the time to space out. So Kureha shakes it off and returns her focus to the fight... except that there's no 'second wind' on the Toymajin's part. He's in retreat, and for the time being, Christmas is saved. After a wary pause, she lets her posture relax, standing up straight and folding her hands together. Her footsteps take her over the snow and back towards Mr. and Mrs. Claus, if only to check on them. "I am largely unharmed," she replies to Laisa. She's a bit sore from the blast and the punch, but even among magical girls, she's made of particularly stern stuff. If she stays in henshin, she'll have largely regenerated by the time they get home.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly was... was in the middle of the coolest fight EVER! Riventon was NOT going to believe this. Oni's, princesses, thieves, pirates, Nanoha, so much of this was just pure AWESOME! And it was going to be even MORE awesome before, in a moment... it was SANTA! Her eyes went wide and.... and she stared...

... It was SANTA!

She, very slowly, inched towards him. Eyes wide as saucers. Did she have a list? What did she want? Well... she couldn't ask for what she wanted now, but she had gotten her last few wishes. But... but there was one thing she really wanted in the moment. "San... ta?" she asked softly. Looking up at him. Letting her hand slide off her glaive, though it remained standing on its own. "Are you... the real... Santa?" she asked softly.

Inching closer. Closer. As if she was a bunny that might be spooked if he moved too quickly. She didn't even notice when she was asked if she was alright...

AND THEN SHE LUNGED! And just hugged him! "YOU ARE REAL! Riventon-senpai is NEVER going to believe I hugged the REAL SANTA CLAUS! This is the best year ever! Thank you for finally getting me what I wanted for christmas! Even though it took a while, I have a lot of them now!"

Erika Shimizu has posed:
    And so Toymajin retreats; vowing vengeance for another year. That... That is a problem for Future Mahous though. Present collected Mahous now get to meet SANTA CLAUS himself, as the jolly old elf emerges, Jolly Roger freezes in her tracks.
    "..."
    The blonde hesitates, taking a step toward the spirit of Christmas himself before pacing backwards, biting her lip hard as she clenches her fists at her side.
    If anyone could grant her Christmas wish it would be *him*, right? ... Right?
    "Nay..." she mutters, tugging her hat down over her eyes. That would be asking too much... Wouldn't it?
"Aye... Aye, fine here." She mutters to Mou Fubuki. She's as alright as she's gonna be.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The attacks of her fellow magical girls are truly impressive! But...

    The rejected toys aren't helped. Toymajin vows to do this again.

    They have saved Christmas, whatever that means.

    Tonight Amy's inner child shone through for awhile, but she's still a cynical adult in some ways, after all. And once she's started thinking that way, it's self-reinforcing. A magical veil isn't even needed.

    She turns to see Santa Claus and... isn't sure what she expected. She sees a jolly old man in an iconic costume. This feels more and more like a play. The actor is great for the part, but still... There can't be a real Santa Claus, can there. Even if there's some kind of spirit who believes himself to be such.

    It's not the same wonder and reverence she greeted Mrs. Claus with earlier, but Amy can manage a polite smile and nod for the man she only (hours? minutes? Just what happens to Time when Santa and his sleigh are involved?) ago was so excited to meet.

    "I'm fine." She answers Laisa, and starts to make her way over to Firefly to give a speech about how coming here today shows there's good in her--

    --The older girl's eyes widen a bit as innocent and pure Firefly, she believes. Amy's expression softens a bit. And then she feels a tear run down her face. "What...?" she breathes, and dabs at wet eyes with her cloak.

    She does not venture to guess as to whether the man before them really granted whatever Firefly is thanking him for. Amy knows who granted her wishes, and all that being has in common with Santa is a red-and-white color scheme.

    Eventually she opens her mouth to speak, takes a few breaths as she calms her emotions, and finally asks, "So, what happens now? You're... you've got a busy night ahead of you, and less time to do it in, and the reindeer are injured. Our... our quest isn't really over, is it. How do we... fix this?"

Nanoha Takamachi has posed:
Santa Claus lets out a laugh, it sounds exactly like you expect it too. Ho ho ho! "I'm glad I'm okay, too. That was frightening." he says to Mou Fubuki. Before he can recover he's hugged, and thanked and he says. "Now, I had nothing to do with that, you did that all on your lonesome." he says with a wink, the jolly man being truthful as he can.

Nanoha Takamachi eyes go wide. "Santa..is reallll..." she goes under her breath, afraid to approach, so she doesn't.

Then Amy approaches. "Yes, but don't worry, there's more Reindeer, you'd be surprised the things we prepare for here, everyone hears about Rudolph and Vixen and Comet and Cupid, no one ever hears about Dave." he says a little sadly. "David's a fine reindeer!"

"Yes, everyone is okay? Wonderful, yes, I need to get moving, if you want to help..."

"The elves do need help getting those last gifts into the bag, and I do need to gather all the reindeer." he say as he motions the crew along. "Come along then!" he says.

"If you want to help." he winks, again.

How else do you think you're gonna get home? With the presents. :IX When he reaches Tokyo, Japan.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The revelation of Dave the Reindeer gets a genuine chuckle from Amy. Help? "Of course."

    Somewhere in all this, she does find a moment to tell Firefly: "You uh. I dunno if you need to hear this, since helping Santa was probably proof enough, but... coming out here today? You showed you have some goodness in you, no matter who you're working for." Amy remembers the child's fear that her presence messed things up earlier, and offers a hug. "I for one am glad we had you here today."

    So, they're helping Santa deliver presents!

    There are so many presents.

    How does time even work in here? They have to have been to an awful lot of houses, and each took a definite time. Mathematically, it should...

    ...But it's still Christmas Eve night...

    Amy's cynicism wavers in the face of such proof. Uhhh. What... just what is happening here?

    There's the view of it all as spirits in a play, and the view of it all as real...

    ...But that would mean the Heat Miser and Toymajin really did threaten all these children...
    Did they... did she really just play a part in something so big? And if it was all real, so really, really real, that means...

    At one point, flying between houses in who knows what country on the way to Japan, Amy asks Santa, "...What... about all those unwanted toys in the Toy Kingdom? Toymajin may have been misguided, but they still need help, don't they? What's going to happen to them?"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Firefly was... pretty happy. All things being equal. She'd helped save Christmas. And when it came to a gift... well... She'd rather have something for her kohai or Takashi. They'd like it more and, honestly... this experience? This would be enough.

Save the best for last, as they say.

She'd take that hug and praise, though. Those were always nice.