2724/Speaking Out a Name

Speaking Out a Name
Date of Scene:	05 August 2025
Location:	Kingdom of the Ancients
Synopsis:	Seira's turmoil awakens another apparition and the threat posed by the Black Beauty Sisters motivates her to reveal herself and transform. With the Morning Moon Music Box finally revealed, are they actually able to go back?
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Rashmi Terios, Madoka Kaname, Amanda Faust, Hinoiri Kirara
Tinyplot:	The Dreams the Tide Cradles, NPC-Seira

---

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Having fun with them? Seira has wanted no more than having fun with them. Ever since she was finally born in this other dimension, she reached out to them specifically to do that. She was really happy at first. Happy that her wish was granted. Happy that she could have fun with them without everyone bringing up the burden of that other dimension. Even happy that Hippo had somehow gotten a wish too, even if it meant that they now couldn't last forever without trapping everyone here.

She had wondered why the wish had to make her know what happened and why it entrusted to her the power to send everyone back, but the Morning Moon Music Box was a mermaid relic. She could hardly see Hippo use it.

And now, they have been creeping closer and closer to the truth, and the only thing that stopped them from finding out on day one was the wish. The same wish that hadn't worked how it should. She could never be angry at Hippo for being there as well. He too only wanted to be happy, same as her, especially with how he was seeking to fulfill his and Yuri's love. And unlike her, it took him a lot less time to come clean.

"Seira, please stop!", Coco exclaims from just a meter back, hand outstretched to try and catch her. The orange girl looks back and confirms with a frown she has just about all of them after her. If only she hadn't been so careless then. She will have to come up clean now, whether she feels ready or not.

She almost stumbles at the prospect, and she feels that familiar tug in the air that happens every time she loses her cool. But this time is more of a rip than a tug, and she turns back just in time to see red and blue figures emerge from thin air confidently gripping their mics. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the yellow princess and her little group of friends", Sheshe smirks, taking a step forward. "What do we do, big sis? Shall we take her pearl now?" Mimi asks from behind her.

"It's the Black Beauty Sisters!" Coco yells, immediately going for her necklace. "Don't bother singing with them, they have always been resistant to it", she warns the others. Something odd is going on here though. How is it possible that they are aware now? The Dark Lovers weren't.

Curving her hands in a vague x-shape around her shell locket, yellow light radiates in the now empty cafè, and a kaleidoscope of colour rises to cover Coco's form. "Yellow Pearl Voice!" Said rainbow energy fades away to reveal her Idol clothes, and the her pearl gleams and expands, settling comfily into her hand as her trusty E-Pitch microphone, its blue shape, the yellow jewel nestled safely in the head's center.

"Seira, please!" Coco pleads to her. "If you know anything, tell us what's going on! Any problem you have, we can deal with it together." But the orange girl only watches on, frightened, shaking her head.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Meeting the person Michel could have been was... bittersweet. Having not yet run across the Michel of their world, Rashmi knows she can only be disappointed by 'her' Coco's Michel, the one who had somehow co-opted Glimmer and wanted the kind of 'peace' that most mahou would reject out of hand. But *this* Michel deserved a deep bow, and a "thank you for everything, Michel-sama" before Rashmi lit off after the others.

Madoka and Coco's plaintive cries *hurt,* because just by body language alone Rashmi feels like Seira won't be able to come clean until forced to... And knowing how Coco *feels* about Seira and her predecessor, that's also going to be an emotionally difficult fight.

...Color-coded villains who appear with *villain gloating,* on the other hand... That is *refreshingly* straightforward.

A bubble of golden light surrounds Rashmi on the run, shattering into disintegrating shards behind her and revealing her Barrier Jacket, with Nicomachea floating behind her right shoulder as she slides to a stop just in front of Coco. "So we're just gonna have to go right to the punch-and-shoot then, Yellow Pearl?"

If so, Rashmi will happily accomodate on the 'shoot' part.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura, Kamiko and Lydian follow after Seira. The Puella could catch up to her easily, but she's afraid of making the girl feel trapped, yet at the same time she doesn't want to lose sight of her. She is, admittedly, pretty happy that Madoka is around to handle such things.

    Madoka is trailing after just a little bit, only because she stayed behind to offer Michel a brief apology before fleeing. Neither she nor Homura are in henshin when the Black Beauty Sisters appear. Homura stops dead in her tracks, flinging her arm out to the side to hide the two minidokas. Madoka skids to a halt behind her and looks over Homura's shoulder. The pinkette comments, "Is it another glitch? Are we going to get in trouble if we fight them here?"

    Homura responds, "If it would, are you gonna let that stop you?" With a sideways glance to Rashmi, she says, "Seems like it."

    "My Heart: Unlock!" calls out Madoka. Lydian returns to her egg and merges with her bearer. Homura follows suit with no callout, activating her henshin with several consecutive sparks of purple magic. With both bow and guns drawn, the sapphic couple lock eyes with Sheshe and Mimi. Hope Blossom says, "We'd like to keep our pearls where they are."

    Kamiko mutters, "Every time they talk about stealing pearls I get a little bit nervous..."

    Homura responds, "Don't. You aren't Gretchen anymore."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Well, Amy wasn't suspicious. "You're not a bother!" She calls out, "We just want to talk!" And then those singers appear.

    "What?! Again?! Why?! The only thing the same as last time is--"

    She looks at Seira cowering. "The orange mermaid princess."

    She does not assume that the ability is intentional on Seira's part, but this isn't communicated, because everyone's prepping to fight. Amanda didn't actually un-henshin, so it's just pink sparkles that change her outfit back to flight mode.

    A rocket launcher appears held on her shoulder, aimed up and away from anyone for now.

    "Okay, you don't feel like recordings this time. So if you're real..." Amy blinks. "Wait, who the hell do you even want to take the pearls for? Michel and Gaito are both good in this timeline. This could be, honestly, a great place to retire and live, the Dark Lovers are running an ice cream shop apparently."

    She holds out a hand and smiles. "So what do you say? Peaceful life? Or the same fate as Witches, Witches, and uh..." She looks to Rashmi. "What were those elemental girls called? Oh wait they lived actually." She looks back to the Sisters. "Kind of a no-brainer if you ask me!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Seems like they are", Coco tells Madoka. That seems to indicate there is some connection between Seira and these glitches, even if she couldn't get why. What is her relation to the wish Hippo got granted? And why is it that these are much more 'put together' than the Dark Lovers? All questions with no answers, and it's not the time for them either. As for Madoka's other question... "Rashmi, can you put up a Barrier?", the yellow mermaid asks. Last time they didn't have the luxury of having the redhead with them.

"I think so!" Coco smiles at Rashmi's question. That applies to herself as well, since she doesn't have the luxury of two more mermaid princesses showing up to break through the Black Beauty Sisters' resistance. But that's not a problem she has. Even if she had used them sparingly, she has lots of other tricks that she can use to force a response from the two anglerfish, and with them, she is not afraid to use them.

"Big sis, what is the gun girl talking about?", the blue demon points at Amy with eyebrows raised. "Who even is Michel?" The red demon shrugs with a confident smile. "Don't pay it any mind, Mimi, we will do it as we always have, and if Gaito really has given up on his revenge, that only means there is more pay for us. Ready?" At Mimi's nod, they extend their arms in front of them in a fluid motion. "It's a new showtime!"

Become a beautiful noise, Baroque that shuts out the light
With whispers of a black trap, sleep eternally in the cradle

O slowly awakening
Shadow within my heart,
Adorn yourself with crimson roses, freeze the pearls

Now... let us merge our wishes into one
And surrender ourselves to the great darkness

With the song of the two demons, waves of darkness rouse and lash out at Coco, trying to break through the Live Stage and crush her spirit with the dark melody, while actual waves threaten to submerge Madoka and Homura. Their mics cast dark light as well, which immediately breaks into shards and go after Rashmi and Amy as projectiles.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Absolutely," Rashmi answers as an intricate magical seal expands beneath her feet, revolving and counter-revolving in hypnotic fashion.

    << *BONG!* >> << TIME-SPACE BARRIER >>

A yellow-black staticky ball of light appears above Nicomachea's pages, expanding *rapidly* outward to shift the entire battlefield, dimensionally, half a step to the left. While Rashmi herself isn't sure how this'll affect *bystanders* to this ruckus, given there's no way of knowing who's magically active and who isn't, it'll certainly keep *property* safe.

...Just in time for the two to begin their assault, and *oh boy* is it upsettingly multifaceted.

<< *BONG!* >> << SOLAR SHIELD >>

Shards of darkness are intercepted by golden holographic light... The last few lodge in, creating a spider's web of cracks in the light that warn that the shield won't be standing up to much more.

Which is why a dozen Barrets fade into being one after another, and Rashmi begins to tweak them for maximum effectiveness. << Amy-chan, take the one that shot at me, I'll get the other! Switch targets when they do! >>

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Homura comments, "No one is going to pay you for your bounty," but she expects her words to fall on deaf ears. After all, the Dark Lovers weren't much different than these two, what with their insistence upon stealing pearls.

    Madoka wonders, "I wonder what these two would be like in this world, if they weren't... like this?"

    They don't have much time to converse, because the enemy song has started, and now the two girls are getting flooded. Kamiko flies up and above the waves, while Homura and Madoka hold hands as the current starts to carry them away. Once the Time-Space Barrier goes up, Madoka weaves a wooden shield out of several stacked branches, creating enough room for Homura to wrap an arm around her partner's waist and jump out of the water with her. With the two in the air, Madoka aims down at the two enemies and rains down pink magical arrows on them.

    Kamiko meanwhile flies over to Seira to hide behind her, since she seems like she's staying out of the fighting for now.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Coco asks for a barrier, and Amy adds an eager, "Please?"

    And then the song begins.

    Amy hadn't been going to shoot projectiles as such, she'd planned to open up with spamming her DG-Girl Killer attack and seeing how long they could dodge it, but she forgot how awful the sisters' singing was.

    "Augh!" The Puella Magi cover her ears, and a volley of fireworks appear in the air around her and launch towasrds the sisters, trying to distupt their song with noise.

    It becomes a hell of a fireworks display as the dark light zaps her fireworks like some kind of laser point-defense system, and what fireworks that do get through go off in pops, crackles, and starshells! It's a dark laser fireworks show!

    After a few seconds, Amy adds anti-tank missiles into the mix, and starts running -- and then flying -- around the cloud of smoke all this has made -- which only adds to the feeling of a dark laser lightshow, honestly -- trying to get clear eyes on the Sisters so she can keep directing her attacks!

    << SORRY, >> Amy telepaths back to Rashmi, a bit loud from the impulse to shout over the noise, << I JUST wanted to drown them out and now I can't see them! Working on it! >>

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Do you know what this is supposed to be, Sister Sheshe?" Mimi asks, peering at the confines of the Barrier Rashmi created. "We will find out once they are on the ground, Sister Mimi", comes the Red demon's flippant response.

"As if you are going to", Coco tells them, then she smiles at Rashmi with a thank you, bringing her E-Pitch up, ready to start her concert. "No matter what happens, stay behind me", she tells Rihito, who replies with "I will, Coco. Show them what you got", he incites her, and the mermaid finally commences her concert. "With a Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!"

Blown by a seven-colored wind,
I was heading toward a distant cape
Before dawn, I heard a melody
A song that felt so very nostalgic

Birds flap their wings toward the eastern sky
Come on, there's a shortcut to the Treasure Island

After a stormy night, new life is born again
To carry the message of love
In the Paradise of the Seven Seas
Even if the day comes when everyone must leave this place behind
I won't forget
The Melodia of the Seven Kingdoms

The idol of the seas immediately counters with her own songs, and predictably the Black Beauty Sisters stand there unaffected, but at the same time the Live Stage she is in is bolstered against the dark energy, whose wave crashes against it violently, but recedes in the end after its light has become a bit dimmer, with Coco still singing brightly in its center. It does get slightly dimmer compared to what it started as, even if it is still plenty bright for now.

The Black Beauty Sisters neutrally watch Madoka and Homura get pulled under, and they don't react even when they emerge, until Madoka's arrows of light rain down on them. "Be careful!", Sheshe says, bringing up a shield over the two of them. Hope Blossom's attack pierces through partially, leaving the red demon to hold up a layer of darkness with arrowheads on the internal side. Amy's explosives join the assault to the dark protection and it both falls, leaving the duo open for now.

"That was really close. Do you want to do the honours?", Sheshe nonetheless talks to Mimi, and the other demon doesn't waste a second and leads the song this time, at the center of the red darkness that resembles Coco's Live Stage. Dark energy hammers now at the shield Rashmi is defending with, while Homura and Madoka get assailed by the fragments of dark light this time with the energy the duo are producing. Separate waves rush instead at Coco and Amy trying to submerge them like they did Homura and Madoka.

Stolen hearts embraced by Baroque, a negative wave
The world we believed in vanishes in an instant, without a sound

We are slowly approaching...
Let us celebrate the time of the end
Praise the smile of ice, turn the pearls to ash

Ah... my friend. If there is a light of hope,
It is but an homage to the despair that begins to bleed through.

"Kamiko, what are you doing here?" Seira asks, looking at the fairy briefly with anxious expectation, not taking her gaze away from the disaster which is her fault.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Kamiko says to Seira, "Not getting soaked, basically. Whatever those two uncuddly dummies are doing, I want none of it!" She crosses her arms for emphasis, as her golden eyes grumpily glance at the two evil girls. "How are you holding up? Are you worried because of those two?"

    Fragments of dark light come after Madoka and Homura as the arc of their jump carries them over the water. Madoka unleashes a volley of pink arrows that split and spread and shoot down the fragments that come at them, thinning out their numbers but not catching all of them. Homura raises her shield and a barrier of purple flares around the two girls as her magic the hit.

    When they land, Homura sets Madoka down and aims her assault rifle at Mimi, opening fire while Madoka follows up by firing more arrows at Sheshe. "Even like this, they're stubborn," comments Homura.

    "Then we'll have to dig our heels in just as hard," responds Madoka.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi's lips skin back from her teeth as she pushes against the assault, cracks spreading further and further over the shield's surface, until--

    << *BONG!* >> << RED SHIFT >>

The shield shatters outward, detonated just before the attack would destroy it. And with Rashmi *not* bracing herself against the explosion of kinetic force created by the action, she gets thrown into the air, arms windmilling --

    << *BONG!* >> << FLIER FIN >>

--until golden, dragonfly-like wings unfurl from her ankles, allowing her to stabilize in midair.

And it's only *then* that the Barrets, tuned for evasion and power, scatter away from their orbit around the Devicer, each spreading out and taking a wildly twisty flight path, before finally closing in on SheShe.

<< Amy, focus on ... was her name Mimi? the one leading! Her--ow! *OW!* >>

The assault is, after all, still ongoing, and her Barrier Jacket *can* blunt a good few hits... And so it is, Dark Energy slamming against Rashmi again and again, driving her urther up and back.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The Live Stage goes up, Amy comes around the smoke and the thrusters on her armor flare brightly as she dives towards the sisters -- only for that red darkness to surge out. "Augh!" Amy shouts, and holds out a hand -- sixty-four anti-tank rounds conjure and instantly detonate, spaced a few inches a part, just ahead of her, airbursting to try and pelt the sisters with bits of burning hypersonic metal just before the waves sweep over Amy.

    It's cold, and wet, and dark, but it's not like that one Spectre Sister, and at least she can't hate their song now, and beachgoing reflexes make Amy curl up and go still for a few seconds waiting for it to wash over her...

    ...

    ...Out of the water surfaces a large torpedo with Amy surfing atop it, any scrapes and damage she's sustained regenerating away and her costume reforming pristine, and she leaps off and takes to the air again as the torpedo leaps out of the water towards Mimi and EXPLODES

    "I'm telling you, this world is different, and you need to quit! I can do this all day! I have not begun to cut loose!"

    ...She says, although a chill runs through her as she mentally adds up flying, a touch of regen, the DG-Girl Killer move and the giant torpedo and realizes that without help she would have burned through a significant fraction of soul gem so far.

    << ...What about you guys, how're you all holding up? >>

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Seira turns Kamiko's question over in her mind, freezing slightly at the direct addressing of her worries. It probably is evident she is, Seira reasons, with how otherwise this would be the perfect chance for her to run away without anybody being really able to keep chasing her. And yet she cannot bring herself to say anything to the fairy, despite being really evident to the Chara that she would like to talk about things.

Coco keeps singing and the Live Stage still protects her for now. Ok, good, they are still taking the lead in this fight, soon, it won't be much longer. Her Song calls on energy that gathers and throws another Live Stage at Mimi.

Meanwhile the Black Beauty Sisters have been exposed since the shield got broken previously, and even if their results aren't vividly reflected by the behaviour of the two anglerfish, and Sheshe pushes Mimi away throwing her away from Coco's Live Stage and Amy's torpedo, though the latter does burns her slightly through the sheer heat.

At the same time Sheshe has given up any opportunity to defend herself, letting herself be directly hit by the rounds of Homura's assault rifle, Madoka's pink arrows and Rashmi's Barretts. She tries to use more of the dark wave of energy to counter them in place while Mimi calls out her name.

"Don't worry about me, I got it!" she encourages her even as the attack cracked and pushed back tear through her, sending her flying backwards by several meters, and bruises start creeping up her skin. "Is this all?", she gets up again, powering past the pain of the wounds.

"Sister Sheshe, you are still up! Let's get them then!", Mimi exclaims happily, and they join their voices again. "I will always be up", she nods, though her movements are a lot slower and shorter than before. "Focus all you have on both of the girls with the guns, I will get to the mermaid princess", she orders her. Neither of them seems to have understood Amy's speech.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Okay so they're still glitch-youma, >> Rashmi muses at seeing the two utterly ignore Amy's attempt to communicate, and starts casting her eyes about the ground. << Does anyone have eyes on-- oh there's Kamiko, okay, Seira-chan's still here, good. >>

'I will get to the mermaid princess.'

"Oh no YOU WILL NOT," Rashmi calls out, a little annoyed and a *lot* vested in protecting her mermaid friend.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR FLASH >>

The quick-step spell is not *quite* teleportation, but the energies make her move so fast, for a moment, that she seems to just compress into a packet of energy and *leap* to a position between Coco and Mimi, as a dozen more Barrets appear around her in a lazy orbit.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BARRAGE -- GLACE SHIFT >>

One after another after another after another, Barrets are converted into clumps of golden ice, then fired straight downrange at the oncoming Mimi. As each one is fired, another is resummoned, turning Rashmi into a rapid-fire machinegun of heavy, sticky snowballs that cling to their target, and each other. Each Barret that impacts on Mimi slows her down just a little bit more, gradually building up their impeding mass until one of two things happens:

* Mimi is brought to a halt and at least heavily restrained, or
* She breaks free of the spell with a surge of Dark might.

Either way is acceptable, as the point is blunting the *effort* the oncoming Black Beauty Sister can spend on menacing Coco.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"Oh, come *on* is this just the week of ex-coworkers? And sorry, nobody touches the princesses!" an all-too-familiar voice rings out. As a third option comes forth...

"Prodigious flambe!"

A black and red garbed girl would descend, landing directly in the slowed Mimi's path.... "Not going to lie, you two were always fun to work with, but come on. This whole dark echo thing is getting a bit old. And sorry, guys. I uhhhh, had to take care of a thing. Don't ask, you're better off not knowing."

The others were fighting them, so that was enough. And hey, they were kicking their butts, so a little extra help could only be good, right? As purifying flames enveloped her fists and feet. "Not gonna lie, I really appreciate the help you two gave me!" she said, as she unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches on Mimi! "Baroque of Darkness really pushed my research along, even helped me a lot when I left, figure out a lot of stuff! But help or not, doesn't mean I'm going to let your echoes lay a *finger* on one of my *mermaid* friends! Only I get to torment her these days!" she said proudly.

Then paused.

"N-not... not that I would!"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Kamiko doesn't really ask Seira any more questions. The Chara just pulls a chocolate truffle out of a small Labyrinth portal and shoves the whole thing into her tiny fairy mouth, munching on it while staring at the orange mermaid princess. Only after swallowing does Kamiko take another chocolate treat out of the portal and offer it to Seira. "Do you want one, too?"

    This small little creature is capable of fathoming vast unknowable concepts that would bend and break the minds of the world's leading scientists, but basic manners about food consumption and staring are a little bit lost on her sometimes.

    Homura responds to Rashmi's telepathy with, << I think Kamiko-chan wants to make sure Seira doesn't get hurt. That's why she's standing close enough to portal her out of there. >>

    Kamiko says, << OH! That's a good idea actually. Wish I had thought of it. >>

    Homura gives the minidoka an incredulous look for a moment. << Then why are you... never mind, just stay with her! >>

    Madoka chimes in, << You know... I wonder if we can drown them out? >>

    Homura says, << Worth a shot. >> and then starts throwing grenades at the two anglerfish girls. As they get close to the target, Madoka fires an arrow into the explosives, setting them off and making both a loud noise and a concussive wave of force. As the Black Beauty Sisters continue their assault, both Hope Blossom and Love Lily stay in motion, never really providing them with a stationary target.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Sheshe is battered and bruised. She cannot be feeling well. "[Jesus f***]." Amy swears. "You guys aren't Puella Magi... doesn't that hurt?! Is it really worth this bounty or whatever you think you're getting?!" But then Rashmi's conclusion is in her head and Amy sees it too, her shoulders slumping a bit. "Oh. Very well then."

    Rashmi announces 'oh no you will not'. Amy... acts.

    BABABABANGNGNGNG!

    Explosions fill the area around Amy, trying to turn waves aside by force, and large chunks of burning hypersonic metal attempt to turn part of the waves to steam and to slam into Mimi. They can probably take some laser fire and keep going.

    The same finisher she used on Emeraude and Demande, spammed several times in a single second, for attack and utility (and perhaps giving new meaning to the term 'wave-clear')

    Amy starts floating down after Rashmi, intending to be another mahou In The Way of any attempt to take the princess. Red eyes glare at the sisters with a cold calculating look as she considers how to return these echoes to nothing but memory.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Of course, Kamiko got us covered", Coco confirms to Rashmi happily, For some reason they have been ignoring her in favour of going after Coco, but nevermind, that's exactly what the yellow mermaid so long as they don't get to Rihito either behind herself, and so far, they have all managed everything with flying marks. Literally so, when Rashmi uses her magic to fly around her already intercepting all of Mimi's attacks with the ice spheres.

Each one of them makes the rest of the trip towards Mimi rather unenventfully. The blue anglerfish is able to dodge most of those, but still it's an impression to her that the Black Beauty Sisters aren't really accomplishing anything. The rest of the balls of snow do hit Mimi and start sticking to her, to the point that she can't even close her arms anymore and has to waddle around uncomfortably like some sort of penguin.

"This is really annoying", she glares at Rashmi with as much acid as she can muster, and she tries getting them off the normal way, swinging her arms up and down rapidly, but it really. keeps. sticking. to. her. "Well, if you really appreciate that, sister, maybe you can help me get these things off!", she yells at Cure La Licorne, even if she doesn't really think about what help she is referring to.

It's in that state that the explosive attacks set off by Licorne, Homura, Madoka and Amy reaches her for her trouble, instead of getting the help she was demanding. Her screams are drowned by the sounds of the explosions, and when the fire fades, she is left a bruised mess just as much as Sheshe, only with those spheres of snow to provide some soothing feelings even if they still trap her.

"What do you think we are doing? We will get what we want to rule over even if Gaito doesn't, no thanks to him, and no part of the prize either", Sheshe tells Amy, approaching Mimi angrily, and infusing her energy into her. "Let's put our all into this, Sister Mimi, it's clear we aren't getting out of this any other way", she helps her up gently.

"Thank you, Sister Sheshe. Let's give them a final showtime." The two anglerfish start singing their song of darkness once more, back to back, and Mimi's impediments melt away, intensifying the darkness surrounding them in a great maw that is growing in mass and volume, soon to explode at them.

Seira looks at the huge mass of energy and shakes her head, turning down the chocolate. "Sorry, Kamiko-chan.There is something I have to do too", Seira turns it down and starts walking into the battlefield. If she is to be her kingdom's hope, then she thinks she better start acting like it. "I am sorry, everyone. Sorry for running away, sorry for all the secrets, sorry for watching you strive from afar and doing nothing to help. But that ends now. I am really happy to be your friend, and it's about time I start showing it", she tells the group.

"I am your friend, and I am the Seira you have been looking after, and I will take part in this fight too. I won't hesitate anymore!", she brings her arms around her shell locket. Orange Pearl Voice!", she speaks out, and the kaleidoscope of colours that has surrounded Coco many times embraces her as well, shifting and transforming into the bearer of the orange melody.

Coco blinks at the younger mermaid. All this time, that's where Seira was!? And she is there, she is alive, in a body of her own, why is she... "Let's sing together, Coco, please, I will give you the answers later", Seira cuts her off, reading the questions on her face. "R-right!", the other mermaid agrees. "Let's put our all into this too", Seira asks the others.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Kamiko watches Seira turn down the chocolate, and the tiny fairy shrugs. "Well okay. There's always more if you change your mind!" Then she starts munching the offered treat all on her own. When the orange haired girl starts talking about friendship and duty, Kamiko recognizes those as Serious Mahou Words and keeps an eye on the girl. Just in case she needs to be pulled into safety.

    Turns out, she doesn't. Actually, Seira has a henshin and is... actually the Seira they were looking for. "Wow!" says the divine fairy, before clapping her tiny hands.

    Madoka and Homura haven't had time to watch Kamiko's antics, but they've been telepathically keeping tabs on her. When they hear the callout of a new henshin, Madoka glances over to look at Orange Pearl Voice with a smile. "We can talk it out later!" says the pinkette. "For now, let's bring it in!"

    The Black Beauty Sisters are charging up for some big and scary attack, but in this situation it feels like a desperation move. All the more reason to put their all in so that team sparkle doesn't have to find out the hard way what it does. This time Homura fires her rocket launchers without guilt, and Madoka fires a charged up arrow into the air which turns into a wall of runic circles and lines before raining down pink destruction upon the two anglerfish girls.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It *is* gratifying to see her ice be this effective -- and no small amount of comedy to see Mimi doing the Penguin Dance -- but the quivery smile and half-choked giggles are wiped away, the moment the Sisters begin to charge up a Final Attack.

This is concerning.

Then, Seira reveals herself to be *their* Seira, the missing Princess, and ready and able to fight!

This is also concerning, but in a different and vastly less upsetting way.

And without this fight having dragged out long enough to allow Rashmi *her* finisher, she decides... to simply emulate one. As an intricate seal spreads out beneath her feet, and Barrets resolve into being around her, she slots a device that seems equal parts thumbdrive and bookmark into Nicomachea's inside cover.

    << *BONG!* >> << BURST INDEX -- SOLAR BARRAGE >>

Her standard flavor of Barrage is... very much a blunt instrument of an attack. It's simply a Barret machinegun, without any fancy frills or tweaks to allow for rapid-fire, sustained shooting ability. But her Burst module takes all of those summoned Barrets, and installs within it a package of kinetic force. When a normal Barret hits, it's like being punched in the face with light. When a Burst Barret hits, it's like being nonlethally hit by a car.

The Barrage fires a dozen Barrets a second, for as long as Rashmi's mana holds up. And a charging target is a stationary target.

Simply put, Rashmi is the very epitome of 'softening up the target' in this moment.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne leaped up and back as the two sisters regathered to start their song... "Yeah... Listen, I love the song, I really do. I've studied it inside and out! But... We're not doing that today! Maybe if we ever meet the real you again..." Honestly, she never found out what happened to the real them after that. Considering what happened with Gaito and everything, wellllll...

Only for Seira to reveal herself! Oh, that was some good news! She pulled out her Heart Rouge Rod and painted on her lipstick, before holding it aloft. The sunrays piercing through her hair turning to long, purifying blades before piercing towards the echoes of her ex-coworkers! "Victory!" Cure La Licorne said with a cocky smirk, crossing her arms and a pair of sunglasses appeared on her head as she posed in a 'too cool for cure' moment... Before giving a light chuckle and making a heart with her hands. You know what? She just accepted it now. Maybe... it wasn't as silly as she thought.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The smoke clears to reveal Mimi battered but alive. "[Holy shit.]" Amy breathes, eyebrows raising a bit. "Dark Energy really makes you tough, huh?"

    As she holds out her hand dramatically, they finally respond to her earlier question. She hesitates. "You can just talk to--"

    The Sisters are putting their all into their song and the darkness is growing--

    No.

    Amy thinks, bang plinking Mimi in the forehead with bits of metal. And then doing it again and again. To everyone else it looks like the explosions are launching sparks too fast to see, or something. Just like she did to the subway Nightmare; was that really only months ago? It feels like years...

    If she can keep annoying Mimi, that buys them all more time to figure out how to end this.

I am the Seira you've been looking after
    "WHAT?!" Amy turns around in wide-eyed shock, letting up on Mimi, but nods agreeably at Madoka's assertion that they can talk it out later.

    And she kind of wants to do a cool thing but can't quite figure out how to fully bring it together, but... close enough, and it will look cool.

    As the Puella Magi turns to face the Black Beauty Sisters once more, she raises her hand and a tongue of multicolored rainbow flames explodes upward from it, a bit reminiscent of some kind of energy sword or beam attack perhaps?

    And she does her best to look cool as she intones,

    00 RAISING ("Double-Oh Rising")

    ...and as she steps forward and swings it down,

    BLAZER!

    There's a roar of explosions in front of her as it turns into a grand orange lance of light trying to cut through the leader of the Sisters, just a bigger version of what she was doing a moment ago -- the same thing she's used on many of Seriss Nyx's monsters but sustained instead of over in an instant, a jet of glowing-hot metal flung at absurd speeds to punch through anything in its way again and again!

    After a second or two of this she lets the smoke that's built up stop clearing. "Phew..." she takes a look around to see how everyone's doing.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Rings of orange and yellow light descend onto the two mermaids, and Aqua Regina's blessings pass through them, turning them into their Super Idol forms, and their Live Stages mix together as they stand side by side.

Love and dreams will become one
Because I'll turn the sad "now" into stardust for you,
Believe in yourself...

Hold pride in the fact that you were born.
Don't cloud up the strongly shining, angelic gaze towards you.

For the sake of this dream, if you can lend me your strength, I want to be born.
I want to become love...

I'm always gazing at you from your side.
Don"t fear journeys. You can go forth in them with your blinding courage...

The two mermaid princesses sing in unison the song that holds Seira's heart and conviction, and when it reaches its apex an explosion of purifying hearts accompanies it, wrapping around the fake Sisters. "Holy Pure Pitch!" Seira intones right at that time, and Coco accompanies her with her own callout. "Fine Heart Pitch!"

Rocket launchers crash down onto the developing darkness, reducing it with uncanny precision, and the accompanying pink destruction leaves vast holes behind where the launchers struck. It is through them that Rashmi's barretts fill the dark with their golden light, thinning them from within and blinding the two fakes, allowing La Licorne to pierce it with ease thanks to her scorching sun blades, and the great lance Amy has prepared wrecks havoc to it, reducing it to nothing.

When all the attacks have struck, where the illusions of the Black Beauty Sisters stood lies empty space, the menace finally over, leaving Coco to breathe a sigh of relief. "Are you ok, everyone?", she asks, and both Rihito and Seira nod. "All ok here", he confirms.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    As the fury of the mahoujin is unleashed in full, and the illusory Black Beauty Sisters are no more, Madoka breaths a sigh of relief. Homura flips her hair and starts walking towards Orange Pearl Voice, saying, "Now... I think we're ready to hear your side of the story. If you're truly our Seira, then we'd like to know how it is you've managed to have a body of your own." After Homura nears the orange mermaid, she stops in her tracks. "... not that we're complaining. It's good to see you like this, whatever the circumstances..."

    Madoka smiles and follows her girlfriend up to Seira. She clutches her hands to her chest and says, "Seira-chan... is it really you? We've been so worried about you this whole time."

    Kamiko floats overhead, watching this exchange with curiosity. Now that the danger is over, she feels little reason to hide.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Lil' dinged up," Rashmi chimes in as she flutters groundward, "but pretty okay. Also Hinoiri *you get a victory pose?!* That's so cool! And Amy-chan you're getting *really good* at that!"

How dare her magic be utilitarian and hyper-flexible and occasionally double as urban renewal, but not come with its own victory pose. Even if it's one that she can see in Hinoiri's eyes requires cringe immunity that the unicorn Cure hasn't developed yet.

Closing her eyes, she shakes her head a bit to get back in the moment, clearing her throat and turning a gentle smile on Seira. "You know, we're *worried about* you, not *upset at* you. C'mon... Tell us your story, and maybe we can help?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Believe in yourself, hold pride in the fact that you were born, don't fear journeys and go on with your blinding courage, huh? It's a nice thought warming Amy's heart. And she smiles at Cure Licorne's cool victory pose!

    Rashmi's praise warms the Puella's heart too! Amy smiles and turns to her friend, lifting her left forearm to show the bright red soulgem in its vambrace, pure and free of corruption. "Infinite magic, remember? Now is a great time to practice. But I couldn't pull that off back home."

    And then the red-haired Puella Magi turns to the orange mermaid. Madoka and Homura have asked the questions, and Rashmi given the reassurances, so Amy mostly just nods, but does offer a warm smile. "It's great that you're here. But if something's bothering you... Can't we help solve your problems?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne let out a sigh of relief, before turning towards the others and ruffling her hair, grinning over at them. "Sorry about that, happy everyone's okay. So, Seira?" she asked, glancing towards the orange mermaid. "I get the feeling I might have missed some things, eh heh..." she said sheepishly. "Don't worry, I'll catch up," she said quickly.

And she was about to join in with Madoka and Homura about interogating the lady...

When Rashmi gushed about her pose. Wait, had she not... "Well, uhhhh... Yeah. Apparently it's part of the pretty cure lineup, you know? Just kind of happens. I go through a *lot* of sunglasses. Not... sure where they go, actually. I think they just... disappear and re-appear, honestly. I guess it is a little neat," she said, rubbing the back of her head, chuckling.

She then turned to Seira... "So... what... exactly is going on here? Last I remember you were like... yay big," she said, holding up her fingers like a pearl sized. "And a pearl slash feather slash spirit entity we were trying to put back together."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Seira nods at the others' request. She really did reveal herself, and now it's about time she comes clean. "Hippo's wish didn't go wrong due to the Cove of Wishes twisting it. I had a wish too, to have fun with everyone", she starts talking. "If it had been only him, or if it had been only me, the wish would have gone as intended." She gulps. "But we were both there, making a wish at the exact same time, and you have been told the rules haven't you?" she looks at the group one by one.

"It's one wish every one hundred years. The Cove can't grant more than that. But it didn't know what to pick out of ours, so it tried its best to grant both, and that's how we ended up here. They both broke", she turns her eyes away.

"I wanted to spend time with you without any of the baggage with the other Michel, and that's why I said nothing. I told myself I would have put everything back when you would have found out the truth, but I was just running away, because I was afraid to go back. I am really sorry", she bows down.

Coco comes close and gets her to stand up. "It's ok, Seira. It's like Rashmi said. We are just worried, not mad. I am glad you are ok, and that you didn't have to spend the last days alone with Michel", Coco tries comforting her with a hug.

Seira hugs Coco back, sighing. "Thank you, everyone. I am glad you are ok, and that we got to have fun together. I imagine you want to go back now. I do have the way to put everyone back here with me. The Cove put the way to do it in the Morning Moon Music Box of us mermaids, and it gave that to me. I can do it right now, if you are ready", she reveals. "There is no real problem here, just I had to accept this wish was about to come to an end", she tells Amy. "I will just trust you and wait until I can be born the right way."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Oh. Oh that is *awful,* and Rashmi is filled with much the same feelings as when she learned of Entrapta's childhood. To have just wanted to have fun with everyone, but an *accident of timing* turned it into a whole thing...

"...Y'know," Rashmi says after a moment, "I don't... think it'll be fair to go back *without* you getting your wish too. Even if it is temporary, Hippo at least got to spend *some* time with a Yuri. And you've been tearing yourself up this whole time about messing things up, you haven't been having *any* fun at all, have you?"

The Devicer looks from Seira, to Coco, to Amy and Hinoiri and the Madoka-Homura-Chara conglomerate. "...Who's to say we can't go have fun *right now?*"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka looks at the others, then looks at Homura. Homura glances back at the pinkette and shrugs, "I mean... I'm not going to say no? We do have to go back eventually, but..."

    Madoka nods and says, "That's right. I think Lydian would be upset too, if we had to go back without Seira being able to have her wish."

    Kamiko crosses her arms and says, "Face it. You'd all feel guilty if you made her undo it now, and you can't tell me you'd pass up this chance to spend time with a friend." She holds up a finger and says, "People who are ill, and those who are prisoner, those kinds of people need the visits of friends most of all. I think Seira's situation qualifies as much as anyone else's has."

    Madoka dehenshins, and Lydian pops out of her egg to float up to Seira. "Come on. It doesn't have to be now, right? Let's go do something fun together. I'm sure there's something like that around here."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens, astonished. And slowly holds a hand to her head. "You realize, you could have been spending your time here playing with us instead of running, if that was your wish..."

They can go back right now, if they're ready...
    Amy shakes her head, alarmed. "Not yet, we can spend another day or two here, now that we know... I need to talk to our magical friends in high places about something, first."

    And then Rashmi points out that they still need to make Seira's wish come true, and she smiles and nods. "Yeah! It's the least we can do, to give you a pleasant break before... before we go back. Some of our other friends aren't lucky enough to get such a chance, so let's not waste it!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Cure La Licorne blinked a few times, before going a little red and shrugging. "Yeah. And... besides. Not like... nothing good came from this whole mess. I was able to confirm a like... whole magic theory I had from way, way back when. Not... sure what I can actually do with it, but confirming it alone might be useful for something down the line, you never know. So this hasn't been altogether bad," Cure La Licorne said sheepishly.

"And if this thing is just going to run its course anyway... why not just enjoy the last bit of time together, have some fun? Like... You're one of Coco's friends and ummmm... you're the new... well... it's not like we don't wanna hang with you. So like... no reason to not have a bit of fun while we can, is there?" She reached out and ruffled her hair.

"... Cause we're gonna save you. Believe me. I know it can be scary, where you are now. And bleak. But... these sparkles? Take it from me. They're *relentless*. No matter *what you do*. They *never* stop. They *never* slow down. They just keep *going and going*. Like a, what's that animal in your world? Shark that smells blood. But like... they sniff friendship and then they latch on. And before you know it? BAM. They gotcha. Then they're dragging you back out of whatever trouble you got yourself into. Or someone else got you into. Whether you want them to or not."

"Even if you tell them to just *let you go*," she said, her voice flat and side eyeing them. "And not worth the risk. Bucking. Relentless. Make it *real hard* to stay in trouble sometimes, let me tell you."

"... So we'll get you, one day. But for today? Let's get you some memories to help make that day feel a bit closer," she said, before giving a wink and ending her own henshin.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Seriously?", Seira asks incredulously. "Of course!", Coco winks at her. "It's summer, so we all deserve a bit of a break. So I say now is the perfect moment." Rihito speaks up as well. "And I can show you how to play the violin too. It's a different type of music, but I think you will enjoy it too."

Seira's face lights up with joy at everyone's agreement that they have actual fun together first, and she feels her heart swell. "Thank you so much everyone! I will make good on it, I promise, and I won't ever forget this day!", she yells tearfully, looking happily and gratefully at everyone.

For the first time ever since they came to this world, everyone can feel it. Abundant dark energy swells in the surroundings, not preceded by the same feeling of wrongness as the reality glitches. For better or for worse, this one seemed to be completely natural.

"You can have fun with her as much as you want, but I will be taking that", a voice that is not quite Alala's speaks up. Above them, the Ancient is surrounded by intense golden light and cackling maniacally. A golden glow strikes towards Seira and when it retreats, Alala (?) is holding an ornate orange music with a star inside a moon and fleur de lis at the corners.

"Finally, so this is how it's done! Now I won't have to go back anymore! I can keep my place among the Ancients forever, and they shall not leave anymore!", she cackles, then looks down at the group. "Sorry to say, but none of us is going back. We are all staying here, and I won't be degraded ever again!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Everyone is smiling! Coco is smiling, Seira is smiling, Madoka and Homura and the Chara are smiling, Rashmi and Hinoiri are smiling, Alala is smiling--

    And the way home is snatched away. "WHAT?!"

    Amy holds her hand up towards Alala, and then hesitates, since she's holding the fragile-looking magic item that will allow them to return. "You're from our world too?! Why? How?!"

    She stares, and takes a moment to recover, lowering her hand. "You know, if you don't want to be degraded all you have to do is not work for Michel?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It would have been the *perfect ending* to a wild reality-hopping jaunt; a poor prisoner of the Dark gets a moment of happiness to hold onto, giving her strength to allow her to be saved when they had three times the throw weight behind them. Also it would have just been *nice,* having fun in a world where magical threats are *rare.* So much less chance of an outing being interrupted by a killer vending machine...

But no, this new person *had* to come and ruin it, and worst of all?

*She poisoned Seira's happiness.*

"...Okay so it looks like we've got *one more* thing to do before we have our good time," Rashmi says, righteous fury building in her voice. "But Seira-chan? I want you to think of the one thing you've *always wanted to do* with a group of friends. Because that's how we're gonna celebrate *kicking this lady's butt all over the seven seas."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Well that's no good. Kamiko raises a complaint and shakes her tiny fist at the not-quite-Alala. "You dummy! Why'd you do that for? Can't you give us just a moment of peace?"

    Lydian flails her arms at the new menace. "Give that back! It belongs to Seira!"

    Homura squints up at the new interloper, and Madoka frowns up at her. The pinkette speaks firmly, "That doesn't belong to you. Give it back. Now."

    Homura crosses her arms and tilts her head up at Alala? "I see. So this world is ideal for you, I take it. Do you think that this will end well, just because you took the music box? Don't you think the Ancients will have a problem with the distortions that are being caused here?"

    Madoka blinks, and then considers that something seems a bit off here. "Wait... have you been waiting for this moment this whole time? Then... you must have known."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara turned her gaze towards the girl who just stole from them... and took a slow, deep breath... "Oh... you do... not want to go there, girl..." Hinoiri said, her voice cold as ice.

... She honestly was still a bit tuckered from just unleashing her finisher, but that didn't mean she wasn't pissed off. "And we're still going to do that, Seira. Everyone deserves some happy memories. They help us through the harshest times... but... you... Alala..." She cracked her knuckles. "Trust me. If being degraded is what you're scared of, staying here will not help you avoid that fate. You're going to need to quit your job..."

... And a new thought was occuring.

... Had Alala seen her de-henshin? BUCK! She'd arrived after, right? Was her identity still hidden? Was THIS Alala part of Obsidian? BUCK! ... Well, screw it. If it came down to it, she could be pissed off at whoever came after her. SHE HAD PLENTY OF RAGE TO GO AROUND!