2536/Damnation's Thread

Damnation's Thread
Date of Scene:	15 May 2025
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Seriss makes her first appearance with one of her newest toys; and it turns out to be a Youma that can... make more Youma. How is that even fair? Nevertheless; Amy, Coco, Elodie, and Rashmi all rise to the challenge to fight off Seriss and her creations and a bank vault door.
Cast of Characters:	Molly Skyline, Rashmi Terios, Amanda Faust, Coco Kiumi, 296

---

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Come, Clotho. Let us see how you perform in the field. No doubt little Molly's friends will come to try and stop us soon enough."

It's a regular school day afternoon in Tokyo; a bit overcast with clouds that can't decide if they want to rain or not, but reasonably warm and pleasant. It's one of those days where just nothing interesting is happening but it's totally fine, because it's relaxing and really, who doesn't like down time?

Well, right up until right between classes, because of course nobody can just have a day of downtime, there's a powerful dark energy signature detected downtown, for those who can sense such things. Most people can't, of course, and just keep going about their lives as if nothing is happening.

But something is definitely happening.

Seriss Nyx walks down the middle of one of Tokyo's busiest streets in a red dress that billows about her in the wind, while floating in the air behind her is one of the three large sarcophogi she created just over a week ago. As she leisurely walks, the weird creationg is syphoning up energy -- from everything around it. People are losing consciousness on the sidewalks, a couple of cars have crashed; lights, electric and fluorescent, flicker and die as she walks past, though some return to life once she's gone far enough.

Clotho makes a horrile screeching noise, and Seriss shakes her head. "NOt yet, my sweet," she answers. "Wait for the ones who oppose us to arrive first."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi has... tried to focus on her schoolwork. Tried very *hard,* in fact. But between the missing Moons, and the *upsettingly active yet still possessed* Molly, every moment is just another reason to look up at that big ol' Damoclean sword above her head, waiting for the string to be cut.

So of *course* Nicomachea reports Seriss' signature, downtown, *right before civics class.*

Because why *can't* her absolutely most-hated Daimon find a way to rob her of *more* joy?

Trailing her most annoyed-teenager--

    UUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

--behind her as she wings her way downtown, she passes the minutes by collecting as much information on the situation as possible.

Also, a message goes out to her nearest active friends. << Seriss is moving downtown, and it looks like she has one of those pod things with her. Juuban Flu is going to hit pretty hard downtown today. >>

Amanda Faust has posed:
    How is she supposed to focus on school when her friends and the world are in danger? It all seems so unimportant...

    At least when there's a dark energy pulse, she no longer has to force herself to try and care about the situation at hand: She immediately stops walking to class and goes to the roof to transform and soon she's flying a rocket after Rashmi. << Why?! Why can't we and Molly have some peace?! What on Earth does she want?! More power than any mortal has, Molly's stolen body, and she still wants more? For what? How much can one person have?!>>

    Amy shakes her head and takes a deep breath. << Sorry, I'm just... Well, you probably feel just as tired of this as well. >>

Coco Kiumi has posed:
<< I will be there in a second >> Coco replies instantly, and leaves it to one of her classmates to tell the teacher her little brother has gotten hurt and she must hurry out of school as soon as possible (it's a good thing Hippo's human form shares her hair colour).

Armed with the umbrella she brought with herself that morning, Coco hides for the first alley she stumbles on, and soon after she comes out of it in her Idol form, leaping up and between rooftops, heading for the dark energy signal downtown, grimacing at the intensity. She really is giving nobody any rest, is she?

She hasn't called on the Live Stage yet, since while It can fly, she is a lot faster without it than with, and with those pods around, they don't have the luxury of wasting even a single second.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Seriss isn't in henshin, but a portion of her Battle Visor display is still being projected in front of her eye, and she keeps watch of it to track how much energy Clotho is draining; and her lips quirk upward in one corner with satisfaction. Yes, excellent; her creation is doing quite well. As expected, of course; it is her creation, afterall.

"Cygnus Lich, prepare a Neutron Wall around us, I have no doubt that our opposition will be arriving momentarily."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. EXTEND SHIELD AROUND CLOTHO? >>

"No need for that, Clotho can protect herself." She smiled, as the floating creation screeched its agreement.

And on cue, the heroes arrive. Rashmi and Amy, followed closely by Coco. Seriss gives an expression of mock surprise, "Well," she grets, "Fancy seeing you here, what a coincidence." She gestures towards one side of the street, "There's a noodle place right there, you really ought to try it. Great Ramen. Almost as good as that quaint little rooftop place we met at just recently, where... you caused a big fight, as I recall." She smiles, as she keeps sauntering forwards. "We don't have to do that today, you know; but I'm sure you'll start something just the same. You are quite predictable after all."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Obsidian, >> Rashmi answers Amy. << At least she's not the biggest fish in this stupid lake. >>

When Coco affirms her arrival, Rashmi looses a quiet sigh of relief. Mermaid music is going to be *wildly* appreciated at this fight; between Seriss and Dark Energy nonsense in general, spirits are gonna need to be bolstered somehow. << It is *so good to hear that, Coco-chan, thank you. >>

As they arrive, and Seriss starts in on her speech, Rashmi cannot help but roll her eyes. "Doesn't it get boring, just being petty and snide? Are you *ever* going to get new material, or are your last words before getting purified gonna be 'Meh meh meh, you brought this pain on yourself, meh meh meh?'"

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

"You're only a few months old but *grow up,* Seriss Nyx," Rashmi says, as her Barrier spreads over the streets and buildings for blocks in every direction, filtering the fight away from yet more bystanders. "Someone a million times more important than you needs that body back."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
<< It's always good to be around, Rashmi-chan >> Coco replies chipperly, by now really close to her destination. The dark energy signal is by now close enough to make her skin crawl. << Ready to teach Seriss some well-needed humility? >>

The nerve of Seriss. Each time they meet, she seems to aim for pinnacle of smugness seldom reached before this. "Stop right there, Seriss", the mermaid idol leaps down just above of the villainess, and the Live Stage shimmers to life around her mid-leap, and she points her E-Pitch threateningly.

"If that's meant to confuse us, you should try harder than that. Or do you think the line of unconscious people you are leaving in your wake is invisible?" she brings her E-Pitch to her lips. Before a single note is sung however, two more Live Stages show themselves closer to the ground, platforms ready to host any ally.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Talking might have a place as some strategy to delay Seriss or something, but Amy's tired and not thinking of that. The moment she sees Clotho, she conjures the artillery cannon... and then dismisses it. Bah, wait for the barrier... She leaps off the rocket, which lands with a scraping noise on a nearby roof. "I mean... I don't think she sees us as people. Bit like asking if always going 'kitty! who's a good kitty?' gets old. No, it doesn't, she's not trying to talk to us. But... we can't help trying anyway."

    She looks at Seriss. "Surely you can see in her memories that we would have been sympathetic to the cause of needing a body. So that's never been what all this is about. Come to think of it... What do you want this energy for?"

    Part of her wants to just shoot Clotho the moment the barrier's up, but... it's true that the fight will happen either way, and now that the barrier is protecting civilians it doesn't matter if it starts a few seconds later.

    Maybe she can bait some information out of this entity?

    "Come on. You can look down at us any time, but you worked sooooo hard on these creations. Don't you want to tell us what you're after so someone can appreciate your grand plan?"

    "Like, go on. How can we know how awed and hopeless we should be, when all we see -- and all you show us -- is yet another mopnster to beat up?"

Molly Skyline has posed:
Seriss rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Teenagers," she sighs. "Dear Amy, I see a great many things, but your offer doesn't interest me. I like this body. I was awakened within it, and it is mine now, not Molly's. Not anymore." She shrugs her shoulders, "I'm sure if you find five yen in the streets you don't go running off looking for its previous owner, now, do you?"

The sorceress gazes in Coco's direction, watching as she summons her live stages and clucking her tongue, "Ahh yes, the misntrel. Always you are here to hurt my ears with your screeching. But I must say, between you and Rashmi, I don't really know how you mean to stop me, as you're rather light on actual firepower... and I am not."

The sorceress keeps walking forwards, and clasps her hands behind her back. "Clotho my sweet. They want to see something new; so by all means... Show them something new."

Clotho advances in the air, and unleashes a shrieking wail of discordant sound; and for a moment the strange dusk creature contained within it is visible, straining against the chairs that hold it in place.

<< ## DArK mITOsIS ## >>

The weird sarcophagus lobs something forwards, that lands on the pavement in front of the three heroes, where it promptly dissolves a hole that goes deep, pulling several cars in after it. Down in the pit, something wriggling and alive is forming, absorbing the metal of the cars as it grows, taking on a humanoid shape.

"Rise, Clytemnestra," intones Seriss. "Rise; you will be the foe for these three girls today." And rise, Clytemnestra does; a single giant hand reaches up to grab hold of the side of the pit, and it drags itself upwards, pulling a collossally proportioned axe up along with it.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< ...She creates a monster that spawns monsters, >> Rashmi sighs telepathically. << Isn't that just *the best.* >>

At least the Barrier's already up... Rashmi lives in terror of the day she learns what kind of repair would be needed on a hole in the street *that deep.*

Flitting up and away from the colossal hands -- and would it honestly be too much to hope that the body they're attached to would be comically teeny? -- Rashmi glances at her friends. << Red-chan can you hold it off while I look for a weakness? Yellow Pearl-chan, do you still have those backup dancers, just in case? >>

And while Nicomachea is analyzing this child of fate, Rashmi spares one more dirty glare at Seriss, then gets down to the business of making her eat her words.

    << *BONG!* >> << GLACE -- BOOST UP >>

A single energy wisp coalesces into being above Nicomachea's pages, flitting to the Puella and infusing Amy with cooling mana, tinged with a feeling of careful patience. Whether Amy's next attack is a barrage or a single bullet, the extra mana will snap into clinging, hampering ice that lingers on the monster.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Comparing Molly's body to five yen? "Okay, that was calculated to get a rise out of us... I guess some people can't move beyond the same old games..."

    Oh. Her monster makes monsters. Great.

    << If you can find a weakness that would be great! >>

    For her part, Amy doesn't wait -- hands and an axe are plenty to see, and she's immediately hurling thermite 'grenades' down the hole in the hopes of burning that thing... and here, Rashmi's buff doubly helps, as the magical ice can hold the extreme heat in place long enough to do its work!

    Also she does jump onto one of the Live Stages, as being out of axe-reach seems likely to become important very soon!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Stop comparing Molly's body to cheap waste nobody cares about. You are doing nobody a favour, unless you mean to give us even more reason to show you why you are wrong. Don't let me stop you then", she glares, and there is a cheery melody starting up in the background, the work of the Live Stage.

If she thinks that they are lacking in firepower between the two of them, Seriss must be affected by a severe case of amnesia, though Coco is more than glad to give her a reminder, if Rashmi doesn't do it first herself.

<< Sorry, Rashmi-chan, but I didn't stop at the zoo this time >> she replies, her voice tinted with surprise. It has been a long while since she just asked for their help, though if she were asked how they were faring, the mermaid would be able to reply they are all shining examples of good health.

The Live Stage shines brighter, and multicolor lights accompany the beginning of Coco's song, surrounding the mermaid in a burst of joy."Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!"

My mind flies,
it is persuasive sparkle
that frees me, frees me and departs.
Glowing joy,
my heart ignites,
magically love will be.

I untie my sails
To the wind of my heart
You are with me, with me...!
Like a caress,
intoxication already touches me:
If love you are, love you will be.

There is no dream
greater than you,
stormy sea within me.
It is melody,
fantastic poetry
this need of you.

Coco's heart shines pure, and her voice, filled with joy and light, spreads those positive emotions. Creatures made of dark energy register this purification as hurtful, and while Seriss may be powerful enough to resist the effect, the same might not be true of her servants who will in fact feel hurt while their dark energy is replaced with positivity. At the same time, her friends' morale might improve for the same reason.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Hang back now, Clotho. You have performed your task. ...Now we observe." Seriss, at last, stops advancing forwards, and seems more than content to simply observe, even while Clotho screeches a complaint offensive to the ears. "Oh, how interesting," she remakrs as Amy tosses a handful of thermite grenades with an ice modification on them into the pit that Clytemnestra is hauling herself out of. "Fire and ice, all together! Why didn't I think of that? Oh well, next time perhaps."

The explosions in the pit result in a howl of protest from the youma inside of it; but it keeps hauling itself upwards, and unfortunately for Rashmi it is not a pair of enormous hands attached to a tiny body. It's a full giant, of almost comically different colors all over, taken from the body paint of the vehicles it absorbed in its formation. Covered in scorched burn marks and large chunks of ice it moves slowly, managing barely more than a crawl towards the heroes, as it looks up at them with a balefully featureless face; but as Coco's music picks up, it falters, looking like it might just collapse right where it is.

"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot." Seriss shakes her head -- and she herself does not seem, so far, to be overly affected, other than lightly gritting her teeth. "Clytemnestra, dearest. The red haired one killed Iphegenia."

At once Clytemnestra's head snaps up, and even without eyes it's clearly glaring at Rashmi. It bolts up to its feet, shattering the ice that coats it as it leaps, holding its axe behind it and bringing it down in a swipe that is as swift as it is clumsy; even after that, it just... comes, charging forwards so fast it falls over its feet, then picks itself up and keeps coming, the axe swinging and smashing hard enough to hurl cars through walls, all while it howls bloody murder like a lion with endless lungs.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It is, frankly, a little disappointing. But now Rashmi understands the reason for all the prior combat-data gathering, as the multi-hued giant made of melted cars, blacktop, and infrastructure hauls itself out of the pit. << ...Oh, *wonderful.* Who else here remembers the metal blob thing she was testing? And that's okay, Yellow-chan, it was worth asking. >>

Heaving a sigh, Rashmi hovers a hand over her Index modules, then freezes when Seriss says the biggest lie to date.

'That one killed Iphegenia.'

"OH COME ON!" Rashmi says, as the giant's hateful face snaps her way.

    << *BONG!* >> << SOLAR FLASH >>

Just by the stumble, she can tell that very little is going to dissuade it from its chosen target, so when she flash-steps, it's straight *up.* Pause to fire a few Barrets into its face, then repeat for a few more loops. By the end of which, she's over a hundred meters into the air, and hoping the giant doesn't feel like trying to climb skyscrapers to get to her.

Look a girl can hope.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Seriss is baing patronizing about the fire and ice attack that Amy didn't even plan. "Please. We've all played Chrono Trigger."

    A tiny body was too much to hope for... "What is it with you and giant biometallic monsters?!" Amy's glad she has Coco's song to protect them. She does not wait for it to finish, the CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! resounding across the air as she fires anti-tank rounds at different places in its torso, hoping maybe there's an engine to hit.
        The red-haired one killed Iphegenia. "What?!" Amy startles. "That is a lie, you made her sacrifice herself!"

    The monster goes for... Rashmi, who also has red hair. Amy fires a high-explosive artillery shell, hoping the impact and explosive will knock it over, or at least off-balance enough to throw off its attack!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco's eyebrow twitches when the giant makes its full appearance, and while it may have have momentarily faltered under the effect of Coco's purification, it is no less imposing. << Yeah, I am with you. She really can't be accused of messing around. >> But it's not the first time they face giants, and regardless of how hard it may have been, they have always seen it through.

"Talk about being a sore loser, Seriss. Stop blaming us for your own decisions, it does no good", Coco's brow furrows when she goes after Rashmi, but she doesn't expect the Daimon to listen.

There is no dream
truer than you,
silver sky inside me.
It is melody,
fantastic poetry.
I need you, I need you...

The purifying melody of her voice shines again once more, but even if helpful, the purification isn't Coco's aim this time, and instead, two Live Stages appear, and one after the other, they are thrown in the path of the monstrosity chasing after Rashmi, trying to throw it off the path together with Red's artillery shell.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Oh come now." Seriss shakes her head at Amy, watching calmly while the battle descends into chaos (entirely thanks to her). "I didn't kill Iphegenia, I ordered her to fulfill her intended purpose, but I only needed to do that because all of you lot just, don't. Know. When. To. Give. Up." She holds her hands out to either side, palms up. "I offered you cake and conversation, but you insisted on fighting. I may have given the order, but it was you who forced my hand."

In any case, Clytemnestra isn't hearing any reason. The monstrosity falters under Coco's song, jumping up onto the side of a building and using the axde as a climbing tool to reach a height of ten stories, all amidst a constant shower of breaking glass; but it falteres, and shudders as Rashmi's barrets hit it.

And then Amy's anti-tank shells hit it, and the explosions blast holes in its torso, leaving a black, ichor-like fluid leaking out, before the first of Coco's live stages hits it and hammers it into the side of the building. It scrabbles for purchase, but just succeeds in breaking things more, leaving it plummetting back down to the ground with a heavy impact. For a moment, it lays there stunned; the second live stage smahes down into it, denting it further as Seriss stares at it, with a look of intense disappointment.

A look that vanishes as Clytemnestra gets back up, ignoring the smoking holes in its torso as it resumes howling. The axe is hurled with force at Amy, sufficient to carry it (and Amy, should it connect) all the way through the skyscraper behind her. Now with both hands free, it tears loose both of the lamp posts within reach and hurls them, one after the other, in Coco's direction; and then it grabs with one hand a car (a rather new looking Honda Civic for the keen eyed), and hangs on to it as it leaps back onto the building it fell off of, scrabbling with it sfree hand to climb.

It climbs swiftly, damaging the side of the building as it goes, focused singularly on its goal. But it... can't possible get all the way up to Rashmi.

Can it?

Perhaps not, but when it finally loses its grip and starts to plummet, it hurls the car upwards with all its might, and Rashmi will abruptly find there is a car sailing upwards in her direction.

As the monstrosity tumbles back downwards, Seriss calmly glances over her shoulder, "Make notes, Clotho. The next one needs a much more powerful ranged attack."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Thank you! >> Rashmi calls out over the telepathic communications net, her heart slowing down a bit as antitank shell and Live Stages keep the monstrosity off her back. << Nicomachea, any insights? Because I mean, if its weakness is lots of violence, we can bring it, but maybe something a little less collateral-y? >>

Until those insights arrive, however, THERE IS A CAR FLYING AT HER FACE.

<< *BONG!* >> << SOLAR FLASH >>

Yet another flash-step follows this revelation, and Rashmi takes herself ten meters directly to one side of the vehicle's path.

A corner of her mind tags the car, to make sure it doesn't end up flying at anyone she likes. Which is everyone but Seriss and those who came with her.

For now, though, it's time for some of that violence.

<< *BONG!* >> << SOLAR BARRAGE >>

As the giant tumbles earthward, Rashmi launches a fusillade of Barrets after it, hoping to keep it pinned in place until a better idea presents itself.

Amanda Faust has posed:
I didn't kill Iphegenia

    "That is an *extremely* tortured version of cause and effect, and your logic is even more of an abomination than your youma!" Amy calls out.

    Don't know when to give up? Amy's memory recalls that awful planet where even breathing felt like-- No, not thinking about that right now. Think about how it's bleeding ichor. What is the anatomy of Seriss's monsters, wasn't Rashmi looking for weak points?

    But as Amy's considering what would be effective, suddenly the monster is back up and

        she's lying in a room with a hole in the wall in front of her and a giant axe and her head is spinning, and then she wonders where the monster is and everything becomes clear as the concussion auto-regenerates.

    If Coco brings the live stage back out of the building, great -- if it's destroyed and needs to be replaced, Amy instead runs through the holes except for the last (first) one, instead running over to another room and then smashing her launcher through the window and firing, since of course the enemy will be watching the hole the axe smashed the live stage through.

    Either way, FWOOSH, FWOOSH, FWOOSH, FWOOSH -- homing missiles -- like a Javelin or something -- streak through the air towards the fallen monster. Incendiary to see if ichor burns, smoke to blind it, and a couple of high explosives to try and make it stay down for a moment. << Coco, thank you, I don't wanna think about what that woulda done without your live stage... any luck on those weak points, Rashmi? This one bleeds... >>

Coco Kiumi has posed:
There is something to be said about Seriss' ability to construe things however she likes. It might actually be the most formidable power she has, which counts for a lot, considering what she has been able to achieve within a few months of life. And when she brings up her offer of peace made while draining civilians, Coco just shakes her head. No reason to tell her again.

An outer layer of yellow light appears over the sphere of white light Coco resided insides, and die a few seconds the first lamppost fights with it, their opposite first all of ver the exra layer, and then the rest of her protection cracks completely, throwing the mermaid back against the ground, a bruises form where she noticed it last time.

She does manage to lift the Live Stage just in time to help Red out, but that's all she can do before the strike otherwise sends her into a daze, with bruise annexed.

Elodie Vautrin (296) has posed:
At long last, Elodie had screwed up the courage to venture off the campus to see the sights of Tokyo itself. It only took her almost a week since her arrival to get to the point of feeling ... capable enough to do it. The fact that the ID that Setsuna had drawn up for her was now at least somewhat ready provided her the necessary assurance that she needed and she was relatively sure that remaining cooped up in the provided room was an absolutely terrible idea.

And so she ventured to where any Parisian girl might venture on a warm midafternoon: Downtown.

This was her first mistake.

The engine of Tokyo had pulsed around her with a vibrancy unlike anything she had experienced, crowds surging around her. People on their phones, people listening on their air pods, salaried workers departing their office towers desks to make it to the roaring trains that will take them home. Most of them didn't see her, didn't acknowledge her. Fitting, then, that Elodie sometimes barely felt like a person at all herself.

She stood and stared at a digital billboard on a building side, an anime cartoon bear hawking some energy drink of some kind. She can't even begin to follow what she's seeing, and the crush of people jostling her still form didn't make it any easier. She felt as if the entire city was bearing down on her, a familiar surge in adrenaline as her heart raced and her breathing quickened. Fight, or flight. It would have been flight.

But in that moment, something changed. Something swept away the people, and that something was soon followed by the audible sounds of battle. Panic fled her. This -- this she could do. For a girl of fifteen, battle was already an old friend, even if not all the battles were her's alone, or perhaps even her's in the first place.

She began to walk towards those familiar sounds, producing a simple golden hairpin from her bag. She focused on it for a moment, trepidation on her face that is summarily crushed by determination. With no one around to see, she has no fear of transforming openly, and thankfully, no one has seen fit to explain the concept of 'CCTV' to her as of yet.

She closed her fist around the hairpin and then ... ignited.

A flicker of delicate light spreads from her palm towards her wrist, delicate as it spreads over her person and then, when it reaches her chest, erupts into a blazing white flame that unfurls around her like a blooming flower. Her blouse and pants are consumed, replaced by a shimmering corseted gown of silver and white and into an elaborate, ruffled skirt. Her hair, having hung limply before, erupts back into the drill curls that they were in when she arrived. She raises her hand up above her head and calls out, "Lame Fracturée!" as the light at last fades away, coalescing into a long, heavy blade, gleaming with a mirrored sheen and burning veins of white-gold light.

All that, and it still takes her too long to get to the battle and she still doesn't even have any idea what's happening, or why the people were removed. She needs a vantage point. Cutting her way in through a building without a second thought, she smashes through a door and then finds the stairs up once she's near enough -- just around the corner -- that she'll be able to look down on the sight -- and up. Flying girl. Check. Missiles streaking out of a conspicuously person shaped hole in a building. Check. Magical girl in yellow dress singing? Got it. Presumable villain behind force field? Ah, yes. Of course. She makes her choice.

To the eyes of the others, a window in a nearby building explodes outwards and yet another girl comes falling out, her body tucked tight into a ball as her dress billows in the wind. She plummets towards it, gleaming blade gripped tightly in her hands as she aims to directly fall into the beast, to impale it through and through.

"Éclat Ardent!," she cries.

The blade ignites, burning with white fire as she plunges towards its heart.

Hopefully, this will not be her second mistake.

Molly Skyline has posed:
"Fascinating."

Seriss utters the single word as a fourth Mahou joins the battle, one that she hasn't seen before. She watches intently as this newcomer plummets through the air with a large, gleaming blade, plummeting straight for Clytemnestra, where the beast is still picking itself up off the floor. She watches, as the blade plunges straight through it, eliciting a shriek of rage, like a sentient machine being torn in half and having feelings about it. For a moment the beast just flails; before making a grab at Elodie, to tear her off of it and hurl her through the window of a ground-floor noodle shop.

Which makes Seriss cluck her tongue disapprovingly.

More ichor leaks out of the monster as it stands up; it appears a bit shakey at first, while a barrage of homing missiles explode around it and pummel its armor, before it snaps back to full height. As it refocuses it looks up and glares at Rashmi, for a long moment. Then it leaps, grabbing onto the side of one building and pushing off of it, aiming for the big hole in the wall across the street, landing right beside Amy; but it doesn't attack, it just... retrieves its axe. Smashing its way upwards it disappears into that skyscraper, and for a moment there ist just the sound of shattering glass and rending steel, ascending up the building and away from Amy, who is getting all sorts of debris rained down on her.

At last the beast emerges out the top of the skyscraper and wastes no time running to the edge and hurling itself into the the air, axe gripped with both hands as it starts to plummet -- but not before hurling the weapon with all its inhuman might, sending it tumbling end over end straight at Rashmi.

As the beast plummets, Seriss glances over her shoulder. "Complete your energy gathering, Clotho," she instructs. "Get whatever you can and prepare to retreat."

In response, the weird sarcophagus screeches; and from all around it electricity arcs out of cars and buildings towards it, making lights flicker and die as it absorbs everything it can, magical or otherwise.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Weird and terrifying things happen all the time in a good mahou fight.

That doesn't mean Rashmi expected a window to explode and emit a *completely new mahou* that plunges down into the giant with a massive, fiery mirrory sword.

<< Nicomachea: Add her to the Telepathy spell. >>

The flying mahou's possibly-familiar book, emits a *definitely* familiar << *BONG!* >> and a moment later, Rashmi clears her throat in the back of Elodie's head. << Hi! Thanks for the he-- JUMP AWAY, *NOW!* >>

Welcome to mahou, Elodie!

As the giant begins once more to scale the skyscraper, Nicomachea emits a bright << *ping!* >> and information starts to scroll through Rashmi's visual cortex.

<< Yellow Pearl-chan! When you get my boost, sing your finale! The music's eating away at its armo-- OHGOD >>

    << SOLAR FLASH >>
    << SOLAR FLASH >>
    << SOLAR FLASH >>

Her flash-steps are just a touch less precise than before, but... that's what happens when you're trying to run away from a falling giant hurling an equally giant axe down at you. But when she finally has her bearings, she hurriedly orients on Coco.

    << *BONG!* >> << BARRET -- BOOST UP >>

While Coco's song might not be *technically* an offensive weapon, it is purifying energy, projected outward, and thus *probably* falls under the parameters of her amplification spells.

Amanda Faust has posed:
HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!

Éclat Ardent!

    Amy looks down from her live stage at... is that Elodie?! << Don't stay close to it! >> Amy warns -- unsure that Rashmi added her yet, she relays her telepathy through Kyuubey, instead, which also confirms to herself that the Incubator is nearby. Well, it's not like he can recruit Elodie.

    (There is a small chance that one day fighting Seriss could make Amy run out of magic and Witch, contributing to his quota, so seeing her monsters fight is of interest.)

    After giving her warning, those homing missiles will hopefully keep its attention off the new girl.

    Which seems to work pretty well as it LEAPS RIGHT UP TO HER OH GOSH. Amy takes a defensive stance and -- oh. It's reaching for its axe.

    CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Go the explosive reports as Amy takes the opportunity to spam basic attacks from her shoulder-fired recoiless rifle, in this case more HEAT warheads to keep poking bleeding holes in it in the hopes that losing all that ichor is doing something. The Live Stage can keep the debris off her, << Thanks again, Coco! >> but eventually she has to switch to homing rockets to fire around it.

    << You picked a hell of a first fight... That's Seriss Nyx, giant partially-metal biohorror monstrosities are her thing and also she stole our friend's body no time for the whole story now. Generally we find some way to destroy some vital part of it and bring the beast down -- shattering bones, for example. In this case... wow, you make it bleed a lot, that might be key here, just get in, attack, and get out of swinging range quickly! Do you need a lift to get up here? >>

    The beast drops back down. << Nevermind. >>

    Amy conjures a sci-fi high-tech looking heavy cannon, and a helmet for hearing protection, bracing the weapon on the edge of the live stage as she aims its scope down at the beast's head, and

                                    BOOM!]                                    

    The primary effect of Amy's attack is hopefully 200 tiny holes in the beast's head from the cloud of supersonic flechettes, but ALSO, all the remaining windows on the upper part of the skyscraper next to her -- and any other close by buildings this high up -- shatter and rain down below, some of it even near the beast! << Uhhh, lookoutfallinglgass! >> she warns!

Coco Kiumi has posed:
There is a wince and hesitation when the daze passes and Coco pushes to her feet with a sigh. Despite the momentary pain, she breathes out with relief when she realises that nothing is actually broken. << Are both of you ok? >> her thoughts immediately reach out to her friends.

The Live Stage forms around herself again, at the same time as a new magical girl shows up with a burning blade. "Nice timing! Thank you for showing up!" she immediately cheers. Not really about to turn down any help against Seriss.

<< Oh, it was doing that? I will give you a Super Idol finale! >> she winks at Rashmi, raises her right arm up to the sky.

The Yellow Mermaid Princess calls out within herself Aqua Regina's blessing, the bracelet on her wrist shining with white radiance as a halo of yellow light moves downwards from the mermaid princess's head and her clothes change again.

Her left glove now adheres to her arm with a pattern made up of water ripples, while on her left leg a stocking has shown up with the same water ripple pattern, and on her right hand and on her legs a yellow glove and boots with flowy extensions show up.

Bathed in a white-golden glow, rhythmic pulses of light that give a warm embrace to the pain, soothe all the fatigue and push away the darkness.

"Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Finale!", the mermaid princess smiles gently.

The seven-colored wind, the seven-colored sky
Overflow with hope to the world.
Your pure white wings, let them rest, and gently fall to sleep.
The sound of the bell of hope becomes the final song now...
This isn't a world made up of just strong people, so
Listen to my love in this song...

At the apex of the song, purifying hearts fly out in all directions, the reach of a big circle of love that won't end. "Fine Heart Pitch!", she concludes the performance with a serene smile.

Elodie Vautrin (296) has posed:
Mirrorheart -- that is to say Elodie -- knew that there was a chance that her strike would not kill it. It looked already more than capable of enduring considerable damage. She was thus somewhat prepared when she is bodily hauled off it and thrown. Instincts borne of dozens of remembered battles have honed her to as sharp an edge as that of the blade she carries.

Swiftly, she closes herself into a tight ball as she feels herself released by it, twisting through the air as she regains her bearings. Seeing her destination, she simply braces, relying on the strength of her power to gird her from the worst of an injury that would otherwise be devastating with the amount of force she goes through the window with. She quickly brings her blade down, piercing the floor the tiled floor and sending a spray of ceramic debris upwards and leaves a deep, cutting groove in it as she finishes her slide by slamming into tables, chairs, and more and splintering them.

After that, she strides out of the building, brushing glass from her hair and splinters from her dress. She doesn't let the pain she feels slow her down, nor does she give the monster or its creator the benefit of seeing it pain her.

<<It is not my first fight,>> she thinks, apparently familiar with mental communication, being literal about it all. And yes, even her thoughts have a French accent.

She sees the beast disappear into the building, sees the explosion of glass raining down on them. A second's hesitation. While Mirrorheart normally generates her own shards from the aether, there's no reason she can't use her magic to command those that exist already. As the glass rains down on her, she bends it to her purpose, pulling it towards her person, leading to her to be surrounded in a tornado of glinting, jagged glass shards.

She holds the pose a moment, arm outstretched, before speaking her command.

"Volée d'Éclats!"

She throws those shards like a spear towards Seriss Nyx, not to cut her, not to wound her -- that is apparently someone's body after all -- but to distract, to obscure, and most of all, to pummel that force field relentlessly, to cut and crack and bleed it of all the power that she can, if not outright shred it. She brings every bit of the tornado of glass around her to bear on it in a ceaseless flurry -- and then she falters, panting, like she had expended everything on that one big attack.

Except she hasn't.

<<Stay clear,>> is her harsh whisper over that telepathic command. Playing possum, it seems. There's no way that will go unanswered. Seems she's counting on it.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Clytemnestra can't fly.

The being of almost pure rage plumets through the air from the top of the skyscraper, and the whole way down it is flailing its limbs, as if it is trying to just... climb back up to get at Rashmi with nothing but sheer rage to fuel its ascent. Which, fortunately for Rashmi, is not working, which onoly makes it scream louder and louder.

But not loudly enough to drown out Coco's song. The Mermaid's music washes over it as it is struck by the purifying hearts, and with Rashmi's aid there comes an immediately visible effect, as the monster's armor corrodes away while it falls. Chunks of metal fall off it by the fistfull, and as Amy shoots it with her Boom Gun it doesn't merely blow a hole in it, but blasts one arm all the way off.

As it falls through the air, Seriss watches the impending demise of her latest creationy dispationately. Well, it was expendable, afterall. And meets its demise it does upon hitting the ground. Its armor finally shatters, and what's left is a puddle of ichor, still trying to form itself back into a humanoid shape and still trying to claw its way back up the buildings, but eventually, finally, it just... sloshes all over the ground and starts to drain away down the storm drains.

"Well, that was invigorating, don't you--

Seriss' comments are interupted by a torrent of glass shards hurled in her direction, that scour away her shield as she disappears in the mess of it. For as long as it lasts, at least; once the assault clears, she lows her arms from shielding her face, and snaps her eyes onto Elodie, while around her her barrier jacket forms and armor plates snap into place.

"Brave child." She smiles, as her staff forms in her hand, and the all important jewel snaps into place from her earring. "Foolish, but brave. Let's test your reflexes." A pair of reddish, translucent wings form behind her, followed by a second pair that bear her aloft into the sky. "Cygnus Lich, charge Magnetar Beam; attractor shift for two seconds, then repulsor shift for two seconds."

<< AFFIRMATIVE. ARMED >>

"Fire." Seriss aims and fires the blowing blue beam... into a building, off to the side; there's a sound of wrenching metal, and a three ton bank vault door is pulled out into the street. Seriss swings it around to bear before her beam reverses its effect and the door is launched at velocity, straight towards Elodie.

"Clotho, retreat now," she instructs while the door is en route. "Our purpose here is complete."

And Clotho obliges, fading purple and vanishing, leaving just Seriss on the field.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
<< Good... Good job everyone... >> Rashmi says through the telepathic net, even trying to catch her breath in her *mental* voice. << That was... some quality mahou work... >> Time to find out who this new French mahou is, then introduce her to the Tokyo Ritual: Post-fight food car--

'Charge Magnetar Beam'

By the time those words leave Seriss' lips, Rashmi is already diving out of the sky. While she trusted Elodie to be able to defend herself, one does *not* play chicken with something heavy and metallic solo. Given that just about *anything* from a garbage truck to most of new construction could be the target...

The dust and rubble swirl to either side as she comes in for a landing, the dragonfly-like wings at her ankles stretching out wide, their golden light shining just a bit brighter as the spell bleeds off her momentum, and Rashmi holds out one hand in Seriss' direction.

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

A hologram of a curved, quarter-dome composed of golden light shimmers into view, then with the screeching *CRACK* of cold-tortured air becomes an outward-curving wall of crystalline, spike-festooned golden ice half a meter thick, its base ten meters away from Rashmi and Elodie.

Unless Seriss is under-playing her response, whatever she hurls is probably gonna get through... but it'll be bleeding off a *lot* of its momentum, maybe enough to flash-step them both out of the way...

Amanda Faust has posed:
    It's... dying, right? Amy sure hopes the beast is finished.

    Thank goodness. << Is everyone okay? You looked like you took a hit ther, Coco-- >>

    "Oh damn." Amy vocalizes, impressed, as Elodie has turned all those glass shards into a whirlwind.

    Seriss threatens Elodie -- Amy trusts her to defend herself, or Rashmi to shield, or Coco to summon a Live Stage, and doesn't distract any of them -- instead she fires rockets at Seriss's shield, for all the good that does.

    Clotho leaves. Seriss doesn't. Amy fires a smoke missile nd a flashbang down at Seriss in hopes of hampering her observations.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Shining bright in her henshin, the mermaid breathes out with a smile when not only does the liquid that was Clytemnestra start dripping away (now would be a good time for that rain if they cared about doing anything right), but she also sends Clotho away. Her experiment must be already done then.

A smile of affirmation is given to Amy. "Nothing we can't deal with healing and a bit of time", she reassures her. And her song isn't that bad at healing, so she has been gradually getting better, if very slowly.

A shudder and a grimace come with the anticipation that Seriss herself is not done playing, and her eyes turn towards the newcomer with worry. Melodious words flow out of her mouth like pure water once more, and much like like Rashmi's Solar Shield, a Live Stage appears around the mahou, coated in repelling energy.

Elodie Vautrin (296) has posed:
Brave child. Foolish, but brave.

Yep, thinks Mirrorheart. That's potentially accurate, given all the moving parts here. And yet, she seems unconcerned on the surface, laying in wait, ready just beneath that tottering, fatigued exterior. She has a plan.

And then...

'Magnetar Beam'. She had expected an attack, to be sure, directed at her person. She had not expected the attack to consist of bank vault doors extracted from a totally different location and then hurled at her. Her eyes go a little wide.

"Rassemblement!" More glass swirls from the debris, pulled together around her as light fractures in a nimbus around her, accompanied by the sound of ringing crystals and cracking glass. The shards have coalesced into a jagged and cracked shield in front of her. She readies her sword, a plan emerging in her mind...

But then the other Mahou are coming together to help her, aren't they? To provide shields of their own. Together, they might just be able to strip it of enough force that she might not have to ...

The bank vault door -slams- into the varied shields protecting her, driving her back with enough force that deep furrows are left by her feet in the ground. Bit by bit, it slows down, then topples forward on her into a cloud of dust that only just begins to settle. A moment. A heartbeat, and then the tip of her swordblade bursts upwards through the metal, carving it open as Elodie staggers out, cracked and bleeding quicksilver down the side of her face, jagged lines in her skin with burning white fire blazing behind them.

"Tu n'as que ça en reserve?"

She may be a little punch drunk.

Okay, given her thoughts are a bit muddled right now over the link, make that a bit more than a little.

Molly Skyline has posed:
Seriss smiles as the bank vault door slams through the various defenses erected against it; and her smile only deepens when it becomes apparent that Elodie has survived the assault.

"Well done, well done," she announces, shouldering her staff so she can clap her hands together, slowly. "You've bought yourself a little more time. I'll be watching for you, child. I do hope we face each other on the field of battle again, and soon."

Seriss' wings carry her upwards, and she raises her voice as she rises, "I think you'll enjoy what I have in store next! Well fought, all of you. Now the lot of you belong in school, do you not?"

Seriss laughs, and then like Clotho a few moments earlier she shifts to a purplish glow and vanishes.

In her wake, she leaves the absolute devestation of the road and surrounding buildings. But hey... at least it was all inside a Time Space Barrier, right?

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The door slams against the shield and -- Amy gasps and covers her face as it falls over on Elodie.

    Oh she's okay thank Hope Concept. Well, relatively okay.

    << Are you alright?! >> On the bright side, she thinks she's starting to understand some French. Those attacks have to have been Flaming Sword and Sword Volley, right? She has no idea what Elodie just said, though.

    Once the Live Stage is brought low enough for her to jump off, she approaches Elodie and holds out a hand. "Congrats on your first fight in the 21st Century. Want a ride back to school on my magical rocket? ...Is a sentence I just said, wow."

    She looks over at Coco. "That offer's open to you too if you like." She looks to Rashmi. "Since you can already fly, I mean... but if you wanna go faster sometime I'd be happy to show you!" She grins a bit awkwardly.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As the vault door comes speeding in, Rashmi just... ducks, and that probably saved her life. Or, at least, kept her out of the hospital for a good few days. As she turns to track the furrow it digs in the road, she spots the mirror-shield -- oh good, another layer of protection -- and then the Live Stage... Which means she's vastly more likely than not to survive the impact-- and even slowed down, that *CRASH* of metal yanks a wince out of the Devicer.

Her shoulders slump in relief, however, as Elodie's sword bursts through the thick metal, slicing through it and revealing a... worryingly wounded, but mostly intact mahou.

And then Seriss taunts them, and just teleports out. << ...I hate that Daimon *so much,* >> she sighs over the telepathic net, then claps her hands. << Okay! Who else is hurt? Gather up on the new mahou, I can at least give us enough healing to walk in a straight line. >>

As Amy offers a flight, Rashmi smiles, bobbing her head. "I wouldn't mind a ride... Healing first, though. Then we're stopping by the taiyaki cart outside the Academy entrance, my treat."

Then what Amy actually *said* registers on Rashmi, and now it's Amy's turn to see *Rashmi* look flabbergasted. "Wait... *Elodie-chan?!*"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Well, let's put a pin on that, as always. By now, meeting with Seriss is starting to become a regular appointment even more so than any other enemy they have fought. Coco scoffs slightly at a forming thought. "You know, she is doing a lot to get on our nerves. I am not sure if these really are her way of hanging out." A stupid idea no matter how you look at it.

"I can't really go back to school today. The excuse I used to get here wouldn't allow it", Coco gives an awkward smile. Not like she could do much there. Her previous excuse was already overstaying its welcome with the teachers. "I am not really as quick as Hope or Tuxedo, but I can do something to help out with the healing, if you need that."

Then she turns her attention to the new girl. "Elodie-san, right? I am Coco, a mermaid from the South Pacific. Welcome to the group. How are you feeling? Do you want to visit the infirmary before going for taiyaki?"

Elodie Vautrin (296) has posed:
"Mmn. Ah, wait. Yes. That is you, isn't it," says Elodie to Amy after a moment. She didn't really have a chance to evaluate who everyone was, but the words spoken by Rashmi did strike a familiar chord given what she was already witness to when they sealed the woundglass before now. She brushes herself off -- more bits of dirt, debris, and glass, fall away from her -- and she gives a slow nod.

"Mmn. Yes. Mirrorheart, now, if you would." She puts trembling fingers to her lips in a 'shhh' gesture. "I would request an explanation but I think that ringing needs to stop first. Don't the rest of you hear that alarm?"

She's very concussed. She looks at Amy, then Coco. Both of them have said some words. Those are words, right?

And then a slow nod, followed by the most important question of the evening.

"What's a taiyaki?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy nods at Rashmi's hatred of Seriss, and to Rashmi's request for a ride. It might get a little cramped on the rocket, but... they can probably manage. It's magic. She looks between Rashmi and Elodie in confusion. "[You didn't recognize her...? OH RIGHT. Damn, Recognition Inhibition is wild.]"

     "Setsuna-- Nurse Meiou will write you a note." Amy answers Coco, realizing that they might not have interacted much outside of the time Sunbreaker stole Coco's powers.

    As for Elodie... Amy indeed might've been hard to recognize from far away -- even now, close-up, she still has her helmet -- which she dismisses when Elodie mentions the alarm, switching to English when conversing with the French girl. "[Oh shoot, that was the Boom Gun, sorry. It's very loud, but I blew its arm off... Man, I forget everyone else can't just regenerate tinnitis, I think maybe I also get it less 'cuz of my powers. And a taiyaki is... I guess kinda like a clam cake? You'll see.]" She looks at the bleeding-silver wounds, concerned. "[Does, uh, first aid work on you...?]"