2697/Break the Chains that Scarred You

Break the Chains that Scarred You
Date of Scene:	18 July 2025
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	The last remnants of the Black Moon Clan have been on edge, and a moment of carelessness is all it takes for that fragile peace to be destroyed. Our heroes arrive in Juuban Ward to find Demande and Saphir seemingly set to murder one another - and are quickly drawn into the conflict. When the curtain falls, Demande, and Saphir, fall with it. Their story is over - though with the help of everyone's grace, the Black Moon Clan's tragedy is given the chance to become something softer.
Cast of Characters:	298, Chibiusa Tsukino, Ami Mizuno, Nephrite, Haruka Tenoh, Zoisite, Kazuo Saitou, Mamoru Chiba, Hotaru Tomoe, Makoto Kino, Usagi Tsukino, Veronica Perenna, Catra, Amanda Faust
Tinyplot:	Black Moon Clan
Tinyplot2:	BMC: Wicked Ride

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Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
In December, the Black Moon Clan arrived in Tokyo with all the force of a hurricane, a typhoon, a disaster that had to be survived rather than surpassed. In the months since then, their numbers have been whittled down, the Mahoujin of the 21st Century rising to the occasion, conquering the enemy that had come for their souls as much as their lives.

Now, their ship, hovering in the atmosphere, is a crypt, and they who walk it are the dead and undying.

Blue Saphir leans against the computer consoles in his lab, powered down, projects abandoned. The lights overhead are blindingly bright, the ruined body of Green Esmeraude abandoned on his worktable, remnants of her meat rotted, mechanics exposed by damage and decay alike. A wooden box, carved with flowers, sits beside the corpse, open to reveal the dark red silk, the cracked remnants of Rubeus' Heart Crystal. They expected him to revive them. They expected him to return them, to commit to their cause, to bring them back.

Esmeraude had died saving him in exchange for that, the selfish bitch. He would never forgive her. If he had died, he would have never known. If he had died -

They are dead. And yet. They remain. What else can be done with them? Where else can they go? The Spectre Sisters have been devoured, Boule Brothers have been destroyed, Nemesis lies a timeline away, and the Earth -

They had hated the Earth. He hated the Earth. He cannot give their bodies to the Earth.

He cannot commit their bodies to life again. How can he resurrect them again, for lies -

"So this is where you've been sulking, Saphir. I have to admit, for all that I've ever seen through you, I didn't see that coming."

The voice is dry with age, deceptively frail, an underscore of power that even now causes Saphir's shoulders to straighten, his spine to stiffen. He can feel the eyes boring into him, and the door had not been locked - of course it wasn't locked. What would be the point of that?

"Hardly sulking, Wiseman." The even, detached tone is one he has to struggle for, to claw and grasp for, because it is not - he is not - they are not - "When can I not be found in my lab?"

"There's always the times when you're exchanging secrets with the enemy, instead of restoring your kin." Malevolence in the words, a weight that comes down over him, a flicker in the lights. "Why is Esmeraude still dead, Saphir?"

Fear flickers over Saphir, at the realization that Wiseman was aware of what he had been up to, fear and anger, hate, his gaze flicking to Esmeraude's ravaged face, Rubeus' crumbling heart crystal. They can do nothing for him. He could do something - everything for them, and there is the toxic, noxious truth of it, but why would he ever -

"So they can be your tools again? Like my brother and I?"

The words are unwise, and he regrets them the moment they have slipped from his lips. Rage is always unwise. This is why Rubeus was the angry one, no one could ever accuse him of wisdom -

"Ah, so that's why you've been scurrying with the mice. Ferreting out secrets... and now you believe you have the right to stop my work? To cease being my hands?"

A mistake.

The malevolence is no longer at his back - it is no longer in the air, it is all around him, it is within him, it is burning at his forehead, at his ears, and Saphir cannot breathe, cannot think.

"Oh Saphir," cruel amusement caresses every syllable. "I did not raise you for the slaughter for to falter now."

Saphir is on his knees. The world is spinning out of orbit, tearing away from him, black drowning his vision, and the last thing he thinks is - Brother, help me.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
It's a perfectly ordinary Friday afternoon when the sky itself seems to split apart, clouds bursting, winds howling in the sky, before something strikes a three-story building with all the force of a cannon, shattering through walls and windows alike before cratering into the ground with enough force to send shockwaves through the nearby area.

People who seconds before had been enjoying the clear weather and comparatively lower temperatures - only 85 degrees! After so many days in the 90s! - scream as glass and rubble rain down from overhead, cutting flesh and cloth, damaging cars, damaging other buildings. The concussive shockwave has left people sprawling, but those who can run are fleeing as fast as they can, many helping those closes to them to their feet.

In the air, floats Prince Demande of the Black Moon Clan, white suit near glittering in the afternoon sun, navy blue cape spread wide, the violet underside visible. Darkness glows around his hands and his face is a mask of hatred, and with a wordless scream of hatred and rage, he thrusts his hands forward, dark energy a beam of pitch that flies for the figure in the crater.

The impact crater is the size of a four-door sedan, and deep enough to not only have exposed, but destroyed, the pipping running under the street. Later, people will wonder what could have created such a strange and terrible impact.

Now, Blue Saphir climbs to his feet, navy blue shirt torn from the impact, white pants dirtied, a third eye open in his forehead where the Black Moon Clan's sigil once rested, glowing a malevolent red. Where Demande is full of hatred, he moves like a marionette on strings, save for the ghoulish grin and the darkened eyes full of hatred.

"Dear brother, will you really kill me?"

Dark Energy builds in his own hands and flies free, striking the blast from Demande, the two holding steady in the air, neither stronger than the other.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa is on the way back to campus, holding a stick of dango in her hand that she's slowly working her way through. She's got a backpack on her back which is feeling a bit small for her. Maybe she'll need to replace it soon. Hypnotising the school staff so they wouldn't notice the severity of her recent growth spurt was no real issue, but it didn't change the fact that she needed new clothes now.

    Any thought along those lines goes right out the window as she hears Sapher going through a window, and maybe another, and a few walls in between. With her dango hanging in her mouth mid-bite, her red eyes watch the sibling rivalry play out for a second or two before she starts sneaking away to find a place to henshin.

    It's always like this with them, isn't it? It's not as if they've gotten any less terrifying to her, either. She just has a response to their violence other than 'flee' and 'cry' now.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
While most people understandably ran away from impact and mounting chaos alike, Ami Mizuno was runnning toward it. Whatever she'd been on her way to do prior was largely irrelevant, brushed aside by the sudden need to take action. But, of course, this wasn't the time for Ami.

Between buildings as she progressed, ducking down a short and secluded alleyway, the transformation came--"Mercury Power, Make Up!". By the time she'd made her way out the other side, angling again toward the struggling brothers, Sailor Mercury had replaced her.

The Senshi tilted her head forward and ran even harder.

Nephrite has posed:
First the impact, and for a brief moment, it could have been anything. It is a mystery, a rumble through the street that might be any number of things unrelated to the Black Moon Clan.

It's the screaming and the people running that really give it away, as Masato turns toward the source. People go passed him, his hands pocketed in slacks as he takes in the scene.

Dark energy wars in a struggle between the brothers, and with a prismatic step, Masato passes between a group of panicked civilians. At the other side, there is Nephrite, the flow of cape, and the song of an unsheathed sword.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Nice days in Tokyo are anything but. Today, Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaiou are sitting in a car on the beach, Michiru drying off from a swim while Haruka merely seems content to watch from behind sunglasses, wearing cut-off-jeanshorts and a loose t-shirt. Both of them have been able to feel it, though. Not what it was, or when, just the fact that something big was impending. The fact that, soon, maybe not today but some warm summer Tokyo day would be ruined by the enemy and require their response. They can sense it in the wind and the waves. Which is why when that sensation grows louder, they are unsurprised. On a Tokyo afternoon, traffic is a problem for the car; but it's not a problem for the two Sailor Senshi who henshin and jump rooftop to rooftop together, moving closer and closer to the sensation - that sensation of danger, of threat, of problems they can and must solve with their friends.

    It's Michiru - Sailor Neptune - who makes sure to tell the others in the communicator that they're heading towards the sensation. She does this merely to let them know that the two of them are on the way - and to see where Hotaru is. She naturally expects the other Senshi to be heading towards it too - if not already there.

    And yet tellingly, when they arrive, their shiloettes stand on the rooftop nearby and they watch the two fight. They have no connections or dog in this fight, and when Dark Energy users blast each other, isn't it a win as long as one of them doesn't get up?

Zoisite has posed:
Zoisite had teleported from campus right into his room, only so he could pick up a few music sheets to study back at the club. His mind a calm buzz as he looked over Bach and Mozart. Which one would he pick? Both were brilliant--

Such thoughts were quickly dispersed from his mind as dust to strong gust when he felt the violent rumble and horrific explosion. Letting go of the sheets, he runs over to the window when his cherished potted violets were.

Snap of fingers--thank the gods he was already in henshin--and he was swept away by the quick flurry of cherry blossoms, appearing near the scene and Nephrite. Eyes wide, focusing on the brothers as the last of his petals burned away into ash.

"Saphir..." It was time.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
With two members of the Black Moon Clan still at large, and a third party possibly looking for Chibiusa again for his own reasons, Kazuo Saitou is just a touch more comfortable when she's not headed for campus alone - he wouldn't stop her, but any time she'll take an escort, he's relieved. (Besides, it means she can talk someone else into paying for her snacks, and where's the bad in that?)

He's minus the cape for those first few seconds, but he puts himself bodily between Chibiusa and the scatter of glass shards. Which means she has a very good view of Demande in the air. And as he sidesteps and turns a moment later, a view of Saphir jerking to his feet, red glow and all.

Kazuo exhales through his teeth in a manner that probably deserves a donation to the swear jar later even if there are no words involved, and covers Chibiusa as she sneaks to find a safe place for herself to henshin.

And a moment later, him too. "Earth Power, Make Up!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Some people are on their way to campus. Others are on their way there. Others are still out! Or meandering toward a final destination but it's yukata weather~

Mamoru and Usagi were just out at a little street fair after the day's finals, and the evidence is in abundance -- the tall teenaged boy has a stylized fox painted on one side of his face, he's eating the remains of some fried dough or other, and he's moving comfortably slowly in the heat. "Thank you for not wanting any plushies. I hope the Snitch 2 is amazing though. You sure you don't want me to--"

And IMPACT. SHOCKWAVE.

When Mamoru picks himself up off the ground in the middle of people running out into the streets and broken glass and debris and construction dust in the air and car alarms and fire alarms everywhere, he moves over to Usagi as if in a dream and offers her a (scraped) hand up.

"Here we go again," he tells her, the scrape already fading; he doesn't let go when he says,

Earth Crystal Power, Make Up!

Ribbons and bokeh lights and shimmering outlines; silver, pink, gold, rainbow... and at the edges, dark jewel tones and vivid-into-shadow gradients.

And then they're up there, Demande and Saphir, and they're fighting each other, and Tuxedo Kamen looks up at them and purses his lips. He's probably thinking something like 'why don't we all just combo up and repeatedly blast both of them'.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe had gotten the message on the communicator, but well... she did have a dog in this fight. One of her friends was almost always the target, the goal. And well... That meant there was only one thing to do.

When Uranus and Neptune arrived, near the pair, a third senshi arrived, a smaller frame, a tinier body, with a large stick, landed. Kneeling on the rooftop, she looked at the scene.

Death would come soon, and...

"... Wait, are they fighting each other? I thought they weren't a part of Obsidian?" Was that a thing? Could two dark generals find hatred on the battlefield, even if they weren't Obsidian? Was that allowed? It truly was a thing of beauty, senpai. She looked to the two in question, before shrugging. It seemed so... Eh. They weren't as interesting as the funny laughing dragon one, anyway, so she didn't mind.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Sailor Jupiter catches up to Mercury with long, bounding strides. The wind picks up behind the both of them as she matches her pace to her fellow senshi's, her eyes trained up ahead at the destruction and the two Black Moon princes facing off in the middle of it.

Honestly, they'd gotten more of a break than Makoto had really been expecting. She supposes she should be grateful.

"This is going to get ugly, isn't it?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi and Mamoru had been having a nice day out - but then the impact hit, and the two were as blown over as everyone else was, their yukatas dirtied and lightly torn by being thrown against the ground, and though Usagi has a few scrapes and bruises that make her eyes sting, she sets her chin and reaches for her broach with one hand, her husband with the other. "Always something, right?"

""Moon Crystal Power, Make Up!"

This might be a battle between siblings, a war between dark generals, but there are people vulnerable and terrified in the midst, and Sailor Moon won't leave them to suffer. Even as she considers what to do about the actual fighting, she knows just what to do about the damage they're causing. Her Moon Rod is thrust to the sky as she shouts out the command.

"Moon Space Crystalize!"

The world shimmers and changes - Moon Space spreads like a dome around the ruined street, civilians left behind in the real world as everything shunts dimensionally to the right, the sky becoming a watercolor painting of orange and yellow, the Earth painted high in the sky, too large to be realistic, colors shimmering. A rose-covered blimp soars through the air as buildings are wrapped like presents, their windows made into floating star and circle shapes, shifting around. The ground is plush with a bit of give, like a yoga mat or a playground's flooring. A fountain has appeared, with water that flows in endless circles, and all the cars are toys versions, including a hot pink jeep parked to the side of the conflict.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica is humming, holding a basket of fish she had just gotten from her visit to the Shin Hoshi Shotengai. Emery's birthday was fast approaching, and she always took advantage of the occasion to prepare her a lunch much more extravagant than what she usually gave her. And this year Veronica had the advantage of the cat's direct input, now that she could speak feline well enough to ask her.

The loud impact of Saphir's brutal landing takes Veronica away from the celebration, and the painter immediately dives for the closest alley, observing the gathering of silver light at her usual call. 'I better make it quick', she springs inside, putting the basket away into her hideout. Now, only more thing to take care of.

Clustering light takes the shape her of her calling card in the palm of her hand waiting, and the brunette tosses it above her, a shower of sparkling white moonlight down on her. "Paint the sky with a burst of moonlight,

My heart transforms in the glow of the night.", she sings with a clap of her hand, the feline visage of the Princess of Sarek replacing her figure.

"Are you really having a family quarrel where everyone can see you?", the silken magical girl leaps onto a nearby building, giving the two of them a smile. "I would say that's quite bad form, but maybe I shouldn't be that surprised. How about I offer you a two-for-one special, and let both of your worries disappear?", she raises her voice towards them, eyeing the other mahoujin on the scene, using her cane to draw to release mist of moonlight, drawing a heart in front of her big enough to hold the two from her perspective.

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
The beam war between the two brothers ends in an explosion of force that ripples through the air, blowing over the cheerful toy cars and making floating window blow about buildings wildly. Neither combatant appears to have noticed the way the world has changed around them, the absence of screaming victims - they're too focused on each other.

Prince Demande is alight with rage, dark energy crackling about his body, dancing from the Black Crystal earrings at his ears and down to the hands clenched in fists before him, and he spreads both hands palm out as he blasts a barrage of dark blasts at Saphir -

Who jerks out of the crater with an uncanny, ungainly sort of grace, limbs clattering against one another in a sort of puppet on strings dance that seems the blasts gouging out the plush ground where he'd stood.
R
"We are having a family quarrel, right here in front of everyone," he confirms for the Princess of Sarek, head rolling on his neck to stare at her, "Isn't that pathetic for such a proud prince? He has better things to do than-"

"You have no right to speak of family quarrels Wiseman!"

The words are a roar - the dark energy blast that barrels Saphir off his feet an explosion, the blue-haired prince ragdolling through the air before slamming into the fountain.

Only then does Prince Demande seem to notice that the world has changed - the enemies, they had been unimportant, while Wiseman ran his mouth, but the world - the world was different, alien and wrong in a fashion that he recognized, and he turned slowly in the air, until his gaze fixed on Sailor Moon, and the twisted expression of hatred on his face warps into one of fixated obsession.

"You."

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailor Uranus and Neptune have watched everything from afar, and they are there with plenty of time to see that wild look on Demande's face as it forms - and see who it's pointed at. The two of them don't even need to look at each other or consider it - they jump off the roof at the the same time, flipping in the air to land, back-to-back, between Sailor Moon and Demande. Sailor Uranus holds up a finger and waggles it tsk-tskingly at Demande. "Now now, you can't go ignoring all of the other girls and your own brother you were fighting with, Prince Nothing." Sailor Neptune says.

    "You finally have someone paying attention to you and yet off you drift again?" Sailor Uranus adds. "If you can't keep your eye on the finish line you'll never win..." she adds, half expecting Sapphir to take advantage of the distraction. But even if he doesn't the two Senshi are going to make sure Demande can't even get a clear line of sight on Sailor Moon, as they draw the mirror and sword from nowhere and point them at him.

    "Not a chance you even get to share her oxygen." Neptune says.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"His Vile Highness is already here!" Sailor Mercury responded to Jupiter, distinct implication that something hideous had already appeared and--of course--she was staring directly at Prince Demande.

Fingers lifted to the blue stone set in her ear and the Visor slips into place from absolutely nowhere. Even at distance, as she comes to a halt not too distant from Nephrite and Zoisite, Sailor Mercury manages to follow the Prince's gaze. It didn't really matter, though. Even if Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen were obscured from view by obstacles, there was no mistaking Demande's tone--you, he had said.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Sailor Mercury thrust a hand in the Prince's direction and unleashed a powerful jet of water his way, following it up with a surprisingly loud and stern--"Bad dog!"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    "Moon Prism Power... MAKE UP!"

    Chibiusa starts her henshin in Tokyo, and Sailor Chibimoon finishes it in Moon Space. She looks around her for a moment, then up at Kunzite, giving him a nod. It's time to act. With one big bite she finishes the rest of her dango and tosses the stick into a very soft and fun colored trash can.

    Chibimoon emerges from her hiding place and notices that a lot of mahoujin have converged on this one point. People who have looked after her, protected her, and took care of her. People who were there for Crystal Tokyo and the Moon Wedding. She came here to this timeline alone, and now she's surrounded by friends. It'd make her smile, if not for the bad news boys fighting overhead.

    Demande notices Sailor Moon. Chibimoon's reaction is visceral. "I told you to leave my mommy ALONE!" Immediately the Pink Rod is in her hands. "Pink Sugar Heart Attack!"

    She aims directly for Demande. Saphir (Wiseman?) can be someone else's target for now.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"How dare you look at her," Tuxedo Kamen's voice is made of ice cold contempt as he flings his cape back and looses a volley of roses, petals first, the kind that hit like a fist and explode into petals and glitter. "Go back to fighting the monster that's controlled you your whole life, then possessed the only family you have."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Aside from putting up her barrier, Sailor Moon had not joined in on the fighting - even with everything - truly everything - that the Black Moon Clan have done, it feels wrong to see them turn on one another like this. Like she's missing something, a puzzle piece that she needs to grasp, because for all that Demande has been a monster, she thought the Black Moon Clan cared for one another.

Maybe that's why she stands transfixed at the fighting, eyes darting from brother to brother, trying to understand, rather than firing off a shot -

She regrets that, a touch when Demande fixates on her, going a touch pale before her jaw clenches and her chin lifts. "Me. Don't you have bigger problems than me?"

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kunzite follows Chibiusa out - and it's a good thing he's following her, because he doesn't want to wonder if the Heart Attack would have reflexively gone through her.

All he has in his arsenal right now is heat - days on end of rescuing people from the temperatures. He could revert to his usual attacks - but his energy alone is unlikely to be enough to do anything to either of them.

Or he could focus that heat down to a fine beam, like his lasers. And he could aim it directly at that glowing third eye inflicted on Saphir's forehead. And see how much of an eye it actually is - whether it can be blinded, or worse.

He could be sorry for Saphir, as he lifts his hands and brings them together at the right angle. He is sorry for Saphir; this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't found it in him, somewhere, to rebel, and if the unadorned universe were fair, that rebellion would have given him something better than this.

He is not so sorry as not to act.

The beam that he sends out does not glow brightly; its faint cool pink is almost invisible to the line of fierce heat distortions that follows in its wake.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Saturn blinked a few times as they just... kept beating on each other. It really was a thing of beauty. She didn't get to enjoy it this much, this often. More importantly, it wasn't often that she was able to get... just... the ideal shot lined up. She'd been practicing, a lot. And as Chibimoon went to attack Demande... she saw her opening.

"Silence Glaive Surprise!"

Her glaive spun through the air, before she unleashed a spinning buzzsaw of magic of death, coming from the other side at Demande's side. And, for once? She managed to not entirely collapse after doing it. While it did make her lean heavily on the glaive after doing it and she did teeter a bit, stumbling a bit and wobbling, she didn't collapse though.

And hey, combo attacks were fun! "Woooooo... ooooh... weeeee..." Oh she was gonna need a moment.

Nephrite has posed:
Even as Nephrite takes to the air, flying closer, he throws a glance towards Zoisite-- who has sworn he will do as necessary, and today appears to be the day. The state of Saphir makes it obvious, and the fact that he is addressed as Wiseman confirms the fact. The blue bastard's body has been hijacked, it would seem.

He is in the air somewhere above Mercury and Jupiter as a gloved hand ran a spell down the edge of his sword. Demande is taking his knocks, and it is very tempting to join the others-- because Nephrite wants to see loose teeth and white uniform dirty and ruined-- but Saphir's body is only as good as what it is worth to Wiseman. What knowledge it contains, perhaps, if he can access such things, or at least as leverage over the brother. Whatever might be happening here, it's the road less travelled he puts his sword to.

Pointing it directly at Saphir, a large white flash burns bright, and a beam of his own fires sure. A heated spear that comes to aid and distract from Kunzite's far more subtle attempt, triangulated.

Catra has posed:
When the violence started, Catra wasn't anywhere nearby. But it turns out that's the beauty of having a motorcycle. You can generally get anywhere you want to go in a hurry, especially if you aren't concerned about things like red lights or traffic laws.

That said, this is the first time Catra's ever been riding the Honda Rebel at significant speed in the school uniform's relatively short skirt, and the breeze on her legs -- especially her still rather sensitive knees -- is... noticeable.

And so, with a screaming engine and scquealing tires as she turns the bike sideays and skids to a stop, Catra arrives; she leaves it parked a little ways off -- don't want it getting damaged afterall -- and strolls to the site of the battle, arriving fashionably late but precisely when she meant to. She's still a cat afterall, even if she's no longer a villain. (At least most of the time. Not a villain anymore, that is. She's always a cat.)

"Really? Friday afternoon on a nice day for a big fight?" She manifests Powersend, letting it rest in the scabbard hanging over her hip for the moment. A flash of blue flames dance across her, leaving behind a slightly charred looking black tuxedo with yellow and orange highlights and a bunch of brass in its wake. As she walks forwards, she checks both cufflinks, making sure they're perfect, then rests her hand on her sword as she keeps walking forwards.

"Right, so, who's ass are we kicking?" she inquires, and looks up at Blue Saphir. "By the way, your sense of style actually sucks. you look like a comic book villain for four year olds. You need a new tailor."

Zoisite has posed:
Bubbled in the pocket dimension once more, he was becoming more used to the visage of this place. But it also brought a myriad of problems on its own. Sailor Moon was defenseless in this domain and Zoisite was sharply aware of this. Eyes tore away from the squabbling duo, to catch sight of Nephrite's glance, and to finally locate the Moon Princess. Quickly he closed the distance between them. She would need an escape if Prince Demande decides to take one more chance.

"Keep your focus. If anyone comes too close," Circlets of petals are around her, like barrier rings. "They'll burn while I teleport you away."

Green eyes are like fire as he looks up at Demande, the one that he could not find it in him to feel any remorse. And yet... He glances over to Saphir. One of Wiseman's puppets as both Nephrite and Kunzite make their attacks. Limbs and cartilage and a shell of what was once the man in blue and white.

Gaze returns to Demande, standing steady.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Another powerful leap, and Sailor Jupiter comes down squarely between Demande and Sailor Moon, only a little outside of Zoisite's protective circles, fists already sparking with electricity as she squares her defensive stance.

Others have the talking handled - questions, insults, accusations and pointed observations. None of that is really Sailor Jupiter's style. Instead, she simply spreads her hands in the air, the charge crawling over her fingers as pink roses unfurl and scatter into the rising wind. "Flower Hurricane!"

The wind rushes out, scented with summer flowers, driving a blizzard of petals over Demande and Saphir both, further confusing any chance of countering Kunzite and Nephrite's precision strikes.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
'Wiseman'.

Well, that changes things on this 'quarrel', and the moonlit thief has no reason to assume the clearly enraged prince is trying to mislead them, especially not when they have been beating each other up pretty convincingly. It's time to... join forces with Demande?

No, not really. At the end of the day, he is just as much their enemy as he seems to be Wiseman's, and the obsessive glare he gives Sailor Moon makes that abundantly clear, to a tired sigh from Veronica. Even now that his brother is in danger, he still focuses on Usagi? This has really gotten old.

She gives a glance to Saphir-Wiseman, and shakes her head. The prince of dumb priorities for now, and then the source of this mess. Assuming, that's him-him and not some distant control.

"Nice glare, Demande, too bad you are giving it to the wrong person", the feline thief remarks, drawing a set of 5 calling cards out of her hat, and then picking one. "But it's ok, I have one too. Lunar Glare!", she says giving him a frown at the same time she tosses the picked card at him, that explodes in a blinding show of light right in front of his eyes. That ought to teach him.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy was just settling in to what passes for 'normal life' again after getting stuck in another world for HALF OF FINALS WEEK (thank goodness the school doctor is ready with notes and the principal is so in favor of make-up exam days) and dealing with weather going from 90° and 70% humidity to 35° and 57,000% humidity. Still, after frantically explaining things and sorting that out, she can take a moment to meet up with friends and catch her breath and then

    Sudden destruction around her is getting far too normal. Like, she transforms immediately after seeing something crash through a building and people start screaming, but she dryly quips, "Huh, so that's what being near a DBZ fight looks like." Before she runs towards the danger.

    And soon she's in the edge of a barrier and running towards the fight, trying to figure out why a dark general who something is wrong with is fighting a dark general that everyone else is shooting at. "What is going on?! Wait, that's Demande, their prince?!"

    She shouts at the distant figure, "HEY! WHY ARE YOU-- oh I don't think he can hear me through all those attacks. Well, he can hear this, I guess..." And she'll add a shoulder-launched homing missile to the pile of destruction headed Demande's way.

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
It's only natural that Demande draws the fire - he is the bigger threat, the prince here, and he knows it, but the attacks that strike him - first a blast of water from Sailor Mercury that cools his ardor and chills his bones, in time with a blast of energy and pink hearts that slam against ribs and send him rocketing towards the ground, catching himself before he can collide as his brother did.

His gaze flicks from Sailor Moon to Sailor Chibimoon, and he laughs, a mad cackle, "No, Rabbit, I'm not going to be doing that. But I'll come for you too - together - both of you together, that will be enough! That will be enough -

A veritable barrage of magic roses strikes, petals that strike like fists and burst into glitter, equal parts frustrating and painful and Prince Demande snarls at the young king, at Sailors Uranus and Neptune, and energy flares up from fingertips to elbows as he launches an attack there way, a concussive wall of force that stretches from his position in the sky - twelve or so feet up - to the ground, leaving few avenues for dodging besides outright fleeing or tanking it.

The attacks have done damage, that much is clear - he'd already been fighting with his brother when this started, and he's even less collected than he'd been the last time they saw, unravelling exchanged for unraveled, but he isn't turning away.

"No! I have nothing better to look at than you and your daughter, because there is nothing two Silver Crystals can't fix! You couldn't kill him with one, but I'll fix this with two!"

The words explode from him in a shower of venom - and a dark circle opens beneath Sailor Moon, trying to blast her, and instead, detonating Zoisite's circle of petals, the attack canceled out by his act of protection and caution.

Sailor Jupiter lands between Demande and Sailor Moon and the Princess of Sarek taunts him, and a blinding flare strikes his vision just as Flower Hurricane strikes the leader of the Black Moon Clan and his brother alike, blowing the Prince back, creating space, flower petals clinging to the glitter in his now sparkling white hair.

A homing missile strikes him in the back, insult for insult's sake, and the Black Moon Clan's Rapidly Mentally Deteriorating Prince explodes in rage, hurtling half a dozen little spiky balls of Dark Energy at - well, anyone, because he can't actually see anything.

As the many rush to protect Sailor Moon and pin down Demande, the puppeted Saphir rises from the fountain, soaked and being insulted by what the ancient evil can only consider a mongrel.

"Do you talk rather than fight because you're incapable, or just idiotic?" There's a note to his question that makes it sound like a genuine question, which might be even more insulting.

Before Catra can start to respond, a beam of dark energy fires from his third eye, aimed at her chest, while a crackling bolt of black lighting snaps for her feet then fires for the others, chaining together dark energy lightning as it streaks up the side of buildings for Sailor Saturn and the Princess of Sarek.

This is costly, however, as two beams strike him - Nephrite's Star Beam striking high in his chest, as Kunzite's heat-based beam strikes his third eye, causing a shriek of pain to tear from his throat. His hands fly to the third eye, which certainly is a proper eye - its clenched shut now against the heat.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibimoon gives Demande a mortified look when he says that she and Usagi would be 'enough'. Then she gets slightly less creeped out when he clarifies that he means the Silver Crystals. Not that it's a huge improvement really, because now he's after both of them.

    "I'm not going back your dumb Clan with your dumb ship and your creepy old guy who's probably possessing your brother or something!" she objects. Then the spiky dark balls fly out every which way and she decides to duck behind the nearest tall thing, which is probably Kunzite.

    Once the attack passes, with Demande still being focused heavily on, Chibimoon peeks around Kunzite with her Pink Rod held forward. "Pink Sugar Heart Attack!" A other heart-ray is shot at Demande, because like heck is she going to lay off at this point.

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
Wiseman screams in rage. "You wretches will die with the rest of your miserable planet! You foolish wretch, even if you could get the Silver Crystals you couldn't oppose me! I am the infinite Phantom of Death!"

Catra has posed:
"Okay listAAAAIEE!"

Catra draws Powersend, trying to parry away the beam of dark energy fired from Saphir's third eye (that is so creepy) but she isn't quite fast enough, and takes it in the shoulder; it leaves a smoldering mark on her tuxedo -- and leaves her skidding on her back across the pavement -- which isn't the greatest position to be in when black lightning strikes her feet.

For a moment, Catra lays there, thinking about how this just happened. You're getting sloppy, Catra, says a little voice in her head with that tsk-tsk sort of tone to it. Hanging out with the heroes for too long. They're too nice. Not enough competition to keep you on your toes.

Also, that jerk wwent for her mobility, and she's already had enough of that of late thank you very much.

"Alright, fine," she growls. While she's busy rolling over, she summons both her illusory doubles; each wreathed in flames, one in blue nad one in yellow, that daash off in opposite directions and leave a trail of fire on the ground behind them as they go.

"Careful what you wish for," she adds, still with her back turned as she stands up. Her doubles put their hands together and fire beams of her own at Saphir; superheated flames, as the real Catra finally turns and dashes, taking a zig-zaggy path as she runs up to Saphir, only drawing her sword at the last moment to make a furious slash at him in passing.

"Don't think I've forgotten you!" she yells up at Wiseman, "I'm just gonna chop bits off this idiot until I'm satisfied first!"

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    Sailors Uranus and Neptune continue to keep an eye on Sailor Saturn as she swings in - they're trying not to be helicopter 'parents' (though there may be a literal helicopter involved at some points) and Sailor Saturn is a senshi just like the others, but they still try to keep her safe as they can. And yet before they can do anyuthing about the lightning energy, they have their own problem in the form of the giant wall of Dark Energy.

    But Uranus and Neptune didn't engage Demande and throw insults without expecting an attack back, so Neptune turns the Deep Aqua Mirror around. "DEEP WARD!" she calls as a sea-green plate of energy erupts from it, providing a very heavy physical barrier to shield Neptune and Uranus (and anyone who is behind them relative to Demande and in need). Once the attack is over, well Demande is getting plenty of attention and Sapphir-Wiseman is attacking Sailor Saturn.

    She leaps up and away, and since she sees Catra (wait, isn't she - oh whatever who cares) moving in with her blade, Sailor Uranus grips her blade and tries to keep on the opposite side of Catra, flanking in to try to make slashes at Sapphir (and totally not draw his attention away from going after the tired-from-attacking Saturn any more than he already has).

Zoisite has posed:
Demande was unwell, brimming with hysteria before a void opened beneath him and Sailor Moon. Not a moment wasted before his gloved hands were on her shoulders and a new swarm of petals whisked them both closer to Kunzite, Sailor Mercury and Nephrite as the circlets explode, having protected them from the original attack.

There's a faint smell of sweet flora as his fingers snap, more circlets of cherry blossoms spinning around them protectively.

Then he hears the shriek from Wiseman, the onslaught having hit their target. His shoulders flinch, but he remains steady next to the Moon Princess.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kunzite is indeed the nearest tall thing, and he sweeps a spiky dark ball out of the air inside his cloak rather than let it hit Chibimoon - the lining of his cloak darkens for a moment in turn, and he hisses in pain as he absorbs the thing. Darkness grows around them in turn, a familiar shield defending Chibimoon as she flings her heart-ray out. Perhaps defending Zoisite and Moon as well, at least from one angle, depending on where Zoi set them.

"The thing about death," Kunzite says conversationally to Wiseman, "is that some of us don't need labs to come back. It's like saying you are the infinite Phantom of Very Long Naps. Have you considered a career change?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Sailor Mercury swept a hand past to deflect any darkened orbs of spiky unfriendliness with sheets of ice. It didn't really matter if the ice itself broke--tanking it wasn't the point, they just needed to alter the trajectory enough to keep her clear. And give her the opportunity to pile things on.

Neither Demande nor Wiseman-Saphir seemed to be enjoying the blindness too well. They'd been disconnected and uncoordinated from the very beginning, but the assaults upon their eyes and vision had managed to fracture them even further. Demande was lashing out wildly, almost randomly, at the very least.

Well. Pulsing frigid light fluttered about her palms as Sailor Mercury swept her hands out in front of her. They drew up, wrists crossed, and then a barrage of bubbles coursed forth to settle into a freezing cold fog. Dense and stifling--and very cold--to hinder their enemies while giving allies a distinct advantage.

"Sabao Spray Freezing!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Saturn was tired, admittedly. She was VERY tired after that attack. And when dark lightning goes up the building towards her, she was... in danger. Could she barrier? Mayyybe.

But why should she when she had HELICOPTER MOM! She used the glaive for its NOT intended purpose, jamming the butt of it into the ground and pole vaulting into the air, being grateful for gym shorts under the skirt (an addition from other helicopter mom) to hide behind mirror helicopter mom from dangerous angry lightning douche back. And then sit down for a second and catch her breath. "Woooo. K-kick his butt, U-Uranus!" Saturn called out.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon can't fight while maintaining Moon Space, at least not well, not much. She's still getting used to it, still has to give so much power to maintain it, power and focus, and that means trying not to freak out too much when Demande declares his intent to come for not only her, but Sailory Chibimoon -

Oh it's for the Silver Crystals, she's not relieved but she's relieved, and then the world flashes in color and petals, and Zoisite has carried her away to Nephrite and Sailor Mercury, and breathes out a breathless, "Thank you!"

Her eyes scan towards Sailor Chibimoon, and she's only able to breathe easy when she sees the familiar darkness of Kunzite's shield.

"Demande! You're not going to succeed! You're not getting either of our Silver Crystals - and it's not going to help you either! If you wanted to stop Wiseman, you should be fighting with us to stop him! Maybe then we could save your brother!" The enemy of your enemy is not your friend, but they can be another fighter at your side, if the goal is common enough! Why can't he see that?!

Nephrite has posed:
"And you can't just go throwing your balls around in front of the ladies, like this, either!" It cuts across to chastise Demande, as the Shitennou moves through the air to dodge a few of the Dark Energy spheres.

Nephrite throws his free arm wide, a whip of cosmic wind gathering swiftly around hand and wrist, sparkling with stardust. He hurls it in a great swing of his arm, cape flaring behind, and unleashes a strong gale towards Demande now. Gatherign up debric and rubble from the destruction caused, it aims to buffet him with magic and concrete.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
With all those magical attacks, and his ability to react to them struck down by her calling card, that would have pu him down for good, right? One can hope, though at least if he wants to keep being a pain, he can at least have the decency to do it after they have dealt with Wiseman. "Poor you. Must be frustrating holding infinite death and being faced with so much life. No wonder you are so cranky", the Princess of Sarek shakes her head in a mock helpful tone.

But there is only the brief time for a glance at Catra and Saturn before Veronica has to worry about the chain of lightning coming for her, doing a nefariously impressive job of clearing the distance between her and the Phantom of Death. The good thing though is she can be a phantom too, and the lightning strikes through her, moments after she he has disappeared from sight and substance.

The feline thief uses this opportunity to reposition herself at the back of Saphir-Wiseman, and dropping her magic, she points the cane at their enemy. "Perhaps what you need is a bit of warmth", she suggests while the ruby on her finger gleams, and a prism forms between the charging beam of moonlight and her target. "Seven-Hued Flame!" Passing through the prism, the beam of moonlight becomes roaring fire clad in the colours of the rainbow, aimed straight at the villain.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Demande wants the silver crystals, which is understandable, but also "That was the creepiest way to say that!"

    It's Chibiusa who provides Amy with more critical exposition worked into her dialogue, before Saphir(?) screams that he's Death Phantom.

    "Oh, so you're the guy who did all this. Let him--" her mouth running ahead with the script is run over by her brain remembering that this is the guy who saw her as just something to take samples from and then threw her in the oubliette.

     Let him go! Hey, is this like when Beryl possessed Tuxedo Mask? If we hurt him enough does he break free?
     > "So, does attacking him actually hurt Death Phantom or is it just killing a puppet, like one of Kyubey's bodies?" is the line she switches to,

    Before turning to Demande as one of his wildly-thrown energy blasts blows away a toy car near her, her cloak billowing dramatically in the wind. "You! You beat up Endymion in prison! You monster! The state we found him in..." And she feels rage at that memory, remembers the darkness in the back of her mind imagining tearing the castle apart, though when it had been in her head mere minutes -- and she was terrified of having to fight the Black Moon Clan in their home turf -- it was easy not to listen.

    "No," she growls, "you're never hurting anyone like that again." And part of her is tempted to just dump magic on him and try to wipe him out with raw force, but she's tried that and it never works and this guy has got to be up there with Beryl for power, right? She needs to be smart, and watch for openings, and watch for whatever his tricks turn out to be.

    But that doesn't mean doing nothing, it means being annoying. She mixes it up, firing a mix of 3-inch diameter slugs that may or may not even be an annoyance, flashbangs, smoke rounds, and firework starshells to generally make it hard for him to see or hear things, to attack or to be attacked by.

    Sailor Moon's pleading to him though. "Wait, what? You really think he'll switch sides for--" Hmm.

    "How do we actually get Death Phantom out of that guy, anyway?" And she lets up on deafening Demande for a moment. Join them, no, but give him am opportunity, that could work...

Makoto Kino has posed:
As Mercury's freezing fog settles around Demande and Wiseman-Saphir, Sailor Jupiter leaps again, this time buoyed upward by the wind to hang in the air. She brings her hands together, gathering electrical energy between them. A tangle of crackling threads snarls around itself, growing little by little even as Jupiter compresses the energy into an increasingly tight sphere.

She does a double take at Nephrite, her expression shading momentarily into exasperation. "Really?" she asks. "Did you have to put it like that?"

Never mind. Her focus swings back to the possessed Saphir as the ball lightning she's holding onto grows enough to fill the air around her with an audible buzz you can feel in your teeth. "SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"

As she calls out, she thrusts her arm outward, driving the bright sphere of ball-lightning at Saphir like a miniature comet made of pure voltage.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
That concussive wave of force is-- well. He hasn't left Sailor Moon's side, which means that Zoisite is right there too, defending her, and Wiseman is cackling in Saphir's voice, and Demande is being Absolutely Out Of His Tiny Mind, and oh that's an attack--

Tuxedo Kamen braces, presenting his profile for aerodynamics and holding his cape up, ducking his head; he drops to one knee at the end of it, tattered and swaying, and he digs white-gloved fingers into the hard foam surface, imagining dirt and sand and broken concrete and brick and stone and ancient crumbling things that exist beneath the macadam in an old, old street. He lets his cape drape down around him, hiding the glow as he catches his breath and charges his lasers (or at least his mental fortitude).

A moment later, he's gone, jumped up away and over behind a building. He has an idea.

The idea involves Moon Space Parkour which has him pass some Outers on the way up, up, onto the blimp as it makes its way through the sky. As it passes, he runs his hand through the ocean and drags it across the land, clouds swirling around his wrist, and there's a much brighter glow-- (also the Earth in the sky is cake so now he has a giant handful of icing)-- and then Tuxedo Kamen eats frosting and aims his intent like a laser, listening from way up there. On top of the rose blimp.

He stands, and his lips are blue from the icing already. He carefully peels the icing glove off as he charges his lasers, then gauges the distance and speed and where Demande is right now and is likely to be and he does a lot of physics and calculus in his head basically, then gently lobs the thing perfectly aimed at the top of Demande's head.

Then he drops down behind a building.

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
The spinning buzzsaw of death from Sailor Saturn struck Demande opposite of Sailor Chibimoon's blast of hearts, tearing cloth and bruising flesh to the bone - both sides are aching now, along with most of the rest of him, and the attacks don't stop coming, though they at least slow - the monster that has taken over his brother has made himself known, after all.

And Sailor Moon thinks they can join forces. Thinks that they can save his brother.

She isn't the same as the future queen at all. He was wrong, to think he saw the same fire, the same hatred, in her eyes, if she could say that, think that -

"MY BROTHER IS GONE! My Clan, my family, they are all gone! You think - you think you can SAVE US?! YOU THINK THIS WAS ABOUT BEING SAVED?! He killed us from the start! We've been dead the whole time, we've been doomed, there was ever anything but revenge!"

It's a roar, hatred and agony and grief. Diamonds are forged under incredible pressure, and can be broken easily if struck just right.

"There is nothing left of him now! No amount of your purification can undo what Wiseman has done, not while he lives, and you couldn't kill him at the peak of your power! None of you will have the power - if you did, he would have never taken us! If the Sailor Senshi and their allies could stop him, he would have never been able to do any of this! It was always going to end like this because your heart is too soft Sailor Moon! There is no victory in mercy! There is no strength in helping your enemy!"

He's yelling across the field, because he can't see her - can't see anything. Attacks strike him - heart shaped beams that pummel his chest, flashbangs and fireworks that singe cloth and skin, concrete that cracks his bones as it's launched by a massive gale summoned by Nephrite - but even as he rants, power is building, the dark energy flickering over his body, becoming more than thin trails of energy, now stretching out into thick bolts, his hair flying in the wind created by his own energy, cape blown back, and the power grows.

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
Saphir-Wiseman has his own problems to deal with - the possessed second prince wasn't blinded, though his third eye was shuttered - that doesn't matter though, because frosted mist rolls across the battlefield, the product of Sailor Mercury's Sabao Spray Freezing. Her allies can see clearly, but Saphir's vision has been rendered nearly inert, enemies merely shapes in a dense fog that makes him shiver with cold, his reactions beginning to dull with the chill.

A trio of bolts of fire helps fight the chill, in a sense, as the Princess of Sarek's rainbow colored flames burn bright alongside the twin blazes from Catra's doubles, and a wall of shadow rises, only to buckle immediately as Sailor Jupiter adds her own Sparkling Wide Pressure to the force being brought against him, the shield shattering and leaving Saphir open as the true Catra and Sailor Uranus unite in launching furious slashes, the blows beginning to slice through his henshin-strong clothing and then his skin, the white of his pants showing the blood before the blue of his shirt can.

"You can do what you please with this puppet," Saphir's mouth says, "It has served me well! But know this, Kazuo Saitou, Death Phantom has never died! The paltry tricks of my pawns are nothing a force of evil like I require. How many lifetimes passed before you walked this earth again?! I have never faltered! I have grown ever stronger through the years, and now that I see the power that this time offers - I will seize so much more than the Silver Crystal."

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
Back with Demande, his power has continued to grow and build while attacks were concentrated on Saphir's puppeted form, and as calls from voices filled with anger, with taunts reach him, he raves once more -

"I'll throw what I please about, you lout! If you thought I had to beat your king in prison, you're a fool. I beat him on the ground of his own dying planet, because ehe is not STRONG ENOUGH -"

Something (a glove) strikes his head with a wet plop, smearing pale white, glittering, flower petal strewn hair with green and blue cake frosting, and Demande -

explodes.

Or at least, it seems that he does, and that no matter how far they are, they are in the center of the explosion. Dark Energy erupts around each of them, centering on them, singing, devouring like fire, cutting like frost crystals, strangling like vines, rending them with pressure like the breaking of bones and the desperate, gnawing certainty of death as the air is blown from their lungs and they are all, sent to their knees, to their faces, downed by the explosive power of the Malefic Black Crystal erupting all at once. Every shard of Demande's power, unleashed in a terrible wave that holds them down, keeps them bound for the moment, as he lowers to the ground, staggering, blinded and crazed, for the nearest power he can sense.

"I will fix this. I will make it right. I will take your power and I will do what you could not, I will make it right - "

The nearest power is Chibiusa.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibimoon hears Amy's question, then looks back at Sailor Moon, and then back to the Puella. "I don't know! My queen-mom couldn't kill this guy." Then the enemy tells them that it's actually too late to save Saphir and she... actually looks sadly in the blue boy's direction. Is he... really for real gone? As doomed as she knew he was, a part of her always wondered...

    No. They are the dead. She knows that now. It was something that Wicked Lady didn't want to process, and was part of why she never took her job seriously.

    Then the blast comes, as the slap from her papa is enough to send Demande further off the deep end. The force of it washes over her, and were she not in henshin armor then the Black Moon Clan would have finally carried out the assassination they originally came here for. The smallest pink senshi is knocked onto the ground, face down, bruised and battered but slowly pushing herself up.

    Her head feels wobbly and for the moment she can't clearly see, but she can feel his hateful eyes on her.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Searing pain and overwhelming pressure assault her and Sailor Mercury is driven to the ground. She collapsed there with a yelp, hands pressed to the floor as she fought to remain anywhere approaching upright. Unfortunately, it wasn't working quite as well as she would have hoped. The blue-haired Senshi was barely able to keep to her knees.

But, even there, she grit her teeth and lifted her face. It was the maximum that she could manage beneath the unrelenting might of Demande's brutal rage. Sapphirine gaze fixed upon the man as he stalked toward Chibiusa. From her downed and struggling position, Sailor Mercury couldn't manage much.

A hand lifted slowly, outstretched toward Sailor Chibimoon to pull yet more condensation from the frigid air. With the aid of her Visor, Sailor Mercury fashioned it around the smallest Senshi to harden. A calculated dome of ice to offer her some barrier against Demande's approach. Probably not nearly enough against such malice.

"B-bad... dog-!" Ami groaned out from between agonisingly grit teeth.

Catra has posed:
"YOU'RE A CRAPPY VILLAIN BECUSE ALL YOU DO IS MONOLOGUE AND THEN LOSE!!"

Catra yells at the top of her lungs as she resists teh urge to high-five Sailor Uranus for diving in along with her to cut up the bad guy. The monologuing bad guy, who's about to be pounded into--

Dark Energy wells up around Catra, and this time it isn't because she's summoning it. She hasn't touched the stuff in a while -- but now it's erupting out of the ground beneath her. her doubles both wink out one after the other as the air is ripped from her lungs and the world around her goes silent, and suddenly she's on her back, skidding across the ground. She's blown into the side of a car, and can't even scream because her aching lungs are empty, and still the assault continues; she can feel her body getting cut through her tux, and the flames dancing across her body disappear leaving not a wisp of smoke.

"Meant," she gasps after a long moment, as she puts one hand to the ground to steady herself. She hurts. Everything hurts. Her joints hurt. Her nose is bleeding.

"Every," she gasps, forcing herself up onto all fours and shaking her head.

"Word."

The feline opens her hand, recalling Powersend back from wherever it skidded off to. And, sure, she meant every word. But now she has to stand up. ...Which might take a minute.

Zoisite has posed:
"He won't join us. Neither of them will. I already tried convincing Saphir... And he did listen to me. But they both lost too much to give in, even knowing the truth." Zoisite explains quietly to Sailor Moon's plea. His eyes are still on Demande. "They have nothing to lose, now." He doesn't show it, but his voice carries a knowing to it, sorrow. Then silence as Demande roars. Full of pain, delusions, of a creature shoved to a corner with no escape.

Then air is lost, sucked out of his lungs as the impact of dark energy hits and he tries shielding Sailor Moon but was knocked back a bit further due to the sheer power of the explosion.

Once he could, Zoisite felt his arms shake for a moment, trying to push himself up from the ground, just enough to glancing over his shoulders and see--

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
Sailor Saturn's slicing attack put a serious damper on Not-Sapphir's continued current existence, and then the smaller girl ended up near her adopted Papa and Mama, tired from the attack, so either way - the two of them were going to be protecting her now with Neptune having moved gracefully over to join her family members; but when she gets a premoniton of the incoming attack; just a moment before its too much - the teal-haired woman suddenly pulls Sailor Saturn in towards her and Sailor Uranus - the blast slams into everyone but from the position it mostly hits Neptune, and the woman lets out a piercing scream as the energy hits her in the back.

    Sailor Uranus gets some of it and grunts out through clenched teeth, but she's far more bothered by the way Neptune took the brunt of it - her ability to do much about it, though, is limited by the way the Dark Energy holds her body down forcefully, but she's still struggling against it, slowly moving to her feet; not able to attack, but able to take a step in front of the clearly wounded Neptune as she Uranus continues to resist the bindings.

    "I really hope you are undying, because... I'm gonna need a long time to pay you back..." she says, as even though the blast came from Demande, she's still holding them all, collectively, responsible for her girlfriend's pain.

    Neptune, much more trashed, turns slowly, and glares at Demande. "You can't make anything right, because you're not right yourself. You can't create a masterwork with..." and she pauses to cough from the wracking pain "... garbage for tools. Both of which you are. Garbage, and a tool..."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
The shield lasts a split-second, lessening the blow for Chibimoon by a trace - then it's gone and Kunzite is down as well, without breath, without the strength to echo Chibiusa. He can't lift himself. He can't focus well, for a moment; the shield breaking is still a weakness, it's hard to adjust to the limitations of his senses. But if he focuses everything, everything, he can move ... one hand.

When Mercury's dome of ice forms, he's lying partway through it, and its cold is a vast relief against the Malefic Crystal's cold.

Inside that dome, there's a flicker of light - something emerging from the palm of his hand. A ball of spikes, energy flickering with his cool pink color, but mostly something white as Demande's clothing, prismatic and faceted as diamond. Kunzite's power worked through what Demande's might have been - if only.

It takes everything he has to hold it in place, to lift it as Chibiusa moves. To hold it where Demande's hand, not guided by sight, is most likely to reach. It won't do significant damage. But it might slow him down; and buying time, sometimes, is the best they can do.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I think even monsters can love their family," Sailor Moon replies to Amy, but though her plea had been for Demande to work alongside them, for the brother he so loves, her eyes flick around the battlefield, from friend to ally to family, straying frequently to Chibimoon and then Tuxedo Kamen (how did he get up there) to Sailor Mercury, and back around through everyone, trying to keep tracking of their injuries, their damage, trying to gauge when she can strike because she doesn't think she can do much more than one attack -

And Demande erupts with vile and hatred, and he loathes her, loathes them all, loathes Wiseman, even, but more than that -

"He really has lost too much," she breathes to Zoisite, and her voice is full of pity. Full of sorrow. Demande is a monster, and she will never forgive him for what he has done - for the nightmares he's given Chibiusa, for the terrible injuries he riddled Mamoru's body with, for the endless dead on another earth and the wounded and dead here, deaths ordered at his hands, but she doesn't have to forgive to pity, doesn't have to forgive to have mercy. "You're wrong. A heart full of hatred will never unleash the Silver Crystals' power-"

She doesn't get a chance to continue - the dark power lashes out, and she and they and everyone is bowled flat, though with Zoisite having tried to shield her, Moon Space only flickers instead of breaking, the real world shining through her dimensional shift for a moment before grasps for the world with both hands and digs in. She can't quite move, but her strength is holding, and she's struggling, and her head is lifting. "Chibimoon!!!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Saturn had managed to regain her energy and, finally, she was ready to--

NOPE! NEVERMIND! As she was ready to rejoin the fray, a powerful blast of dark energy washed over all of them and she was brought right back down, shielded by Uranus and Neptune. She didn't even have time to bring up her own silence barrier, clutching her adopted parents and clinging to them for protection as she struggled to not be overwhelmed and destroyed by the powerful, radiating surge of power.

Deep within her, something was stirring. Another facet of herself, something that.... she did NOT want to awaken. Something she hoped would NEVER awaken. Something she was TERRIFIED of awakening...

And some members of them might feel that there was another pair of eyes watching this battle, just in case. Eyes that nobody wanted to be watching this battle. That might send a chill down the spines of the outer senshi and possibly even the rest of the senshi's backs...

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Nnh--!"

The eruption of Dark Energy from Demande knocks Sailor Jupiter out of the air. She goes down hard on the cushy candy-colored ground of Moon Space, the wind leaving her lungs in a wheezing rush as the malevolent energy continues to bear down, crushing, choking. She fights to draw in a breath, to even get her arms and legs underneath her; her lips curl back from her teeth in a silent snarl, stinging tears gather in the corners of her eyes.

Through the blurring of her vision, she sees Demande move toward Chibiusa.

"No you... don't--!"

With a heave of stubborn effort, muscles strained tight, Sailor Jupiter forces herself up. She digs her fingers into the ground, gets a foot under her... and, slowly, staggers onto her feet.

One step, then another. Her momentum builds as she moves to meet Demande before he can get to Chibiusa; she draws back a fist and swings at him, ungracefully but with every bit of strength the Senshi of Strength and Protection can muster.

Nephrite has posed:
"Strength isn't the only thing that matters, in the long run, but maybe part of you always knew that," Nephrite says it as much for himself, because he's come to truly believe it, too. "It's a shame, but there's nothing to do for the dead but put them to rest." No, he knew it would come to this since Crystal Tokyo. No amount of joking would take away from the reality of it all. Too many bodies on the pile, starting with their own clan. A Death Cult to the very Nth degree.

He was readying his next blow when Demande's rage flashed, and that constricting, terrible power slammed aginst them all in force. He felt it, he felt the emotion that drove it, and the wicked nature of the Prince's corruption. Heady and bleak and biting at the skin.

Nephrite's driven through the air and into a present box sitting askew on top of one of the cartoonish buildings, his gathered attack interrupted and his body heavy like the pull of a star against the broken set piece. He's half stuck in it, struggling, "At least my King's-- respectable, you-- long streak of bird sh--" The top of the box collapses further on him, covering him.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amanda can't help but wince in an ounce of sympathy when Demande says he and his family were doomed from the start. She was once so sure she could never really have a life, that fighting until she dies sometime in the next few years was all she gets and trying to convince herself to be grateful for that much, but whenever she thought about the life she couldn't have in this world she got so sad.

    And he says Sailor Moon is too soft (what) and that mercy and kindness can never win...

    "If that were true, better to die as ourselves than be twisted into something that could survive... but you're missing something, Demande... Sailor Moon has a power Crystal Tokyo's queen never had:"

    "Us!"

    Phantom's threat to take over this time is still worrying, though. And then--

    Oh gods it's like trying to exist on Nemesis but worse in all the painful ways, and it comes so fast that all she can think of is the pain and worry for what's happening to her body, instincts screaming that she's dying and reason worried that this body will get too damaged to regenerate...

    After what feels like far too long, she remembers to turn off pain, but the body won't move, and she wonders for a moment if the connection is broken, but no, then she wouldn't still be able to see and hear, right?

    "Is... that... love?" she manages to choke out a few words of doubt.

    Move, body, move! Get up! He's going for Chibiusa!

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Tch, listen to yourself," Tuxedo Kamen murmurs, shaking his head at Wiseman's rant just before he lands--

IMPACT.

He hits the ground already writhing, and he hits it hard because with the attack, the jump turns into a fall. It's like-- it's almost like being in the dusk zone with no dark energy and no shielding, and simply being able to make that association isn't enough to stop the wretched and aggravating agony, which is also combined with the ringing in his ears from hitting his head.

Mamoru tries to push himself up-- he's not even with everyone! He can hear all this, but it's-- it's so much worse than Nemesis was in some ways, killing much faster and more actively than the weeks it would take on that planet. In some ways it's so much better, because it's not the kind of pervasive that tempts, it's not the kind of pain that offers a poisonous cure at hand. In all ways it's more aggravating, because he can't move and Chibiusa is afraid suddenly--

That's a sharp enough focus in the back of his consciousness that it gets him through, gets him to the point that he can grip at the ground and start combat crawling closer.

The respectable king, practically slithering inch by inch, because he hasn't even the strength or coordination to throw a rose... he puts his forehead down against the ground again and centers himself through the pain, then keeps going! He'll get to four inches soon.

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
The enemy - and even Saphir - have been knocked down, beneath him, where they belong, the useless, helpless, pathetic things, almost as bad as him, persisting in thinking they could change anything when their power can do nothing against he real enemy!

Demande put everything he had into that attack, and the clasps for his earrings dangle emptily in the wind because the crystal shards have erupted with all their power. Nearly everything he had is gone, with just enough energy to stagger forward, blinded and drawing near the sense of power. He stumbles, but he's so close.

He's so close. And once he has her daughter's crystal, Sailor Moon will surrender for the sake of her child, because her heart is frail and weak, and he will do what must be done -

This is what he's thinking when Sailor Jupiter's fist collides with his face, loosening teeth, snapping his neck back with enough force to create whiplash, and blood fills his mouth, and it turns out his heart has room enough for one more pulse of rage, Dark Energy born from within.

"I am so tired of you." This, before Sailor Jupiter is seized by her Sailor collar and hurtled through the air, crashing into the rose blimp high in the sky, tearing a hole in it. The blimp zips across the sky as it loses air, the Senshi of Protection carried off.

Demande spits blood and teeth on the ground and thrusts his hands out - there are two, pulsing presences, energy -

One is Kunzite's trap, and it pains him, blisters him.

The other is Sailor Chibimoon, grabbed by the throat, and he squeezes.

"Rabbit..."

Death Phantom laughs, from within Saphir.

Demande had been a soft child, at first, prone to weakness, prone to sympathy, miserable over the condition of the adults who died too quickly, over the children who sickened when they failed to absorb enough energy. He had learned to hoard that which he possessed and covet that which they had, to understand that the only way to keep was to clutch, and in that learning he had failed to ever see past the facade of Wiseman, the only elder who lived, the only adult who could guide them, who could cook food for children too young to comprehend cooking, who could teach them to harness the only power that would let them breathe.

He had been the perfect tool, drawing the others to him, shining from what little light they had, protecting them as baubles and toys and kin, but that weakness meant he would never surpass Wiseman.

No one would.

Saphir's body has taken immense damage, but while the rest focus on Demande, he begins to focus on what strength it does still possess...

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    The good news is that Chibimoon no longer needs to get up on her own. Now she has help! The bad news is that this 'help' comes in the form of Demande grabbing her by the throat and lifting her up by the neck. One hand goes to Demande's thumbs, trying in futility to pry them a little, to give herself even just a tiny bit more air to breath as her small legs kick helplessly in the air.

    The other hand is holding the Pink Moon Rod.

    In desperation, and in disgust, she raises her pretty pink weapon over her twintailed head as the crystalline heart at its tip shines in the moonlight. Then, in one determined strike, she brings the rod down on Demande's nose.

    After the direct strike to the Prince's face, she's able to pry herself free of his grip, sending her falling. She lands on her feet in an unsteady crouch, and as she rises she swings the tip of her boot directly at Demande's shins before turning to flee. She desires strongly to be nowhere near this guy.

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
There's the crunch of cartilage, as Sailor Chibimoon does what she's probably wanted to do from the very beginning, and breaks Demande's nose with her Pink Moon Rod.

"RABBIT-"

His concentration breaks. Everyone is suddenly - free.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
NO-- no, he's got her-- NO HE'S GOT HER--

And Mamoru's heart practically bursts into rainbows and sparkles all over again as Chibimoon proves herself to be a self-rescuing princess! It's like the winningness of Chibiusa's move is what breaks them all free, it's like ahhh she's a self-rescuing princess--

And Mamoru gasps, then lets out a disbelieving laugh but does not wait. He does not get up. As soon as Chibimoon is clear, the prince in a mask SLAMS his fist on the ground.

"Tuxedo la Smoking Crater!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The oppressive weight lifted from her and Sailor Mercury manage to pull herself to stand again. A relieved moment that lasted only as long as it took for her to register what was happening. Which, between her Visor and her being fairly observent, wasn't long at all. The Vile Prince had Chibiusa.

Briefly, very thankfully, and he copped a busted nose for the effort. Good.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

Water swirls about her before it jettisons off toward Prince Demande. Though, it doesn't stay wet for long. Half-way through the distance, and beginning with the leading edge of it, the water crystalises into a spear of ice. Let it not be said that Sailor Mercury was incapable of decisive action when the time calls for it--it was aimed directly for the side of Demande's upper chest from which his throat-grabbing arm had extended.

Absolutely not. No rabbits for him. Ever.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    All of that - the chaos of combat, A cheer from Neptune and Uranus due to the punch, the continued threat to Chibimoon, and then a rather satisfying crunch frees the rest of them from the choking binds of darkness that held them back. Uranus helps Neptune up, as Neptune sees to Saturn. Then the two of them look at each other, exchanging looks and so much information in silent glances, then back to what remains of Demande, then to Saturn. Their Saturn, not the one they can feel awakening. Neptune shakes her head and rests her hand on Saturn's head. On Hotaru's head. "There's no need for the other presence. We can handle this today. Ourselves. With what we have available to us. There's no need to go that far."

    Uranus turns and smiles, then winks. "Plus, we've been practicing, right?"

    "Let's deal with this so that the Other Saturn can know the world is in good hands. Like we practiced. Together, let's combine our strength and cleanse a threat from the world." Neptune says.

    Uranus reaches to the sky, collecting energy into her arm as she has before, into a facted gem of contained power.

    And so does Neptune, water rushing from the air, from the ground, even in this strange Barrier - coalescing into a gem of energy.

    Then, the two of them press that power into Saturn's glaive; small orbiting planets glow now at the non-stabbing end of the polearm, rings of air and water near the blade's start.

    "RINGED... ENSEMBLE..." Uranus and Neptune begin the call-out.

Catra has posed:
Catra hears that crunch, as Chibiusa breaks Demande's nose. She uses Powersend as a crutch to stand herself up, until she gets back to her feet and can take a deep breath of air.

"Nice one, kid," she comments to the fleeing Chibiusa, with an upwards turn of her lips. The sword in her hand gets planted blade-first into the sidewalk beside her, and she leaves it quivering as she walks forwards. She tugs her tuxedo back into place, and once again, adjusts the cufflinks, one after the other, watching as people are already piling on with their retribution.

"I think we've all had enough of you," she growls, ears laying flat as she shows teeth -- and she's not grinning. Somewhere in the background, a motorcycle fires up and the engine revs. Catra holds out her hands and twin bursts of yellow flame flash and solidify into a pair of gleaming katana blades; she whirls them both in th air around her. A motorcycle comes speeding up and skids to a halt beside her; and maybe it was formerly a toy motorcycle, but now it's a black silhouette inside a brilliant blue bonfire. Catra straddles the bike, holding the swords while taking up the same space as her double which keeps operating the controls; and her other double takes up the passenger seat behind her, and together the three of them peel off, popping a wheely as they charge straight for Demande, leaving a wall of flame in their wake. Catra slashes at them as they pass by; her back-seat double focuses a jet of flame on him as they go, and after a couple of seconds Catra wheels the back around to come back.

"Time to go!" she shouts, popping a wheely one again; but this time she lets the swords disappear, and as she speeds up she grabs hold of a lamppost just before passing it. The move pulls the wheels of the bike up off the ground and she lets go of it, sending the flaming contraption hurling through the air at Demande as the flames, too hot, burn through everything, including the fuel tank.

Catra bounces up to the top of the lamppost, crouching atop it as she watches the resulting explosion. Sure, she's too cool to look at the explosion, but Demande's end is something she can't miss.

Zoisite has posed:
It's what Demande deserved, and more.

The moment the little princess was free was when Zoisite felt he was able to move again. Fly again. Only a few meters off the as he sits, midair. Snap, summoning his usual swarm of pink cherry blossoms, eyeing the distraught prince in white as blood spilled from broken nose.

There was nothing he could say that would be more satisfying that seeing this pitiful creature burn down to bone and marrow. A mercy, in the end.

"Sakura Conflagration!"

All of his petals zipped through the air, aiming for Demande to explode on impact.

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Princess of Sarek says, "Demande, you really are weird", Veronica scoffs at the lost prince. "You seek out the power of a miraculous stone, but you don't believe in miracle. The path you are on is only going to bring you more of the same you have had in your life. If you want real change, toss away the burden you are dragging with you already!", she urges him, though she thinks she is trying to get water out of a stone. An arid, wrinkly stone.

The response she gets is just thunder billowing and furious, crackling through the air to tear through them with Demande's fury. "Prismatic Wall!", she calls out in a hurry, but the shimmering prism of moonlight only holds for a moment, losing with a crack that sends Veronica back against the wall.

Her cane lands next to her with a solid thunk while she sees the stars, and the cat thief reaches for it with a pained groan, readjusting her grip a few times before staggering to her feet. The Princess of Sarek recollects herself, glad she threw that shield up. It must have absorbed the worst of it.

Her gaze searches for her allies, and a glacial shiver courses through Veronica when she sees Chibimoon get held by her neck, already starting to think of ways to break her out of the prince's cursed grip. After all, she has been their target from the start, they really should have been more careful the moment both of them appeared.

That same breath is released with clear relief when her worries prove unneeded and the pinkette starts getting up, and the tension leaves the blonde mahou with a laugh. Too bad for him, she is made of tougher stuff, Demande. "That was perfect, Chibimoon. Hat off to you. How are you feeling?", the cat thief runs to her side the best she can after the attack, reserving a watchful and angry eye towards Demande. Do they have to bear with him any longer? She personally has her answer.

With a tap of her cane against the ground, her hat vanishes, and ripples of nonexistent waters spread throughout the roofs, illusionary waters replacing them, and from below, a full moon shines with bright silver light, no doubt bringing feeling of revulsion to Demande. "Moonlight Masquerade!", the Princess of Sarek shouts, and her hat, now gigantic, breaks out of the fake sea, emerging with a loud rumble and sweeping through Demande with shining purification."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Saturn could move! They could move! YES! They could FIGHT! Finally! The precious princess had broken a nose well deserving of breaking! She got to her feet, lifting her glaive to the air. It seemed, in the future, they hadn't done their duties. Or perhaps it was more that this threat had come from within... either way... it fell to this world, this timeline, to fix it...

And it was true, Usagi of the future had failed. But that was THAT world's future. THIS Usagi of THIS world's present had more power than he could ever know. She had the power of friendship. Like cat girls. And korma girls. And puellas. And pretty cures. And all the other rainbows of magical girls. And right now?

She also had three outers. And one of them carried a really big stick. And had been working really, really, REALLY hard to show off for her two princesses.

She lifted the glaive into the air as the others prepared. That presence, she could feel it watching them all, now. Wondering if it would have to step in... Was the world in danger, truly? Or could... they truly train this senshi to actually BE a senshi, to deal with the threats that were coming?

The orbs of power rotated faster and faster around the glaive as it spun, as a third ring mixed with it, the glaive spinning until finally...

STRIIIIIKE!!!

She yelled, the glaive coming to a stop. Three rings, one white, one yellow, one blue, surging out and spinning through the air and seeming to disappear for a moment...

Until they re-appeared a moment later, on Demande. Connecting in one silent, unifying strike that seemed to be entirely silent in and of itself. Where the three rings touched, spreading out in a void to envelop and absorb into nothingness.

The other presence... Slowly closed its eyes, once more, letting itself drift back to sleep again. It seemed it wouldn't be needed today after all. Saturn, meanwhile, was panting lightly, but not nearly as exhausted as she felt she should have been.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kunzite does not try to rise. The edge of the crater tosses him half-upright, and he catches himself up on one knee - staying between Demande and Sailor Moon. He's aware of Wise-Saphir. He's aware that letting him do as he wishes is a terrible plan. But he can't do anything about it; and the others are taking down Demande. Whom he can help to do something about. Just a little.

"Reinforcement Focus!"

He hasn't the energy to spare to attack. But he can lift his shield behind Demande, and once again keep stray shards of energy, fire, water, from spilling over - reflect them back to their original target, instead.

Maybe not reflecting the hat. He ... has no idea how or whether it would interact with the hat, honestly, but at worst it won't hurt.

He's not sure about the Outers' attack, either, but as long as the two voids don't overlap, they don't have to find out right now.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    The darkness tears and clutches at her, even the thing in the soul gem feels it, perhaps no longer as physical pain but a wearing out all the same, a straining, building tiredness and hopelessness even as she tries to move--

    He's grabbing Chibiusa and choking her no please no this cannot happen

    You called for help... but nobody*CRUNCH*

    She can move.

    The puella magi's hand traces out half of a circle, fingers trailing orange sparks as she stands. "You've ended countless lives, severed countless futures..." As against Emeraude, she's made a big shallow coppery bowl thing, briefly obscuring her from sight, concave side pointed towards Demande -- she sees the earrings are gone, oh let him be vulnerable now! -- and then she steps aside, now in the costume of Sailor Chalcopyrite, the pretty guardian of freedom to be yourself, something his victims will never have again, her right hand still holding the top of the liner.

    "No More."

    And she pulls her hand off and steps back and thrusts her palm towards the liner and conjures the explosive behind it and a casing this time and instantly detonates it and for an instant she's like a black silhouette against the light of the explosion in front of her as the BANG... doesn't echo across the soft surfaces of the barrierinth but it is very loud, and a big chunk of metal is sent at dragon-killing speeds towards the last living member of the Black Moon Clan.

Nephrite has posed:
Nephrite had been struggling in the box, heavy as it was and pinned down by awful power, sapping and burning at him. Heavy to the point of near suffocation, even as he continued to swear and struggle. The second the agony ceased, he was using his shadow to shift obstructions and pulling himself out--

Jupiter sent hurtling away in the rose blimp... His heart swelled with pride and satisfaction for the blood drawn, because Makoto had granted his wish-- knocking Demande's teeth out. Chibiusa followed it perfectly, like a cherry on top. A perfect one-two of messing up that haughty, rage-warped face. That girl was so much stronger already.

"Stellar Convergence!"

Two hands set forth a bold flash of cosmic power, prismatic and fluid light shaped about palms to fire a large bright sphere-- not unlike a travelling star itself-- towards Wise-Saphir, rather than Demande.

Because a cackle like that surely portends nothing good, and the great distraction of Demande's demise provides an opening.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Is that love, Amy asks, and Sailor Moon feels a moment of anger, of rage, not at her friend, but the situation, because yes it is, because love isn't just kind and warm and open but clawing and grasping and holding, it can be a terrible thing, to be loved -

And then she does what she couldn't, against Koan, and she lets it go. Not the danger. Not the threat. Not the awareness of what must be done. But the anger, the hatred - that, she lets go. The person she is, the person she wants to be, isn't someone who fights from her anger and her pain, but from her love, her compassion.

Chibimoon frees herself, and Sailor Moon exhales, and with that exhale, lets the last of the anger go. Pity fills her heart, pity and compassion, and the awareness that what happens now is because Demande, like Beryl before him, was unable, and unwilling, to change.

The Soldier of Love and Justice, the Soldier of Mystery, the Princess of the Moon, raises her rod, as she does, for a moment it's the Crescent Wand, the Spiral Heart Moon Rod, the Cutie Moon Rod - and then it's none of them and perhaps all of them, potential and power overlapping, a staff with angelic wings and a golden crown and a pink and gold heart.

"You should have gotten a better beginning, all of you, and we'll finish him - we'll make sure he never hurts anyone again... but you won't be with us to see it."

"Moon Princess Halation!"

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
The thing about using all your remaining strength on one last titanic effort is that if you don't actually win, you're doomed to lose.

Perhaps Demande knew that. Perhaps, in some tiny fragment of him, he accepted that. Or maybe he was so high on his own supply, his own tragedy, his own sense of grandeur and conviction that only he could get something done, that having given all his power away to strangle the life and power from a little girl, he had nothing left but to die.

Tuxedo la Smoking Crater shatters the Earth beneath his feet, pitches his body high in the air, not under his own power this time, as spike of earth batter and pierce the armor of his henshin as well as his flesh.

Shine Aqua Illusion jettisons forth, water striking, sinuous and free as a serpent, until with a shiver and crack, the water becomes a single great spear of ice that pierces Demande's left arm and barrels through to penetrate his chest, shattering the protective barrier of his ribs and exiting through his left lung.

He collides with the ground, then, and is struck with Catra's improvised finisher, the fiery depths of her explosion igniting a terrible scream, only furthered when Sakura Conflagaration explodes on impact, the force bursting the flames, revealing -

Ringed Ensemble Strike, the combined force of three Outer Senshi, strikes, spreading a void of power that began to consume the fire, the ice, the devastation rent to flesh -

Reinforcement Focus and that triple ringed void ensure that Amy's No More tears into Demande and nothing else, a choked cry of pain uttered, smoke hiding the worst of the damage.

Moonlight Masquerade sees the great hat fly forth, purifying, and it is bolstered by Moon Princess Halation, pink lights and stars and moon emblems swirling in purification, as the hat swishes in a circle around Demande, taking away his dark energy -

His body begins to disintegrate, as youma did, as Dark Energy constructs did, the fate of those purified when there was nothing left - and then the hat touches the ground, and when the enormous hat construct vanishes, there is nothing left of the Prince of the Black Moon Clan.

There is still, another prince however, building force for an attack, ready to unleash it, Wise-Saphir-Phantom ready to detonate himself now, and take as many of the weakened warriors with him as possible -

When Stellar Convergence strikes in a bold flash of cosmic power, as presciently as if the stars had whispered their warning to their Heavenly King, and the great sphere barrels into Saphir, battering his body and breaking the clasps of his earrings, so that the shards of the Malefic Black Crystal, still sparking with energy, fall harmlessly to the ground.

No! NO!

But Wise-Saphir-Phantom has once more been blown back and as his tool dies, Wiseman, deep within the Black Moon Clan's ship - deep within the planet Nemesis itself - pulls back from his puppet.

The third eye vanishes from his forehead. The Black Moon Clan sigil returns. Saphir settles back into his body with all the horror of a man realizing his night terror was real, and screams.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibimoon's flight takes her by the Princess of Sarek, close enough to hear her question. The small Senshi is rubbing her neck with one hand. "Still catching my breath," she says. Chibimoon doesn't want to admit that her neck hurts, but it still does, and the way she's nursing it makes it a bit obvious.

    Catra tells her 'Nice one, kid', and Chibimoon smiles as she runs. "Thanks!" She then leaps forward and lands behind the fountain, squatting to hide behind it for a moment as she peeks over the edge. Chibimoon watches as Demande becomes nothing, and a part of her feels hollow, but another part of her is relieved. At least one source of her nightmares is gone forever.

    Then she turns to Saphir, who has just realized that he really did just lose everything. Everything he never had. This moment was inevitable, and he knew it. Chibimoon knew it, too. For his sake, she sheds a tear. Any appeal to turn him to their cause would be... insensitive, at best.

    Her red eyes turn to Mamoru, then to Usagi, then up to Saphir. "Please, stop! What are you even fighting for anymore? Revenge? Loyalty? Despair?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Despite the decisiveness of action, Sailor Mercury wasn't really feeling anything elated in the demise of their foe. It was almost subconscious that her hand sought Sailor Moon's nearest arm, looking to find some comfort in that contact. It would only be there that she would find the moment to breathe any relief as sapphirine gaze shifted slowly to Saphir.

Poor, pitable Saphir. Her stare softened significantly for what had been lost to them. She would not act now, however. Not just now.

"It's almost over, isn't it?" Mercury asked of the odango-sporting blonde beside her, as much a question as a reassurance for herself.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"He's not fighting, sweetheart," Tuxedo Mask says, coming up next to his alt future daughter and standing there. "He's mourning."

He steps back, then glances at Zoisite. "Ask him," he murmurs, "if he wants them buried or burned."

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
"Almost," Kunzite says quietly up to Mercury. "We still need to hunt down the one that did this to them. To set things straight in the time they came from." Not set things right. Nothing can do that, unless they could travel back in time and rescue the Black Moon Clan as infants.

And there is still Saphir. Kunzite picks himself up, slowly, carefully, and forces himself to move. Not to Saphir, directly. Toward Zoisite. Not close enough to interfere; whatever happens next, Zoisite is the only one with a chance of knowing how to deal with this. But close enough that Zoisite can know Kunzite is with him. Whatever he does.

Nephrite has posed:
Plucking up his sword, Nephrite casts his gaze upon the screaming Saphir, a long moment spent watching him. Hearing the sound of it. Acknowledging what will now, gratefully, conclude-- a theatre of horror to which Saphir has played literal puppet.

Nephrite knows something of that feeling, of futility, of error, of immense grief and loss. He remembers the clarity of a moment like this, just before death wipes it clean. That is what must come next. To sleep with you, Saphir. To dreamless sleep where this nightmare is done, and perhaps wake somewhere relief lives.

The Shitennou hops down from the building, coming to drift down and settle boots near Ami and Usagi. Sword is sheathed. His hand rests upon hilt, and he watches Kunzite move. Watches Zoisite.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy intoned the words on her mind when no attack name sprung into it. Maybe she'll workshop a senshi-style attack name later.

    Despite her confident words Amy only had hope, not certainty, that Demande was vulnerable -- but that hope grows as she sees attack after attack slam into him and her own fires off. The projectile and any remains of the casing disappear into pink sparkles, their job done-- And what's left of Demande falls to the ground.

    And Saphir is screaming, and she remembers him cutting into her, ordering droids to take her away...

    But still. She doesn't want to increase suffering, even his, only for him to stop hurting others.

    If she knew how he'd been tricked, she might even feel sorry for him -- certainly she'd wish he could have some peace in his final moments.

    She doesn't know what there is to say to him. But wow, Tuxedo Mask's words are morbid. But she can respect his intent.

    Free to live as you wish includes the end of that life.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    The Outer Senshi - all three of them - lean on each other for support, in a way, even the smaller one supporting and being supported by the others. In this way they stay standing; metaphorically and literally.

    Sapphir screams, and the best thing Neptune can do for him now is nothing at all - she can hold her tongue, keep the biting remarks back. He's not currently acting as though he's a threat to anyone but himself, so Uranus doesn't attack him. But they watch him, with a mix of wariness and pity.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon clutches Sailor Mercury's hand, her touch drawing her back to herself. Her eyes are wet, and she blinks back tears as Saphir screams, and she's glad that Mamoru is with Chibiusa, because her legs are shaking. Demande had accused her of having a soft heart, and on that account, he was right.
Her heart may not be weak, but it is soft, and though she does not know the full story of what her friends had uncovered, she doesn't need to know to understand that kind of grief. She, too, had felt that depth of despair, in another life.

"Almost," she echoes Kunzite, and looks down at her staff, as it shrinks away, and becomes that which Demande had tried to take - the Silver Crystal. It was open, now, no longer a bud but a lotus in full bloom, and as Saphir screamed, as he grieved as she had grieved, she felt not satisfaction or relief, but a sense of common ground, of empathy.

Once upon a time, it had not only been her, who had lost her everything, but everyone she stands with, and a wish on this very crystal had given them all another chance.

A wish on this crystal, by her Moon Mama, and all the life she had to give. She had been alone, though, and they...

Sailor Moon raises her head, looking from one solemn face to another.

Catra has posed:
it's over. Well, over enough. Catra did her bit. Fighting for the good guys.

That's still weird.

The feline watches from her perch as things unfold, and the enemy, well, dies. That tends to happen when your strategy is really bad, like, dumping everything you've got into one attack with no backup plan for when it doesn't work.

"I maintain that I am the better villain," Catra declares to nobody in particular, as she stands up on top of the lamppost.

"I am, afterall, still alive."

She holds out her hand, calling Powersend to come sailing through the air back to her palm so she can slide blade into scabbard. A little ways off, there is once again the sound of a motorcycle engine; and this time it's her Honda Rebel, brought by one of her doubles with flaming wheels to a halt right below the lamppost. She drops down, catching the light with her hands to slow herself just enough not to hurt herself when she lands on the back; and she's right about to go rocketing away, when she catches sight of Sailor Moon's look. She raises an eyebrow...

And shrugs.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Sailor Saturn held with the outer senshi until... She heard that wail. But when she heard it? She glanced to her parents and... slowly... she broke away. "I have to..." she said before she leaped from the rooftop. She knew that pain all too well. That loss. That... hurt.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything... but... What could she say? Always in the end, there was death, and rebirth. Here, perhaps. But in their world? She didn't even know if they HAD a Saturn. And their Serenity was...

But... that was her duty, was it not? That was what she was. Guardian of Ruin and Rebirth. Emissary of the abyss of Death. She, slowly, walked towards him, offering a hand, before pulling back. Then... She tried.

"Death... need not be the end, need not be the finale, of all things. Always... in the end, there is death and rebirth. I... cannot say what will happen in your world... but... there is always... hope."

Slowly, her eyes drifted to Moon's. Well, she could bring death, an end. But she couldn't guarantee a miracle. But... her princess... Then her eyes went to Chibiusa.

PrincessES.

Before back to him. "And there *are* miracles." She pulled back, kneeling before her princess of the moon... Well, Saturn was in, at least.

Zoisite has posed:
No body was left behind, not even a heart crystal. How many times did Demande die in his life time to earn not even a splinter of it--whereas Rubeus still had fragments. Broken, but still tangible. Did any of that matter now...?

No.

And yet, like before, the scream shook him. Not because it was merely the voice of Saphir, but the tone of horrid pain and wakening. That wasn't Wiseman. That was the man in blue and white.

Boots barely touch the ground as he turns to look. Once an individual with icy composure that he admired, wielding logic close to the heart, now nothing but a broken soul trapped in a cage-like body.

For we two brothers, there is no way out.

He felt Kunzite approach, stand near and next to him in whatever decision he was about to make. His own prince, the same that returned Rubeus' heart, extending another gesture of respect. But Zoisite doubted anything would be left in the end, much less a voice able to respond to the question. Green eyes glance to Nephrite then. And a small nod.

A warm glow emits from his right hand, flames like vines and leaves giving form to a rapier as a cape forms and expands from his shoulders and barely touching the ground. It was discreet as he could manage it, before taking a few decisive steps forward, then sprints.

Like the fire it was forged in during the Silver Millennium, steel burns through flesh and bone and metal and heart sinews until the hilt hits against Saphir's left chest. His other arm reaches to hold the man in place then, close.

"It's over. It's over... Rest. You and your own are his dogs no longer." He whispers, praying that it would end the other's suffering.

Black Moon Clan (298) has posed:
Tuxedo Kamen is right - Saphir is mourning.

Chibimoon is right - there's nothing to fight for but despair. There is nothing to fight for at all.

Zoisite is right.

There is nothing here capable of answering. Sometimes, people have to make choices. Other times... the only kind thing to do is make their choices for them.

Saphir keens, a long and agonized cry, no dignity, no logic, only the cracked open agony of loss, the knowledge that one has broken into a thousand pieces and will never be whole.

Zoisite offers the only mercy that Saphir can embrace, in this life. He ends it, in as painless a fashion as can be managed. As he holds Saphir in place, his life ends, and his eyes become empty, his body still.

There are no more threats within Moon Space's damaged grounds.

Kazuo Saitou has posed:
Kunzite almost follows Zoisite, to keep close, to offer what he can. But there's another call for that - and only one chance to answer this one, while Zoisite he can go to thereafter.

He turns to Sailor Moon, and to the crystal she holds, and goes (carefully, painfully) to one knee beside Sailor Saturn. Grief is a kind of love. And he has had more than most people would guess cradled in him these last days, and offers it up with his own strength to Moon. Grief for Saphir; for Demande, blinded by his own pride; for Rubeus, who might in the end have come the closest of all of them to understanding on his own what was happening to them, who reacted in a way that Kazuo can understand down to the core of him. Grief for the children that Esmeraude and the Spectre Sisters had once been. Grief for the children that did not survive long enough to try to murder them all.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    'He's not fighting, sweetheart'

    Mamoru's words hit Chibimoon like a punch in the gut, and she clenches in response. The pink senshi is without words as she watches one of her worst enemies stare his grim fate directly in the eyes, and... it's not as if she's happy. She's not really even relieved. Saphir was disturbing but it always felt like there was something in him that could maybe have been reached. Yet that's all gone now, isn't it? Small Lady wouldn't dare ask him to join them after killing his brother, no matter how much of a creep Demande was.

    ... and Zoisite does what he needs to do. Small Lady winces with pity, but has no final words to share.

    Chibimoon sees Sailor Moon and her Silver Crystal, opening like a lotus. She turns to Mamoru and squeezes his hand. "I'm going to help mom." A single leap takes her from Mask's side to Moon's, but the landing is a bit unsteady. The future princess will still need a little bit longer to recover from Demande's assault.

    Her red eyes look up to Usagi, and Chibimoon holds her own hands in front of her heart, summoning her Pink Crystal which opens like a rose. The princess of tomorrow lends the power of her heart to the princess of today, and they shine in unison.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Saturn offered her grace to a man too far gone to comprehend it, let alone accept it, the hope of rebirth, of a miracle, beyond what Saphir could register.

Sailor Moon, her elder princess, does see that grace, understand the offer made in her kneeling. She steps forward, and the Silver Crystal glows, and there is the specter of grief and loss in her Moon Space, in that barrierynth made to save lives, which has seen the loss of so many.

"Everyone," she says, and her voice is not so much loud as it is strong, carrying to every corner of Moon Space, to every heart within its presence. "We... most of us know the story. So many of us lived it. A long, long time ago, everything that was ended, because someone with so much power, and so much hatred, for all that was and could be, sought more, for herself, and herself alone."

She means Metallia, though she is not unaware that her words could apply to Beryl, too.

"It would have ended - our lives, and our hopes, and our dreams, and our love, if not for a miracle. For a wish, made on this very Silver Crystal, by my mother in another life."

She doesn't like to talk about it - who would? Has hesitated to expose this power, because it's capricious, relying not just on her heart, not just on her energy, but at times it seemed like the very alignment of the stars, of the universe.

"I know that they have done - they have done so much harm. I don't ask any of you to forgive them. How could I? How could anyone? But they never stood a chance, not with him guiding their lives. I can't do it alone... but if you'll help us, I know that they'll be together, again. Reborn, in the same place and time, and able to try again."

Kunzite, kneeling before them. Chibimoon, with her Pink Moon Crystal, unfurled like a rose.

The Pink Moon Crystal and the Silver Crystal shine together.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The Mercury Visor slid away from her face.

Sailor Mercury remained close by Sailor Moon and quiet now, her expression grim and remorseful as she watched the final exchange between Zoisite and Saphir. A wince was fought back for the delivery, but she still managed to extend to their grief-stricken foe the respect of witnessing him. Seeing him out of the world for now.

She wiped at her eyes briefly, nodded shortly, and took a deep breath.

"Okay." It was all that Mercury had to say as she let blues flutter closed to lend her strength and power to her Princess and whatever miracle she was about to work.

Zoisite has posed:
This was the right thing to do, even if it had loomed over him like shadows since the start.

Rapier glows and returns to it's shapeless form of vines and flames, dissipating into ashes along with Zoisite's cape. And he carefully lays Saphir on the ground as he hears the Moon Princess speak. Of twisted memories and regrets of his own. A comparison made and accurate.

Hand lifts and slides down the last prince's face, closing eyes now barren of soul, before he gets up walks away--towards Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibimoon.

He kneels next to Kunzite, all and whatever energy needed that he possessed was given freely to the two Princesses.

Haruka Tenoh has posed:
    When Sailor Moon announces her intent, Neptune and Uranus exchange a look at each other. They were skeptical of Saturn's offered hand, but this?

    The hestinacy is real, until they look again at Saturn; not only was this the girl who had given them a second chance here, but it was the girl who had herself made so much out of her own second chance after what happened to her, after a destiny where she should have died.

    So it's with a nod to her, and respect for their Princess, that the two of them slowly walking up, and eventually make the same kneeling to offer their energy for a miracle. Or maybe two miracles; one, a second chance. Two, doing good WITH that second chance.

Nephrite has posed:
A quiet few steps, and a hand upon Mercury's shoulder in passing-- acknowledged complexity which she, watching Zoisite fell this blue haired man, understands in a wholly private way. That which is echoed by the words of Sailor Moon, as well. Putting it to voice, what they already know and feel.

Sapphire eyes take in the shine of the twinned crystals, rare and beautiful sight that it is, and he lets go of a sigh. Between Kunzite and Ami, he too lowers to a knee.

In death, they are released. Their honour cleansed. The Black Moon Clan are released from the vile hold, talon-like and cruel, that shaped them. Nephrite won't begrudge the people reborn with their hearts.

"May their next life be guided by a more merciful star."

Veronica Perenna has posed:
Veronica takes a deep breath when she sees Demande crumble. All of them must have been too much for him to withstand, even with the power of Black Moon that was his pride and joy. She can't say she feels too sad about that, or really any amount of sad. He has done enough as is, and the besy favour they could have done to him is a rest, no longer under the Death Phantom's claws and without any of the pain that led him to shut himself away from them.

"Good, if you feel anything, for any reasonk, don't hesitate to bring it up, ok, Chibimoon? Maybe he was venomous, or some other nasty consdition", she tells Chibiusa with a bit of a lighter smile to the pinkette. They might be done right now. Saphir is left, but it's ok, she probably has the strength for one more Moonlight Masquerade. Certainly has, if she takes her relics into account.

Her gaze crosses Safir's, on alert as to what the prince is going to do now. After all, he is with his back to the walls as far as numbers matter, and maybe power as well, though she wouldn't want to try that out. But his brother did just try and choke Chibiusa, the same brother that now died.

She wants to say something to him, tell him he doesn't have to follow in his last steps, but the sight of him kneeling spent takes all the words away from her. He is not their enemy, now, is he? She listens to Usagi's plea, and she is struck by pity as much as the soldier of the Moon, and from within her hat she retrieves the relics she has gathered, returning them to physical form from their formless energy they are left in most of the time.

The fan of crimson, the book of constellations in which Nephrite wrote his plans, the ornate vase with the heart of the mountain, the engraved knives Count Otto took from the museum, and lastly, her own energy. She lets all of it move from her heart to Usagi's, watching silently for a miracle.

Catra has posed:
Catra puts her bike on its kickstand and kills the engine. Instead of riding away into the sunset like a total badass like she was planning, she ust slinks up alongside the heroes; well, maybe not right up amongst them. She still doesn't feel like she belongs there. But she's nearby so she can hear what Sailor Moon has to say.

And it all generally makes sense. She folds her arms, achieving the look of leaning atainst something nonchallantly without actually leaning against anything. And, somehow, she's supposed to... help?

How is she even supposed to do that, anyway?

She pulls the Spirit Ember out of her pocket, holding it loosely in her palm as she studies it for a moment, and then just... shrugs. Think warm thoughts in Usagi's general direction. Not too warm, since she's still super annoyed with her, but... pleasantly warm. Maybe it helps?

Can't hurt to try.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Zoicite and Saturn go to the dead man and offer him what peace can be offered, and an end to his suffering and to his ability to ever again bring suffering to others.

    The Black Moon Clan is dead, and from this spot the region of spacetime they can no longer influence expands in all directions at c

    ...Except, now that Amy actually thinks about that, it doesn't really work that way, does it? People and worlds have been scarred, and will carry these memories into the future. Some of them may not fade, or may be affected anyway, or may go to other worlds -- and one, to another time. For better and worse, they won't be forgotten.

    Well, at least their agency will not devise and implement further harm.

    And then Usagi takes out the silver crystal, and Chibiusa too, and together they'll...

    Together, they'll...

    ...Uh, what exactly is it that they need to do here?

    Another chance. One not shaped by darkness and corruption. Amen to that. "Free to be themselves... or at least to have a chance."

    Her Wish can't lend it extra power. Puella Magi don't work this way.

    Certainly the nascent Witch inside her is no help -- the pain and despair of being defined by others is core to its very nature, after all.

    But her heart and her soul can wish and hope and dream, and maybe sometimes, that can matter. Amanda wills to help her friend and her friend's daughter, however she can.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Tuxedo Mask... looks away, after Zoisite-- after Zoisite does what he promised. But it's a hell of a way to die. It--

...is useless to think about that. His hand gets squeezed and he nods to Chibimoon, and his gaze softens as he sees the two of them bring their compassion to bear, their understanding, their senses of justice and mercy. Wordlessly he goes to join them as well, fingertips lightly touching his Shitennou each in turn, the warmth of his gathering power ghosting over them, muted.

Then he stops behind Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibimoon, his tattered cape drifting along behind him and settling to a stop as he puts his hands on their backs and closes his eyes, fully giving them all his energy. He hasn't any words.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
All it takes is wanting to help. Wanting to give. Wanting to share. Wanting to take part in a miracle.

Sailor Moon doesn't know how to do this, except that she does. She's never read up on it, or practiced it, or anything like that - you don't get to practice a miracle. You only get to open your heart and extend your faith, every time. You only get to hope.

Sailor Moon knows what they want - what she has asked them to give, what they have offered in, her friends sharing in their energy, their mercy, their love.

Their energy flows, visible, a rainbow of light that encircles the Pink and Silver Crystals, that glows, and power flows forth - Sailor Moon is no longer Sailor Moon, but Princess Serenity, her hair like moonlight spun into silk, her dress, flowing in the gentle breeze of Moon Space.

Before her, they come - lights, no larger than a ripe orange, and they come into existence slowly - sapphire blue, diamond white, emerald green, a joined set of intermixed blue and white. After a long lull, in which the light of the Silver Crystal grew steadily brighter, there was ruby red, deepest green, burnt gold, palest blue, and deep purple.

Ten souls, gathered in the order of their deaths, drawn together across time and into this space.

Princess Serenity lowered her head, the golden sigil on her forehead bright.

"This is another chance, for all of you," she says, and her voice is solemn, "Only you can decide what to do with it. You'll be together, in the same way that we are together - born again, in the same place, and time. Destiny will draw you together. Please, for your sakes... be better, this time."

There's a sparkle of light - and the ten souls float off, into the sky, and disappear.