Scene #2845: The Nightmare Nexus: And so of course the vending machines started screaming

Owner	Pose
Emi Hoshino	For a while now, Mamoru has felt a sort of ... background static. He knew it was coming, of ocurse, but it might've taken him a while to realize what it was: something is wrong in the city's leylines. Like a toxin leeching into it from beyond. In this case, it's -probably- the arrival of nightmare energy from Kyoto, feeding into the greater web of Tokyo's magical energies. But it could be something else, too. It could be that they're out of time and that enemy of Emi's, the so called 'All Subsuming One' is already here and doing his work. Trying to locate the source of the concentration is what the next move would be. For Mamoru, it feels like ... a knot, or something akin to one in the earth. Searching for it has taken a while, but now they're closing in. Closing in in this case is taking them far from their usual haunts as the sun sets and the city calms. They're actually in one of the warehouse districts in the Shin-Kiba. It's quiet, here. Most of the day's work is done. Rows of trucks are parked here and there in docking stations near their warehouses.
Mamoru Chiba	He ''had'' been complaining at everyone all week about how uneasy he felt, and sometimes downright queasy-- but something's coming to a head, acting like a knot in a muscle he doesn't often think about. He gathered up whoever was willing to come chase wild geese and fortified them with snacks at the cat cafe, and Kaoru happened to walk in at exactly the right time to get handed snacks and told they were going hunting nightmares, if he'd like to come along. Along the way, anyone who wasn't up to speed definitely got caught up to speed. NOW, Mamoru's stopped with one knee on the pavement, cold as hell bare hand stretched out on it, eyes closed. "I'm sorry we've been at it for an hour, but I swear we're almost there," he says, hauling himself tiredly back up to his feet. "It feels like waving my hands around in manufacturing byproduct sludge. We're so close. Maybe it can just be purified?"
Zoisite	Sighs. It's been another normal Friday--or it would have been had his prince been in a better mood. For a few days now, Mamoru seemed to be broiling like kettle on a stove, close to whistling. It was the main reason he was present in this escapade , hunting down whatever it was needed to be found to put Mamoru's mind to rest. "No need to apologize to us. If it takes all bloody night, then so be it." Izou nods, gesturing with the hand that held onto a thermos full of tea. Earl grey, honey. "But I will confess, the sooner we get this over with, the better. I don't enjoy seeing you like this."
Catra	If we're being honest, if you'd like to convince Catra to do something for you then first plying her with fish snacks is a pretty good start. Fish is delicious. Fish is wonderful. Fish is infinitely better than the Grey Kind. (Not, as it turns out, that's a particularly high bar but still.) So here Catra is in henshin, wearing the charcoal colored tuxedo fire firey highlights and brass buttons and cufflinks. Powersend still hangs off her belt, despite being unused since... well since the last time she got unreasonably angry. And it ''has'' taken an hour, which means the feline has had time to pull out her phone and order take-out noodles to be brought -- and if anyone else wanted them, then hey might as well tag them onto the order. Sorry, you expected the apex predator not to be hungry? So no Catra is leaning against a wall, watching Mamoru work while still stuffing her face generally full of noodles with double chicken. "no need to be sorry," she comments, between mouthfuls. "Anyway, yeah, sticking your hand into ''that'' sounds gross. Yuck. Icky. Bleah. Better you than me."
Madoka Kaname	Homura has seen something like this before, and once she brought it up to her Madoka realized she's seen something like it, too. It was one of the timelines in which she had remained magically unaware, so to her things just... ended, at some point, with no clear explanation. Homura remembered it more clearly, though. It wasn't hard to convince Madoka, Homura, Kamiko and Lydian to come along for another dream adventure. The stakes were high, but when were they not? Madoka considered whether or not it was worth it to tell the others what happened here, in another world, but she wasn't sure she yet remembered anything helpful to add about it. Sure, if they failed the world was going to end. They kinda knew that already. If nothing else, it proved to both Madoka and Homura that this was something to take seriously. "Kinda reminds me of some of the places Homura hangs out in," comments Kamiko. Homura walks along and says, "Only when I need to reload. It's better if there's no one around to bother me." As Mamoru stops, Madoka slows to a stop next to him, bending forward to check his expression. "Are you okay? Do you need a break?" With a smile, she adds, "I admit, I'm not too concerned about the time. This is important!"
Nephrite	Masato had been very aware of Mamoru's complaints, and he had heeded them as best he could-- even Minako was preparing, with operation Slumberjacks in full swing in case the worst broke out (they couldn't know, so it was better to gather up supplies now before things got too crazy). The readings this week had been steadily growing his concerns, as well. Reading the stars and triangulating every fateful line he could, it seemed like there was no way around it. Some big things were headed their way. He tapped out another short update on his phone and sent it, looking over at Mamoru with evident concern. "Something tells me it's not going to be so simple." He noted wearily of purification. Sapphire eyes scan their surrounds briefly. "There's no helping it now, I suppose."
Kaoru Kyrkogrim	Kaoru had left his snacks uneaten thoughout the journey. The entire journey he's been keeping a nightmare. He walked in the front of the group, scanning the colorless scenery of the warehouses. "I doubt sure a disgusting thing could be purified. Much easier to kill it." With all the glances he's been throwing around he seemed pretty anxious too. He took no concern with Mamoru's disposition. Such evil was bound to make anyone be on edge. Though he was sure to kill it went it finally appeared. It's just another monster at the end of the day.
Sailor Mercury	Of all the places that Ami could be discovered, perhaps one of the easiest was the Cat Cafe. It had become a fairly consistent haunt for the blue-haired senshi. This was partly due to the calm atmosphere. The presence of the cats for company. But, most importantly, there was good quality coffee available that she didn't have to make for herself. Ami couldn't possibly pass up an invitation to help Mamoru with something like this. So, of course, she'd tagged along since approximately then. She might even prove helpful, too, since she'd gone to great lengths to try to record whatever she could of her last encounter with the dreamscape--Ami had the Mercury Computer opened and in her hands already, periodically eyeballing the screen. Such eyeballing undoubtedly coincided with subtle cues from Mamoru. "I'm not worried about the time, Mamoru-kun." Ami assured, making her way nearer to where the prince had previously knelt to do a more thorough ''eyeballing'' of her little supercomputer.
Emi Hoshino	It's just an ordinary day in Tokyo, right? Just a ... large group of teenagers roaming a district that they really have no business being in. Perhaps the oddest thing is that very few people are actually around. Like everyone hurried off and soon as the work day ended. There are perhaps some cleaning crews or last minute. Like they couldn't wait to get out of here. They may not know why they were so antsy to leave, but its likely the Mahou present have a better idea then they did. ...and that's when it starts. Near to them is one of Tokyo's ubiquitous vending machines. There's one for every twenty eight people in the city. They're everywhere. And it just started screaming a digitized screech. Loud. Louder. -Louder-.
Madoka Kaname	Kamiko was ''watching'' that vending machine. She knew it was up to something. Not because it had been giving off any bad vibes or dark energy. Just because it's a vending machine. The moment it started screaming at them, the tiny divine fairy started screaming right back. "AAAAAAHHHHH!!" That tiny little thing flies closer to the vending machine and has a screaming contest with it. As it escalates, Kamiko makes things worse, at first by materializing a tiny eldritch megaphone to scream into, and then by opening tiny Labyrinth portals to summon multiple biblically accurate speaker Familiars. Madoka, Lydian, and Homura are each covering their ears. Homura actually breaks out the noise cancelling headphones for this, gives another set to Madoka, and then a tiny version to Lydian. Madoka calls out telepathically, <<Kamiko-chan what are you even ''doing''?>> Kamiko ''screams'' back, "I'm not losing to this stupid thing!"
Mamoru Chiba	"I don't enjoy being a sourpuss myself," Mamoru tells Izou with a tight, apologetic little smile. "I have enough anxiety of my own, you know? I don't need Subsy helping." There's a chuff that had it been looser, might have been a laugh. He didn't much have the stomach for noodles, he's just so... he ''does'' laugh at Catra, "You're welcome. And yeah anytime you add the word 'byproduct' it's scary-sounding, right?" The prince shivers, looking into the middle distance, not ''seeing'' anything-- maybe it's just the chilly air. But he's wearing a brown hoodie under his black leather blazer, and reasonable black jeans instead of black skinny jeans, and old brown loafers; he's plenty warm on the outside. Mamoru flashes Masato the same tiny tight little smile he gave Izou; he'd love to be having fun with this, this seems like it would be fun under other circumstances. But he looks to Madoka, and he takes stock of himself, visibly. "Maybe. Since you're all not too concerned with time, yeah, maybe I can take five before I really really need to take ten--" And the vending machines start screaming. Priorities: first come the earplugs, Mamoru scrambling desperately to put them in one-handed while the other hand takes out his pocket watch and holds it up. "Earth Crystal Power, Make Up!" And what does the pretty jewel-tones sparklings henshin sequence bishounen senshi do with his newfound magical strength? He runs over to unplug the thing, hands on his ears over the earplugs and everything. This may require moving it away from the wall. That's what the henshin strength is for.
Zoisite	"Earth Power, MAKE UP!!" No time wasted, only an instance after Mamoru began to transform. Pink petals dancing like burning fireflies, clothes kindling away and replaced by his Shitennou uniform, cape following behind. And a burst of embers from the palm of his right hand as a rapier sprouted outwards and was quickly ready for any attack--or unplugging. He teleported next to Tuxedo, blade quick to slashing at the power cord.
Nephrite	The vending machine is one thing-- glitchy, digitised horror tearing forth in a very disconcerting pitch-- but Kamiko matching it is what really gets him. "It's a vending machine, it has no business in a screaming contest anyway!" He yells over the noise, as Mamoru does his best to cut things short. A side step or two is taken, and tall as he is, it's easy for him to lean over the top of Ami and peer at her supercomputer, watchful of the levels ont he screen. He doesn't need to understand the specifics. He's just looking for the telltale spiking of the nonsensical data and the whackery of various bars and numbers. Any sense of scale, or indication of climbin activity that isn't just relegated to that one, tortured machine. He grimaces, taps one last thing out on his phone and pockets it, sending a look over to Izou-- now Zoisite-- next.Yes. It might be about that time. Recent lessons about not being in henshin before having Princes thown at him, and whatnot. "Earth Power, Make up!" A shimmer of stars and swirling constellations, and he too was-- in a flash-- garbed in knightly uniform with sword at his hip and cape a flutter. He set a hand to his blade and stood ready, watching the other direction for anything else nearby that may animate into screeching.
Catra	At first, Catra just stands there, and keeps eating the noodles. Her ear twitches, and she gets a sour look on her face, just sliightly before everyone else picks up on the sound coming from the vending machines. But, she keeps eating her noodles. It's hardly as if overly-emotional vending machines are the weirdest thing she's encountered since coming here -- Hey she's a good guy now and Glimmer is evil, so literally ANYTHING could happen. But then the machines get louder, and one of Catra's illusory doubles splits off, to go take a look at one of them while she's busy eating. Priorities are clear here. But then it continues to get louder and louder, and Catra's ears flatten out before she drops what remains of her noodles and claps her hands over either side of her head, "WHAT THE FRESH HELL IS THIS THEN?!" she snarls, baring her feline teeth and splitting off her other double. Both doubles manifst flaming claws and unleash a flurry of slashing and scratching against the vending machines, while the real Catra fumbles for her own set of earplugs and jams them into each ear. They do not help in the slightest.
Kaoru Kyrkogrim	@emit Karou gave a curious glance to Ami before going back to his frantic searching. When Mamoru leading them, he didn't see the point of a computer to assist. His thoughts were then broken by the sound of an ear-piercing screech. He recoiled at first before reprimanding himself. How pathetic of him to get brought down by some sound, he should be better than this. Not to mention that it wasn't help anyway. He tried to uncover his ears and stand straight, but was quickly foiled by the pink-haired girl's friend adding to the horrible chorus. "Quiet! Garmr, Fass!" With that frustrated shout he grabbed his bracelet and Garmr suddenly appeared in his hand along with the rest of his outfit. He started swinging wildly as charged at the vending machine. If he could just get some quiet he could concentrate.
Sailor Mercury	The moment the competitive screaming had commenced, Ami had thrown her free hand to one of her ears and pressed the other into her shoulder. It wasn't quite so much that it was painful--certainly nothing next to what Usagi could manage at her best--but it was awfully distracting. Ami wrinkled her nose a little, folded the computer closed, and tucked it into a pocket. There was a ''lot'' of chaos suddenly happening at a vending machine. Was it some kind of youma? Well, everyone was getting ready for a fight. "Mercury Power, Make Up!" Ami's pen flashed in the same hand, replaced by Sailor Mercury in short order. There were enough people charging the offending dispensary device for the moment, she thought, and so instead took settled into alert concern not too dissimilar from Nephrite.
Emi Hoshino	Unplugging and disconnecting the machine is easy enough. For a moment, it even works. It stops screaming. ...and then it powers up again, the pink flowers on it surface glowing as they do when its powered up and it resumes its screaming. ...and then across the street. Another scream. Just like this one. And another. And another. And another. And then from the nearby docking station, one of the trucks starts to shake. There's ... screaming coming from inside of it. -Dozens- of screams as vending machines force their way out of the trailer, falling onto the street. ... oh no. This isn't just any warehouse district. It's a -vending machine distribution center-. And there is SO MUCH SCREAMING.
Madoka Kaname	As the unplugged machine stops screaming, Kamiko and her speaker Familiars keep screaming just a second longer just to establish her dominance. With a confident smirk, she plants her fists on her hips and says, "That'll show you!" Then it starts up again, and now there are more screaming, and just as Kamiko is taking another deep breath with full intent to get back into it, Homura reaches around behind her and covers her mouth. "You'll hurt your lungs!" warns the Puella, holding the minidoka close as her henshin purple-flashes into existence around her. "Madoka-chan--" The pinkette already has her other Chara in her hands, and Lydian summons her eggshell around her. Madoka intones, "My Heart: Unlock!" as she henshins into Hope Blossom. The screaming is getting louder, and this time even Kamiko is wearing tiny noise-cancelling headphones. Homura takes a spare normal sized pair out of her shield and shouts, "Hey, does anyone else need one? I have a spare. Maybe two." As for Hope Blossom, her branch bow appears in her hands with a flash of pink petals, and she fires a magical bolt into the vending machine they just unplugged. Her next shot goes up into the air, splits into several, and starts raining down upon the other vending machines.
Zoisite	It was a cacophony, worse than cicadas during the summer or wailing banshees. No, this was an ear damaging choir from the pits of hell. And some were off key! Even with the power cord cut, it didn't seem to matter. Whatever power source it was using, it definitely did not need the electricity provided from the city. ''"Shut up!!"'' One had been annoying, but this was enough for tears to form on the corners of his eyes, letting go of his rapier that quickly dispersed into embers and ashes in favor of pressing the palms of his hands against his ears.
Nephrite	Well, it's not everyday that the enemy starts screaming before you actually start attacking them. Kamiko is thankfully intervened upon, though it's not as if it makes too much of a dent to the cacophony. "Here, Homura-san," He's not saying no to headphones. He values his hearing. It lets him listen to wonderful things, like good music, and Mako-chan saying his name in that special way she did when he said something to turn her red. Oh, Mako-chan. If only you were here to be punching and kicking and zapping the crap out of vending machines-- Finally, unlike Crystal Tokyo, these vending machines are totally free game. Nobody to stand in the way of a good old fashioned boot to the damned things. Nephrite smirks vaguely, and sets a hand towards the trucks and their veritable outpouring of clattering plastic and metal. Starlight gathers to hand, glowing brightly, and scatters streaking shots into the street-bound boxy bastards with abandon.
Kaoru Kyrkogrim	Kaoru had gotten a couple hits in before the vending machine gotten unplugged. A dark part of him considered doing the same to the fairy until she fell silent too. Though his return to sanity was brief as the screeching started up again. Now with even more of the things joining the choir. So many of these things. No wonder whatever Mamoru was sensing was so thick. Bothersome things. He stepped back as Madoka's magical blast hit it. The sooner he deals with them the better. "Endurteil!" He repeatedly leapt into the air and cleaved though the ear-grating machines,ears pinned back in a vain attempt to block out the sound, and tail wagging wildly. He looked like a frenzied rabbit with how much he jumped around, wishing he could duplicate himself like those arrows.
Mamoru Chiba	Tuxedo Kamen backs away from the cord that Zoisite cuts, falling back on one hand as he stumbles from his crouch. And then it starts again. It starts again and it's worse and all the others are joining in and Mamoru just sits on the ground for a second, going blank because it just ''hurts'', it's the kind of hurt he can't actually think through-- it's an alarm. It's the kind of alarm he always disables, never trips, the kind that scrambles your mind with its frequency. His fingers curl up on the asphalt to either side of him and he pulls up-- "A barrier!" he yells, pulling up power and shoving it through his hand, glowing bright and brighter, and it sounds ragged! when he calls out, "Tuxedo la Smoking Bomber!" and a FSHOOOOOOO of power zorts through the air to smash into another screaming vending machine. "Can you-- barrier? So much property damage, fuck--"
Catra	"WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS THIS IS LITERALLY THE WORST IDEA EVER." Catra stands there with her hands clamped down over her ears with the earplugs in, eyes squeezed shut and her lips peeled back from her teeth. but, the scrfeaming really isn't going away, and clearly isn't going to it nobody does anything about it. Luckily, in these sorts of situations, Catra does have at least one course of action available to her: VIOLENCE "I'M NOT WAITING FOR A BARRIER," she snaps, as she stalks up to the side of the truck that has all that screaming coming from inside of it. She hops up over the hood, and then up onto the top of the trailer, where she unceremoniously applies her claws to the task of slicing a hole in the roof. And then she summons up the power of the Spirit Ember and directs a torrent of glowing blue flame down through the hole she made.
Sailor Mercury	As was often the case in these sorts situations, Sailor Mercury was quick to touch fingers to the blue stone in her ear and the Mercury Visor slid into existence across her eyes. Once again, there were enough going to town on the machines themselves but that might not solve the underlying problem. After all, this wasn't limited to one vending machine. It seemed to be ''all'' of them. And the last thing they needed was for it to spread further into the city. So, while others pounded, Mercury searched for anything that might hint at a source or a cause. "This is all very loud!" Sailor Mercury stated quite unnecessarily.
Amy Faust	Well, it's easy for Amy to find the others and catch up ''now''. She can only hope that summoning acoustic earmuffs helps and this isn't a sound that enters directly through the brain. <<"What ''is'' that?!">> asks Amy over the communicators as she approaches, and across the steret -- or the parking lot, or whatever -- she comes into view of her friends fighting screaming vending machines. ...You know what, sure, why not. Boom! Boom! Boom! Amy fires explosive shells at some of the machines coming out of the truck to hold them off! <<" ...yeah I got nuthin'. I don't know how to banter with a screaming vending machine. Scream back at it, I guess?" >>
Emi Hoshino	There are other trucks. So many trucks. And they were full. Full. Of. Vending. Machines. More fall out, waddling out and collapsing onto the pavement of their parkign lots, dozens of them! They spew cards and drinks and bags of potato chips with alarming speed and accuracy. It's terrible. It's messy. And they're all aimed at the mahou and their attacks. But that's not the worst of it. Just as the call for the barrier goes up amongst the ruins of many vending machines, others seem to sail together, connecting, becoming something... But what? The answer becomes apparent as its shadow falls over the combined might of the mahou. It's a vending machine voltron, and it raises its vending machine fist and goes to smash them with it. A giant veinding machine -- made of smaller vending machines. Which are, incidentally, still spewing their snacks at them.
Madoka Kaname	Homura hands the headphones over to Nephrite because that's what they're there for. Silently, because like hell is she going to try talking ''over'' this noise. Amy arrives, and at the mention of screaming back Homura responds telepathically, << Don't. We already tried that. >> More vending machines come. Spewing snacks, bonding together. Madoka holds up her harms to weather the assault, and soon Homura joins her side to shield her, a purple glowing energy wall forming around them to keep them and the divine fairy safe. Mamoru calls for a barrier, and it's not a ''bad idea'', but Madoka glances to Kamiko to see how the tiny goddess feels about letting ''evil vending machines'' into her Labyrinth. Kamiko is trying to wiggle free from Homura's one-handed grip, flailing her tiny arms free so that she can shake her tiny fists. Cleary the little fairy is spoiling for a fight, but Madoka is worried about over-using her lately. She's not sure what will happen if too much of a burden is put on Kamiko, and she was never really ''convinced'' that she'd never see Hope Witch again. Well... if it's just the barrier itself, it should be fine right? Madoka calls out, "Okay! I'm gonna summon my Labyrinth, but I'll have to hold back a bit. Sorry!" Homura runs up to Madoka and releases Kamiko, and the tiny fairy starts punching the air. "Let me at 'em! Lemme at 'em!" Hope Blossom reaches out to touch the small goddess and-- -- Suddenly they're gone. The Witch Labyrinth just forms around them. Unlike most Labyrinths it seems like a genuinely friendly place, and the tiny biblically accurate angel familiars are charging the vending machine voltron, not the mahoujin. Trying to ram it with their tiny bodies and poke it with tiny spears. For some reason the walls and ground are softer. This hopefully makes the sound echo less, at least a little bit.
Nephrite	As enthusiastically as Nephrite was blasting, neither him nor the others could slow the process much or prevent the numbers necessary for what was happening now. And for as cool as Nephrite looked, cape billowing, starlike bursts peppering the enemy with warping heat and glittering cosmic explosions, his beautiful hair cascading despite his headphones proctecting his ears-- There was now a giant Vend-tron robot and his attacks weren't doing so much, anymore. Also, the headphones would sadly not protect his ears from vending-machine-fists. Stars above, he could swear he's had this very nightmare before. This is terribly familiar. << Watch out for the cans--! >> He barely dodges one that sails by his head, another dozen striking the ground all around him and others, spraying stickiness and fizz; blasting aluminium this way and that. The Labarynth encompasses them, but the onslaught is ongoing. Time to up the ante, then. A bag of potato chips bursts against his shoulder, and a crumb gets in his eye. A dramatic twist makes it look like he's suffered a far greater injury, "Damn it--!"
Amy Faust	<<"You did?">> Amy answers Homura. And then the vending machines... so many! They're surging out faster than Amy can shoot them, for sure! Some bags of potato chips whap her lightly. "...Okay, that's not much of an--" And then a soda can whacks her in the face. "Aaah!" The following cans send her stumbling back, until she pierces them with a bunch of tiny rockets conjured at once. But while she was dealing with that... VENDTRON. "No. ''No!'' Come on!" She starts blasting at vendtron's feet with her launcher, trying to stop more machines from joining the mass!
Sailor Mercury	With the data taken on the nightmare energy's infiltration of the leylines, Mercury turned her attention back to the immediate concerns of what was happening. Which was, evidently, a shower of projectile snacks and a very concerning mechanical monstrosity. It was also just in time to catch Nephrite's reaction to the crumb in his eye. "Nephrite!" The Senshi called out in alarm before swinging to glare at the assailant. "You've served enough refreshments already!" Her hands cupped together as light pulsed between them, Sailor Mercury drew the energy up and forward to cast it out in a volley of misty bubbles. "Sabao Spray!" An obscuring fog so dense it even seemed to choke out sound followed. At least for the things trying to bury them under ballistic junk food. For the other mahou, fortunately, there wasn't much inconvenience offered--it didn't inhibit her allies.
Catra	Catra floods the trailer with fire, and jumps off just in time to avoid getting caught by the resulting explosion that rips the container apart at the seams. She lands on her feet -- of course -- and stalks away from in without bothering to turn around and look, 'cause that's what you do when you're extremely cool. Except that wasn't the end of it, which is a bit of a problem; and when drinks and chips and whatever other nonsense gets flung through the air at Catra and the Mahou, her ears twitch, and she dives out of the way just in time. "What the fffff-HOW MANY ARE THERE?!" The feline tries to poke her head out to look, but that's a bad idea as a fusilade of ketchup, muster, and relish packets saturate the area she's in so she just ducks back into cover behind the compact car she's chosen as santuary. (Great, her life depends on a small Hyundai. Or at least her cleanliness.) And then there's... a really big vending machine, made from little vending machines, and its fist is coming down, and Catr ahas to move. "Amy?! GRENADES!" she shouts, as she jumps and runs from her position; as she goes she splits off her doubles, sending them in opposite direcions and all three of them hurl blasts of brilliant flame up at the... really big vending machine amalgamation. This planet is beyond weird.
Mamoru Chiba	The muffling properties of soft walls and ground are legendary and so vastly appreciated, aah. << Thank you, Hope! Thank you, Kamiko! >> comes Tuxedo Kamen's mental 'voice', and now he crouches a little more purposely and digs his hands in to the surface, pushing his awareness and energy out with his power, seeing the world from the perspective of the dirt-- There's the knot. There's the knot! Mamoru opens his mouth to shout where they should aim, and gets socked by a soda can. And then he says a bad word, but it isn't in front of Chibiusa, at least? He angrily tears open a bag of chips and EATS SOME, even more angrily, and he picks himself up and stalks past vending machines, dizzily, eating chips until he throws the bag over his shoulder. He takes out his hat from in his cape somewhere and digs in it, getting out a big stick of sidewalk chalk. There is now a big X on the pavement and Tuxedo Mask gets knocked into by a waddling vending machine that starts spitting Healthade (by It's Food!) out at him, and he kicks it HARD in the metal side, knocking it off its little legs(?!) and sending it toppling to the ground. Then he aims at the X-- --and then VENDTRON!!! He leaps away and aims at Vendtron instead!! "Tuxedo," he starts, then flings his glowing fist out in front of him. "La Smoking," he continues, voice growing more strident, and then he opens that glowing hand and a growing ball of energy forms in front of it again-- --and then he yells out, the force of the laser blast enough to kick him back a half step, "Bomber!"
Zoisite	Softness of the Labyrinth was a welcomed reprieve, but could not offer a soothing balm to the aches Zoisite felt in his ears and mind. Tears, red faced and completely beyond furious for it. "Gofynnaist ti am hyn, ti ddarn o sbwriel-" Hands free of having to defend his hearing, gloved fingers snapped and a large swarms of cherry blossoms split in two: one heading for the neck of the metallic beast, the other towards whatever connecter one of the legs to the rest of the body. '''"TWLL DY DIN YR HEN GONT BLEWOG-!!"''' Each petal exploded on impact.
Emi Hoshino	There are -still- regular vending machines being a problem, too! It's the worst! Cans of soda! Cards from card games! And, of course, horrible oil. Still, those ones are at least easily dealt with. Tipping them over is enough to disable them entirely, even if they're still screaming, and the minions of Madoka's labyrinth sure do help to absorb some of the numbers. On the other hand, 'Vendtron' is made of stronger stuff and is absorbing quite a bit of the damage... and what does get damaged, it uses some of the fallen vending machines to replace. One can already see the newspaper reports tomorrow: "MASS VENDING MACHINE VANDALISM. ARE OUR YOUTH IN CRISES?" Right now, the answer is yes. The crisis is the full blasts of just about everything you can find in a vending machine being let loose in flurries while Vendtron tries to right itself from the impact of the blasts its suffered. It doesn't seem terribly balanced. On the other hand, it does kick, swat, and punch at the mahou, and leaves ... indents in the ground that would otherwise be craters were it not for the barrier. They probably don't want to get hit by that. The mess is bad enough as it is.
Kaoru Kyrkogrim	"Agahhh." Kaoru growled as a soda can hit him. He slammed Garmr into the offending vending machine. Though a barrage of snacks were still being send his way. He batted them away, sending bits of chips soda flying everywhere. Sometimes even on him if he was unlucky (and he occur was). Eventually he realized his swings were hitting nothing. The vending machines seemed to be gathering. How strange. They were retreating, but his fury overpowered his confusion so his assault against the machines continued. It wasn't until the shadow of the growing mecha fell over him that he stopped to process what the vending machines were doing. He stared dumbly at the fist of strange mech before realizing it was going to hit him. "Schutz des Geistes!" A energy bubble forms around him. Though it broke with one hit, it allowed him to get out of the way. At least the sheer absurdity of the situation broke him out of his anger. The first thing he noticed was that the ground was surprisingly soft. Though he didn't linger on his pondering before he went back to attacking it.
Mamoru Chiba	For a half second Mamoru's not sure the words he's faintly hearing are real or the product of a stroke, but then he remembers that Izou is some kind of European, maybe that's Czech or something. The only way he can make sense of ''any'' of this is by throwing a tiny tantrum, which he does, hands over his ears again. "TUXEDO--" he yells, then gets bumped into by another vending machine, and he viciously kicks it away back into the one behind it, toppling them both. "La SMOKING CRATER!" And he STOMPS a foot down AT the Vendtron, like, I bite my thumb at thee, except it makes the ground beneath the Vendtron explode upwards.
Amy Faust	Amy ''barely'' dodges the fist -- such as it is -- of vending fury, only to fall to the soft ground and be pelted by cans and cards and chips. "There are too many. Too many!" Catra has a request! "You got it!" Amy superjumps, boosted by explosion, and hurls a bandolier of grenades -- smoke, explosive, incendiary -- and then another at Catra, dropping smoke grenades where she herself is about to land and between herself and cover. She lands in smoke and runs for the cover of a building corner or trucks that hopefully ''aren't'' full of vending machines! And fires a salvo of incendiary mini-missiles to stick in that mecha-body and burn and hopefully melt and keep melting as more machines move to take damaged ones' places!
Madoka Kaname	Hope Concept's Familiars fall in droves. Some are defeated instantly by direct hits from launched snacks. Others are cut down by collectable cards, or covered in horrible oil. Some are destroyed simply because they got too close to the screaming and the sonic waves, themselves, shook them apart. Many are the fallen, and as each one drops they disappear in a puff of white smoke and Witch runes. Since the assault of sweet and salty treats is being sent in ''every'' direction, that means Homura doesn't get spared either. A soda can pelts her square in the forehead, which leaves a bruise that she's not going to waste magic healing. Since every direction means ''every'' direction, that includes directions that don't usually exist in 3D space, which means that the poor goddess Hope Concept gets covered in chocolate milk, juice, and shattered potato chips. Her whining is ''felt'' more than ''heard'', but her distaste is no less obvious. Craters are left in the soft ground. They don't quite have the usual resounding thud that they should, but there's nothing about ''softness'' that would prevent terrain deformation. Some of the ground starts to rip, as if it were fabric with stuffing underneath. You probably don't want to know what the stuffing is. Hope Concept doesn't. This probably means that Tuxedo la Smoking Crater looks a little different than it usually does. Also the terrain might be a little more flammable than first appearance might suggest. Yet the humiliation of both goddess and her valiant defender, the desecration of her sacred Labyrinth and the deaths of so many Familiars will neither be in vain or unavenged. Homura stuffs the swapped-out Lydian into her shield, and when she with draws her hand back out she has an AK-47 that she fires directly at Vendtron. It adds to the noise, she knows, but hopefully the acoustic situation of the Labyrinth will deaden that a little as well. As for Hope Concept, her hands are over her Humpty Lock, and she's calling out her finisher attack phrase. "Negative Heart: Lock On! Open Heart!"
Madoka Kaname	From out of everywhere at once, a flood of purifying light goes after Vendtron.
Sailor Mercury	Sailor Mercury wasn't done yet, though she was taking the time to try to avoid all of the belligerent nibbles that came her way. She was doing quite a good job of it, in fact. After all, she hadn't tried to approach Vendtron at all and she planned on keeping it that way. The distance worked for her. Then Mamoru stomped and Vendtron began its ascent. The blue-haired senshi set hands to either side, drawing water from the surrounding air--the condensation of the encompassing fog she'd cast--to her palms. They were brought together, lifted high, and unleashed. "Shine Aqua Illusion!" A powerful jet of freezing cold water shot toward the aerial Vendtron.
Catra	Catra has asked for grenades. Amy has delivered. "Perfect," Catra pronounces, looking over the bandoleer in her hands while she continues to take cover from the flying... everything. It's a fusilade of everything from Mustard to Wasabi Peas to Boom Boom Lemon -- and the small Hyundai is not looking overly great. But it's fine because now Catra has grenades. The feline promptly hands off the entire bandoleer to one of her illusory doubles, that dashes off to start parkouring up the side of a nearby warehouse. Catra herself and her other double reveal themselves from behind the Hyundai, and open fire; one brilliant yellow beam of fire and one blue one converge on Vendtron, doing her best to melt a hole in it before she's forced to duck back behind the car so she doesn't get horribly pelted by gross crap -- she is wearing a tuxedo, afterall. Her illusion with the grenades is running across the rooftop by now, though; it manifests a blade of flames in one hand and with the bandoleer in the other, it leaps off the rooftop and sails through the hair with an audible, mighty yell, stabbing the blade into the hole Catra already made, and hangs on there. A little focused fire magic melts the pins of the grenades, and the etheral feline just... stuffs them into the hole and keeps them there, until they go off with a hell of a bang.
Nephrite	Though partially blinded, the sting of vinegar did bolster him, as did the fury he felt for the ridiculousness of the predicament. The good thing was, Vendtron was massive and very easy to hit. So, still clutching his eye as if he'd lost it, Nephrite drew his sword with a sing of ancient metal, levelling the point towards the the aerial threat. His magic poured down the length of the blade and it glowed like a white star, briefly blinding as the chip-filled fury fed murmured spellwork into it. "STELLAR CONVERGANCE!" A spiraling binary of twinned light scorched forth, like a pillar, seeking to pierce the great metal monstrosity anywhere it hit.
Zoisite	At each punch, he teleports. Snap of fingers, circlet of pink petals surround him, taking on any edible thrown his way. Sickly sweet or sour crumbs, that just enrages him more. Youth in crisis was correct, but unfortunately Zoisite was a bit blind that he was speaking his native tongue. He'd do well with a splash of cold water. Instead, there was a fireball, formed in one hand, then another. Another. Each followed by him screaming "Ffyc i ffwrdd!" "Ffyc i ffwrdd!" "Ffyc i ffwrdd!" "Pentwr o sbwriel, dydych chi ddim yn haeddu bodoli yn y byd hwn! Torri! Torri! TORRI!" Putting as much energy into his cherry blossoms before letting them go as a swarm of explosive locusts upon the amalgamation of metal. "CACHU BANT!!"
Kaoru Kyrkogrim	Karou pushes off Vendtron as Mamoru hits it Tuxedo la Smoking Carter. As he fell he summoned a white Belkan seal underneath him that sent him flying towards the machine again. Garmr shifted from blade to lance before Karou shouted; "Genrechenes Gnipahellir!", drill through Vendtron. Though he wasn't done yet. He once again summoned a Belkan seal and jumped back towards robot. "Genrechenes Gnipahellir!" "Genrechenes Gnipahellir!" "Genrechenes Gnipahellir!" Karou soon became a glowing circuit, continuously threading in and out of Vendtron. Even as he started to ache he continued hitting the robot. Determined to keep hitting it until he slashed it to pierces.
Emi Hoshino	Grenades. Stellar Convergence. Grenades. Exploding cherry blossoms. GRENADES. An aqua illusion. GRENADES!! And, of course, an AK-47 alongside 'open heart's impending arrival. And that's not to forget the SMOKING CRATER or Genrechenes Gnipahellir! Or the grenades. Or the explosions. It's the kind of thing that sends it toppling itno a pile of vending machines, ultimately, which are all trashed and wobbling and trying to pull themselves back together. And you know what else they're doing? They're... still... screaming. Like someone waking up from the worst kind of nightmare imaginable. Fortunately, it can no longer resist and the leaning in with even more attacks puts a stop to it altogether. With the bulk of the dark energy dispersed by this, the other vending machines stop wobbling and fighting. ... but what a HUGE mess.
Madoka Kaname	There are grenades all over the place. Grenades, and fire, and screaming, and gross oil, and oily snacks, and the exploded landscape is kinda flammable and is now catching fire and everything around the fallen Vendtron is burning away. A goddess sighs. "It's probably for the best..." says her soundless voice, coming from nowhere. A group of tiny angelic familiars carry a bucket of unnatural water and dump it onto the fires. More groups follow them with more buckets, each trying to shut down the flames. When the screaming stops, Homura slowly and cautiously takes off her headset and asks, "Hey, can you all still hear? Do you need a moment? What's the damage?" Then she rubs her own forehead and tchs. "Ah... I might have a headache." Hope Concept whines, "I need a shower."
Mamoru Chiba	It stops, oh it stops, and by the time all the noise noise noise is done, Tuxedo Mask's ears are ringing; he shakes his head at Homura, holding his hand behind his ear at her. He wipes his face off on the inside of his cape. "I think... we found it."
Sailor Mercury	With things winding down now, Sailor Mercury turned her attention to Zoisite who--at least as far as she could tell--had come a little bit unstuck in there somewhere. While the fog remained, yet to be chased away by the head of the flames currently being doused by the little angel fire brigade, Sailor Mercury lifted a hand toward Zoisite. She didn't ''approach'' too closely, though she was making her way roughly in that direction, the blue-haired senshi did lift a hand toward him. A gentle close of it saw the mist around him contract. Not quite freezing and frigid, but certainly cool and calming. Mercury hoped so, at least. A moment was spared for Mamoru. A nod. "That's why you drew the 'X', right? To keep track of the spot where the build up is?" Ami certaintly didn't underestimate Mamoru's cleverness. He was--oh, wait! Mercury spun and started toward Nephrite. "Are you okay?" She was quite concerned about the grievous injury his face had sustained. "Did you lose an ''eye''?"
Kaoru Kyrkogrim	Kaoru stumbled onto the ground. Only his leaning on Garmr was enough to keep him upright. Using such a powerful move over and over again was dangerous, but worth it. It finally shut up. Kaoru stumbled towards the nearest truck, using Garmr to push himself along whenever he felt like falling. His sweat mixing with the sticky soda that covered him. Panting he leaned against the cold metal. "I'll take a shower when I feel better." He said softly to the lance.
Nephrite	Nephrite turned to Sailor Mercury, quite grateful for the fuss. "I caught some shrapnel in it--" He hissed through his teeth, "It burns... I can hardly see a thing. Wash it out for me, will you? Tell me how bad it is?" Was it a little dramatic? Maybe. Nephrite didn't care about that though. There was, of course, no blood when he pulled his hand away from his squinting, tearfully irritated eye.
Amy Faust	"WHY IS IT STILL SCREAMING?!" Amy screams, over the screaming. And then it finally stops, and Homura asks something. "WHAAAT?! HANG ON I THINK I CAN REGENERATE HEARING DAMAGE." "WHAA-- ack. What did you ask? Why did they make youma that scream?! Whose... who has a nightmare of this?!" But, looking oiver the assembled team that all worked together, she smiles. The monster sucked, but they took it down! "Does this... are we any closer to stopping, uh... ...Did this have to do with Subsy, at all...?"
Zoisite	Once the grotesque bundle of wires, metal, plastic and glass fell into pieces, his feet touched the ground. Panting, face still red, he didn't really noticed Sailor Mercury giving her aid as she walked by. Yet, he felt the cold air press against his form. It took a minute, perhaps another more, until he felt himself not laser focused on just the trash pile. The rest of the world came back to his mind, along with the calm. Well, for however long the calm lasted. Soda was all over his hair--his beautiful hair! Gods! "This will take forever to wash off and fix!!" He gasps. Whatever language he was spewing earlier was gone.
Catra	Catra's ears are ringing and this is awful. "...Is it dead? Is that finished?! GOOD! I ''HATE THIS PLANET''!!" she screams, "It's TOO LOUD ALL THE DAMN TIME." The feline throws up her hands, and together with her remaining illusory double, turns to stalk off down the street, walking with an air of barely repressed rage and indignation with her teeth bared and her claws out. She makes it around forty feet, before her hands go up in the air once more. She did, afterall, come here with a purpose. "Hey, Mamoru," she says in a much more reasonable tone, as she turns to face the group once more. "Did you get what you needed?"
Mamoru Chiba	As he heals his own ears, tiredly, he parses what Ami said a second ago as her voice comes up from underwater. He nods-- at Ami, and at Catra. "It needs to be purified, where I put an X," he says, "or this'll happen again here. And then we gotta book it before the cops come. We can group teleport everyone out, back to the Shed, afterwards." He pulls his sticky cape around him unhappily. "But the effect is really bad here. Sticky hair aside," he continues as he moves over to Neph and Ami, and he takes off his glove and lightly circles Neph's wrist, removing the pain for the moment and medically examining the eye. "It's just irritated, and tears are an excellent cure for that. Zoi what language was that, Czech?"
Zoisite	"Hm?" Ears still felt underwater, turning to face Tuxedo Mask. "I believe it was about four thousand and three hundred and sixty seven electronic screams. No language. Unless that was a joke."
Sailor Mercury	Ami nodded in response to Mamoru's clarification. It was roughly what she'd thought, after all. Of course, she had a smile for him. "Good thinking." That wasn't the end of things for her, oh no. The diminutive senshi had to reach up a little to take hold of Nephrite's chin but it was enough to hold him steady while the other hand lifted to eye level. Complete with extended finger. It might even have looked like she was about to ''poke him in the offending eye''. Right up until a jet of water shot from the finger tip. "Here. I'll flush it." Sailor Mercury only bothered to explain what she was doing ''after''.
Madoka Kaname	Purification is needed. "I understand," says the Concept of Hope. "I'll do my best." She Manifests, allowing her form to be viewed and seen fully. First the edge of her dress, then the silhouette of her hair. Color and light washes over her as she reminds the universe what she's ''supposed'' to look like. Madokami in all of her glory appears, and the Wake Labyrinth fades around them. Giving way to the real world. She finds the place where Kamen drew the X and hovers over it. "Will just one of us be enough? I suppose I'll find out." Deep breath in, deep breath out. She takes stock of what power she has and... hesitates for a moment. "Don't worry about wearing yourself out," says Homura. "I'll carry you home." Madoka turns to Homura with a smile, then focuses back upon the spot that X marks. Hands over locket, making a heart shape. "Negative Heart: Lock On!" A multi-colored heart beam fires from her hands onto the X, as if it's a laser painting a target. "OPEN HEART!" She thrusts her hands forward, still keeping the heart-shape, and floods the marked location with purifying energy. Then her henshin fades, and she collapses into Homura's arms.