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Siegfried, Knight of Neptune
Action: Arriving at the last minute with coffee, offering himself as a blunt force object

Siegfried placed a hand on Cybele's shoulder and squeezed. "Believe you me, I want to strangle them as much as you do, love," he said softly, brushing a stray hair from her face. He'd arrived barely before Almadel teleported them away; with Star Fest going on, the roads had been a nightmare, even on his bike. Could he have just powered up earlier and bounded across rooftops to save time? Yes.

But then he would have spilled the coffees in his hands over some poor fool caught under him. They were hot too!

Granted, he'd placed them into subspace upon arriving in the museum proper, but they were there and he'd have one for Cybele should she need.

Siegfried didn't recognize the pages except for their symbols: they were bound to Cybele the same way he was, ostensibly, bound to Neptune. They just had the benefit of having a princess who could actually show them the ropes. He'd sort of... had to learn it as he went along.

"My cutlass can be a very useful blunt force object when necessary, as can my feet. I'm Siegfried, Knight of Neptune, by the way." Siegfried extended a hand to the Cybele pages with a smile. "Oh, Cyb, I have a coffee for you if you want in subspace..."

stari_maga

Cybele bby

OP-Yuna

Hierapolis, Steins

Amasis

Danube

Eternal Sailor Alastor
Action: Standing with Sessrumnir, ignoring Aqua and Jet but also trying to figure out if he can get away with using magic on them, standing still and trying to let his eyes adjust to the darkness so he can see

No, no. Sessrumnir, that was not ignoring them.

Alastor resisted the urge to sigh or give Sessrumnir a look or chastise him. It wasn’t his place; he knew what the Negaverse–what they had taken from him.

Of course they were going to sass back.

They were making it impossible for Alastor to focus on the task at hand or taking in the sight of the museum they’d been transported to. He was more concerned about them not upsetting Michael.

Would anyone notice if he used his magic on them? They could both use a little despair. Or a lot of it. It was dark, how would they even know it came from him?

‘They’re just trying to get under your skin,’ he cautioned, because–well, they were doing it everywhere, weren’t they? Cybele should have fired a few arrows at them.

‘Don’t ever offer your starseed for me, by the way. Don’t let them frighten you. If they get their hand in my chest, I’ll have my hand in theirs, too.’

He didn’t want Sessrumnir to go into any sort of panic so he stayed calm. The boys were being smart and safe; he saw Ephesus heading to one of the side rooms with Amarynthos and a Page of Mercury (Ekstrom). Good.

Arles, though.

A little spike of agitation coursed through his blood but it didn’t show on his face. It was just a name. It probably didn’t mean anything.

He drew in a simple, calming breath. The necklace probably betrayed his emotions but he brushed elbows with Sessrumnir to try and console him without drawing too much attention to it. He didn’t have to tell Sessrumnir that they should really be looking for whatever they were here for; if they could find it, maybe they could put some distance between themselves and the Negaverse before there was any issue.

Sunshine Alouette

Guine

Cadet Tenoch
Dice: None
Action: Replying to Naeria and the Others then EXITING STAGE LEFT

Did he preen a little at hearing Andreiya speak? Yes. How long had it been since he'd felt like this? The excitement of a mission with low stakes, with a high succession rate, with too many failsafe's in the form of all the talented minds around him. How long had it been since he'd felt that sternum-warm thrum of pride! In himself, his people, his team----

Longer than he would've liked to admit, and yet? Whatever space there should've been to feel an ounce of shame for that -- of regret -- was overfull with everything else. With all his thoughts that followed Andreiya's words as the tech on his wrist buzzed quietly.

"Don't take too long, Naeria." and he hoped she would be safe as she was quick, wanting nothing more to do with the room or its crowds as he followed in Aliez's wake, gaze scanning the darkness with care as he trailed the healers steps into a side room.

Cadet Rhysi
currently: exiting with the rest of the vanguard

While many of the Vanguard shared the same living facility, Rhysi realized this was the first time since coming to Earth that she'd been part of such a...collective effort. She generally preferred to work on her own projects, alone and without disruption or need to explain her decisions. But even so, it felt pleasant to be so...connected with her own people like this. Almost nostalgic, and it felt maybe somewhat necessary for her to be reminded that these were her people. She'd certainly never forgotten, but Rhysi could admit, she'd taken it for granted. Something that was part of her background rather than in the forefront of her present focus.

Still, the moment also highlighted a certain growing disconnection she'd begun to feel as well. Or maybe she'd always felt it to some degree, but being on Earth and learning certain things regarding priorities and the value one can attribute to the lives and deaths of others, had brought it to light. When she'd found out that they needed their prince's starseed for the good of the majority, it had felt like many of her own feelings and thoughts had finally coalesced into a single, grand epiphany: it's okay to put a price on a life. It's reasonable to base decisions off that evaluation.

Rhysi simply didn't care at all about the kosopods beyond their utility. Were they useful enough to try and keep a living segment of their population? yes. Did they have a right to life? No. Not if their destruction was more useful or if their lives were more costly than their benefits.

Which is to say: Rhysi did not offer up a single piece from the pile of candy that filled nearly her entire subspace for the sake of gently luring out kosopods. Instead she drew her shortbow, charged and ready to stun.

Seeing Naeria's unease over the creatures' wellbeing, she reassured her friend, "Safer for them. No struggling." Well. Probably.

[exiting]

reg wordcount: 508

Super Corrupt Kafka
Action: Being dragged by Beni and immediately not about this whole situation.

The brightening and then dimming of the lights showed him more than he needed to see and he immediately felt disgusted by the alien bugs. Helping to steady Benitoite, he kept close and let them drag him towards another General, all while keeping an eye out on the slowly approaching things. They looked like those bugs, the ones that could be found when lifting up stones in a garden, but so much worse and they were getting closer.

Cursing as the alien merchant seemed all too quick about running off, he pressed his back to one of the walls so that at least one side was free from being surrounded. "Merde.... not how I wanted my first trip to space to go." It was hard to see, just as the blonde had said but at least there was another person here.

"Should.... I slow them down so you two can jab them? I kinda don't have anything to get them with." Looking between the two Generals he very much wished he had something to swing or maybe a bottle of strong liquor and a lighter to clear a load of them out.

Eternal Corrupt Beatrix
Action: She's gonna wreck em and enjoy going to murder town and try to remember people she sees.

It was go time and even if the trip was disorienting, she kept standing and tugged her mask one more time as the lights brightened and went dim as that alien dude talked his fancy words and left with all these bugs all over.

Nodding in response to Chrys, Bea thought really hard about pulling her tablet out but figured it might get broken as some of those things seemed to scuttle around. "Oh nah... these aren't a vibe but I think I got an idea."

Taking a fighting stance, she willed that fog out and smiled as it took form around her. These things couldn't be that strong... right? So what if she was a bit slower, she was sure she could make up for it by stomping these things beneath her armored heels. It also meant if any of those white-wearing senshi or flavor-of-the-day knights thought to test her she could pack a bit of an extra punch.

"Oh I hope that flower b***h tries, I want an excuse to get a dogpile on her to take her out. Looks like there are hella more than enough of us for that." She'd take whatever names she heard but first thing was first, she had to make sure she did a good job and get some of these things stomped.

Lanting, Squire of Ida
Currently: Checking a fossil case for any signs of kosopods, with his hands and probably worrying Corvina in the process

Lanting was, he had to admit, not best pleased with the presence of so much Chaos. And if he pressed a little closer to Corvina, well. Perhaps he was magically stronger, but Corvina was also way more physically capable, and also had magic that could actually be used to attack. Lanting knew that a good healer was important (ask him how,) but it definitely felt safer to be paired with his personal big, beautiful debuff machine, was all he was saying.

(It felt silly, to think things like that. Corvina wasn't his. Corvina would get bored, when he realized that Shuangxu didn't actually measure up to Zhiheng, that he wasn't much besides a pretty face, an encyclopedic knowledge of Dark Souls lore and boss patterns, and an uncanny ability to be a giant a*****e on Reddit. Not exactly a good partner.)

(But for now, Corvina was here, with him. And Lanting wanted to keep him, against all reason and sense that said he shouldn't even bother trying.)

He nodded along with Corvina's explanation--though Corvina seemed much harsher on the poor kosopods than Almadel was being. Perhaps they'd simply had different experiences. Or perhaps this was just more layering of the fact that, Lanting got the impression, Corvinate culture was very violent.

They were swept off in an instant, and Lanting wobble don his feet when they landed--he definitely wasn't used to teleporting to space by other people's will, just yet.

Or by his own, if he was honest, but that was details.

"Those people in thistle--they all look like they can handle themselves," Corvina said. They looked armed, at least, and he figured that if they were here, they had to have some kind of magical or scientific capabilities. "I wonder where they're from? Not from Earth, and they're not Senshi like you or Kaifeng's Helene." He frowned, briefly, thoughtfully. "Anyway, sounds like we'll need to clear out what we can--but, like, carefully?"

It would be rude, after all, to destroy their host's collection.

"Stick with me? I want to go check over there," he gestured to a case full of what looekd like fossils, and trotted over, leaning his cane against the side and starting to carefully feel over the glass for any sign of nasty alien insect attachment.

Super Sailor Madriu
Currenlty: Exiting to join the Nameless crew in a side ******** it felt good to be home. Maybe not home as in the place, but...home as in the people, as in the ones that Madriu had missed. Roka and Grieve's easy banter, even Murikabushi's generosity--all felt like coming back to somewhere he'd left a long time ago, and settling right back into familiar patterns.

This was his family. Just as much as the ones he'd lost, all those centuries ago. Roka and Grieve were as much his siblings as the ones he'd watched die. And they were here, alive, vital. Murikabushi had been reincarnated, but--that didn't mean much. He was still...perhaps not the same under the surface, but similar enough that Madriu appreciated him.

He flashed a wolfish grin when he caught the provided snack out of the air, and only the presence of Chaos stopped him from popping it open and immediately digging in. Well, that and a sense of respect for the history around him. Arcalis would have been mightily pissed, if he damaged anything here--and Madriu had the idea that annoying Almadel wasn't the best idea.

And remembering Arcalis meant remembering that there was a gaping hole in this feeling of camaraderie.

His partner should have been here. By his side. The longer he went without knowing, though, the closer he got to something genuinely like hope--the idea that Arcalis might still be out there, and that was why no one knew the name, no matter how much he asked.

But that wasn't the point, not right now. Grieve had a plan--and a hostage.

"Best way to make sure we don't pay is to not break things that aren't ours," MAdriu deadpanned, "not to be the wet blanket on the outing. But some precision might be called for, which I swear I remember we used to be capable of."

He huffed.

"And I'm not worried about dodging the attack," he told Roka, aside, "I'm worried about the inconvenience of it all. Having someone try to stab me while we're also clearing out a kosopod infestation sounds like a pain in my tail and I don't want any." His ears flicked down, further, and then back up--the promise of going to one of the side rooms, of getting out of this crush of people and only having one Chaos rat on hand who happened to be weaker than 2/3 of their group?

Yeah, that sounded good.

"Good call," he said, and he flashed Mirabilite a grin that was half threat, as he sauntered after Grieve. "And you? Try anything clever and you'll find out how I survived a thousand years on a planet full of assholes like you."

Well. Not exactly like, given that Eythan had been the only one actually infected with Chaos, he was the only Senshi, and most of the other people he'd had to fight were just...normal people, driven to desperation by the damage Chaos wrought. But this frilly distraction of a Senshi didn't need to know that.