Despite the pain of the shock, Ida forced her feet to keep moving, carrying her away from the last place to a new vantage point. It was hard to hit a moving target, right? Not that she knew so much what an evil tree found hard or not to do... the fact that it was attacking at all was already strange enough.
"Athene, be careful!" She called over her shoulder. Ida wasn't sure why she bothered. The other eternal could take care of himself, and her commanding him to wasn't going to do a thing to save him if he got into trouble. The wish was there though... and it felt right.
Skidding to a halt, Ida threw her hand up again, calling another bow and arrow to attack the tree with. It flew with effortless grace to impact the singing monster, exploding against its trunk. No sooner had her bow burst into sparkles and disappeared then music notes mobbed her, forcing Ida to throw her arms up around her head in reaction. Everything seem to slow down then, her limbs heavy and difficult to move.
Being hit by the lightning had had the side effect of banishing the slow sluggish feeling from being hit by Maia's magic...
Or perhaps, as was more likely, the magic had simply worn off.
Either way, the sluggishness had been replaced with pain that whilst no longer sharp, still sat heavy and dull as Athene forced himself to find something else to throw at the tree.
He heard Valhalla call out to leave Maia to him and Ida's warning to be careful and tried to manage a "You too" back to her before going back to looking for something to throw at the tree.
As he did he thought he saw movement from the corner of his eye heading in the general direction of the tree and heard Ida's voice as she once again called on her magic.
He managed to find the rock that he'd tried throwing earlier, or perhaps it was a different one, straigtening as he lobbed it with as much force as he could muster whilst trying to make sure to avoid the green-haired Earth Knight (Shalott) attacking the tree with some sort of thorny garland and the senshi (Antares) attacking the tree close up and with magic.
The tree waves of electricity seemed to come out at random and continously. It shrill notes ringing out across the grove the grove itself seeming to come alight further with small pulses. Had the made whatever this thing was angry? Could it even feel? It was certainly fill Maia with something almost unfathomable.
The seed on the ground crackled viciously as the tree sent out another wave of electricity at the group, to all the who had attacked it the tendrils of electricity seemed more solid and could pack a nasty punch if it could them. Those who refrained from attacking were more fortunate though that didn't stop any of them from a possible shock.
Valhalla had Maia's attention easily shouting at het to stop, but she laughed at him, closer to the source of the chaos inside her she was lost to it. She grinned, "oh look a volunteer. She stalked toward him annoyed by the senshi that seemed unable to choose between him and the tree. It mattered not those because she kept getting distracted.
Maia went for him but stopped as something was launched at her. One of the little black seeds that littered the place. It seemed to have no affect of her at all and caused her to grin more wickly. "Good idea," she whispered grabbing up a handful and charging the knight. She tossed a punch right at his torso and opened her palm on contact pushing the seeds onto the knight to deliver the most shocking surprise!
Moments later she was seeing little whips around her vision, which was something that was familiar to her. She batted at them and turned charging toward the senshi she knew to be the culprit. She through a punch at his stomach and growled. "One would think you had enough the first time. No matter though. You die first."
He'd seen transcended senshi before but what they could do, donating energy, that was a new thing to him. He hadn't known about that but watching it was interesting, especially seeing that a knight could do it as well. he'd been surprised as more senshi had arrived to help Maia,realizing just how important she was? or perhaps she was just that popular? he wasn't sure but all those people had him feeling off so he kept close to Shang even as they gathered up for transportation to Maia. She felt off, very off, but he'd kept close because Shang was someone he knew and was comfortable with. Some of those gathered he didn't know and others he did. Despite it all though it was more people than he liked to be around and all gathered so close together.
It was when they got to Maia that he took a look around and separated from the group a bit, wanting some distance between them all, and it seemed that perhaps that was a good idea. "Someones gone off their rocker." he stated more to himself than anyone else. Maia seemed to have gone completely off her rocker and turned on them - lovely.
The singing was deceptively sweet and he hadn't noticed the notes as he was looking at everyone and watching them attack the tree. it was a good idea, really it made sense, but if he could distract Miss. Crazy over there maybe it would help them even more? And that's when the notes hit and he wound up feeling rather...calm and peaceful. Not how he wanted to feel right now, not how he should feel right now. "I'm going to focus on Maia, see if I can't distract her!" He called out hoping he was heard by the others who were busy with the tree. She might be an eternal but he was sure he could do something to keep her busy and away from the others - right? Give them time to free cast against the tree without her attacking them. Biting down on his bottom lip it was when her spell had ended that he brought his hands up into a familiar formation and called his own attack, blowing blue wisps of energy toward the eternal senshi of song.
"Chaldene Wisp's Secret!"
With the spell cast and his green eyes locking onto Valhalla he headed in that direction rather quickly. "I'll handle Maia. My magic is a distraction! let me handle her and you all handle the tree." He yelled out even as he was directing his attention to Maia to see if his attack had hit it's mark, he was hoping to see it working on her. If not he'd just try again or resort to whatever other method was needed.
Sighing he took note of the others trying to get close to Maia and shook his head. "I'll handle her, focus on the tree. I'll handle Miss. Crazy senshi." He'd try at least but he didn't mention that to the others. He wasn't about to let his own self doubt leak into his voice or let anyone catch onto the fact that he wasn't sure if he could hold his own against an eternale who had lost her sanity.
Sailor Scout Attack: Chaldene Wisp Lure. Raising his hands, much like a child would when imitating a gun with their hands, Chaldene blows at the tip sending little wisps of blue energy at his opponent. These little wisps of energy would appear to do nothing at first, as they'd vanish upon "impact" with the opponent. But then the opponent would start seeing a wisp of light just in their peripheral and it would last twenty seconds. This wisp flashing in and out of being and in slightly different places, it would certainly be enough to distract most people. And that's all it is - a distraction, a distraction which can be used twice per battle.
If Chaldene is attacked the spell is broken and if the opponent is attacked it breaks the spell as well, snapping their attention to where it needs to be, for obvious reasons. If someone attacks the wisp it does nothing, the wisp will simply reform - it is after all just a wisp of light that vanishes and reappears anyway.
Super Sailor Scout Attack: Chaldene Wisp's Secret. This attack would go the same as above only this time the attack would last thirty seconds each time it's used and could now be used three times per battle. The significant difference however is that this time a person isn't simply distracted by the wisps appearing and vanishing only to reappear. But they are compelled, by magic and whispered words of encouragement, to look toward the wisps.
The same things can break the spell as before only now when the spell is broken the opponent would feel slightly confused and perhaps even a little disoriented.
Kaori_luv
litian
Guine
Silverah
((Just as a note, Kaori is letting me post this here and now. I've been busy all day. So I've her permission.))
Shalott finally managed to overcome her pain, bringing herself upright once again. She looked to the senshi, and thne to Shang, and a small frown was set on her lips. She spun the garland and sent one of the heavy metal Earth symbols on the end smashing toward the tree, barely glancing a blow on its trunk.
"Maia, fight this! Please, you must fight it."
She had no idea who Maia was as a person but if Shang cared for her and all these others did, too, then she had to be someone worth protecting and fighting for. That alone was enough to keep her going even against large odds. Being hit by the lightning hadn't been pleasant and it didn't seem like it would continue to get any better if past instances were any indication.
"Look who you're hurting, Maia. All of these people care for you. And you must care for them as well. Help us to help you!"
She projected to be heard but kept her voice low and calm. She wanted to try and reach her, if she could, and if not there would be other tactics to try. After all, she was not the only one calling to her, trying to help her fight whatever hold this chaos had over her.
Sherwood just sort of kept rolling with the punches. She ducked low, barely missing a lash of lightning as it came toward her. This was getting dangerous but so far she had remained unharmed. That gave her hope as she picked up her bow, dashed in close, and bashed the tree with it.
Then she heard a familiar voice.
"Mama Shalott!!"
She dashed over to the taller green haired Earth Knight and was thankful for someone she could stand next to that she knew. She saw another Earth knight (Valhalla) that looked like he was in trouble. That made her frown and try to figure out how she could further help the effort.
She was probably going to do something stupid, something very stupid. She looked for someone in danger and ran toward them, trying to absorb the damage herself to give people with more of a chance to do good their moment.
((The next time someone would take damage please feel free to have Sherwood jump on the grenade, so to speak, and just quote me so I can know how to post next))
The shock that came from the open seed surprised her. Phact's body shook slightly she felt it course up her body. They should have worn rubber.
But that was neither here nor now.
Stumbling forward slightly, the senshi of doves was able to catch her balance before face planting. All around her others were moving in and out of focus until she picked up on one voice and the words behind it.
Jerking her head around, Phact quickly spotted Chaldene. Her eyes went large and she spun on her toes to head in his direction. He was smart. A hacker that could over take a hospital system. But as a fighter, Phact had to wonder....doubt filled her thoughts though.
"Chaldene! Look out!" Her warning was right as Maia turned her attention from the Earth Knight. But it didn't stop Phact from making a run and summoning in front of her another distraction.
A white dove formed in front of Phact before she spoke the words "Cooing Softly!" And sent the dove towards Maia's face coming at a different angle than the senshi in white and blue.
Sleet Tempest Snape
Guine
Kaori_luv
Cooing Softly Bowing her head slightly, Phact begins to release the sounds of a dove’s soft coo. As she lifts her head upward, the white energy form of a dove appears in front of her. The creature leaves her side and flies into the face of her target acting as a distraction. Duration: 10 Seconds Use: Twice
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2015 4:35 pm
”No! Don’t use your magic!” he turned to see Chaldene trying to distract Maia, but that wasn’t going to help her. It was too late to stop him, but when the senshi told him to focus on the tree, Valhalla shook his head, refusing to move. “She’s not crazy! She can’t help it! It’s the chaos…” he said, turning back to stare at the senshi, not wanting her to lose focus on him. “Please, Chaldene… I need to make sure…”
Sure of what…? Sure that she will be okay? Sure that the chaos won’t overtake her? Sure that she wouldn’t end up like him; a damaged starseed and lost memories and haywire magic?
But he’d been distracted from what Maia was doing, and suddenly his hair stood on end and he knew what was happening before it did. A large bolt surged its way through him and Jupiter knight or not, he let out a shout from the pain that nearly brought him to his knees when the seeds she held in her palm made contact with his torso.
Dazed, Valhalla stumbled as she pulled away to turn to someone else. She was speaking to Chaldene, threatening to kill him first. “Maia, no!” he yelled, throwing himself onto her before she could try and attack another ally, and before the dove from the other senshi's attack (Phact) could hit her. He was at least twice her size, so being able to hold her down should be easy enough, in theory. Of course, he was worried about potentially hurting her, but if they couldn’t convince her to come back to them.
“Don’t leave us, Maia,” he said to her, but only with the intention of her hearing him as he did his best to pin her to the ground. “Remember? Two years ago at the carnival? Benitoite took your starseed. I thought you were going to die. Ganymede and I were so scared, Maia. But you’re strong. You can fight this, Maia. Maia, come back.”
Part of him wondered if this was a pointless effort. Perhaps if Ganymede tried to get through to her as well. If she used her magic, then maybe it would be enough. Or maybe Maia just needed to fight this herself.
Antares was about to attack the tree again when the magical electrical shock ran through the glen. Her muscles seized and it felt like her whole body had turned to stone, she didn't think she could move if her life was depending on it... which it might really be. Her mouth opened to scream but even her vocal cords were frozen in pain. It might have only been a few seconds but for the young blond it felt like hours before the shock faded. She slumped to the ground, breathing heavily, as her body slowly came back under her control.
Gritting her teeth against the residual pain she got to her feet and stumbled slightly. She heard several people call out regarding Maia and turned to see her attack Chaldene and get tackled by the same knight who approached her before. Antares hesitated uncertain what to do, but she turned back towards the tree... They wouldn't get Maia back if the tree wasn't defeated, at least that's what she believed.
"Maia... You are not like my father so stop acting like it!" Antares yelled over at her hoping to appeal to her humanity and the memories of what the eternal senshi knew about Antares' past while looking for a projectile to lob at the tree. She spotted a rock and tossed it at the tree as hard as she could, prepared for the retaliating whip of electricity that snaked out at her. She was able to scramble away and grinned viciously when she came away unharmed from her attack. She found herself around a green haired and bow wielding knights, "are you guys ok?" The question was asked softly as the blond senshi tried to catch her breath while keeping her eyes out for more projectiles.
Pompeii watched in horror as Maia not only reacted to her attempted attack but decided to use it against another knight. She opened her mouth to shout but was suddenly and viciously shocked by the black seeds surrounding them. Gasping in pain she stumbled towards the dog pile that was Maia and the Jupiter Knight once the pulse of electricity had stopped.
She collapsed to her knees just a few arms length from the pinned redhead. "Maia fight it damn it!" She called her shawl into her hands and held it at the ready, at least with it she could restrain the eternal senshi for a short time if it was necessary.
She climbed to her feet and squeaked when a random lash of electricity careened her way. She hit the dirt once more and avoided yet another shock, she was beginning to feel a little like she was a dog on an invisible leash that was going haywire.
As the effects of Maia’s attack began to wear off enough for her to stand up, Acrucis rose to her feet and retreated a bit away to the back of the crowd so she could assess the situation. While many were focusing their efforts on the tainted tree, a few had their attention on the senshi they were all here to save.
Acrucis' fist clenched beside her in slight anger. Everyone was giving it their all to destroy the thing that sought to consume their friend and all she could do was watch and wait till someone could use a heal. There was no use in getting close; she'd only get in the way of the people who could actually destroy the tree; and after the battle she had with Maia, she was reluctant to join that fray either.
So many people were calling out to her; begging, pleading Maia to fight against that which controlled her. But she was too far away for her voice to be heard over all the other yelling. The only thing Acrucis could do was watch in in horror when Maia leaned over to pick up a handful of seeds. This isn't you... fight this!
When the once friendly blue-green eyes, now full of malicious intent, fixated the cold gaze on the Jupiter knight, Acrucis wanted to yell for him to look out. But before a sound could be uttered, it was too late. The wicked look of intent and almost pleased grin was all it took to prompt the periwinkle haired senshi into motion.
This time she was read as arches of electricity reached out towards her as it had been doing to the other order members. Dodging left she lunged forward, putting herself be within range of those furthest away. The bracelets on her wrists clanged together when Acrucis lifted her hands together in a prayer like motion and spoke the name of her upgraded spell “Prayer of Healing”. With both palms glowing a soft yellow hue, the Senshi of Prayer focused her attack on Valhalla and the Eternal that had got struck by the electricity emitting from the tree upon arrival.
”Whimsical Blue”
”Guine”
Super Sailor Scout Attack: Prayer of Healing Same as above but it can be cast on up to two people at a time that are either in front of her or to her sides. This attack can heals moderate cuts, scrapes, bruises over the next 10 seconds (minor injuries heal in 5 seconds). It can reduce the severity of a major injury but will not completely heal it** and can be cast 3 times.
Shang turned at the commotion behind him with his sister, and a wave electricity sprung forth to take him, only for a young page to dart in front of him and take the damage for him. His eyes went wide as he went to steady the girl frowning deeply.
"You shouldn't have done that," he scolded quickly. "Focus on the tree, the sooner its destroyed the faster we end this. Try to keep yourself from getting shocks."
He turned looking at the young page gripping his weapon tightly and concentrating on his magic. He wasn't sure it if was helping, but they needed to throw everything at it that they had.
"Together," he said before charging forward weapon in hand, swinging hard at the tree and pushing his magic forward.
The shock from the open seeds was worse than being hit by the lightning, the pain sharper like a vicious punch and enough to cause Athene to stumble back a few steps.
It was perhaps sheer luck that those few steps were enough to ensure that he just missed being once again zapped by another of tendrils of electricity that the tree was still sending their way, as his ears rang with the shrill notes from the tree.
It was perhaps why it took a few moments for Athene to realise that Maia was no longer standing by the tree, although from the commotion behind him it didn't take long to figure out where she had gone.
He heard someone yell out as he turned and was in time to see Maia move from Valhalla to attack Chaldene . He took a few steps forward towards them, missing by yet more sheer dumb luck yet another blast of electricity, but then Valhalla was there trying to pin Maia and there were others there to like the blue-haired senshi who felt like a Super senshi and a dark-haired Squire of Saturn.
Athene bit his lip for a moment hesitating and then turned back to the tree, bending to scoop up a bit of debris so that he could throw it at the tree, shrill notes continuing to ring in his ears.
He would let the others handle Maia and try to concentrate on the tree, because if they could stop the tree then perhaps Maia would go back to normal.
Quote:
Athene hits the tree for 16 damage Sorry for not doing quote mentions - trying to tag this from my phone w/out the keyboard
Other people who knew Maia were trying to get thrift to her. They could talk all they wanted, and if it kept her attention over there, tha was just fine, because Penthesilea could just keep whaling on that damn evil tree, because it definitely looked like the source of all this. She didn't bother with her magic this time, instead running at the thing and throwing herself bodily into it.
She was rewarded with a shocking burst that knocked her away, And it didn't seem like she had done much of anything at all.
"Damn," she said softly, taking a moment to sit on the ground and catch her breath.
Ganymede could not decide between defending Valhalla from Maia or attacking the tree. On the one hand, Valhalla had little means to defend himself. On the other hand, the tree seemed to be what was causing Maia's corruption; if they could only destroy it, surely she'd return to normal.
A task that was easier said than done. Ganymede released a cry that was both anger and pain as another tendril of electricity struck her.
“Searing Passion!” Ganymede called, aiming once again for the tree.
She watched helplessly as Valhalla lunged for Maia, unsure how best to approach the current situation. She wanted to protect Valhalla, but she wanted to save Maia as well, and she wasn't sure if she could manage both at once.
Soon it seemed foolish to continue to hold back her power. Did she not have the means to save Maia herself? Ganymede made the shift from Eternal to Princess; her long red train was replaced with layers of ruffles and white tulle, her boots with glass shoes and her top-hat with a glittering tiara. Her aura grew, powerful and pure.
“Maia!” she called. “Maia, listen to me! This isn't you! Don't let this thing control you! I can help you!”
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