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Selenga, Squire of Ida

Selenga also tended to take things in quietly, observe for a while first, and then try something out. He didn't have many ideas initially, and the table of goodies nearby stayed on the edge of his perception, driving him half crazy with the desire to just have something nice to eat. But he knew if he did, he'd be even more distracted having done it than trying to ignore it to focus on this barrier.

...Would it be as simple as there being a switch somewhere? Some kind of code panel or something? He began to search along where the barriers ended, searching for something out of place. A tile turned the wrong way to piss off anyone who liked perfect patterns, something slightly depressed into the wall...

Troilus, Basic Senshi of Enthusiasm

Troilus decided almost immediately that the snack table would be more his problem than the barriers, and proceeded over to start mashing cupcakes into his mouth at a speed Joey Chestnut could only dream of doing with his hot dogs. Eventually, though, he did notice his best friend bothering someone. He watched Tempesti leave. His bullshit detectors immediately went off and he carried a couple of cupcakes over, frowning at Thalassa.

"What are were saying to that poor senshi, huh? We're on a mission, Thal," he said disapprovingly. "Be nice."

He turned to Monch and smiled awkwardly. "Hi, nice to meet you."

Sailor Urania

Urania was up for a challenge. Breaking and entering was something she had done with the Nameless many times. Whether magic or technology or otherwise.

She smiled to Greive. Of course she would try the most direct way. She, for her part, would try a direct approach first as well.

The senshi would see if her magic could break through the barrier.

“Urania’s Heavenly Guardian!”

A unicorn appeared from her celestial map and charged forward towards the barrier with its horn.

Best to try directly through first, right?


❂

Arcalís, DSS of Adversity

Arcalís was prepared to continue apologizing. Whoever he’d crashed into, they likely hadn’t expected or wanted to be collided with like that. Looking down at the bow on their chest and the sparkling star-chart embroidery on their fuku’s overcoat, he felt something catch in his throat. Maybe it was mere coincidence. Other senshi had dark colors in the designs of their uniforms, and Arcalís didn’t look closely enough at the embroidery to discern whether or not it depicted Bootes and its neighbors.

But this couldn’t be…… Well, they could, but—how was any of that fair? Arcalís looked up, eyes wide and dewy, and part of him hoped beyond hope that he wouldn’t see the person he knew would be attached to that so familiar voice. The only person who still would have called him by that name.…… The only person in the universe whom wouldn’t have sent Arcalís into an unbridled outrage by reminding him of a name he no longer had any right to claim.

He hoped that he wouldn’t see that familiar face. Maybe the voice would sound similar, but the senshi he’d crashed into would be a new one, who somehow managed to have find out about Arcalís. But when he looked up, Arcalís saw a face that could only belong to one person.

“……Lex?” He whispered, reaching up to rest a hand on Madriu’s cheek as though he couldn’t believe his own eyes.

Part of him couldn’t. Even as his palm found warm skin and a solid cheek, Arcalís couldn’t quite believe this. How was it fair for Lex to have suffered this extended life, alone as his world died around him?

Madriu and Arcalis had passed from the Reception room, through the cloister and past the impressive view of the gardens–into the library. Here, there were thousands of books that appeared as though they hadn’t been touched in a millennia. Many of the texts were well preserved, but in ancient languages that seemed impossible to decipher. Nothing particularly stood out, but this area had been preserved for an untold time.

If there were texts that might help them, they would need to search for them. But in a library this size? With thousands of books? They’d need a lot of luck if they hoped to find anything useful.

Aberdonia was in the spire; to reach the Spire, one needed only head up the stairs from the Reception area where the food was set up and available.

The circular room that once housed the Silver Crystal sword was probably impressive when it wasn’t greatly damaged by whatever destruction had left its walls chipped and crumbled. Great open arches presented a clear view of the palace grounds, though they could not see past the great walls built around the palace. Once, these recesses were probably only decorative; now, some destruction had blasted great holes in the wall. Deep and spreading cracks in the walls and floor gave the illusion of instability, but the Moon Palace was resilient.

In time, maybe it too could heal.

The pedestal in the middle of the room was expertly carved, so the strange slot in the center seemed out of place. The stone yielded no clues to the barrier, though for as long as he was in the Spire he would feel as though the space demanded reverence, as if a great power used to be housed here.

Around the Moon Palace, there were several curtains of cascading, silver light; one found in the Spire, a few in the Reception Room, and two in the Library. Each of these barriers protected a door, and though some of them varied in design, they each had a visible handle and lock.

Yelling words, no matter how magical or friendly, yielded no response. Though Cynthus, Eupheme, and Halle made a good effort, the silvery barriers heard nothing.

Examining the barriers was a nearly fruitless effort; the veil of light appeared from the ceiling and fell to the floor.

When Nectaris placed her signet ring to the barrier, and when Realta did the same with her star, they were filled with a sort of peace and reassurance. Something hummed in them, like a beckoning. A plea.

The Moon was alive, in its own way. There was something there for them.

Gentle touches produced a pliable, but impassable barrier. It stretched when gently prodded or brushed, like Ephesus had discovered. Even Grieve’s efforts to meld into the barrier yielded only a stretchy, but peaceful, resistance. Fang would find that it tasted like the air during a fresh snow, but his teeth chilled quickly.

Attacks yielded the greatest response–but not one that seemed desirable to replicate.

At first, the barriers blocking each sealed door rippled, but it wasn’t until there was an accumulation of attacks that there seemed to be a response; a shrill siren pierced the air for a second before distorting into a loud, foghorn. The barrier rippled, and in some places even seemed to thin significantly. Like aged fabric with thinned threads, it paled before them.

Pyrrhus’ magic distorted the pale silver light, creating pockets of grey and then black circles, like it was rotting the veil–and then, with great force, the magic ricocheted back and hit him, leaving him feeling briefly winded.

Everyone who attacked the barrier will find that they can only see in black and white, and there is a strange humming in their ears that can sometimes make it hard to hear as well as usual.

Urania’s unicorn charged at the barrier but rather than colliding with it, it melted into the veil of light.

Everyone who assaulted the barrier would find themselves temporarily overheating, as though their skin is being seared like the hot surface of a star. The pain fades after a few very uncomfortable seconds but for the duration of this roleplay, it will feel as though they have an incredibly unpleasant sunburn.

Erytheia’s blade was similarly absorbed into the barrier, right down to nearly the hilt. It felt like it had stabbed through jello, but then it solidified–and was stuck there, no matter how much he attempted to wiggle or pull. Kaifeng’s spade met a similar fate, but it was almost as if it was completely sucked into the barrier and disappeared from sight.

The palace rumbled briefly, and dust fell from the ceiling while small pebbles and debris were knocked loose. After a few seconds, the siren shut off and the palace returned to stillness.

Tempesti had almost been able to squeeze through the vines, and she would have been able to do so if not for the sudden vibrations that rippled through the palace. A few bricks shook loose and fell to the ground around her, but in the process, a few vines were also knocked loose. The weight was unpleasant but not painful, but a loosened, jagged rock made it impossible to proceed–and if another pseudo-earthquake broke out, she could have gotten trapped–or worse.

The Moon seemed to have been constructed impeccably, and if there was anything out of place, it was going to require intense scrutiny–a good eye, and a lot of luck.

Selenga, Aquitania, Solaris, Murikabushi, Ekstrom, and Dejanira would have seen the distinct lack of anything shifting in the areas that they were examining–but this isn’t entirely a loss. Their acute perception of the area means that they have identified where there isn’t any hidden buttons, levers, or weaknesses.

Dejanira Eternal of Raspberries

Gardens

Dejanira was looking in the garden since it was her favorite place, but perhaps it was too much of a favorite place because she got a little distracted by the plants and was unlikely to have found anything remarkable. She was confident someone in their group would find something since they were not alone it was all of them not just one of any order member. They were together searching so someone had to find something. She had noticed the storm and she had noticed a few other odd things before she ended up taking on this call to help here on the moon.

Roll for Urania.

Deep Space Super Sailor Madriu

It was him. The way he said Lex's name--no one else had ever said it like that. Had ever really thought of him like that, Madriu was pretty sure.

There was a war in his chest. On the one hand, this was his Anthy, whole and returned to him. Not some pale reflection, like him but not him, a stranger with his face and his Senshi name who would never really understand the depths of what the two of them had been through and what they had meant to each other. Who would probably never really understand Madriu and Arcalís, much less Lex and Anthy.

And yet.

It meant Anthy had not been spared the same, terrible fate as Lex. That he, too, had watched his world decay and everyone around him die. That he'd suffered the exact pain Lex had hoped reincarnation would spare him.

But he was still here.

"It's really you," he said, softly, hand coming up to rest on Arcalís's and curl around it. "After all this time. I...I can't believe..."

In all practicality, they should probably be searching the library to find something to help with the current situation.

But for a moment, the world wasn't ending. None of that mattered. Because Anthy was alive.