So, most people were at the power plant because they were engaging in this clandestine mission of GREAT IMPORTANCE. But Bo Hanley? Nope.
The gigantically tall (6'5"), super tan, super blond young man was sort of high and taking pictures of smoke stacks in pitch black. Just... because? It wasn't his fault. The second the power went out, he and his roommates had decided to throw a ranging Black Out Party. It involved a lot of people in a room drinking and what not. So basically, it was a regular party -- just with the lights out.
Bo had left at some point to go get more beer, but every store he passed was tragically closed (probably something to do with the blackout, a logical person would reason). He continued his mission in vain, until he eventually stumbled far enough way that he forgot his original mission of Get Beer and changed it in an instant to Take Pictures. The smoke stacks had caught his attention, and he had climbed awkwardly to the roof of one of the closed down stores to get a better angle.
That was when he noticed other people arriving. Heard them, at least. The only light was from the moon, which made seeing things considerably more difficult than usual. A lot of other people, actually. Uniformed other people. "Super power party?" he whispered to himself, quirking his primarily empty head to one side. Squinting his eyes, he turned his camera in the direction of the gathering forces and took a Polaroid. It was too dark to see the photo, not that he really needed to. The dark sheen of the clothing told him one thing: Negaverse agents.
Snap, snap -- his Polaroid spit out a trail of photos. He pulled each one out, gave it a shake, and then tucked it into the pocket of his blue hoodie. "Well, time to suit up," he said dramatically. WHO WAS HE TALKING TO? No, really. Seriously.
In a flourish of ribbons, Bo flashed in a quick twist, emerging as Super Sailor Neso, Senshi of Summer. He normally hated a fight, but summer was approaching. He could feel it in his veins. The height of his power was just around the corner, and it made every inch of him feel electric. Plus, if there were Negas around, he had a much higher chance of death if he was still in civilian form.
Dropping over the side of the roof of the building, Neso crept along the outskirts, keeping a wide berth from the majority of the people gathered. He was supposed to be at a party right now, and since he didn't see Princess Chronos or any of the Zodiacs around, he did was he was best at -- attempted to avoid any responsibility at all.
ALL
Feel free to either have your character (A) attack him or (B) literally run into his as he is attempting to run in a big wide circle around where most people are gathered. He is not a confrontational senshi naturally~
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 4:45 pm
Andronicus chuckled and slipped on her boots. More support and less scrapping lovely. She patted Acubens on the shoulder and looked out towards the Chaos signatures. "They're collecting energy in those crystal things. With their proximity to the power plant and those breakers, I'm assuming they're behind the power outage. I can't fathom what they're using the collected energy for, but I'm getting a bad feeling about it. They're letting a bunch of low level fonder run around while their stronger units stay in the middle there. There's less of 'em, but the ones that are left are super powerful." She rolled a shoulder, squinting.
"That's as much as I can---" her attention was caught by a small mewling and she looked down to see a fluffy cat with a green star on its head looking up at them. She glanced at Acubens before dropping down and petting the cat on the head. "Hey there little one," she said softly, letting him smell her and then petting him between the ears. The star meant a guardian cat... right? Yeah.
---
Jarosite nodded. "Of course." He saluted briefly before shooting of towards the moving Eternal signature and the Lt it was after. The Eternal would be faster than him, but hopefully it would deter them for going after the Lt. His luck though... he'd end up with butt wings in the face. Ah well, everything was fair in war, hmm?
He skidded around a corner and spotted Kaydrelite. Almost there, almost there.
He'd been running with Athene when the other said he got a message from Ida, a name which he knew well and immediately drew his attention. What he said next shocked Shang ... Draining the power plant?!? He wondered what they could possibly need that much energy for. They had caused a city wide black out. Shang was worried about what they were headed into ... what Ida had already walked into ... what his sister would eventually run into to. It seemed with every second not to be less and less transparent.
"I imagine you're right about that Athene. I wonder currently what sort of a situation we are headed for and it there is possibly something even more to this that we can see," either way he was going, even the guilt he still felt for the blood on his hands couldn't keep him from fighting tonight. Every time something like this happened his sister ended up in the hospital, not tonight. Neither him nor anyone he cared about would end up there tonight.
He continued running with Athene and before long, just as the eternal felt it, he felt the auras cropping up getting clearer as they got closer. An arrow went whizzing toward the nega's and Athene declared it Ida's magic. "I've seen it, in training" he said, admitting his familiar with Ida and her magic.
When Athene said something about the source of the black out, he frowned then looked past the negaverser noticing the crystal only making his frown deepen. "By the looks of it, that going to be easier said than done," he said moving to follow Athene to go join the other's below.
The sheer increasing number of auras sent a crawl of fear up his spine. He wondered if whoever had summoned that horrible hallucinatory attack would be here, because he really, really didn't want to do that again.
When Astrophyllite went down, his first reaction was to offer her help in getting back up. "Hey, don't do that," he reached out to support her, "you never know what their magic is gonna do." He'd hate to see her get hurt, or get caught in one of the crazier attacks.
Fortunately, Avalon answered the question of "what now," by calling them back, which he was happy to do after siphoning off another small dash of energy from a civilian. He would've liked to take more, but he also preferred the idea of being near a General with a big sword to being out in the open and in danger.
He gave a nod to the Captain (Jarosite) who he could only assume was their Protector, and wished that his magic was actually battle-useful and not...flowers and feels.
Tsui didn't want to believe what she was seeing, but she knew that she couldn't very well live in a state of denial. She did recognize this senshi because she had called out to her, and she answered. Meaning that this senshi that she was looking at was definitely Persephone, and Tsui found her fists shaking.
She remembered when she first met her and tried to help her with training... discovering what her magic was and how best it could be used. She thought she did good for the senshi, but that obviously wasn't the case now, was it? "So when did this happen? Guess I did a rotten job after all..."
Did it matter? Not really. Tsui noted that she caught the attention of Kyanite and she curled her fist, making it absolutely clear that her intention was not to be a friendly one. She should have been more forgiving and pried into the reasons why, but the sight of a good Senshi, a good person, being dragged away to the Negaverse and have her soul corrupted was simply too enraging for her. The Negaverse would pay for this!
"You can tell me the story later... but right now, I'm going to have to stop you! Sorry!" Maybe Persephone could be saved? The Tiger senshi wasn't sure, but now was neither the time or place. She charged forward with no further warning, making her charged towards Persephone. Whatever the other senshi and knights were planning was lost on Tsui's mind and she may have been luring herself into a trap, but she was confident enough that she could fight her way out. Whatever the Negaverse was planning, it had to be stopped, no matter the cost!
Songstress Kitsune
Akina Tokuwa
Ivynian
Quoting to let you know she's engaging, so you're welcome to break off from her or join her!
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 9:00 pm
How could Canopus forget? The youma was a horrifying creature and had made such an effort to hunt both of them down! The Dark Mirror Senshi's smile was small, but warm and genuine, even as she showed some reservation. "I wouldn't call that fun, nor this... but I'll definitely fight along side you, Astarte."
When the squire seemed to be having trouble with her name, Canopus had realized that she never once introduced herself, and she did so, grabbing her red garments and doing a small curtsy before straightening up again. "I'm sorry! My name's Canopus, Dark Mirror Senshi of Longevity. Thanks for letting me assist you..."
Which now let her back to the matter at hand. It'd get ugly soon, and Canopus turned her gaze towards the plant. "I think we should head towards there, but cautiously. While that crystal looks formidable, it may also be a trap. What will you two do? Whatever you decide, I'll follow and do what I can to keep you safe."
litian
Aeeth
ChibiGingi
Dapper Grabber
Offline
Strickenized
Garbage Cat
Offline
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 9:10 pm
Causally Astarte leaned toward Canopus. "See Miss Trident down there?" She asked, pointing toward the farthest group. "I'd quite like to have a look at that dandy weapon she's holding, wouldn't you? I'm not sure my magic will do much to those crystals, but maybe if you shield me a touch, we could both give it a shot. If it all goes to hell, we can always fall back, right? They're not off chasing us down just yet." She offered Canopus a quick wink before straightening up and holding a stretch with her arms poised above her head. It tugged painfully at the throbbing laceration across her chest, but she tried her damnedest to force it from her mind.
"Shall we get started, love?" Without waiting for a response, she kicked off against the lip of the building and landed with considerably more grace than she expected. Looks like she had a knack for showing off... Or Astarte did. She couldn't tell which, not just yet.
"When you've got a second, just toss that shield up. Wait for me to get a spot closer; wouldn't want to slow me down too much too soon, you know?" With the plan delineated, Astarte took off toward Mica's Team, her sights set on the curious crystal poised within the power transformer. It was time to see if malice had any effect on an object like that...
The words calling her attack hovered on the tip of her tongue, waiting for her opening to attack.
ChibiGingi
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 9:19 pm
The growing urge to tell off her former teammate yearned for her to give in to her whims, but Leda knew now wasn't the time - just like how the hostage situation wasn't the time to confront Buddingtonite, as she learned... Now he was a general. Persephone, too, stood a rank above her. Was that the mark of chaos? Must she always face an opponent far above her in terms of strength and agility? In times like these, she felt continually outnumbered and alone... The same feelings Persephone harbored before turning toward the Negaverse. She sighed, casting one last glance back toward the growing group of senshi above her.
I hope you guys help me if I fall here, she pled silently.
Afterward Leda took off at a trot, skirts still captured in her fists, eyes steeled and ready for any blatant pleadings Persephone might've prepared for her. Now wasn't the time to stand around and talk - that was exactly what they wanted, right? Didn't someone say that the Negaverse must've been at this for some time? She couldn't allow them to continue, even if it meant ignoring her former teammate... With a defiant huff, she forced herself to continue toward the crystal until she was in attack range.
Leda slowed to a stop not far from the crystal, and wasted no time preparing her attack as Negaverse agents were likely enclosing on her already. "Leda Swirling Steam!" She called breathlessly, holding her hand high to allow the steam to spiral up her body and finally arc off her fingertips. She only hoped her aim held true...
Sailor Scout Attack: Leda Swirling Steam Leda clasps her hands together in a prayer form, before raising one hand toward the sky. Steam swirls up around her, then arcs onto her foe. It's more of a mild burn than any serious damage, much like turning the shower too hot. Range: 10 feet. Enemy must be close for her to execute the attack. Time: ~10 seconds
Songstress Kitsune
feel free to send anyone after her if you like. she can either miss the crystal or someone can intercept!
Lt. Kyanite was happy to get away from the fray for a time, especially after the eternal senshi wearing cat ears made a vaguely threatening gesture in her direction. She would never understand the shock over seeing a corrupt senshi. A Negaverse agent and a Page had the same relationship, but those in this class seemed to be far less fixated on it. Good, bad, switching sides -- Kyanite was what she was. It was easier to leave it at that, made things less complicated.
Boots tapped across the concrete. She knew that a good battle tactic would be to try and drain a senshi during battle, but that was a lot more complicated than just... running a bit farther away to find passing civilians.
She didn't have to go far. A drunk boy was staggering down the street on his own. Kyanite appeared behind him suddenly. "Don't you know how irresponsible it is to be out at this time only, let alone in a black out, let alone drunk?" she scolded, giving him a quick shove. He murmured something in a blurry haze and leaned heavily into her. She lifted her fingers, drawing out a decent bulb of energy... right until he made a retching sound. She tossed him aside just in time to avoid the stream of puke.
"...gross."
Turning on her heel, she began to leave, but her guilty conscience snapped at her. "This behavior could kill you," she said to his mostly unconscious body. If she were a civilian, she probably would have wanted to date him and fix him, but lucky for her, she had more important things to do. Rifling through his pockets, she quickly called 911 and left the phone on his body. It was far enough away from the scene that it shouldn't cause a problem. Right?
Good thing no one was around to see it.
Rushing back to the scene, she found that tiger girl attacking Persephone. Kyanite gave the energy to the crystal and then hesitated. "Do you need help?" she asked Persephone. It was a weirdly passive thing to do in the middle of the attack. A true Nega would have just jumped in or just continued on with business, but Kyanite waffled. She was so unsure of herself as a Negaverse agent.
But then another senshi appeared -- named Leda, apparently, as she called out her magical attack. Lt. Kyanite shouted, "NO!" and sprinted toward her, but she was too late. Too late to stop her atleast -- not too late to take a blast by running in the path of her attack. Steam spurted upward, shooting her backward and searing her skin where it touched. But she had followed Persephone's directions!
Kyanite lay on the ground for a moment, breath hissing out of her. It wasn't as terrible as some senshi magic, but it hurt. Her skin felt tender, like she had been forced to stand in a burning shower. "That hurt," she said, not as a method of intimidation but just because it was true.
Getting back to her feet, Lt. Kyanite raced as fast as she could toward Leda, attempting to grab a fistful of her hair and pull her to the ground.
Persephone's Crystal : 29/100
Songstress Kitsune
ChibiGingi
Aeeth
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 9:33 pm
Persephone was thoroughly pleased to see members of her team filtering in, and she gave physical backpats to everyone who delivered energy - Haumea,Empressite, and Kyanite. But she had large problems on her hands, and they were named Tsui and Leda.
Sending her officers to intercept an Eternal when she could handle her would be a disgusting dereliction of her duty - allowing them to get hurt fighting her battles was unacceptable. So Tsui she would handle on her own.
"Haumea, Kyanite!" She calledd into her crystal. "If the two of you wouldn't mind handling miss Leda? Tricolor hair, large poofy skirt," she gestured at the Senshi of Steam. "And if it gets too dangerous, pull back! I won't see you die tonight."
Now wasn't the time for flowery words and persuasions. Now wasn't the time to try and sell Tsui or Leda on the glory of the Negaverse, on the power it could grant, on the blessings it bestowed - or on how absolutely fabulous black made a girl look.
This was the moment to fight, to protect her crystal, and hopefully to keep Tsui occupied with her grudge and away from the drainers.
"Oh, Tsui darling, dream on. You won't be stopping anyone tonight." She shifted into an easy defensive stance and beckoned, glad for the slit up the side of her dress. It made fighting so much easier.
Once again Canopus found her cheeks brightening to match the color of her sleeves, and her endeavor to try and hide it almost made her miss Astarte's words. She looked towards the figure in question and instinctively found herself quivering- months ago she may have seen such an officer and felt little fear as they were once allies, but now she knew that'd trident would find its way in her or her companions. Quite frankly she was afraid of this woman and she hadn't even approached her yet, but she could not ignore the wisdom in Astarte's plan.
"Well... so long as we have an escape route open to us. However, she's stationed right in front of the plant and that definitely means they're hiding something in that plant and she's meant to keep them out." She could see two other Corrupted senshi at her side, which meant that they'd likely attack when they got close, but still, it was worth a chance.
The wink did not go unnoticed, but more noticeable now was the gash across Astarte's chest, but before Canopus could bring any attention to it, she watched as she jumped from the building top and made her way towards the cloaked woman with the trident. Her blushed expression switched to a flushed, even when Astarte called her 'love', and she immediately went rushing after her. Her descent wasn't as graceful but she hardly cared. She had to keep Astarte safe!
"I'll do my best! Please, just be careful!" Canopus wasn't much for running but when someone else's safety was on the line, she knew she could manage. They were getting close, and the moment she could see the color of the general's eyes, she knew it was time. She held out her hands and summoned her magic, refusing to close her eyes like she had done so many times before. "Canopus Confinement!"]
A swirl of orange energy formed into a ball and shot towards Astarte, and Canopus hoped she wouldn't miss, because from that distance, that spear looked terrifying!
Aeeth
Making my poor girl blush... Buddy would be proud of you!
litian
COME WITH, BEAUTIFUL SQUIRE!
Already fights were beginning to break out and General Mica expected no less from either side. There were a few that hung back, probably scratching their heads and trying to form a strategy, and Mica cared little for the progress of the other teams right now. She wasn't competitive and so long as everyone succeeded in doing her part, it didn't matter who collected the most energy or how fast it was done.
What did matter to her, however, was the sight of a basic senshi and a Dark Mirror senshi in pursuit heading towards them, and if Mica looked like a stone statue, it was because she was trying to figure out why it appeared that the two were working side-by-side. "Seems we have one that holds a grudge against us. Oh well."
She looked to the protectors, as she readied her spear. "Vespa, Carnelian, keep the drainers safe. I'll take care of these two."
Finally, some action! If she couldn't patch anyone up with her medkit, then she'd be happy to leave the enemy with a few fatal wounds.
Lucifer Force
Vespa was witnessing the same thing that Mica had, but his confusion lingered a little longer. He knew nothing of previous transgressions between the Negaverse and the DMC, and for a moment he feared he'd be seeing Avior among the ranks. He hoped not! He wasn't ready!
Mica's order would not go unheard, and he took a moment to grab his crystal and call out to the drainers. He stuttered for a moment- he wasn't meant for this kind of role! "Titan, Lellouch, Galena, w-w-what's your status? Where are you?! Report!"
Part of him was worried, because not a single one reported in. But another part of him rejoiced... maybe they were caught up and couldn't provide the energy needed. That definitely would have worked for the best...
Ivynian
Carneli
[Mistress Morbid]
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 10:05 pm
Leda hesitated in shock when a lieutenant ran directly into her attack, suffering scalding burns over her body at the contact point. She fell to the floor soon after, and Leda let out a gasp of concern before she reminded herself of her duties and her standing - in the midst of a Negaverse group. "Oh..." She started hesitantly, before the girl righter herself soon afterward. Inwardly she knew what would come of this, even if she didn't want to admit it - a fight stood inevitable, plain as day in front of her. Plain as the hand that now reached for her hair.
Plain as the pain that coursed through her scalp, coaxing a yelp out of her.
Out of sheer reaction, Leda's hands snapped back to grasp the wrists of the one who assailed her, desperate to wrench the girl's grip away from her hair. It did little good, she realized, and afterward tried to aim a blind, heeled kick toward one of her shins.
Senshi 'boot camp' never prepared her for this - no amount of squats or running or push-ups would amount to experience in a true battle. Even after so many incidents over the course of her life, with interspersed training sessions, she knew she lacked the wherewithal to fight an enemy that looked every bit as human as her. An adversary who thought and felt just like her - who had friends and family and a future ahead of them. So how could she attack the girl every bit as brazenly? The answer was simple: she couldn't.
Leda knew settling with defending herself wouldn't help the situation, but if she drew attention long enough for her allies to destroy the crystals... It was worth it, right? Exhausted as she was, lids drooping from the heavy cost of her magic, she needed to fight back just a little longer.
"Get off!" She squeaked hoarsely, in an attempt to about-face to assess her opponent.
Galena had abandoned Tier I with little difficulty. If Schorl and Cinnabar survived she knew she'd owe them a debt but making a run for it to power up under cover hadn't been hindered physically or by any real guilt.
They were doing their jobs, and if they were competent they'd make it out alive. She didn't worry for them, and took that as a sign of faith in their abilities.
She was largely unscathed with some minor and superficial skin sensitivity from a bit of hot steam eking through Schorl's human shield, but she was still good to go.
Finding civilians to drain wasn't hard, she sought out stragglers on her way to the plant, but she had learned she had to work it with a little more finesse rather than brute force. She was petite, not a giant, and certainly not intimidating.
She was in the process of getting straight to draining when she heard Vespa over her crystal.
"Galena reporting. I'm here, or at least one my way. My guard and handler did their job," She responded, figuring that implied well enough she was fight ready. And coming with a moderately sized orb to boot.
Mica's Crystal: 5/100
ChibiGingi
[Mistress Morbid]
Teammate!
Ivynian
Ditto!
Lucifer Force
Also!
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 10:16 pm
Astarte knew immediately when the magic struck - her gaze obtained a ubiquitous shade of orange due to the spherical shield that guarded her from enemy attack. In the moments following, Astarte recognized the severe drag provided by the magic - her approach felt considerably more labored in an attempt to maintain similar speed. It's like running through water... No, not quite. More like running while shackled to a weight. This thing, this magic, it must way a tonne.
Unfortunately, now the general stared her approach. Astarte recognized this was a battle she wouldn't win, not with these slanted odds, but should the girl bear any malice toward her... Well, she was in for a bit of a surprise then. An idea struck the Demon, and she acted on it immediately: rather than stop short and attempt her attack on the crystal, she drew herself within range of the general to feed off any potential source within the girl. "Astarte's Hate!" She called at once, an arm shot out and locked toward the stationary crystal. Hitting a still target's easy enough, long as I don't get stabbed through the midriff by one Negaverse general.
The beam shot out immediately, a brilliant red marking its path as it struck the crystal. Astarte smiled triumphantly, certain of her success, only to realize that the crystal still stood once her magic faded. "Shite!" She called abruptly, but her turn to retreat felt utterly slow and cumbersome. Instead she halted with her shoulder faced toward the enemy, and she cast a defiant glare toward the spear-wielding general. Looks like she'd have to stick around until the shield wore off...
Why didn't it work? That laser burns well enough for Negaverse agents and youma alike, so why can't it penetrate a crystal? No, it couldn't just work on organic matter... Could it? Amon help me, I'm a little useless here...
"Go, Canopus! Get some reinforcements! I'll hold her off for a touch longer!"
Empressite knew her current physical limitations- if it came down to being involved in another fight tonight, she would be a liability. Her presence would not be useful in the least. In fact, it might even do more harm than good.
So she would stay on the fringes of the battle. And while it wasn't all that glamorous, she would stick to her job of collecting energy. It was little enough, but it would have to do. And she had already had a single moderately successful draining. It was slow and drudge work, but she would continue.
And seeing Persephone was rather engaged in battle at the moment, she wouldn't distract her with any petty details. She would bring the energy orbs over and place them near the crystal, while avoiding getting caught up in the melee. At least that was her plan.
And the first person she happened upon, after confirming to herself that yes, this was what she was going to do, was a homeless child sleeping in piles of filth in the alleyway. She almost felt a moment's pity for the poor thing that was little more than skin and bones, curled up and shivering atop bags of refuse. It would almost be a mercy if she happened to take enough energy to kill the creature.
Holding her breath against the stench and filth, she leaned down over the child and placed a hand on her head almost tenderly - though she had to hope, once again that the uniform would somehow be magically clean the next time she powered up. And she managed to draw a moderate sized orb of energy.
'You poor little thing. It would be better for you to just fade in your sleep. The world is harsh and cruel. You would be better off dead.'
The moderate size orb pulsated in her hand, almost as if it agreed with the sentiment. 'As for you, it's time to head back into the thick of it.'