The suggestion had been met with some hesitation on the part of those that were preventing Ida and Kerberos from getting too close to the one doing the work on the device to keep the shields up. Ida's insistence that she sort of shelter behind her wings as the weapon was continuously being pointed at them was frustrating the Mauvian. Sure Ida was a royal senshi and had powers greater than she did, but she had powers too and should be stepping in front of any danger that would come to the Orchid senshi.
Even as one weapon was discharged and a senshi (Oberon) went down as a result did Illyria's eyes gaze settle on the one responsible before the the Commodore/Leader of this group spoke up.
Illyria's posture relaxed a little as the atmosphere changed to a more cordial one as some of the group came forward with stones that would siphon the energy that people were willing to part with. Illyria hissed silently as the stone that made contact with Ida glowed as a result and she swore she could feel the result as it was carried back to Lyndin. The suggestion that fighting and magical fluctuations could upset the delicate balance that was being held by the machine had Illyria's ears visibly flattening on her head. If magical attacks were bad, maybe she best stick close to Ida. She wouldn't be able to defend if she couldn't bring about her other stage. Still, she squared her shoulders and tried to stand a little taller before peeking out from behind her bonded partner's back to take in the small bout of anger that seemed to have erupted between a new arrival and one of the members of the vanguard. (Andronicus & Caelyna)
Super Sailor Lionel Location: F1 Action: Warily watching the Chaos and the shield
“Trust me,” Lionel said, grinning, “I could never forget you.”
Lionel reached out to steady the Knight next to him—a sort of automatic response when he seemed to be in quite a lot of distress. And it wasn’t exactly getting better.
Whatever Laurelite did, it felt like acid on his skin. Like a pain that ripped through him, bone-deep. Was this anything like what poor Guinevere had felt, that night on the hill? When the Negaverse’s machines warped her into a monster?
Ohhh, Lionel really ******** hoped no one here recognized him.
“Holy ********,” he gasped, softly, pressing a hand to his chest. “******** am so glad we weren’t any closer to whatever the ******** that was.”
But whatever it was, it was effective.
The monster was shrinking, its scales crashing down on a magical shield that seemed to be maintained by the Vanguard, and Lionel had never been more thankful for them. He’d dealt with them very little when he was in the Negaverse; he also hoped that they didn’t notice or recognize him, given what Guinevere had done to one of theirs.But for now, they sure were good to have around.
“We gotta keep an eye on the skies,” he said. “And hope that shield doesn’t fall.”
Selenga hadn't even noticed he'd begun wandering around with the stone in his face as he tried to decipher its meaning. He flushed with embarrassment as Kaifeng caught up to him and started lecturing him, just nodding along quickly and hoping he would just... quiet down. Then, of course, Kaifeng spotted Helene, and that all went out the window, and so, he was dragged along towards his cousin-in-law's deeply unsettling alien almost-husband or whatever they were.
Oh. Right. Zhyin. He exhaled softly, running his hand through his hair and smiling softly at everyone he'd just run into, unsure of their names other Kaifeng and Helene, of course. At least he'd be with someone he knew, as long as he didn't manage to wander off again. Carefully, he put the stone in his subspace, right next to the berry. It didn't seem time yet, whatever it was.
Helene's speech actually did make him feel better, and he stood a little taller, gripping his shortsword.
Dunnottar didn't have time for anything else, as the Calamitous Hollow appeared.
As Queen Laurelite showed up and... The wave of pure Chaos nearly knocked him off his feet, but he clung to Corvina, no matter how much he didn't want to. He needed to keep it together. These were his comrades in arms, now. They needed him to keep it together. He couldn't lose his mind like he had at the museum, when he'd floated off into space. He almost broke into a cold sweat at the thought, but he brutally forced his feelings into a box.
There was only him, his (friends???), and the Calamitous Hollow.
"This thing must have a weakness somewhere," he said calmly. "Perhaps it has a soft mouth we can slice to ribbons, or those fins of its to stop it from getting away. Especially if we can get that spike out to finish trapping it."
For the first time, Troilus felt like he actually understood what the Negaverse could do. Understood, deeply and to his bones, why Pyrrhus simply had snapped that Lieutenant's neck instead of trying to help him the way Troilus had wanted. That blast of Chaos made him so sick, he puked, trying to keep it to the side and away from anyone. Ew. He reached into his subspace and pulled out his water bottle, doing a quick swish to get the taste out of his mouth before spitting it out and drinking some fresher water.
"Okay, so that's super not good," he said as cheerily as he could manage, trying to pretend that what just happened had not, in fact, happened at all, despite the evidence to the contrary. "Well, first, Pyr, what we're not gonna do is panic! Panic leads to stupidity, and that's not good either, so come on, up up!"
He grabbed Pyrrhus's shoulder and squeezed. "Seriously. Up. They may have a Queen with some, uh, bitchin' powers, but there's still plenty of us around. We'll find a royal senshi or two, maybe even a knight, and we can kick her pretend royal little behind, okay? We stop those Agents collecting energy. We stop them corrupting people. We save the world, as many times as it takes, and get up and fight, every single day. Now get on your feet and get ready for some fried snake dinner. I won't let you give up, do you hear me, cousin?"
Stribor wished he'd been able to find Izanami. His sweet girlfriend would've been nice to cling to right about now. He loved her more than anything. Of course he would be here to help protect her planet. The one she'd been born on, if not the one her starseed was meant for. Stribor had chosen Earth, as much as his starseed was for his own home planet. He needed to save this last bastion of pure life from the Chaos that had invaded the world. Needed to ensure they all had time to wake up their planets and leave. Or at least, have the option to.
He just prayed his magic could do anything, anything at all, against the large, awful, horrifying snake monster. If his magic could slow it down for even a second, confuse it for just a moment, he would consider that a great victory. Any microscopic slice of time they could take to make it easier to destroy it, or capture it, however they needed to neutralize it, he would do his damnedest to ensure there were more of them.
Janggunite wouldn't try to pry into the working of Carnotite's youma abilities- she understood herself far better than someone who just met her.
But he did have concerns.
"You said it felt wrong, but you're going to try and use it to help- them?" Janggunite asked as a peculiar look glinted in the other half-youma's gaze that he didn't exactly trust. Carnotite would know her own limits, he reminded himself, but she did seem particularly emboldened by Queen Laurelite's display. A display that hugely outclassed anything mere half-youma would be capable of! He wanted to say. And for the Vanguard?
The Vanguard's shield was covering all of them and had protected their rather sizable ground from the worst of the damage (so far)- but if that was all they could do, then they shouldn't have any problem managing the one thing they were in charge of while everyone else helped Laurelite (although, Jan was also familiar enough with her brand of confidence that he was sure she would gracefully balk at the idea of needing help). The sooner this was over, the better.
"Carnotite-" he practically begged, loathe to let her go despite her radiant assurances.
The shield only needed to be useful if they didn't kill this creature right now, and maybe Laurelite could do that single-handedly. But it barely mattered what he wanted. His new friend was independent and assured and despite both his and Lameia's complaints, off she went.
Maikoh's attention abruptly swiveled to the Queen. She howled, head thrown back and tail swaying rapidly. "The Radiant Girl, she is right," she said to the two still with her. "It would be a waste to ignore such a burst of invigoration. What strength! If only Maikoh could be of so much use. It would be an honor."
Another bout of pressure surrounding them, another wave of sickness washing over Telesto as their own innate magic railed against the pressure surrounding them. They were meant to be the one who controlled pressure, who commanded it, and yet something was pushing against even them. It wasn't a situation they were a fan of, but the burden of rebirth and the initial time of weakness made such things all too common.
As the world shifted around them and the pressure was replaced, they looked up for a moment in relief. The moment passed quickly as the sky was filled with the Calamitous Hollow, the great scaled beast. Within the space that between universes, was this that which ate away at them from without? Was this the eternal foe that lay beyond existence? Too philosophical at the moment for Telesto, as the more immediate threat of everyone here was pressing. Destroy it now while they had the gathered power of everyone, worry about the cosmological outcomes later.
The next moment made them more sick to their stomach than the previous pressure storms had. The power of Metallia wielded in such a way, brought to bear against even their own enemy, it made Telesto sick. The dreaded enemy, the might of She Who Would Destroy. Even if the enemy of their enemy must be their friend, it was a tough call in the moment to accept even that friend. A matter for another time, nothing should bring them close enough for Telesto to question whether they could hold back from lashing out or not.
Gathered with the other court members, Telesto stays close but keeps to the outer side of the ring in a semi-defensive position. They were a close ranged fighter, so best to be at the first should any choose to make this a moment to attack the court. It was a sensation that felt right, for whatever reason it came from.
"Remarque!" Telesto shouts, calling back to the Prince as they listened to the conversation, "We should consider the opposite! If we can use our powers to get to the tail, we can rip the spike out ourselves! Better to take it in our hands than wait for the others to come up with some plan, or it get potentially destroyed by another of thos blasts from the damned queen!"
Carterhaugh nearly staggered under the sheer power of whatever the woman with the scythe unleashed. It burned, it felt like acid, it made him more glad than ever that he had managed to escape the fate he had nearly waltzed into with open arms.
The idea of having something like that in his starseed…of having Chaos eating him from the inside out…it made him feel cold, and sick, and glad that he was still himself and still free.
And then the scales began to fall, but just in time, a shield grew up over them, stopping them before they could hit the ground. And as his eyes scanned over the battlefield, looking for a source, they landed on the huddled group of aliens in thistle, all around a strange device.
He knew little about the Vanguard. Had maybe heard of them once or twice, but had never interacted with any of them before. But here they were, protecting everyone present. Helping save Earth. His planet, twice over—where he had lived his entire life and where his starseed was sworn to protect.
And there were other people gathering. Offering energy to keep powering the shield.
Well.
There was only one choice, for him.
He moved quickly, approaching the group of aliens, but paused a respectful distance away—close enough to close in and offer energy if his presence was accepted, but hopefully far enough away so as not to upset the clearly-wary group. There was tension, he noted; still, he hoped to help.
“I know none of you know me,” he said, “but I’m Carterhaugh, and since you’re protecting us all, I’d like to help however I can.”
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sorry if i missed anyone, i yoinked my own quote list from caelyna's post crying
Squire Karakorum Location: H7 Action: With Corvina, Lanting, and Dunnottar. Offering that if the snake gets closer her magic might do something
“Excuse you!” Karakorum said, huffy, crossing her arms and glaring at Corvina and Lanting. “I am very sincere about how hot he ********!”
Getting ripped across time and space did not give her much time to reorient herself or think or just about anything at all actually. At least she could count on Corvina to make sure they were all safe. And, alright, fine. Maybe she had been acting outrageous to try and distract herself. And suddenly, all of that felt crushingly unimportant because holy s**t, the Negaverse had a ******** Chaos Cannon.
”What the actual ******** hell,” she gasped, staring up at the sky in abject horror.
That was wrong. That was so super wrong. And yeah, they one hundred percent needed to stick close.
“I don’t think I can hit that thing,” she said. “Not yet. My magic won’t reach far enough. But…maybe if it keeps getting smaller?”
Knight Lanting Action: With Corvina, Karakorum, and Dunnottar. Offering to keep everyone healed as necessary
Lanting swallowed, staring up at the sky.
Whatever the Negaverse was doing, even if it made his chest hurt and his skin burn? At least it was definitely doing something to the monster.
It was shrinking. Losing scales.
And suddenly, he felt a burning jolt of confidence.
“You know,” he said, “my people have a little saying. If it bleeds, it can die. And it looks like they made that thing bleed.”
Or lose scales, but even that felt like damage done. It was smaller, now. The scales hovering over the shield protecting them all were the size of a car, rather than an entire ******** bus.
“I’ll keep us all healed up, if anything happens. But we’ve definitely got this.”
The metaphorical health bar had moved. That meant the fight wasn’t completely hopeless.
Amarynthos, Knight of the Moon ; Dering, Knight of Lysithea Location: D8 Action: Amarynthos and Dering are with Ephesus and Reims; they are staying close(ish) to Sessrumnir and Alastor. They do not yet know Yvoire is also here. Dering doesn't know how long his shield will last or if it will protect them.
Amarynthos felt the Chaos creep into his bones, and his starseed hurt when he thought of how much must have gone into–whatever that was. Had it just been energy? Had it been starseeds? Was it some extension of Metallia and all her power, or was Laurelite really able to just harness that much Chaos? Where had it come from?
How did she do that?
For a moment, in shock and surprise, even his face went blank as he stared at the woman responsible for it. Sure, the Calamitous Hollow had been hurt, but if that was the power she was capable of what else was there?
For a moment, he’d thought Laurelite was going to go for Valhalla’s starseed. For a moment, he thought Ganymede was going to attack her.
Such things had not come to pass.
Yet.
So he was scrambling. He couldn’t run over to help. He didn’t have a plan. Stick together? Wait it through? See if she had another one of those blasts tucked away in her robe? Wait?
They had to wait?
“I don’t know,” Dering blurted, almost too small to hear. It was clear that had been his best effort and even he looked ashamed of how weak it had come out.
Between the Calamitous Hollow and Queen Laurelite, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever felt so small.
How was he supposed to think about his shield doing anything compared to that?
“Not that long.” He hadn’t had any consistency when he timed it. When he’d been on the Moon, he’d counted out the seconds. Or, tried to. “It’s not more than a minute. I’m sorry.”
“A minute’s still good,” Amarynthos decided, snapping back to the here and now. He flashed Dering a reassuring smile even when he didn’t feel very good about any of this. “Sometimes only a second makes the difference, don’t sell yourself short. And that help Queen Serenity promised is going to come any minute, right? We’ll all be safer sticking by you while we wait.”
“Okay,” Dering said, but he just sounded like he was worried he was going to let them down.
He was holding onto his lute tightly, desperately. His fingers were white and his nails had cracked. He wasn’t even sure if he could remember how to play.
Amateru used his free arm to stroke Elkurud's hair, allowing his fiance to stay gripped onto the other arm with a sort of wry happiness. As far as he was concerned, Elkurud could fully rip his arm off and Amateru would still be happy, because he had Elkurud by his side again.
"I ain't losin' you either, sweetheart," he swore, bending down for a quick kiss to Elk's forehead. "I love you. I'm not lettin' any damned thing get between us again, whether it's that awful Chaos lady, or this Hollow thingy."
He just wished he had access to his Eternal magic again. He could use some battlerage like that right about now. Destroying this thing, capturing this thing, whatever they needed to do, it would surely be easier if he just didn't have to think, and only had to charge.
There didn't seem to be much else to do besides wait, right now. The Chaos beam had been awful to see, but he couldn't worry about the future of that weapon possibly being used on Earth. Not now, not when Earth itself still needed to be protected from the much larger, more immediate threat.
He took a deep breath to steady himself and let the Chaos feeling sweep by him. Focus. He needed to focus.
I could never forget you. The words echoed in Laeradr's mind and he blushed even harder, trying not to simply squeak in response. Ohhhh, that was. Wow. Okay. Yeah. Hooo booooy, calm down, now is not the time to be getting hot under the collar for a cute boy!! he had yell at himself internally. The Chaos blast distracted him effortlessly and he jumped a little at the feeling, clutching his staff tightly. Oh, that was. Not good. Another thing he couldn't afford to worry about right now. Not when Lionel was right.
"Eye on the sky, and pray, got it," he said, exhaling slowly. "This is pants-shittingly terrifying, huh? Good thing the dirt and blood doesn't cling to us when we power down, could you imagine walking home like that after finally trapping this thing? Gross."
Real smooth, Laer. So smooth. Truly the smoothest of brains for that stupid comment.
The blast of Chaos sickened Amsvartnir. He hated how it seemed to call to him. Remind him of what he'd left. Desiring his return to the darkness. He wouldn't let it get in his head that way. Even if it was his own head doing it to himself. He took a deep breath and stood tall, grinding the end of his staff into the strange ground they were on in order to make himself feel stable. He would never, ever go back. Ever. At least the damn horrible cannon seemed to shrink their enemy a fair amount.
When the aliens shot one of the senshi behind him, he tensed, narrowing his eyes at them as he turned, but some kind of agreement seemed to pass between them all, and... Huh. The senshi were donating energy to these aliens, who appeared to be running the shield. Well... Hmm. He'd rather be spending time around other people right now, rather than stoically standing alone. That wasn't how you won a war, after all. He trotted over, one of his hands raised and fingers splayed as he kept a loose grip on his staff at his side.
"May I offer my help?" he called out to them. "I'll give as much as I can."
He hoped they wouldn't refute him, the way they appeared to be refuting one of the other people who'd come over to help. But perhaps they had good reason to be distrustful. He couldn't quite hear them over everything. There was so much noise...
Fangnyl felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time. Anger. It swelled through him and he glared hard at the person (Andronicus) that had killed one of their commanders, sauntering over as though nothing was wrong and trying to offer to help. He couldn't help his lip curling in disgust at the very sight of them. He certainly didn't want that one's help, they'd probably try to sabotage everything thinking that the shield would do something like... Well. He didn't want to think about that disaster, his feelings so complex about it, but he still... mostly trusted Lyndin. This would work. This wouldn't be like last time they had a big device trying to save the world.
An officer approached, one whose name he didn't know, and he decided to snub Andronicus further than Caelyna already had by turning to Carnotite instead with his Source Stone.
"Thank you," he said quietly, braving a small smile on his face. "It's appreciated."
The Vanguard et all
Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 4:39 pm
Squire d'If Location: I7 Action: Offering tactical information about his magic
d’If looked at the group that had assembled around this particular spike, and felt more than heartened. Laurelite could show off all she pleased; even if it burned through him, it was equally a reminder of what he had chosen to be free form. The chains he had broken and what he had chosen to become.
He was d’If, Squire of Saturn. Idrialite was long gone, and he would never again kneel in service to those who wielded such monstrous power, useful as it was right now.
His eyes moved to the Senshi with the spike (Solaris) when she asked for information.
“d’If of Saturn,” he introduced himself, simply. “My magic weighs enemies down and makes them believe they are being watched; likely only so useful, but might hinder the monster enough to give others the time to strike.”
He would do what he could. They could not falter here.
Promethei, Knight of Mercury Location: C3 -> G3 Action: Moving his squad with permission. (The others are free to follow -- Promethei's concern is for the ones he knows directly.)
... Well, ******** was not how he wanted to spend his Passover. This was also explicitly not how he wanted to spend his life. The sheer chaotic power that pumped through wherever the hell they were hurt him in a way he couldn't quite describe. It reminded him, deeply, of why he rarely gave any relief to anyone who was of Chaos.
His gaze flickered to Cryolite.
Not today. Cryolite would purify. He would.
"Not really how I wanted to do this either."
Hopefully.
Promethei swallowed hard as he watched Emain Ablach and Nectaris embrace, and Amoris looking sadder than he had in perhaps years. Maybe all that stuff they all had to do at the Moon could do something to counteract.
Maybe, also, they should get away from these damn scales.
The sheer force the Negaverse was capable of unleashing was….incredible. But her planet trusted her, and she it, and she reached for that magical well of strength inside her, like it might help her resist the roiling the Negaverse weapon caused in her chest.
“Let them show off,” she said, voice sharp and cold as she glared up at the monster. “Let Laurelite think she’s got us scared. But we aren’t, are we? Because we know we can do this.”
All of them. Together. Like it should be.
“It’s gonna get close enough eventually,” she said, “and then we light it up. We find out if this thing can be afraid. And we find out if it can burn.”
Cernunnos and the Senshi with him got grins and waves of greeting.
“Good to see you,” she said, “and good to meet you. We’re all gonna stick together to fight this thing, yeah? It’ll regret ever showing its face in this solar system.”
xxgenovianprince
hati
a-disgruntled-dragonxx
skoll
Whimsicalx xBlue
cernunnos
Sarax xDraconia
procyon
Kyuseisha no Hikari rolled 1 100-sided dice:
73Total: 73 (1-100)
“Fuuuuuuuuck,” Michel said, because for as much as he didn’t want to give the Negaverse any credit, what the ******** was that.
A giant space monster was bad enough–some supercharged spell? What steroids was Laurelite on?
Was he supposed to celebrate because Laurelite had crippled the thing? Maybe if she’d taken herself out too.
“I don’t suppose your wings can lift you high enough to get up there? I’m not being serious. Don’t do that,” Michel said, well before she could actually consider it.
Malus might have thought to say something, but he felt like he’d gotten lost between a few minutes ago and now. Was this real? He had to be dreaming. Soleiyu’s tail brushed against his leg but Malus jumped as if he thought there was a bug on him.
Soleiyu didn’t look impressed, but maybe that was just his way of keeping Malus from slipping into some unrecoverable mental domain. They needed to be focused for this.
…Even if Soleiyu was also having a bit of a hard time processing it.
Back in this moment, Malus allowed himself to tear his eyes away from the sky; he searched the crowd and was glad to find Reims and Dering and the rest of their friends. They were okay.
…Malus had no idea what he could do to make sure they stayed okay.
Dagon did not fight the pull to the other realm. Nor did she cower before the display of force by the Negaverse. It hurt, burned her skin like acid, made her chest ache at the very core of her starseed, but she would not falter. Chaos could show itself as flashily as possible. She was not going to be made afraid.
She glanced up at the shield above them, holding back the monster’s scales, and frowned slightly. It would have to hold—and she would have to trust those maintaining it. She scanned the battlefield, spotting the spikes—the things that would hold this beast in place.
She recognized one of the spike-wielders. The familiarity was what drew her over; she had known Solaris, a thousand years ago, when both their worlds were whole. That was enough to give her a direction, and so she joined the gathered group.
Fog swirled around her, as it always did, and she approaches the gathering of allies that seemed ready to aid
“Solaris,” she said, and she hoped her old friend would recognize her, “I am here to help.”
And if she didn’t, and for the benefit of the others around her—
“I am Dagon of Dread. If this beast may know fear, my magic will teach it. If it cannot, I will fight it with my hands.”
She was not afraid. She refused to be afraid. Not of the Calamitous Hollow. Not of the Negaverse. Not of failure.
If they were all together, they would surely succeed.
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Powered Passive:Ominous Presence - Sailor Dagon is always followed by a light fog that swirls about three feet around her. Those who stand within the fog hear strange/eldritch whispers that inspire a feeling of dread or anticipation; allies will generally feel the more positive sort of anticipation, whereas enemies will generally feel dread.
