[BAT] Home Stretch (Tomlin, Erika, bunches of people)

[LokisRose]

In the heat of the day, it was easy to miss the small ginger shadow that picked its way through the outskirts of Destiny City, trailing along the edges of the main road into town. It wasn’t unusual for stray cats to live in the area, but most would be sleeping in the summer sunlight. This cat had been following a surprisingly straight path for several hours now, and showed no signs of stopping.

He seemed to have something tangled around his neck, and scrolled metal bands hid his front limbs, though they didn’t seem to trouble his movements so much as emphasise the small white paws as he stepped cautiously on the hot pavement, testing each step warily before he moved forward. His markings were ginger and white, but the bright sun glinted off an unusual pattern on his forehead, which didn’t appear to be the typical tabby ‘M’.

It was this, more than anything that had him keeping his head down, sliding into the slim shadows that the high sun left him.

At a crossroads, he seemed to pause, licking his front paw thoughtfully as he gazed up at the sign. A watcher might almost think he was reading it. Then with a flick of his tail, he was off again, moving a little faster now as he headed further into the city.

Tomlin much preferred to sleep through heat like this, but he was close to his goal now, and webs of energy twisted and pulled against his senses with an immediacy he hadn’t felt during his long travels back from wherever it was the idiot rescue centre humans had tried to send him. He was an alley cat, he hadn’t needed rescuing.

What he needed now was some water, a puddle or something. Maybe something to eat. But it could wait. He had things to do.

Tiredly, the ginger cat trudged on, scenting the air occasionally for any sign of familiarity. It couldn’t be long now, he figured, until he was back on his home turf. The road was so hot beneath his paws. Picking his moment carefully, he darted across between the traffic, into the cooler sheltered side of the road where ragged bushes lined the path. Catching his breath while the honking horns died down, he prepared to move again--

--something stopped him. Heat-dazed and tired, he couldn’t place it.

The whiff of chlorine dominated, overpowering even the familiar highway smell of the rushing cars, but beneath it, something drew his attention like a dangled string. Cautious still, he let the sensation lead him off his chosen path, pushing his way under a broken fence to get to the source. Laugher, children. Far too much water, and none of it drinkable. He wrinkled his nose. But there was something in there. Food, maybe. Yes, he could definitely smell food.

Satisfied now he had assigned a sense to the strange pull, he began moving around the edge of the swimming area, scoping out the place for a target.  

[shibrogane]

If you were a summer girl at St. Mags like Erika and you behaved, sometimes they took you on little trips. Not like some schools did, to Europe or someplace really exotic, but the community pool or a museum or something. Places Erika really had no reason to go to, because they took money and she tended to scrimp and save her allowance for books or music that she wanted. CDs that weren't second hand tended to be pretty expensive, almost twenty dollars anymore, except there was a big sale at Boundaries since they were going out of business.

Erika would be lying if she said she hadn't used most of her savings buying one of the ultimate luxuries--new books--at that closing sale.

So Erika had been good, done her chores and helped the Sisters out with cooking and cleaning the chapel. So on a Friday afternoon, she was sitting on the side of a pool near the outskirts of Destiny City and just chilling. (That was a term she'd heard other girls use; it sounded okay to her, so why not?) It was hot, way too hot, but the cool water made it very bearable. Chlorine smelled clean, too, and she liked that.

It was just very peaceful! Even with all the running kids around (St. Magdelena's wasn't the only place that took trips to the pool). She didn't even mind that people kept brushing up against her--

Except that wasn't a kid, she thought, turning her head to catch sight of the orange tabby. "Hey, kitty," she said, a smile growing on her face. She'd always had a soft spot for cats--dogs terrified her, but kitties were cute and small and you could give them nice pets without getting drooled on. Why would a cat be wandering around the pool? She thought about it, narrowing her eyes for a moment. "Are you lost," she asked. The brunette didn't expect an answer, but she was tentatively reaching over as if to scratch the tabby cat's ears.  

[A Wandering Esper]

Damn right, the pool.

Darryl might as well have been waiting for this moment all summer, it felt. Most of the activities didn't really hold her attention - museums weren't really her cup of tea.

But the pool ?

Hell yes.

Darryl had mostly stuck by Erika for most of the trip, but now the heat had gotten too much - she had wandered to the pool and was currently challenging one of the boys from hillsworth to 'bring it on'.

This could only end in dunking.  

[LokisRose]

There was food, but getting to it before it became drenched in pool water was proving difficult. It was too noisy, too crowded. It had been a long time since Tomlin had been around this many people, in particular this many excitable young people. Every movement put him at risk of getting trodden on, or kicked, or splashed, none of which were high on his list of favourite things. And it didn’t help that he was having trouble concentrating on what he was doing, distracted still by a nagging sensation that there was something else.

The realisation was slow to come, but Tomlin was searching. He wound through the crowd, giving up on trying to interpret the feeling and just following it.

He was surprised, then, when a voice called out to him. He twisted round, automatically tensing. The sweet-faced girl with ruffled short hair was sitting still, and her smile was friendly, both positive traits in someone approaching a cat. But more than that. His senses sang with it.

He moved closer, tilting his head to invite the offered scratching, watching her closely. How sure was he? Was his luck really this good? He knew even before her fingers touched his fur. It had taken a long time, but he was right where he needed to be.

“No, not lost,” he whispered, barely a breath. It was a risk speaking out loud, a ridiculous one. The place was so crowded. It wasn’t safe. He had to get her somewhere quiet, where they could talk. There were storage sheds around, and gaps in the fence behind them, big enough for a cat and a small girl her size, maybe? Now he’d found her, he had to keep her safe.  

[shibrogane]

Darryl was off getting wet, and that meant that Erika was free to give the pretty orange kitty nice pets, and she shifted around to her knees so she could face him. The poor kitty was too skinny, she thought; there were bumps under his fur that were probably his ribs, if she knew anything about being hungry. Which she did, because it had only been a year since she'd been like that. "Poor kitty," she said, smoothing one hand down the orange fur.

Kitty, she noticed, needed a good brushing, but now was not the time. Because--

Had the cat just talked?

Her eyes went wide, and she scooted a little lower to peer at the cat. Now she noticed the bracers, which looked far too properly worked and fitted to just be play clothes. And the necklace--she had thought it was a collar, all tangled up and poorly fitted--actually hung neatly. There, on his forehead, was a star.

Something was weird here, and she was curious as to exactly what. It seemed, too, that she was going to find out: The cat had gotten up to prowl towards one of the supply sheds. Erika scrambled up to her feet and followed, her backpack slung over one shoulder. No one was going to steal her things on her watch, no sir! Not even when she was investigating possible talking cats.  

[LokisRose]

Thank all the stars, she was following!

There was no time to savour the petting. Tomlin wanted out of this crowd, heading for the building with the largest space between it and the wall. Just a little bit of time to themselves was all he’d need. A little bit of peace. He ducked into the gap, waiting for her to catch up.

Awareness was a troubling thing. The bright energy he felt from this girl wasn’t the only power in the area. Now he knew what he was looking for, the sense of darkness was equally clear, and alarmingly close. Something rattled and thumped from the other side of the wall, inside the shed. He’d chosen wrong, they should have stuck with the crowd.

“I’m Tomlin,” he greeted her, voice still very soft, but urgent. “Listen, we have to be quick. It’s dangerous.”

Using the fence as a bouncing point, he turned an awkward cartwheel in the air. At the highest point, something glinted and spun on its own before it began to fall. He landed solidly, his bracers weighing down his front paws. The pen dropped neatly at the senshi’s feet.

“Take this. Shout ‘Callisto Power, Make Up’. Give it everything you’ve got.”  

[shibrogane]

Cats moved fast, and Erika had to break into a jog in order to catch up. One of the Sisters was giving her a weird look, and she waved quickly with one hand before ducking behind the shed and into a gap. Instantly she felt better; paradoxically, the closer the quarters the better she felt about everything. Bigger enemies had less room to maneuver. How many times had Father tried to get to her while she cowered under a bed? Many more times than he had succeeded, and usually even then Mama or Shepherd rescued her from him. It was just a matter of staying away long enough that the threat lost interest.

Wasn't it?

Once they were secreted in the small gap, the cat spoke again. Loud enough that she could clearly hear, quiet enough that she knew the words were only for her. A name, and then… directions? The cat moved suddenly, and she flinched back a little. What was going on? With the revelation of a talking cat, she found herself feeling very… afraid. Afraid, and cornered, and--just not as accepting as before. But she picked up the gray-and-blue pen, looked at the strange design. What in the world was it, she wondered. "What is this," she asked, holding it up.

A talking cat was telling her to yell things. The talking cat had also given her a pen, which… she felt like she should lift it over her head, higher above her head, so she stood on her very tiptoes. Tomlin felt trustworthy, almost like Shepherd felt trustworthy. So she'd do this, this once. "Callisto Power, Make-Up!"

It seemed like steel-blue light exploded around her, glittering wildly in ribbons that covered her shorts and t-shirt. When they came away, she didn't feel quite… herself.



This was obviously because she wasn't. But the newly-awakened Sailor Callisto, Senshi of Solitude, had little time to contemplate her sudden change in status or the sudden, strange pull she felt towards the orange cat. Something burst out of the shed, using a window as an escape chute. "What is that," Callisto asked, expression going panicky for a bare moment before she realized that it was definitely a monster of the kind that had destroyed Darryl's skateboard. It looked like some kind of monstrous, oversized dog; black foam dripped from its jaws. "I'm a senshi, aren't I," she asked, exhibiting not-so-impressive deductive reasoning. She did know what a senshi was supposed to do.

She didn't see anything weapon-wise around, except for her backpack. It was full of books, her waterbottle, her lunch--and she didn't particularly fancy destroying those precious, brand-new books, but she didn't know how to fight. She could, however, swing a backpack at a monster and hope that helped. Therefore, that was what she did; she hauled the heavy pack up by its strap, and flung it at the dog. God, the monster had to be really dumb, because it just stood there long enough to be hit.

That sent it running towards the crowds of children, though, and Callisto's expression took on a horrified cast before it firmed and she went chasing after the dog youma. She was going to destroy that stupid thing!  

[A Wandering Esper]

CALLISTO POWER, MAKE UP !

That made Darryl stop her task of dunking one troublemaking boy for trying to do the same to her. What was that ?

Or rather... Wasn't that a senshi thing ? Was there trouble brewing ?

Oh, god damn, couldn't a girl enjoy one day of peace ? Not in Destiny City, apparently. Damnit.

She swam off, leaving the rowdy male confused and yelling for her. Ah, poolside trouble. But if there was more important trouble to be tended to...

With great power came great responsibility, after all.

Darryl carefully made her way toward the sheds, through on the other side than Erika had wandered off to, and called upon her staff and became Hesperis.

...There was something faint in the distance, and sure enough, a senshi not too far from here.

That was when s**t hit the fan.

The youma came out running toward the pool, followed by the senshi who... Well, at least seemed hellbent to dusting the damn thing.

Hesperis could go down with that.

"HEY ! UGLY !" Not the senshi, of course. But it was enough to get it to stop long enough for the Page of Mercury to catch up and hit it in the face.

Back at the pool, panic was taking over, and the sisters and the responsible from Hillsworth were ushering the kids away, which was a plus, but...

Belatedly, she noticed Erika wasn't where she'd left ********> Hopefully she had ran.  

[Silverah]

((Because Roma told me to do this.))

Tallulah really hated field trip days. It wasn't that she made a conscious effort to lump all of the St. Mags and Hillworth kids into one trouble-making group, because she knew that they weren't all horrible delinquents... it was just that her life tended to be exponentially harder when they were around. The lifeguard didn't even get a chance to take her whistle out of her mouth before she had to blow it again - there was too much roughhousing and running going on for her to properly control all of it.

And -- kids sneaking off behind the pump shed? Really? Was this really happening today? Tallulah was about ready to hand out some bans. She waved another lifeguard over to take her post and hopped down from the chair. It was time to go bust someone for uncouth behavior.

As she rounded the pump shed, she was already prepared to say what needed to be said - "Hey, you can't smoke back here." But she only got as far as "Hey" before falling silent, because the scene before her, although alarmingly familiar, was not at all what she'd been expecting. Erika. Cat. Henshin pen. It was unmistakably an awakening, and Tallulah felt like she was invading on something extremely private.

In a cool blue flash, the familiar St. Mags student was replaced with a senshi who, while unfamiliar to both Tallulah and Europa, she felt instantly fond of. Because it was Erika. And because it was Callisto. Despite still feeling like she was invading something intimate, Tallulah felt slightly justified that there may have been some reason for witnessing this awakening.

This did not stop her from turning around and walking quickly in the other direction, destination, the cabanas. If the cat had seen fit to awaken a senshi, she had a good sense that all hell was about to break loose. Once she'd shut herself in one of the little canvas tents, Tallulah flipped out her pen and, feeling rather like Clark Kent, muttered her henshin.

In a dark flash, Eternal Sailor Europa appeared. The senshi cautiously peered out of the cabana, but no one was paying attention to the tent: they were too focused on the youma making a mess on the pool deck. Europa stepped out into the fray.

She bounded over to the lifeguard tower and climbed it swiftly. After a moment grappling around for her megaphone, she held it to her lips and called, "Please exit the pool deck in a calm and orderly manner!"

This accomplished... absolutely nothing.  

[LokisRose]

He’d frightened her.

A swell of guilt filled the cat at the thought. She was such a little thing, the last thing he’d wanted was to upset her. Keep her safe, yes. Awaken her, give her the power to defend herself. Never distress her. His Callisto should never be frightened. He slunk forward to offer comfort, rub against her leg, explain - but she was already lifting up the pen.

The wash of light was both dazzling and reassuring, and the newly awakened Sailor Callisto was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

He opened his mouth to tell her so, but the invading youma came too fast, its ugly hide a match for the ugly chaos energy it radiated. Next time he’d recognise it sooner. Next time, he wouldn’t let a thing like that get so close.

“It’s a youma! Yes, you’re a senshi,” he confirmed. My senshi. But again, he was out of time. Before he could even tell her about her magic, she was attacking the thing, chasing it down. She wasn’t ready for that! If she got hurt... he’d never forgive himself.

Tomlin bounded out behind her, dodging legs, ignoring other energy signatures that lit up around him, determined to stay by her side. The Senshi of Solitude would not fight alone if he had any say.  

[shibrogane]

Callisto was in hot pursuit, which at least seemed to keep the dog monster moving without savaging anyone. When she made a grab for the monster's tail and hauled back, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye--Darryl? Darryl wasn't running, and Callisto almost let go to go haul her friend out of there, rather than the monster. Then a staff seemed to just appear, and Erika's roommate became some kind of blue-clad person with a really big stick for a weapon. She tightened her grasp on the youma, teeth clenched with effort. Why were these monsters so strong, anyway? She sure didn't feel any stronger, just different from the usual.

The monster quailed, whining, when the lady-who-was-Darryl smacked it right on the snout like she was trying to exert dominance over the creature. Callisto reached forward, groping to see if there was a collar or something she could hold on to until the children had been cleared from the area. She could do this, she thought, she was doing it! Then she caught something red moving her way, and threw herself back just in time for another senshi--was there someone on top of the lifeguarding tower?--to kick the dog-monster hard in the side. Making a rather un-doglike sound--nothing like a dog sound, really, she didn't know whether to call it a bark or a whine or a howl--the monster started to flee back to the shed. Maybe it was going to try to hide? Callisto gave chase again, wishing she'd spent a little more effort in gym.

The children were almost all gone when she caught up. So, with a truly impressive soccer kick that involved slipping on the wet surface of the pool deck, Sailor Callisto dispatched her first youma.

Baby's first monster? Maybe. It'd been more of an accident than anything else. She turned on her heel, face all bright smiles as she looked for her cat. (How she knew that Tomlin was hers, she wasn't sure, but she knew and that was that!) When she spotted the orange tabby, she said loud enough for anyone in the area of the pool to hear, "Tomlin, I did it!" Hadn't she? Well, she'd had help, but… She smiled at the red-clad boy senshi, and then Darryl in her new form.  

[A Wandering Esper]

Hesperis seemed more than happy to let the 'make the helpeless evacuate safely' bit to the senshi - ...Was one of these wearing wings on her butt what the ******** even...

Oh well.

She was more than glad to leave the dispatching to them. Hesperis certainly lacked a certain... finesse to handle such a task.

But she had a big stick, and she knew how to use it.

In between being sandwiched in between her and Ganymede, the youma decided it was best to flee, and Hesperis had taken chase - only to see new senshi take care of the matter.

Of course, unlike Callisto, she had no damn idea who was the girl under the fuku, so she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the smile. That reminded her of someone...

Uh...

She was about to pat the little ragtag group (damn, she'd crashed a senshi party again) on the back and go on her way when she suddenly realized something.

"Guys... There's something else nearby."

Her page-sense was tingling.

Well, ********. That hadn't quite worked out the way she'd hoped. She'd grapped hold of a nearby youma to hopefully set up something that would basically equate a ton a free energy, but of course Fluorite had to pick the one pool that had apparently been filled with senshi.

She saw buttwings, at that.

This really wasn't her day.

She was croutched on the roof a building away, and hopefully she had time before they found her. She summoned her communication crystal.

"I've got a large gathering of senshi in sight. I think there's a knight, too. At least one eternal."

That should give her some backup.

Hopefully.

((I have been told to unleash the baddies, so !

COME TO MY AID, NEGAVERSE !!!!))  

[Silverah]

Getting civilians to leave in a calm and orderly manner hadn't quite worked as it was supposed to, and even now that the youma had been destroyed there was an air of panic to the pool deck as stragglers made for the exit. Europa dropped the megaphone in frustration, because it didn't seem like the fact that she'd earned her eternal buttwings fair and square gave her any kind of authority over these people, and hopped down from the tower.

"Ganymede!" she called, hurring over to where the others seemed to be gathered. Three senshi and a knight for one measly youma? It was total overkill. Maybe she'd have been better off staying a lifeguard. At least people would have stood a chance of listening to her in her stupid red bathing suit.

"I guess I'm a bit superfluous," she admitted sheepishly, glancing at the newly-minted senshi and the unfamiliar knight. "...Callisto?" she asked softly. It seemed fortuitous that she and Ganymede were both here for this. Europa hadn't been actively searching for the remaining Galilean senshi, but since seeing her past self on Europa it certainly been far from her mind.

"Something else?" Europa asked lowly to the knight. She tried sensing for herself and couldn't get a totally clear idea of what was coming, but it felt particularly dark and twisty. "You're right," she agreed. "And I don't like it."

Europa stepped away from the group for the moment to pull one of her lifeguarding colleagues aside. Although the boy wouldn't recognize her, hopefully the authoritative tone she took would sway him. "Tell all of the civilians and the rest of the staff to leave," she commanded. If the negaverse was on the way, then Europa wasn't going to let this become a massacre.

The lifeguard nodded and hurried away. Europa returned to the group. "He's going to clear everyone out," she explained. She looked back at the page whose name she still hadn't caught. "How long do you think we have?"