[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/693c4ddb-c4a0-4c91-afe8-579347b62006.png[/img] [color=tomato]"Pretend I had the energy to shoop a mask over my face that’s made of blood."[/color] [color=888888]— Suki Oyama[/color][/center] Oros ran. There wasn’t time to consider why Evil Eye had flown off so suddenly, or why she waited until Acid Drop had been captured to say anything about it. Perhaps if she had considered it for a moment, Acid Drop was pretty much asking to be abducted with how vulnerable she had been recently. The bigger issue was that she knew that staying with Acid Drop was something she should have done, and she hadn’t because she had been asked not to. If they ever got her back, that wasn’t a mistake she’d make again. This wasn’t the first time she’d told herself that, but it was the first time it was Acid Drop’s fault. She arrived at the intersection and wrapped a tendril around a nearby lamp post before swinging to the left and carving a crescent in the road with her skates. That was when she encountered that stupid eye again. It had slowed down, and it was doing some dumb thing where it lunged forward and then slowed up again. Why was it relying on such a silly form of- Ohhhhhhhhh… As Oros passed under it, her tendrils found purchase on its "stomach" just as it was getting ready to lunge forward. when it did, she lunged at the same time. Diamond was very close now. But she wouldn’t be the first one to arrive. In addition to being plenty fast, Hizuki didn’t have to maneuver around buildings since she could fly. But the biggest boon to her arrival time had to be… … Suki pointed her hands behind her back. Her sharpened tendrils sliced off her hands, and she used the rush of blood to accelerate even faster. [center][color=00ff00]"Funny, I heard about a bat that flew into the knight."[/color] [color=888888]— Dazzling Diamond[/color][/center] Things were getting pretty frantic around Diamond. [color=00ff00]"Topaz? Got another napkin?"[/color] [color=fab35f]"Just a moment, cleaning the babies. Can you wait on the napkin?"[/color] Diamond’s eyes shifted. What appeared to be a mad light girl was approaching her from the side. There was also a giant monstrosity lunging for her, and it looked like a dark magical girl was closing in as well. Meanwhile, Diamond had Acid Drop over one shoulder and was holding her bat in such a way that she wouldn’t hurt her, but wasn’t especially conductive for holding back an opponent. [color=00ff00]"I’m good for the moment. Guard the babies."[/color] [color=fab35f]"Thanks hun! Don’t eat too much now!"[/color] She didn’t answer back. Diamond conjured a mobile hotdog stand and placed Tsubomi on top of it. Then she gave it a shove and hopped on with her captive. It wasn’t going to stay ahead of the monster chasing her for long, but it didn’t have to. The bumpy road caused some of the hotdogs to bounce and land on Tsubomi, whose feet and head were resting in hoppers. The batter planted her shoes around Tsubomi. [color=00ff00]"I’m not taking her away, I’m [i]trying[/i] to have a private conversation."[/color] Diamond said as a matter of factly. [color=00ff00]"The eyes are making that a [i]little[/i] hard."[/color] Hizuki had heard about the GEMs batter. The problem was that Diamond had so much talk about her it was hard to parse out what was true and what wasn’t. Every story from her being half a dark magical girl to being on a vengeful quest due to what happened to her sister had been assigned to her. The only consistency between all of these stories was that she was a powerful magical girl that wielded a bat and had access to candy or concession stand magic. Though now that Hisuki could see Diamond, [b]she could confirm she wanted to talk to Tsubomi[/b], though it was possible there were other desires for the girl too, or the nature of the conversation was more aggressive than she was making it sound. It was never easy to get a read on strong magical girls, especially if they were transformed. She settled into a batting pose, and her grip tightened. The apathy fell away from her face as her brow tcrossed. The batter was ready for her opponent’s first pitch. [hr] [center] [color=87cefa]"It’s more fun if you kill a bunch at once!"[/color] [color=888888]— Bodacious Boleite[/color][/center] [color=87cefa]"I never said they weren’t cute! Why are you spreading slander all of a sudden?"[/color] The scientist’s smile grew under her eyes. [color=87cefa]"It’d be hard to name them all, but there are quite a few. I think we have almost twenty now? Some members don’t last long and others have been with us since the beginning. It makes keeping track of the names hard. We tend to split up into smaller groups anyway, so there’s a few members I’ve never even fought alongside."[/color] Given that Boleite hadn’t stopped moving, it might have been that she was more interested in finding out what the mogalls were doing instead of chatting. [color=87cefa]"Race? Heck yea we can race!"[/color] Though as would soon become apparent, Boleite’s speed wasn’t quite as impressive as the destructive power she wielded. Maybe it was rude for Kaeru to push ahead, but if someone was in trouble, it was best to get there as soon as possible. … … … The town was just as traversable as it had always been. Though Kaeru couldn’t choose what was the fastest route to her destination, she knew what it was. It involved some unintuitive navigation such as some unexpected U-turns, but she eventually found herself at an intersection. Visually it looked like any other. Some stop signs, walking lamps, and a road that was almost always empty. But it was the last intersection on the stretch of road out of town. It was still too far away to make out anyone, but Kaeru could see the mogall teaming in the distance. Something was coming her way, and Kaeru needed only steel herself for it. But she also heard a voice overhead. [color=fab35f]"Thanks hun! Don’t eat too much!"[/color] Followed by a familiar, but unidentifiable sound. When Kaeru looked up, she could understand what the sound was and why it was so hard to identify. She had heard the sound of a bowstring launching an arrow before, but never fired with such speed, one after the other. It was almost freakish watching those slender fingers loose so many arrows. Her quiver seemed to deplete, but her hands were only ever at her bow. And once Kaeru took her eyes off the archer’s hands, she was able to take in the unusual sight of the magical girl firing. She looked like a combination between Cupid and Aphrodite. She had stubby white wings and an equally white outfit. Gilded lace, frilly ribbons, and loads and loads of heart shaped accessories adorned her skimpy but no less elegant outfit. Her golden hair waved about in the wind over Hibusa town, and her red eyes, glimmering like jewels, squinted as she pulled her final arrow back for a spectacular finish. And then she fired, sending a gold streak across the sky. It was hard to discern what she was firing at, but it looked like it was in the direction of the school. [color=fab35f]"Yea!"[/color] She pumped her arm like a cheerleader before turning to face the incoming swarm of mogalls. Though that was when she noticed Kaeru, and looked down at her. [color=fab35f]"Howdy darlin’!"[/color] the [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/01989ae5-bfcc-7249-8a38-171a0ae61ebb.webp]girl that had to be topaz[/url] waved her hand at the shrine maiden. [color=fab35f]"Aren’t you a cutie patootie! No wonder Boley’s been lookin’ for ya."[/color] One by one, her quiver filled up with golden arrows. [color=fab35f]"She’ll be here, she gets side tracked kina easily is all."[/color] Topaz drew a single arrow and eyed up her targets. [color=fab35f]"I think we’re about to get busy. Ya might wanna stand back. I got all the miseria this way already, and I think Boley is moppin’ up what’s left."[/color] Though as time passed on, Kaeru would be able to see the battle that was approaching her. Hizuki, what had to be Oros, and an unknown magical batter balancing on a concession table rolling down the road. Just a normal day in Hibusa town. [hr] [center] [color=ffc0cb]"Diz iz gunna hurt yaz more den it hurt me haha!"[/color] [color=ff69b4]"What’s the definition of insanity again?"[/color] [color=888888]— Magnificent Morganite & Passionate Pearl [/color][/center] To Shatterscape it was a trap that was sure to kill. To Nyxia it was nothing Earthshaker couldn’t handle. To Earthshaker… To Earthshaker it was an excuse. A reason to let loose and output as much carnage as possible. It didn’t matter. She had been moved well beyond normal anger and was raging now. She was going to break physics and anything else she needed to if it meant getting her hands on that annoying runt and her ally. Dark magical girls were fueled by dark emotions, and Earthshaker was being fueled by hers. Comparatively, the foul mouthed Nyxia was proceeding with caution. Keeping up but not being baited by Morganite’s taunts. [color=ffc0cb]"Yer mad bro!"[/color] Morganite wasn’t an idiot. Compared to the enraged Earthshaker though, she might have been a genius. Earthshaker’s shield soared towards Morganite. It hardly came as a surprise to the girl, since she had been watching Earthshaker as they retreated. Her second shield came between herself and the improvised projectile and stopped it. Even though it was mostly deflected, it did hit with enough force to throw Morganite onto her back, but not off the shield. This caused the pink haired sass machine to briefly close her eyes with a wince. If this was a one on one fight, Earthshaker’s fist would likely be touching Morganite’s nose by the time she opened her eyes again. But it wasn’t. Pearl was right there, charging her wand as Earthshaker took to the sky. The rule keeper didn’t have her shield, and being airborn meant that Pearl could predict where she’d be. But in a high pressure moment like this, could she land a shot on Earthshaker's exposed torso? The world may never know. One after the other, golden arrows flew over the rooftops and struck Earthshaker. From where Nyxia was standing it might have looked painful, with her body convulsing with each arrow. But Earthshaker would not feel any physical pain. Each arrow that buried itself in her body filled her with something else. The glow of a boring TV show when watched with friends, the sensation in her chest when she saw Shuuko, the sound of Norica’s voice when she taught her. Many more of these sensations flooded her before a final arrow slammed into her heart. In that instant she was filled with an almost indescribable feeling. True love? Happiness? All she knew was that she hadn’t felt this complete her entire life. Pearl continued to aim her quivering wand at Earthshaker, but didn't fire. The rule keeper's soft fist opened up and she dragged her fingers along the edge of the shield, not even strong enough to grab on before she face planted in the grass. She was crying, but she didn’t know why. Morganite and Pearl didn’t stop moving. As they zoomed off into the distance, Morganite managed to sit up enough to flash a parting grin, just as Pearl collapsed into her lap. That presence was still around, but it did not seem to feel it was time to reveal itself yet. Which left Nyxia alone in the presence of a sobbing Earthshaker.