outfields | magical girl crossover time

Dance Festival, huh? [Extremely handsome, extremely elegant, extremely accompanied by a fair and petal-laden breeze, Haruka waits until she's a mere two or three feet away to comment on the flier.

Large, public events are now inseparable from their consequences: A gathering of energy; bright minds coming together with others and growing brighter. These days, they're suspicious places. Dangerous ones.

She might as well have already committed to attending, but there's no harm in teasing a little information out of this innocent girl. Haruka's thoughts are stormy, but her expression stays aloofly curious.] Sounds exciting! I wonder who's performing.

[ What a beautiful - person. Setsuna's cheeks find a dusting of pink laying across them in short order, surprising her. There's something about the way the wind clearly seems to love this person... ] I hope everyone will enjoy it. Every team's put their very best into preparing!

[ She offers the flier for slightly closer perusal, smiling. ] There are eight groups performing and several solo dancers. I'm Setsuna, a member of Clover.

Setsuna? [She chuckles warmly.] How funny. I work closely with a Setsuna. It must be fate. [It's said with jovial flippancy. Fate is the last thing she'll undermine, but here it seems so easy to reduce it down to their chance meeting. There's nothing fated about this one.]

I'll have to ask you how you write it sometime. [Haruka leans forward to examine the flier. She reaches out as if taking something delicate. Her eyes scan the marquee for "Clover."]

Edited (html........) 2016-02-25 02:33 (UTC)

Do you? What a coincidence! [ Fate is a funny thing. Setsuna has learned not to put so much stock in everything being 'meant to be'... chance meetings included. Her laughter is soft. ]

I'm afraid it's not very interesting, there aren't any kanji... [ But she pauses, waits. Clover is in the middle group of names - they're small-town amateurs without anything impressive to brag about, but Trinity's name has a little clout. There's even a picture of the four of them, in their dance costumes, in the collage at the center. ]

Hmh. Same here.

[Popular dance troupes like Trinity surround themselves with a certain amount of devotional fan fervor. They're practically idols. (Haruka lacks nearly all of Michiru's clairvoyance, but even then, the thought lances her with a sense of foreboding.)

She places her forefinger against the image, appearing triumphant about her detective work. Too bad she's identified one of the group's members, not their center.]

Spotted you! I was sure you'd be the lead dancer; you're so passionate about what you do.

[ She can't help it... passionate makes her cover her grin, her chin tucked low, for just a moment. ]

Well, thank you. I'm actually a late addition to the group. I've only lived in Clover Town for a short time, and my friend Love put the group together before we'd even met... I'm very lucky.

[ She holds the stack of fliers loosely to her chest. ] We'd love to have you come see us! Admission is free.

I see... [The amount of dedication it takes to form such a group...No. The event's organizers are at as much risk as any of these teenage girls, if not more.

Her grin betrays her acceptance of the invitation.] How could I miss it? It's a demonstration of the town's culture. [Her impassioned, trivia-laden speeches are best given to a different audience. Haruka doesn't feel the need to perform with that kind of grace; she skips pointing out the history of the ballet d'action.]

You'll have a lot of new fans by the time the day's over. I'll keep this, if you don't mind? Maybe I'll have you sign it later.

You will? Thank you very much. [ With a polite dip of her head. ]

As long as we can make even one person happy because we're dancing, it's worth it to me. [ Said more seriously than her mysterious invitee's comments really call for. Dance isn't her life's passion, but the joy it can bring just might be. ] O-oh, of course, go ahead. Would you like a second copy?

I guess I'll have to practice my autograph...

[The seriousness in her comments registers on Haruka's face. She takes the declaration for what it is: solemn and dedicated. A strange thread of energy seems to pass between them; given a few years time, she might identify it as a kinship, not something to be suspicious of.

After a glance from the flier in her hand to the stack Setsuna still carries:] Sure. I'll pass the word along.

[It's the first thing she'll do as soon as she's found someplace quiet to notify her fellow guardians of the outer solar system. She isn't expecting to come to the festival itself alone, but if they're separated, she won't hesitate.]

I hope you enjoy your time in town, Setsuna. Then, until later!

[ Setsuna had waved goodbye as her new acquaintance left the scene as stylishly as she'd arrived to it, wondering if the pink flower petals on the breeze were coincidence or drawn to her aura of dramatic effect. Perhaps both? But as charming and memorable as the woman had been, Setsuna had a job to do her very best at.

Clover had been in the wings when the girl with the bright sunshiney hair stepped onstage to steal the spotlight and proclaim her apparently tragic love for Sakazaki, the leader of the boys' group on before Clover, and then - there was a monster. Not a Nakewameke, nothing she'd ever seen in Labyrinth - but Pretty Cure don't retire.

With Miyuki running interference they'd managed to transform, and after an argument between Berry and Mimete about who was Sakazaki's bigger fan, she'd run off. Passion had sent the others ahead. She could handle one monster, and what if this Mimete of the Witches Five intended to create more of her monsters? So she squares up against the creature that had sucked something called a Heart Crystal right out of Sakazaki - this... U-Torade. ]

The scarlet heart is the proof of happiness! Freshly ripened, Cure Passion!

[ The monster - yellow skin, garish bikini that looked like a bottle label, a hat on her head shaped like a bottlecap - spews yellow liquid at her, and she rolls out of the way. Good thing, too, since it seems to burn the curtains it touches with a soft hissing sound. ]

Return that Heart Crystal!

[Tch...] Damn it...

[Uranus and her comrades have more pressing threats to deal with, with the Silence a looming threat. Tracking their enemies' movements is the only way to possibly find the root of the evil. She expected naive children to step into the battle, but..not these naive children.

It's the appearance of these intruders, their interference, that forces her to act early, flushing her from her vantage point with a hasty, long-ranged,] WORLD SHAKING!

[The attack's energy seems an intentional warning shot even if the Daimon is its eventual target - it cuts close, very close, to Passion's hitbox. It prompts, once the Daimon's stopped convulsing, the usual shock.]

Invited by a new age: Sailor Uranus, acting with magnificence!

You're out of your league.

What--?! [ That's about all she has time to get out before the attack is coming. Passion expects it to crash into the monster and explode there - but it doesn't. She can tell it'll be close as it continues to sail in her direction, and steps aside, watching as it passes by.

And then her head snaps back up toward the voice -- that's not an entrance speech Passion is familiar with.

Sailor Uranus. Like the planet, and definitely not a Pretty Cure. ]

I'm not leaving Sakazaki or his Heart Crystal behind!

[ Out of your league stings, but she's not here to impress this stranger. She's here to save Sakazaki, and prevent any future victims. ]

There's no reason not to work together! Aren't we here for the same purpose?

[ And with that she leaps forward to engage the monster with a kick to the stomach, ducking another stream of acid. ]

Don't get the wrong idea. We're nothing alike! [Uranus barks back with no warmth, not caring for whatever shared motivations might actually exist between them. The role of defender has been inherited by a select few, not these outsiders.]

Mind your own business and stay out of the way.

[She's fast - the wind lifts her when she most needs it - and opportunistic to boot. Uranus practically blinks into position behind U-Torade while it reels from Cure Passion's kick, trapping its electrolyte-sealing cap in a headlock.]

People in trouble are my business!

[ Uranus' words and her actions aren't matching up, and it's distracting - she's there to take advantage of the instant Passion forces an opening, that's the very definition of working together, isn't it?

Passion remembers the months she'd spent turning down Love's friendship very clearly. Maybe this is like that.

Uranus clearly wants to be rid of this creature as quickly as possible, and Passion agrees entirely. There's no time to waste, with Uranus holding it in place. ]

Sing, rhapsody of happiness! Passion Harp!

[ Her Linkrun has barely manifested the weapon in her palm when U-Torade shoots a wide spray of acid. Thinking fast, Passion flips backward to avoid it, watching the stage flooring send up small tendrils of smoke, and lifts the harp curled in her hand. She's a moment from summoning her energy when U-Torade's top begins to spin, like a tire.

Passion's not sure what that's going to lead to, but it's probably not good. ] Get back!

[ She looks around for Sakazaki's prone form - near the edge of the stage's front. If she keeps away from that direction, surely he'll be safe? ]

Worry about your opponent - [The top's spinning wrenches her elbow out of her lock. After enough spinning, it manages to dislodge her, and Uranus finds herself thrown back towards audience seating.

It puts her on a direct collision course with Passion. She threw away her shot, Uranus steams, even midair. She has an opportunity and refused to take it. Which is how they end up felled somewhere around Row D. Uranus's arm is burned raw from the friction of being thrown, and it wobbles when she tries to push herself back up, no consideration given to to other magical girl sprawled over the seat.

At least Passion will get her one wish: The battle is facing away from the stage (and away from Mimete's fleeing tailfeathers).]

I'm not goi-- [ going to ignore you, she would say, if she weren't suddenly in the way of a unwilling Uranus body slam. Instinct curls her around the other girl, and distantly, she knows the Passion Harp has slipped from her fingers. She can hear it clatter its way under a seat just before they're landing, and she grunts, eyes screwed shut, as it knocks the wind out of her.

She draws in a rattling breath, head rolling to the side, until she can force her eyes open and take in the situation again. Uranus' arm - she pushes herself up until she can stumble to her feet, looking around for the Harp.

U-Torade doesn't let this chance go to waste, firing rapid, bullet-like balls of acid, and Passion tenses, drawing immediately on Akarun's power to flash between Uranus and the attack, then again to get behind the creature. Without the Harp her options are somewhat limited, but Uranus' arm looks bad. ] Do it!

[ Said immediately before a swinging, hard chop to the monster's side, staggering it. ]

Idiot! You're putting yourself right in harm's way!

[Irritation darkens her face as she forces herself to her feet. It's an unexpected weakness, and it surprises and frustrates her. She's grown to used to fighting alongside a partner who moves with her, enhancing her every move. It seemed so natural before, but she notices the absence now.

Some of the seats seem to have dislodged from the force of their collision. Though it burns her arm to do so Uranus lifts one chair in front of her to block the barrage of acid bullets until it melts away in her hands. The second loose seat she lobs overhand directly at U-Torade's face, using the momentum to manipulate its acid right back in its direction. It's a reach, but the momentum of the throw keeps it flying.]

Edited 2016-02-28 20:50 (UTC)

You're hurt, so it has to be me! [ It seems pointless to point out the hypocrisy in Uranus' position given how she'd wound up hurt in the first place. She draws a knee to the back of the monster's thighs, and zips out of the way of the chair in a red slide of light.

U-Torade takes the seat directly to the chest. The damage done by the collision seems to be worse than the damage from the acid, whether because she's the source of it or because the act of ricocheting killed some of the energy and kept it from splash all over her, but she staggers backward. Passion summons a fistful of shining red energy to send her flying onto her front with a punch, and looks up.

She catches Uranus' eye over U-Torade's hunched form. If her makeshift - not-comrade - can keep the monster distracted from afar, she can follow Akarun's hum of connection to where the Passion Harp is. Between Uranus' attack and her own, she thinks they can take it down.

(She doesn't think Uranus would take well to 'can you please go grab my weapon for me', somehow.) ]

[That gaze...She can't pretend not to have seen it. As long as "Pretty Cure" doesn't get the wrong idea, the only way to win is to play. She'd had to learn to work with Sailor Moon (foolish, idealistic, kind, unstoppable) before they could be victorious. In this girl, she sees the same unbalanced ideas of good and evil, the same pointless drawing of sides.

She makes her decision. With U-Torade's attention mostly dedicated to flailing around, T-Rex like, and trying to right itself, Uranus steps forward to make sure the Daimon will refocus on her. Golden energy gathers at her fingertips while her hand hesitates above her head.]

It's the Sailor Guardians who'll bring justice to your masters! Your opponent is me!

[Make it quick, Passion. She won't trifle with fools for long.]

[ Passion leaps to the side. Whatever Uranus has to say about Sailor Guardians - like they're in the grips of a... a turf war, as they call it - is ridiculous, but if it works, it works.

Akarun's mental pull draws her toward a seat in Row G - farther than she'd thought - with a flash, and she drops to put her hand under the bottom of the seat. There's no time for blind fishing for it. The seat groans as she pulls it up, and creaks as it tears free. She sets it aside, ducking to fetch the Harp, and turns around just in time to catch U-Torade's top blow.

Literally.

If her previous spewing of acid had been like a paintball gun, this is a cannon, or a volcano. Passion draws the Harp up, priming it.

She strums the strings. ] Rage, storm of happiness!

[ It'll make it past the acid - it has to. ]

Pretty Cure Happiness Hurricane!

Edited 2016-02-29 00:09 (UTC)

[There's about to be far less theater floor. If the Daimon goes free much longer, there'll be no more Sakazaki to return a Heart Crystal to.

Uranus's gaze flicks down to the floor in front of her as acid roils like magma mere meters from her boots. It has to be now. Her fist overflows with power.]

WORLD SHAKING! [Sending out more than one attack in one battle is taxing; it drains her in body and spirit. But she's unerringly dedicated to fighting until she goes down, and that determination gives her strength to do it again. Her fingers are inches from the acid-ade flow when they come down to the ground.

The attack rips through the acid and the floor, and she makes a sprint for the stage.]

[ Passion's purifying pink light surrounds the energy Uranus sends toward U-Torade, and she leaps backwards to hold higher ground, twisting her wrist to take her spell to its end. Even combined with Uranus' attack, it doesn't seem to quite finish the creature. Probably because she's ~~not a pink~~ by herself - or her powers are a mismatch to this creature's origins. If it doesn't feed on bad feelings, then alone she won't be enough.

Thankfully for her, Uranus', and Sakazaki, she feels rather than hears her teammates return, darkening the doorway of the theater. ]

Peach, Berry, Pine! We have to finish it!

[ Peach summons the Clover Box, and in a display of light and combination of their four powers, the creature finally, finally is destroyed. The Heart Crystal she had stolen from Sakazaki hovers in midair, and Passion moves to cross the fading remains of the acid to take it in her hands. ]

[Uranus kneels for a moment by the unconscious boy's side. At the soft click of Passion's approaching heels, she rises.]

Here. Will you feel better if you return it to him yourself? [They've just worked together to defeat the Daimon, but there's something challenging in her voice. It stops short of mockery; she seems content to see the heart returned. Better that such a talented dancer can live in peace now.

The other girls lived, so she assumes the witch escaped. They're no closer to finding the answers they need, and that, more than anything, lights an angry fuse in her chest.]

I... [ The crystal shines between her palms.

She looks at Sakazaki's face for a moment, then looks up at Uranus. Whatever challenge, whatever question she's really asking, Passion answers it with a stiffening of her spine, squaring her shoulders. ]

It's not about me. [ But she kneels to gently press the crystal into Sakazaki's chest. She returns her gaze to Uranus, expression serious. ] I assume he'll be fine... what about you?

[ At least, if there were something more to this, she has a feeling Uranus would have said. And whatever attitude it is that keeps her at arms' length, there's a shade of warm contentment. She rises to her feet, stepping back to let Berry kneel and check on him. (Fanclub privileges.) ]

[Her arm's been worse. She's seen worse damage. It would be insulting, if she already wasn't suspicious of these girls too much to indulge them. Uranus's brow clouds over. She glances briefly at the other three outsiders, but her attention is all on Passion when she speaks.]

Leave this place. If you come back, you will die.

[She jumps heavenward, and then she's gone.]

[*EYECATCH*

A short while later, Haruka srifts seamlessly into the disoriented crowd, dancers and attendees alike ambling around in slowly dissolving panic, looking instead for their separated loved ones and trying to piece back together the events of a disruption they can now longer fully remember. Not favoring her arm is the struggle; she holds a hand to her forehead instead, as though dizzy.

Those girls from Clover Town...She meant to make a beeline for her bike, but it doesn't stop her from trying to spot them.]

[ Her eyes follow the movement. ]

Thank you.

[ And then she's busy, helping right the worst of the heavy damages and getting hit by Peach's arms around her, followed shortly by twenty questions from Peach's mouth. With the very worst handled and the acid damage pointed out to Miyuki and the Festival director, all four of them fade out of sight.

Setsuna leaves inside to her friends, directing people in the lobby to try and keep the traffic moving. She looks up and fancies she feels the wind messing with her hair. (It's probably the A/C.) Still, she continues to look up, and spots the woman from before all of this. She falters, watching her move between people with grace. ]

[They make eye contact - and somehow it's different from when Uranus and Passion locked eyes in the theater. Haruka pauses, stops moving against the wave, and doubles back toward Setsuna. She presses her palm to her forehead, looking disarmed, then drops her hand.]

Ah. Clover, right? I didn't see you... [She pauses, haltingly.] Something terrible happened, right? You weren't hurt, were you?

[It might very well have been one of them who ended up targeted...but they were saved, this time, by nature of not being handsome boys. What a horrible time to visit...but then, there's darkness all over town.]

That's me. [ She shakes her head, face schooled into a carefully, precisely disturbed expression. She holds her wrist in her off-hand, squeezing. ] I got out okay... It was really confusing, I've never seen anything like that. You're all right?

[ Staring curiously. Her powers keep any permanent damage from lingering, but her collision with a seat still distantly aches, despite the fact there won't be any bruises if she looks. ]

Edited 2016-02-29 05:30 (UTC)

I'm fine; don't worry. [She gives her best reassuring smile; it should do the trick, even if it's not quite warm enough.] You hear about strange things happening in town...never though I'd see it myself. You and your friends should be careful.

[What made her come over here? She's often content to leave unnoticed, a shadow on the rooftops. The throw must have shaken her. She's itching to open up a communication link. If there are more pieces on the board than they'd originally believed, the hunt for their target will only become more fervent.]

I would have liked to see you perform. Maybe next time?

[It's practically dark by the time Haruka pulls up on her bike. Her mood is stormy; that's obvious as soon as her helmet's off - and glaring as soon as she removes her jacket and shoes, rolls up her sleeves.]

We have a problem, [She says, her lack of greeting another indicator of the tumultuous winds.] A new interference may have revealed themselves to us today.

[She can't stay like this for long around her, but the dust needs time to settle. Given five minutes, she'll be standing over Michiru on the chaise lounge, admiring her patience.]

[ Michiru, a book spread across her lap, looks up when Haruka enters the building. Stormy waters come to mind at the feeling of a burgeoning cold front as the front door unlatches, and her expression turns down, tucks smaller. For Haruka to call something a problem-- ] A new interference?

[ Like Sailor Moon and her comrades, if the irritation is any indication. Michiru's attention slips back to her book as Haruka sheds the remains of outside, but she's not reading any of it. She looks up, shutting her book with a soft sound, and draws her legs in, offering room at the end of the chaise lounge. ] What happened?

[She sits immediately, left arm bent across her chest to hold her bicep loosely where the sting lingers.] Pretty Cure... [Her voice lingers over the name, committing it to memory. She has other, more important things to think about, and this new team of magical soldiers can't get in the way of that, but she's not about to let it lie.

They won't give up. She could see it in Passion's eyes.]

They got in the way. We were right about the dance festival, but nothing else appeared.

Pretty Cure. [ She echoes the name, sliding her book off her lap to set it aside, and shifts to brush her fingertips over Haruka's elbow. It's an obviously unnatural position. She tugs pointedly at Haruka's sleeve. ]

I see... And the witch escaped. [Not a question, they wouldn't be here on this chair if she hadn't.

Michiru wonders if she'd been looking too hard at her dreams for clues and missed something more obvious. ]

Obstructions, not enemies, I presume. [ Her eyelashes dip down as she looks away. ] As if we didn't have enough of that already.

[Haruka lets Michiru finish rolling up her sleeve, but dips her chin visibly, looking away. She trains her eyes on the far wall, fixed on the muted colors of a hanging painting. Even a landscape can look ominous - a peaceful moment about to be destroyed. A wince passes over her face, though whether the stimulus is internal or external seems unclear.]

They'll become our enemies if they cause problems. [Her muscles tense. If she had hackles they'd be standing straight up by now.] We don't have time to deal with them.

magical girl crossover time

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NOTHING IS FUN FOR HARUKA ANYMORE AND IT'S KIND OF DEPRESSING TO WRITE

STOP THAT

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your harp is dumb but i still haven't figured out i can stab things with my heart sword, so

'what's a sword for? magic attacks, right?' - haruka, probably

'buy our toys' - toei, absolutely

the only real truth of toei properties

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coda; for michiru

i misread the last bit of this tag as smth inappropriate and was really confused

it was intentional

getting one over on me because michiru always wins, huh

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