Callisto hesitated at Andromeda's request, but finally nodded, and flew up further to meet her. She could see the place where Andromeda had been cutting away at, but she was having a hard time convincing herself to grab her shield and attack it. 

There was no one here to hit, just the ceiling, so why was she afraid. After a slow breath, she removed her shield and used it as a bludgeoning device instead, slamming the edge against the same spot Andromeda had aimed for.

Energy in the form of a spear struck the side of the tower just after she got out of the way, and she looked back at Achelois, impressed; it had been a while since she had seen Achelois attack. It didn't look like the wall would hold for much longer - one, maybe two more attacks and they should be in --

A great rumbling echoed from the wall a few lengths below them and Enya's arm shot out immediately, instinctively shielding Achelois as her mind raced for an explanation. She held her breath, watching the tower for a sign, but found nothing. Full moments later a second crash echoed the first, this one coming from the region below the entrance. Shooting Achelois a worried look, Enyalius flew down into the dark cavern and looked around, waiting for her eyes to adjust. "What happened?!" she called, but was interrupted by Achelois.

Agitated that she had missed the spot, Achelois was pleasantly surprised to see that she had caused significant cracking to the spire's wall.  Before she could do anything else though, she heard a commotion come from inside the room the others were in.  It sound like a rock avalanche and Achelois returned Enya's worried look before heading back towards the hole they had made earlier.  Using the light from the hole she could see that there was now rock debris on the floor. Her heart skipped a little as Enya called out and on impulse she shouted, "Who's still conscious?"  They needed to know if anyone was knocked out and with no light they needed a sound off to figure it out.

Cursing when her attack missed, Eshana watched in horror as debris from the ceiling fell upon Sailor Amatheia, burying her beneath. 

"Whatever you guys are doing up there, stop it! Sailor Amatheia was just buried under debris you knocked loose!" She yelled at the two senshi attacking the ceiling. Heart hammering in her chest, she turned, taking quick stock of the rest of the room, nothing that Panacea looked like she had been hit by the debris. Nocturnus, who had been behind Sedna only moments ago, was missing. 

"We have one buried under ruble, I need help getting her out and I can't see Sailor Nocturnus, does anyone have her location?" She made her sure voice was loud enough to carry outside to Enya and Achelois who had wanted to know what was going on. Eshana hoped that the youngest senshi in their group hadn't been buried alive like Amatheia was. 

Quickly summoning some water from the lake below, she sent it over Panacea's wounds, using Ocean's Grace to help lessen the pain and begin the healing process.

"The ceiling fell on her too," a voice said to Sailor Sedna and the others. "She's over there."

Sailor Makemake sat in a mess of dead and withered vines. She had a puzzled look on her face, even more puzzled than usual. She patted the rotting plants with her hands in a slow rhythm, almost as though she was sitting on top of a giant drum.

"Nocturnus and Amatheia didn't scream like my plants did when the rocks ripped them," she continued in a dry tone. "Does that mean they're OK? Are they just taking a nap? I don't we should bother them if that's the case."

Something in Makemake wasn't making her understand the seriousness of the situation. She scratched at her head in frustration and didn't look at Sailor Enyalius or anyone else if they spoke to her directly.

(As a side note, only Makemake can hear her plants "talk" or "scream.")

Just as she was about to strike the ceiling, it rumbled after Andromeda's last blow, and some stalagtites broke away. Before she could even figure out what had happened, a rock fell and broke over her helmet. Her vision swam, and her wings stuttered for a moment, causing her to almost drop out of the air. Her Major Guard faded as she lost focus, and she shook her head to clear it.

That was going to leave a mark... With her new headache, she didn't realize the other four rocks that had fallen below until she heard voices calling out. 

"We're awake..." Callisto called back, descending again. When she got close enough, her slightly dented helmet would be visible to the other senshi. It took her a moment to register what Sedna had yelled. Someone was buried in the rubble!

"Where are they? I'll start digging!" Callisto looked around, trying to see which pile of rocks needed clearing.

Achelois listened to the different voices that began to speak out.  First she she heard Sedna, who mentioned Amatheia being buried under the ruble, apparently caused by someone up near the ceiling. That doesn't sound good... Then she heard Makemake talk about both Amatheia and Nocturnus, indicating that rocks had hit both of them in the same manner.  Next she heard Callisto calling out, that still left a few to answer... However at least two senshi may be out and buried under ruble, in the dark as well.  Achelois looked to Enya, "I'll get Nocturnus's and Amatheia's locations."  Staying just in the entrance, Achelois quickly entered her meditative state and began searching for Nocturnus's and Amatheia's energies.  Upon finding them, she quickly relayed how far away the two were from them so that Enya and anyone could easily locate them.

DM wrote:

Sedna uses Ocean's Grace (5 MP) to heal Panacea
How much healed?
-- 2
--CTRL 1
--MP 3
----Total of 6 HP healed

Achelois uses Extrasensory (3MP)

EXP


Sedna gains 6 EXP
Sedna has 17 exp of 30 towards lvl 3

Rubble?! 
Sure enough, she saw enough in the faint light to identify several small piles of rubble; she prepared herself, ready to rush in and start clearing it away to free Amatheia as soon as they identified the pile, but as Sedna called out for Nocturnus, dread filled her; she looked to Achelois to find her partner already meditating. It would take her a moment to lock onto their energy signals, but did they have a moment?! Nocturnus was so small - she was just a child. Her stomach knotted - how had she let that happen?! She should have called Nocturnus out with them - she should have called all of them out with them - 

But why would this one child mean so much when she had willingly abandoned thousands of children to questionable fates? 

She clenched her teeth, pushing the creeping thought back, her hands working at her sides - she needed to do something. Makemake's words, soft and faint in the darkness just beyond where she could see, did naught but stress her further. Makemake's plants screamed? Her demeanor was akin to that of the last soldier on the field - she could be in shock. Two missing senshi, another in shock, a world balancing on their actions within the next few hours - another waiting in fear to see if their senshi would even bother returning to them -

Achelois's coordinates were a godsend. Enya shot forward, down into the dark, and immediately started pulling rocks off of the nearest of the indicated piles, looking for Nocturnus.

DM wrote:

Strength Check: Yep. Enya's strong enough to move the rubble.

"Callisto, help me with Amatheia." Quickly moving she began to dig out the senshi trapped beneath, praying to her mother that she would stay alive until they were able to reach her.

The others didn't talk to her directly, which was just fine for Sailor Makemake. It seemed she wasn't in the mood for talking much at all.

She hummed when she noticed the Viperfish of all things had tried to swim toward her. Like before, she didn't understand that it was attacking and went to embrace it in a hug, instead falling down suddenly, only to have the thing fly right over her.

She got up and turned with a sigh to see where it had gone.

"My plants are gone," she said solemnly. "They don't need food anymore. Would you like it instead?"

The soldier of life pointed her finger straight at the Viperfish. A sudden shot of deadly light shot out like a thin beam. It was the unnamed debut of Makemake Sunlight Beam. After the rather powerful shot, she lowered her arm and continued to sit on her pile of dead plant friends.

"I am a sun," she whispered with a slight whistle.

"R-right!" Callisto almost stumbled again as her head pounded, but she shook it off and went to help Sedna dig. She shoved her shield in between two rocks and pushed, wedging them apart with her strength multiplied by her simple tool.

After her attack hit, there was an ominous rumble in the air, and she backed off in surprise and dread. Before she knew it, several stalagmites came loose from the ceiling and started falling down like sharp knives. One of them even hit Callisto. The rest—she couldn’t see all the way down there but she heard some cries of pain and for a moment she froze, shock and disbelief paralyzing her. As more shouts informed them about people being trapped under the rocks—did someone say Nocturnus?!—she felt dazed and nauseated, as if she was getting that first notice that her planet was under attack all over again.

She did this. She did this.

In her desperation to save her planet, her mind had become focused solely on the task at hand and had shut down everything else, including everyone else that was there. She’d hacked away at that ceiling completely forgetting that there were people down there who could be hurt, because the only important thing had been getting through. Her judgment was skewed and her mind wasn’t clear… she was not fit to be in this mission with everyone else. If it had been just her, that would have been fine, but… she had completely failed to account for all the others there.

She floated there, shaken, terrified to move or do anything else long after everyone had started digging for the fallen senshi.

If anyone died because of this…

She closed her eyes, chasing the thought away. She pushed the shock and the guilt down, feeling like a liar, and flew down toward the others. Callisto and Sedna were already digging someone out, so she flew toward Enya’s side and helped her dig out Nocturnus. Her hands were trembling, thinking about the possibility of what they might find beneath. What if she was…?

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. The words echoed in her mind with every beat of her heart.

Sailor Nocturnus

She was caught up in talking to Panacea, nervously fidgeting, and didn't see the attack from Andromeda that set the spire rumbling. She felt the vibrations and the heard the noise, but before she could even turn and look up something knocked the wind from her lungs and her feet out from under her. Immediately unconscious from the blow, she didn't make even the slightest noise of resistance or fear. Her body slumped to the ground, easily covered by the rubble. The small sailor soldier-in-training didn't even have a final passing thought flutter through her mind; the darkness that she fell into was deep, silent, and complete.

Knowing that there would be a need for a great amount of healing, Achelois felt both worried and tired.  They had lost so much time and they had barely penetrated the spire and its defenses.  Yet their group was in trouble.  Achelois felt one her hands move up to her throat, gripping the amulet that the old woman had given her.  As her hand wrapped around it, she felt a stronger connection to her planet, and took a moment to ask Achelois for more energy.

Amulet:

Turmoil, chaos, guilt, fear. The emotions of their rag tag little group swirled around the air; if it had been visible, it would have looked like different colours, each representing its own emotions, swirling around violently. Eshana was sure that a person did not need to be an empath like herself in order to pick up on the turbulent emotions in the group. It was times like this where one could learn about relationships between people. 

Enyalius and Achelois, while worried for Amatheia, were primarily worried about the little senshi who had disappeared, trapped under one of the other piles of rubble. The guilt pouring off Andromeda stunned her as she continued to dig. Was she feeling responsible for what had happened? 

None of them could have forseen the stalagmites falling from the ceiling. Making a mental note to talk to the senshi later, she refocused her mind on the task before her.

Quote :

Makemake uses Sunlight Beam (5MP) and attacks Viperfish 5
Did it hit?
--5
How much damage?
--4
--CTRL 13
--MP 3
----Total of 20 points of damage (10 points needed)


Viperfish 5 has been defeated


Achelois activates the MP Amulet and regains 10 MP. 2 uses remain


EXP
Makemake gains 10 EXP

Makemake levels up! Makemake is level 2!
Makemake has 9 of 30 exp towards level 3

Nocturnus gains 10 EXP
Nocturnus has 18 out of 20 exp towards level 2

--------------------------TIMESKIP: ONE HOUR PASSES -----------------
Enyalius and Andromeda free Nocturnus from the debris.
Callisto and Sedna free Amatheia from the debris.


 Andromeda carries Nocturnus out of the spire 

 Sedna carries Amatheia out of the spire 
 Callisto lends her support to Makemake to lead her out of the spire 

   Enyalius, Achelois, and Panacea leave the spire. The party hovers outside the gaping hole, regrouping. 

 Achelois uses Revive (10 MP) and Revives Nocturnus, healing her to 3 HP.  

EXP
Achelois gains 3 EXP

Achelois levels up! Achelois is level 3!
Achelois has 0 of 40 exp towards level 4


Results of last Brownie Points Additional Points:
Callisto gains 2 EXP from brownie points!
Callisto has 2 exp out of 10 towards level 1
+Shield as a healing station! x2
+Diving in to get Enya
+Because shields are awesome

Sedna gains 2 EXP from brownie points!
Sedna has 19 out of 30 points towards level 3
+saved many butts with typhoons and such x2
+revived enyalius with CPR in the middle of the air

Andromeda gains 1 EXP from brownie points!
Andromeda has 4 exp out of 30 towards level 3
+checking the tower's surface
+her poor poor planet's under attack!

Makemake gains 1 EXP from brownie points!
Makemake has 10 exp out of 30 towards level 3
+used her vines to get people out of the water
+threw a shark

Vote for brownie point recipients~

Players may spend their Level Up Attribute/Stat Points at this time. Send me instructions over skype~

"Sailor Achelois, did you want to revive Sailor Amatheia while I begin healing Sailor Nocturnus?" 


They had finally gotten everyone out, taking more than an hour. How much more time did they have before they failed and planet Andromeda was lost?

Achelois nodded slowly in response to Sedna's offer to heal Nocturnus now that she was conscious again.  She was thankful that Sedna had been there to help with healing as well. Somehow the missions lately had been so... taxing on her energy, requiring multiple revivals and constant healing. She still felt drained and before taking on the knocked out Amatheia in Sedna's arms, Achelois reached for the amulet resting against her chest again, silently asking her planet for more energy.  Feeling a little bit rejuvinated, she tackled the task of bringing Amatheia back to consciousness.  Her staff glowed and she focused energy on the still figure.

Amulet and Heals:

Eshana stretched as Amatheia was taken by Achelois. She hadn't done this much healing....probably ever. It was a stretch of her abilities. She knew that her magic was needed more for healing than it was for fighting and she was confident in her ability to hold her own with her halberd. 

Moving closer to Nocturnus, she stopped by Andromeda, speaking softly so only the other senshi could hear as she gathered water from below and sent it over to the youngest senshi. "It is not your fault you know. Do not blame yourself for something that none of us foresaw happening."

Heals:

Nobody died, but carrying Nocturnus’ limp body out of the spire still felt like a punch in the gut. They had barely cleared one level and everyone’s lives hung in the balance, time was running out, and their healers’ energy spent.

This felt like a mission doomed to fail. And when it did, what would happen to the others? She was prepared to go down with this planet, but the others shouldn’t do the same. Sedna was telling her that it wasn’t her fault, but… how was it not? She had spent zero time to care that there were people below her as she attempted to break the ceiling of the level. Honestly, she had hardly thought about them at all.

“Everyone needs to go home. You shouldn’t be here,” she spoke to the group in general. She looked especially toward the younger ones like Nocturnus and Panacea. What business did they have going up against someone this powerful and endangering their own lives this early on? They were young. They should have their whole lives ahead of them, a proper training that did not involve constant life-or-death situations, and now she’d almost caused their lives to be cut short because of her carelessness.

“This is my planet, my problem. I can’t… I can’t ask you to do this.” She felt the beginnings of a panic attack coming on. How could she have endangered all their lives? From the first moment her home was threatened, she had faced Chaos alone. Everyone had deserted her, even her own guardian. And maybe that was for the best. She was right when she kept everyone on a distance—it was what kept them safe. It was her responsibility and hers alone. What right did she have to ask these other senshi—who had their own planets to protect—to help her? What was she supposed to do when they died and their planet was left unprotected?

“Too many people have nearly died trying to help me. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t…” Her breath hitched and she struggled to breathe. “I can’t be responsible for your lives.”

Or deaths.

Quote :

Achelois activates the MP Amulet and regains 10 MP. 1 use remains
 Achelois uses Revive (10 MP) and Revives Amatheia, healing her to 3 HP.  

Sedna uses Ocean's Grace (5 MP) and Heals Nocturnus 
How much healing?
--3
--CTRL 2
--MP 3
----Total of 8 HP restored

EXP
Achelois gains 8 EXP
Achelois has 8 of 40 exp towards level 4

Sedna gains 8 EXP
Sedna has 27 exp of 30 towards lvl 3

"No." She shook her head, smiling sadly at the other senshi's speech. "I will not leave. Please do not discount the fact that each of us are senshi, we knew the dangers going into this; that there was a good possibility that we would not survive."

At the rate they were going, there was a good chance that some of them would die on this planet. 

"Chaos has spread its evil everywhere, it has not only infected your planet but many others. Our duty is to protect and fight against it. Everyone here knows there duty, but there are those here that care about you as a friend." Eshana paused for a moment, her eyes roaming over the senshi that had been before this day, considered lost in the line of duty. 

"We are stronger when we fight together than when we try and do things on our own. Let us help you."

Removing those rocks, her fingers gingerly reaching beneath just in case they should encounter Nocturnus's body, was more stressful emotionally than physically taxing. As she worked side-by-side with Andromeda to find their senshi-in-training, all she could think about was how she had failed Nocturnus, while simultaneously worrying that Andromeda blamed herself for the disaster; what Andromeda had done had been an accident - she could not have foreseen the stalactites would fall, she did not intend for this to happen; she had not knowingly and willingly endangered the others. Like Enyalius had done to hundreds of thousands of her own people by abandoning them. Her heart beat painfully, her sailor crystal reminding her forcefully of what she had done, and what she continued to do. She discarded the thought, violently placing the head-sized rock beside her on the ground and reaching eagerly for another, something to put her muscles to attract her attention, but before she could grasp it she was reminded that she could not be rough with this. She could not power through this task with little regard; she could not afford to distract herself with strenuous activity. She had to be careful. Slowing her movements she reached gently for the next one, her eyes straining to see Nocturnus beneath the rubble, her thoughts unable to completely guard themselves from imagined scenarios back on Enyalius, of cycling through, rock by rock, the terrible things that could be happening there. Guilt weighed heavily on her, as it usually did when she thought about the planet she had left, but the pain from Chaos's attack on that world made the guilt more pointed, heavier, stronger than usual, and without distraction it threatened to suffocate her. How many had died while she was away? How many were dying now? She did not care for many of the people of that world, but what about the innocents who had no choice in being born there? 

Finally Nocturnus's arm was revealed, and she and Andromeda had worked double-time in freeing the rest of her; Andromeda pulled Nocturnus into her arms and flew off, and Enyalius stood, looking around in the dark, watching the shadows play in the low light entering from the cave mouth they had created as they all left to regroup outside. Feeling heavier, she pressed her wings harder and shot into the air to follow them, feeling deflated. 

It had taken a long time to excavate their fallen members; as Achelois worked her magic, Enyalius looked to the darkening sky; stars were visible now, and at this point, they could be facing the remaining enemies in true night, a prospect that did not excite her, but they could not have gone faster in the endeavor. Sedna and Achelois organized themselves into healing; Enyalius looked to Panacea, a new healer, and wondered what she could be thinking at this time; she was needed, but she was young. Was she frightened?

Andromeda's announcement kindled emotion within her; the girl was stressed out, afraid, feeling guilty - all of this was obvious. To Andromeda, the obvious option was to request the others return - it would be less people to worry about. Enya agreed on some fronts - she did not want Nocturnus endangered again; Panacea may be over her head, Callisto's helmet was damaged, so who knew if there were concussions involved in that, Sedna must be nearing energy depletion by now, and Amatheia had been knocked out twice, and she worried for her health. Enya felt like she was missing someone - Varuna, but she couldn't remember seeing the girl when they broke into the spire, and no one had mentioned her entering the ocean, so she might have flown back to the city after their encounter with the flying serpents. In any case, perhaps a smaller team could make it farther; else... her brows furrowed, remembering the life-forces Achelois had noticed on the next level, her mind working its way through a potential strategy for tackling that section and moving to the next as quickly as possible. Planning renewed her, letting her put all aspects of her mind to work rather than to simmer on thoughts that angered or saddened her; as the plan was still forming, she flew to Andromeda and put her hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"I will not leave you," she said, "The only person responsible for my life is me, and this is what I choose to do. I choose to help you."

Sailor Nocturnus

Sailor Nocturnus's eyes fluttered open. She did her best to mask her confusion at being outside of the Spire and held in someone's arms. It was hard to remember much before what was going on right now. The child caught the tail-end of Sailor Andromeda's impassioned plea, guessing that something relatively bad had happened. As she glanced around, it was only then that Nocturnus realized that Sailor Varuna was missing. Had the silver-haired young woman...? Sailor Nocturnus didn't have the heart to ask any questions. She felt sleepy, or maybe just confused; she couldn't even tell if her hand was still hurting.

Were they going to send her away? The sobering thought was unwelcome. She knew that she had much to learn about being a sailor soldier. She knew that her powers were decidedly under-developed when it came to repelling the many forms of Chaos. But these people, these mentors, were all that Sailor Nocturnus had. Not only did they share her calling, they held the only relationships she laid claim to. Did they not understand that there was nothing else for her to do, except join in this fight?

Sailor Makemake could hardly register Sailor Callisto assisting her. It wasn't until they were out in safety that she figured out what was going on. She gave her companion a warm smile.

"You didn't forget me," she said softly. "I knew you wouldn't."

Sailor Andromeda began to plead with them to leave. Makemake's eyes blinked as Sailor Sedna told her that they couldn't ever leave. The conversation confused her, not knowing it was Andromeda who brought on the ceiling collapse.

"What?" she said with a slight laugh. "I think she's joking, Sedna. There's no way we could leave. At least, I couldn't leave. I don't have any family... any friends really. I know what it's like to be alone. If this planet went away, so would Andromeda's family and friends. Andromeda would be alone. Can't have that happen. Nope."

It seemed the conversation was actually cheering Makemake up in an odd way. She turned and beamed an incredibly bright grin at Andromeda.

"You look like you could use something to eat. Have some sunlight."

Makemake pointed her finger at Andromeda, charging a Makemake Sunlight Beam attack. It didn't immediately fire, giving some time for someone to react before she accidentally murdered the person they were trying to help.

After finally unearthing Amatheia from the rock pile, Callisto stepped back to allow Sedna to carry her outside. Feeling lost at what to do next, she spotted Makemake sitting down by herself, surrounded by her dead vines. 

"Come on, we should head outside...." she said, encouraging her to stand up. Makemake was acting even stranger than usual, but the situation had turned rather traumatic, so it wasn't surprising. The other senshi's response was surprising though, and she could only smile back in response. It did make her feel a little better.

 When they were out of the Spire again, Callisto watched from a short distance as Nocturnus and Amatheia were revived, and after Andromeda asked them to leave for their safety, some of the other senshi refused and comforted her instead. Callisto agreed with their logic. Why would they turn their backs on her now? If there was Chaos to fight, they would be here to face it. Death was always a possibility, after all.

And then there was the question of Sailor Achelois. Callisto still hesitated to be near her at the moment. Would now be a good time to apologize for her earlier mistake, or would it just distract her? ...Maybe later, when this was over. She just couldn't bring herself to bring it up again, and she tried not to think about her still stained shield on her arm.

It took Callisto a moment to notice what Makemake was going to do until she saw he attack charging up. 

"W-wait, don't!" she said, already reaching for her wrist to point it away from anyone else.

Achelois felt tired and she was concerned for several of the other Senshi.  She didn't want Nocturnus to be in danger, Amatheia had been knocked out twice, Panacea had been nearly absent, they were missing Varuna, and Makemake was a strange being.  When Andromeda asked everyone to leave, Achelois nearly agreed in that some of the senshi should be sent someplace safe.  She hated to admit it, but sometimes a smaller effective team was better than many people who had no idea how to work together. How did they keep ending up in these situations? Now the darkening sky, suggested they had little time left, and seven enemies stood between them and destroying the seed.

Now a few senshi, including Enya, which came as no surprise, had refused Andromeda's request to leave.  Noticing Callisto's dented helmet, Achelois prepared to do some healing while she responded to Andromeda. Now that Amatheia had regained consciousness, Achelois angled over to Andromeda and pulled the senshi into a hug. "There's no way I would leave you in your hour of need," she replied, her voice was soft but strong, no wavering or hesitation was present.  It was obvious that many viewed Nocturnus as someone who was young and may need protection.  But Achelois knew that Andromeda was also young and had a troubled past.  Pulling back she kept a light grip on the girl's shoulder, hoping her presence would lend Andromeda some calm energy in this chaotic environment.  She looked around to get an idea of her next move magically when she heard Makemake talking to Andromeda and mention feeding her.  Confused she looked over to see the girl pointing a finger charged with energy at Andromeda.  Achelois was ready to pull Andromeda out of the way, as Callisto called out to Makemake and moved to stop her from firing at Andromeda. Maybe some of them shouldn't continue on...