"Excuse me. I need to get in there... my oven's wrecked. I need to use their oven!"

Meanwhile, Sailor Makemake was totally affected by the Chaos. She simply didn't have the insight to realize that the dark aura was getting the best of her. She stood there outside of the crowd with a rather distressed look on her face. She didn't budge when they began to move threateningly toward them.

"We need to get these people out of the way! They don't understand that they're just hungry and need food!"

The ignorant senshi began to dance in place, much like she was itching to use the restroom. She glanced nervously at Sailor Enyalius, who she pinpointed to be the one in charge.

"Should I... get them?" she asked the others vaguely.

Thankful for the move towards land, Achelois followed through the windy atmosphere towards the area where Andromeda was.  She side-eyed the whirling hurricane out at sea but her attention was quickly drawn to the agitated mob outside the castle.  She wondered if Andromeda had made her way inside or if she was outside somewhere, though she felt that neither area would be safe for her.  She frowned slightly as some of the new senshi didn't hover above the area and chose to land, though she was glad that Enya signaled to Nocturnus to remain afloat.  However her attention was redirected back towards the mob, she could feel the negative energy simmering around them.  Then the others began acting strange, MakeMake was saying strange things and moving around oddly, Amatheia was tilting her head as if to listen for something, and Varuna was clearly upset over the scene laid out before them.  

Then she heard something that gave her relief and she let out the breath she had been holding since descending.  Achelois looked to Andromeda as she came rushing up to them, listening as she explained what she knew so far.  It looked like Chaos seed was in the hurricane and it was causing everyone's negative energy to become unbalanced.  She again looked to the hurricane, it would have been helpful for there to be a visible boundary of the seed's influence like on her planet.  So they needed to get to the middle of the hurricane, but could they leave this mob alone?  There were bound to be weapons somewhere and if the people couldn't take out their frustrations on the royal family, how long before they turned on each other?

She was trying to think of a way to get the mob to calm down when she was again distracted by the senshi moving around erratically.  What were they doing?  She felt slightly irritated now, when she realized.  If the kingdom had been thrown into this state by the seed, then it was likely that they could also be affected by it.  Achelois took a deep breath and found the calm place inside her.  Being agitated would get nothing done.  They need to get the mob in check or there may be no kingdom left after they destroy the seed.  She knew Enya wouldn't let her stay behind to keep them calm, besides, the closer they get to the seed, the more likely they themselves will be affected.  She heard yelling from below and found that the mob had noticed them-and turned on them.  Of course. Her staff glowed just slightly as she extended her calm energy to the senshi near her, the ones who hadn't landed yet.  "Goal number one, let's try to not be killed by the angry mob."  She spoke, her voice low and a smirk stretching her lips.  "Maybe if we can get them into a sleep-like state, then we could safely leave them and go take care of that seed?"  But how could they do that?  It would take a lot of energy for her to get everyone so calm that they slept, and she would need to keep it going until the seed was destroyed.  They needed another way to do it, like an airborne drug, but where would they get one?

As she heard the shouts of the mob directed at them, Andromeda turned, noticing that several of the senshi were on the ground instead of flying like the rest of them. What the hell are they doing? Do they want to get killed?

Her irritation shot up as she heard a question from one of the newcomers, whose name she had not yet learned. Get them?

“No one hurts my people,” she warned. “I would suggest you all get back up here, out of their reach.”

She glanced back at the castle and remembered what they’d done on Zenar.

“Maybe… if we could get them to back up enough, I could fortify the gates with my chains like that time…”

But was it wise to trap everyone inside? What if the people inside started turning on each other too?

What they needed was a pause button on the action here while they fixed the source of the problem.

Amatheia continued to look around, but her glances were growing quicker. She had to figure out where the singing was coming from. For some reason, it felt like it was important, like some mystery she wasn't even completely aware of would be fully laid out before her. And she still couldn't break her arm from Varuna's hot grip. How could the girl stand to be such a high temperature? Was this what that hot flickering light thing was? She couldn't remember the name of it. She momentarily and suddenly longed for the comfortingly cold waters of the ocean.

She now realized Makemake was walking towards the mob, and the mobs attention had been directed at them. They were beginning to approach the group of senshi and Amatheia froze slightly in stature. She stared wide eyed at the mob, flashes of memory interposing over reality. It wasn't pink skinned human creatures, it was pale blue skinned folk. She felt as if she were so young again and she shuddered slightly.

She took a step back, but was unable to go far because of Varuna. Why was she remembering after all this time, those poor people who had no choice, who had choice ripped away because of them? The betrayal, the sadness. She raised her hands to her face, and let out a very high pitched scream, though it only lasted a couple dozen heartbeats, and as if on instinct, she held her hand out towards the mob, though she called out no attack despite her mouth still being open.

Startled by how quickly the crowd turned, Callisto took a step back, panic flashing in her eyes. Now it really was just like the past. Stuck between attacking them and defending herself, Callisto decided to take Andromeda's suggestion and floated up again, out of the crowd's reach. If they started flinging things, she could summon a barrier, but it wasn't an indefinite solution....

Sailor Makemake shook her head toward Sailor Andromeda. She presented her one arm toward her. Alarming, several vines lined with leaves began to grow out from under her glove. Some even began to grow from one of her boots and even from the side of her skirt.

"No. No. Not hurt. Get them, as in trap-"

Sailor Amatheia's scream rocked her consciousness. She stood there in a daze as the vines retreated back into her clothes. She held her head and looked up toward the screamer in question.

"Owww."

Things were happening all at once as the senshi were responding to the mob threat. She caught Makemake's questioning glance as Achelois started speaking calmly and clearly, and felt the twinge of calm attempting to soothe her raw nerves, but it didn't seem to last for very long; as she listened to Achelois and mentally agreed, Andromeda answered Makemake's question before Enya could, stating that no one would be allowed to harm her people, and then as Andromeda nervously mused about securing the gates, Amatheia started to scream, startling Enyalius completely and adding even more chaos and confusion to the situation, as - were those vines?! 

Frustration itched beneath her skin. They needed a breather. They needed to collect and compose themselves - they should retreat and come up with a plan, but between the mob and the storm, where could they go?! Her hands balled in fists at her side, took a deep breath and turned away from Andromeda as to not seemingly direct the command at her. "Everybody calm down!" she projected, trying to be heard above the mob, the storm, and the screaming senshi --


And then suddenly everything stopped. 


The wind stopped howling, the people of the mob froze in place, the rain ceased to fall; time had stopped around them, and silence, but for Amatheia's scream, surrounded them.

"No need to shout, Dearie, I heard you." 

In the square, between Makemake and the encroaching mob frozen in time, was a tiny old woman who had not been there before. She wore a hooded magenta robe cinched at her hips with a rope belt, a cloth bag tied in place that almost hung in front of her with the angle of her stooped back and shoulders. She seemed to rely heavily on a knotted staff. "Oh, do be quiet," she said irritably, and held up her hand towards Amatheia, whose voice immediately ceased, though she otherwise came to no harm. She looked up to the senshi still poised in the air and stumbled a bit doing so, being thrown off balance with the effort. "And come down here," she grumpily instructed, raising her arm and lowering it; as it lowered, so, too, did the flying senshi, coming down not of their own will, but, again, not being harmed in the process. "Making your elders look up at you," she muttered under her breath, "All discomfort - really now." 

As the senshi touched down, they were released, and free to move again. "There, that's better," the old woman commented, able to look at all of them easily now.

DM wrote:

Amatheia will be able to talk normally, but the crone has stopped her screaming.

...also it's the nature of this character to godmod xD please excuse her crotchety-ness

Amatheia gave another shudder, staring at the crowd. Why was she remembering long passed memories? She wasn't sure if she was going to attack them or not. What could she do? Then she was distinctly aware of Enyalius hollering for everyone to calm down. And then belated she realized, everything had just...stopped. Even the singing seemed to have disappeared. She blinked slowly a few times before she cautiously lowered her arm, and realized there was someone speaking to them.

The others were on the ground now as well, and the crone seemed to be pleased with something. Amatheia touched her head a moment then put her arms by her side, examining the crone with a quietly baffled expression. Was she the cause for everything stopping? Who was she to have such power, if that were the case?

Ask, and ye shall receive.

She had wanted someone to pause everything, and suddenly it happened. Only for a moment did she wonder if she possessed such a power in her own planet before disregarding it completely. If she did, surely she would have been able to activate it sooner or at least influenced the crowd in a more useful manner.

It seemed everything in the planet was frozen in time… except for the senshi.

At the sound of a familiar voice, she looked down, and was surprised to see the old woman from the shop she had visited a little while ago. She was slightly alarmed when she was pulled to the ground against her will. Right now she was really nervous about everything going on here, and the notion of someone with such power to stop everything and control her as well as the rest of the senshi was hardly reassuring.

“You,” she said, her voice sounding strange in the eerie silent. “You’re the woman from the shop. Who are you really?” she asked. She’d thought the woman was just a magical peddler in some old shop… but clearly she was mistaken about it.

Was she on the side of Chaos? Was she there to help the senshi?

Or was she just a neutral third party who did not wish to interfere beyond mutually beneficial transactions?

Maybe she’d only frozen the place so she could deliver the wares Andromeda had ordered safely. Still, she wondered how much she could pay the old woman to keep everything frozen long enough to fix everything…

At Enyalius's yell for order, everything just...stopped. The bloodthirsty cries of the mob below them died out, and the whole planet was quiet. The mental pressure on Callisto seemed to lessen, and she looked around. Everything was frozen somehow. But..who could do such a thing? Her eyes fell on an old woman in a cloak, and her confusion doubled. How did she get here?

Callisto tensed when the woman moved her hand and a strange, yet gentle force, pulled her to the ground again, and she stared dumbfounded at the newcomer. Was she a new threat? But....the old lady would have done something bad to them by now if she was. She just appeared to be in a foul mood.

"U-uh...our apologies..." Callisto said to her, feeling like a child that had just been chastised by their grandparent. You were supposed to be polite to the elderly, and that was about the only thing that seemed logical to her at the moment, so she latched onto it. Despite being 900 years old, Callisto was at a loss for what to do.

Amatheia tilted her head slightly at Andromeda's words and frowned ever so slightly. Now that she had said it, the woman did seem familiar...There had been a shop, and she had bought some items that had peaked her interest for some reason. And this was the woman who had sold her items. She was even more curious about this crone now. But she was curious about their now paused surroundings as well. She took a moment to look around and observe everything, and look towards the hurricane.

She realized now that the singing she had heard had been coming from that storm. She had been so distracted by the heat of Varuna's hand even through the material of her glove. That made her realize that she was still being held by the young girl. She looked at her, and gave her that faint frown again. “Will you please let go of me? Your temperature is too hot, and it's very uncomfortable for me.”

Surprise halted her tongue; indecision locked it to the roof of her mouth. Who was this woman? Immediately she wanted to be suspicious, she wanted to expect the worst, but she wasn't getting any bad vibes off of the little old lady. As the woman's movements cut of Amatheia's scream, she counted herself wise for not interrupting, and immediately started considering what else the woman was capable of, and thus what kind of threat she could pose, but even as her own body was lowered to the ground, she could still not see the odd crone as having malicious intent. A little grumpy, someone to be wary of, but, though she could be biased towards seeing elders as peaceful, wise, and generally honest, she was not negatively alarmed by the woman. Only curious.

Andromeda caught her off guard again - just when she thought the newcomer was an unknown for them all, Andromeda revealed she had met her before, and at a shop, of all things. Who was this woman?

The woman nodded her head and waved her hand dismissively towards Callisto, as though uninterested in apologies, and turned her bright eyes to regard Andromeda. An airy cackle escaped as a chuckle before she clicked her tongue and shuffled forward, relying heavily on her cane-staff. She reached up an old arm and patted Makemake on the shoulder as she passed, muttering, "For luck," out of the corner of her mouth as she did. She stopped shuffling in front of Amatheia and Varuna, regarding both with a critical gaze; with a flick of her wrist, Varuna's hand gently released Amatheia, and the crone reached up to put her free hand on Varuna's forehead, as though feeling her temperature. "Be at peace," she said, her intonation toeing the corner between snide remark and blessing. She then turned to Amatheia and fiddled with the cloth purse at her waist, reaching in and taking out a small object. "Here, girl," the crone intoned, handing over a necklace and a small bottle of red liquid; she turned to the next senshi and, as though unable to help herself, she muttered grumpily, "Don't waste it."

Her hobbling shuffle paused at Panacea this time, and as she glanced down to her bag, she did a double take, her eyes finding the girl's fox. She crooned and tut-tut'd the creature, reaching up a knarled old finger to brush against the fox's face, and commented offhandedly, "What a pretty little thing," as she reached into her bag and withdrew another small red vial and pressed it into Panacea's hand. She then took that hand, a little roughly, the callouses on her palms scratching uncomfortably against Panacea's gloves, and intoned quietly, "Mutatio fate." Without and explanation, she shuffled on, giving one last tut-tut up at the little fox on Panacea's shoulders.

She paused at Sedna and pulled two vials out of her bag, both blue, and handed them over, "Consider wisely." Without anymore todo, she shuffled to Callisto and reached in to pull out three items - a necklace and two small vials, one red, one green. She handed the first two over easily, but with the third she paused, "Be careful." Next she moved to hand over another small necklace to Achelois, considering her closely and offering nothing but a wordless scoff of consideration. 

Turning to Nocturnus, she spoke in a lighter tone, "Here you go, dearie." From her small bag, she produced first a pair of child-sized gauntlets and handed them over carefully, and then two small vials, one red, one blue, and handed them over carefully into the young girl's empty hand. "Be careful. Somebody cares for you very much."

DM wrote:

Upon receiving an item from the Crone, you are able to remember, as though from a dream, meeting her somewhere before. The intention of the item becomes completely clear - your character will know exactly what it is, what it does, and how to use it. 

Makemake and Varuna - while your characters did not get any items, the crone threw a sloppy blessing their way XD You can choose to let it affect your character or not, personality wise, but it won't have any status effects.

Warily, Enyalius watched as the crone visited each member of their team, offering what seemed to be trinkets to most, and shuffling on to the next. Into Achelois's hands she pressed a necklace, but the scoff she gave somewhat concerned her; her treatment of Nocturnus, however, did not. As the woman moved on, looking to Andromeda, Enyalius bent down and helped the young senshi with the new gauntlets, appreciative of the extra bit of armor. She secured them tightly, smiling encouragingly up at the girl and patting the curved metal appreciatively, half listening to what the old woman told Andromeda, before looking up to see the woman had finished her dealing and was now looking to her.

Amatheia blinked as the crone approached her in turn after dealing with some of the other senshi, then released a relieved breath when the young girl's hand was removed from her arm, along with the dreadful body heat the girl gave off. She smiled gratefully to the crone. “Thank you.” She said simply. What more was needed? Then the crone was giving her a delicate necklace and a vial of liquid.

As soon as she touched it, she remembered perfectly now. She gave a slightly delighted smile as she accepted the items. She slipped the necklace over her head and pulled her hair through the chain with relative ease. She fingered the pendant, delighting in the shiny metal as she stared at it happily. Then she observed the vial of red liquid a moment before she tucked it away into a secure place in her fuku. She patted it lightly then gave a nod of thanks towards the crone.

The crone turned to Andromeda and chuckled by way of cackle again. "You remembered far too easily," she mused quietly, thoughtfully. Her brows narrowed, considering her, "What does fate have in store for you...?" After a thoughtful pause, she shrugged her shoulders with an utterance of, "Eh," and reached into her bag for another small green potion. She pressed it into Andromeda's hands and then wrapped her large calloused hand around Andromeda's and intoned, "Mutatio Fate."

She turned to see the last of them on her knees, helping the child don her new armor with deft hands. Upon catching gazes, Sailor Enyalius stood, and the crone regarded her with narrowed eyes. "Don't be stupid," she said, and reached in to her bag to press a small green potion and worn wooden chip into her hand, then held it tightly, as she had with Andromeda and Panacea, but this time intoned, "Fata Redire ter."

When she let go, she was suddenly back where she started, in front of them all. "The task you have ahead of you is filled with peril," her old voice sang out, quiet and wavering but easy to hear; her tone changed from warning to almost exhaustive, "but I can see there will be no deterring you." She paused again, nodding to herself, "Which is good. It is what is needed. It will not be enough, though." Her eyes swept past them, "The gifts I have given you have been paid for. The gifts I am about to give have not. As payment, I expect you to make it to that tower and destroy that seed before it can cause more harm. These are my final gifts. 


"First, immunity to the Siren's Call. Her song will no longer be able to reach you and play on your nerves to irritate and frustrate you as she has these people. 


"Second, greater attunement. You need to become stronger, faster, more powerful if you would stand up to Chaos in all of its forms, and I have just unlocked that potential in all of you. Everything you do now can lead you to becoming the Senshi you were meant to be."


She paused, as though thinking, and then shrugged her knarled old shoulders, "Eh, that's it. Oh, and don't worry too much about the people here; you've got 27 hours before the song will drive them to kill each other." She smiled and positioned her hands apart, "Get crackin'!" she cackled, clapping her hands together and disappearing entirely. 

DM wrote:

The world returned to normal speed, the wind, the rain, the angry mob all starting exactly as they stopped, all but the low-frequency siren song. Their minds were no longer distracted, driven to frustration, trying to puzzle out the low vibrations their ears were picking up, and their thoughts cleared for it.

Enyalius could still feel the warm, calloused hands holding tightly to her own. She could see the narrowed black eyes, could hear the echoing warning scoff in her head, 'Don't be stupid'. Stupid about what? About leading? Was she trying to warn her she would make a mistake? But even as she thought these things, she knew she was, right then, being stupid about pretending she didn't know exactly what the crone was talking about. She pressed it down and away as the Crone relayed her other gifts, puzzling things together as she could; they had to make it to a tower and destroy the Chaos Seed; there was some sort of Siren song that was affecting them that now would not be, but would continue to affect Andromeda's people until, she supposed, they defeated the Siren singing the song; they would be getting stronger - for that she was grateful - but they effectively had 27 hours to destroy the seed. 

As the world burst to life around them, Enyalius called out orders. "You heard her! Everybody up and away from the mob - we need to find this tower." As she took to the air, tucking her vials into the soft fabric of her collar and thinking that, later, she would hand them to Achelois for safer keeping, she asked of Andromeda, "You think this tower and Chaos Seed is in the storm?"

Amatheia continued to watch the crone as she visited each senshi in turn. Then it seemed as if she had blinked, and the crone returned to where she had first appeared, startling Amatheia a bit. Then her mouth fell open in surprise at the mention of a siren call and song. That had been what she was hearing! For a moment, she felt delight that another siren was here, but then it faded abruptly when she realized the siren must have been corrupted by Chaos, and she felt sad that it had happened once again. Would it ever stop? But now, Amatheia would make every attempt to save the fellow siren if she could.

She mused a moment over what the crone had said about attunement. She didn't really feel any different, did she? She touched her brooch a moment as if to check, but didn't find anything unusual. Then the crone was gone, and time was moving again. And the crowd was still approaching. She frowned at this. Then she heard Enyalis speaking about getting away from the mob. She gave her wings a slight flutter and lifted into the air, out of grasp of the people below.

As the old woman started handing out her gifts and neglected to answer her question, Andromeda decided not to ask another; whoever she was, she had clearly decided what she would and would not share and she suspected there was no way to change that. They might never really know who she was, but maybe next time she dropped by that shop, she might learn something new…

She received the potion, tucking it into a safe place on her person, and wondered if the spell really affected her luck in some way. She thanked the woman before she moved on to Enyalius, listening to her words when she was finally addressing all of them. Peril. Well, what else was new? And this time, more than ever, she was ready for it.

The payment for the additional gifts—well, she was already going to do that anyway, or die trying, so she supposed it was fair. So there had been a siren in their midst, driving everyone crazy? At least that wouldn’t affect them anymore…

More power. That was reassuring, as well. And finally, 27 hours to make it back in time to save everyone. Relief and gratefulness flooded her, she probably would have hugged that woman if she hadn’t disappeared so quickly. Next time Andromeda stopped by her shop, maybe she could pay her extra for this.

As the world returned to life, bringing with it all the sounds from before, Enya gave the order to move out. Andromeda’s wings were still out, and she flew back to the sky easily.

To Enya’s question, she nodded and looked toward the hurricane once more. “I am quite certain of it.”

Even if she could not feel it, that hurricane was not natural.

Hovering above the mob, Panacea mostly sealed herself off from the rest, her urge to rest becoming stronger and stronger with every second. It wasn’t that she was only tired, exhausted, drained – no, there was also a kind of annoyance that seized hold of her the more she spent her time on the planet.
She couldn’t deny it, she was an entire wreck at the moment, and while almost losing her will to keep on fighting, she eventually gathered her wits as she noticed the furry paw patting her on the back.
 
Her bright blue eyes gazed up, spotting the fox and noticing the warmth coming from his paw. She smiled, not feeling the need to say anything, and nodded as if it was her way to show her gratitude.
 
Though she didn’t feel any more energetic than before, the tiny pinch of support already made her feel a lot better. Her limbs were still stiff, her back still hurt – but at least her mind was now playing along as it was supposed to be. She was fine with going on now, she was fine with fighting Chaos – however, just before she would say anything, her eyes suddenly started to widen as time apparently stopped and the mob went quiet.
 
Her eyes then fell on the crone below them, a rather strange lady who appeared out of nowhere and demanded them to come down to her. She raised an eyebrow, wondering who that lady might be, as she suddenly noticed a force inside her body, somehow controlling her wings and compelling her to come down.
She didn’t know what it was – fear, curiosity, wonder – but somehow the crone caught her interest, making her wonder if she was on the mob’s or on their side.
 
However, asking her didn’t seem necessary anymore. Before asking anything, the crone went ahead, giving them, one after another, strange glasses with colorful liquids in it. The whole thing was an enigma to her – at least to the point where she eventually touched the glass the crone gave her.
 
Suddenly memories came up – memories she couldn’t really assign to a point of time, but which somehow made the crone and the glasses appear familiar to her. She didn’t know how and why, but she knew it. She remembered the crone and she remembered the purpose of the glasses.
“Thank you,” she replied politely, giving her a friendly smile before she petted Vulpix a last time.
 
While Vulpix enjoyed the petting session, Panacea listened carefully to what she had to say, grasping that they apparently had to reach the storm and the described tower in order to end the whole chaos.
She was determined – unsure to a certain point, but determined. They could do it. It would be no picnic, but it was possible.
 
Spreading her wings, Panacea eventually soared into the air again, thanks to the attunement now also with more power than before.

At least the woman didn't seem upset with them. On the contrary, she started speaking to each of the personally and even handing them things. But what did the items do, and where did they come from? When Callisto was handed her own gift, the second she touched the vials, vague memories came back to her. This was the old woman from the shop! How has she forgotten visiting it? Or was the shop ever real in the first place? This was starting to make her head hurt...

Accepting the amulet and two vials, Callisto nodded at her accompanied warning, and hid the vials away. The amulet was strapped directly to her armor, in reach in case she required it.

With assurance that the crowd would not immediately attack each other, the senshi could finally start dealing with he Chaos seed, although there was a limited time period for success. But with the Siren's Song no longer tearing them apart and the shopkeeper's blessings, they had a much better change of winning. Callisto kicked off the ground again, cheered up by their new circumstances. They would surely be able to save this planet!

"To the hurricane then!" Callisto said, already antsy to move forward.

Everything but them had stopped, and yet Achelois felt no fear.  Though Amatheia's scream had continued on for a few more seconds, the old woman now before them had effectively silenced her.  Even as she felt herself being gently pulled to the ground, Achelois simply watched the old woman.  She was amazed at the power she had, how easy she made these great feats look.  As Andromeda recognized the woman, she herself could feel no malice or hatred coming from the elderly before them.  Achelois's eyes followed her as she made rounds, passing out objects to some, chanting words over others.  The old woman made her way to Achelois and pressed the amulet into her hands.  Achelois considered her as intently as she studied her, and when the old woman scoffed at her, she paused before grinning in return, flashes of dream passed before her mind.  

Enya helped Nocturnus put on her gifts and after Andromeda received her own, the woman presented Enya with some items, her comment, "Don't be stupid," caused Achelois to snicker subtly to herself.  She recovered quickly as her thoughts turned down a darker road, but was interrupted as the old woman began speaking to all of them.  She was grateful to hear that their two biggest problems would be answered.  She found the better attunement interesting as well.  After the old woman disappeared as mysteriously as she had arrived, she donned the amulet and tucked into the top of her clothing.  Following Enya she jumped off the ground and hovered in the air, glad to see that the people truly would not kill each other, yet.

"T-thank you," Sailor Makemake said sheepishly as the mysterious woman approached her.

One might think that she would be offended that she received nothing like Sailor Varuna. But her eyes were sparkling with the gift of "luck." To her, it was all she needed to be confident in this mission. She was gifted the very essence of luck itself! Wow!

Then, the old woman bestowed two more blessings upon the group. At this point, Makemake had no idea what they were, but she reminded herself to take it seriously. Did her power suddenly increase? She didn't feel like it did.

"I am a sun," she whispered, but didn't understand why she said it.

Rather plain wings emerged from her back as she took off to the sky with the others.

Enyalius nodded to Andromeda, and then smiled and tilted her head toward the hurricane as Callisto joined them. "To the hurricane," she seconded, and shot forward, towards the ocean and the churning seas beyond. She couldn't see much through the wind and rain, but she could assume a tower stood out there in the middle of the storm; they had to reach it, breach it, and destroy what was within in under 27 hours. If they worked hard, they should be able to manage that.

The air cooled as land gave way to sea beneath her, the docks and vessels tossing about in the choppy waters below. Bracing herself, she entered the cross breeze, using her energy to strengthen her wings to withstand the gales.

DM wrote:

Strength Check.

Strength of Hurricane Wind: 11
Enyalius Strength: 20
Enyalius Control: 0
Enyalius Magic-Enhanced Strength: 20

Enyalius can withstand the wind.

 
It was difficult, but with years of flight experience, she could withstand the storm winds.  However, how would the others fare? Would they be able to make it? What could they use to get there if they couldn't?

The words from the old woman instantly calmed Varuna, and she suddenly became aware of how insincere she had been acting. Why had the Siren's song affected her so much? Could it be because of the situation, and how close it hit to home? Shaking her head sadly, Varuna turned to Amatheia and bowed her head slightly. "My apologies. I do hope you understand that I would never behave in such a way under normal circumstances. Thank you for your patience," she said. Her face began to feel warm with embarrassment as a lump rose in Varuna's throat. She stopped talking and faced ahead, her mind trying to go over everything that had just happened. She felt much more calm and at ease now that the Siren's song had no effect, but the angry mob still made her feel sick to her stomach. Varuna wanted to get away from them, but she wasn't about to make that clear to her comrades.

Thankfully, the group decided to take back to the air. She eagerly followed, but after realizing that they were heading towards the hurricane, Varuna paled. Hurricanes were storms of incredibly strong winds. Would she be able to handle it? She wasn't very strong, and her flying skills were already limited enough as it was. She could try to use her powers to increase her strength, but would even that be enough?

She wanted to believe in herself and push herself, but there was only so much a small senshi like herself could accomplish. She was brave and she was determined, but this was a hurricane. Hurricanes didn't care about bravery.

Worried that she would be left behind, Varuna increased her speed so that she would reach Andromeda before she entered the stronger winds. "Andromeda, I...I do not think I will be able to make it through this storm." Ashamed by her weakness, Varuna couldn't meet her fellow water senshi's eyes. Of course Andromeda had more important things to worry about now. Why did Varuna even bother to whine about her own problems?

Sailor Makemake

With a Strength of 1 and a Control of 13, Sailor Makemake can face the winds.

Sailor Makemake was shocked to see how strong the winds really were. Of course, she should have suspected as much. It was a hurricane after all. She noticed it was tough to fly, but she still managed to get through.

She noticed some of the others were struggling though. This surprised her, as she automatically assumed she was the weakest of them (which was far from the truth). She flew up behind Sailor Varuna. With a somewhat wide eyed, yet serious face, she looked to Sailor Andromeda.

"Don't worry! I can help! I don't have a family, Andromeda, but I know you've got enough to worry about!"

It would have been a solemn statement just about anyone else. From Makemake though, it sounded as though she was merely saying something matter of fact.

Callisto pushed forward, flying directly towards the center of the spinning storm.  Even as she drew nearer, she felt the effects of the hurricane intensify, and she wavered in the middle of her flight before straightening out again. She watched as Enyalius went headfirst into the hurricane itself, pushing through and maintaining her straight path. Another senshi, Sailor Varuna, hesitated more and didn't attempt at all.

This wasn't as easy as she assumed it would be, but... she wasn't about to back out of this now. Callisto paused to collect herself, and then charged into the cross breeze, determined to make it through herself.

Achelois followed the group up until the hurricane at which point Enya, Makemake, and Callisto flew straight into the hurricane, aiming for the eye.  She knew that she would have been able to make the short journey herself but she looked around at the others.  Not everyone could make that journey, even Andromeda might struggle with her.  Her eyes fell to Nocturnus as she heard Varuna question her ability to as well.  She knew Nocturnus would be unable to make the flight as well.  She looked around, the boats at the harbor behind them in the back of her mind, but she preferred to not have to resort to sailing through a hurricane.  She couldn't fairy them back and for the either, that would prove too difficult with the storm's power.  Her thoughts traveled back to her planet and her experiences when she began laughing out loud.  Of course! How could she have forgotten the most obvious way?!

Achelois hovered near Nocturnus, Andromeda, Varuna, and the others who would not be able to make it through.  She smiled as she announced, "I have an idea!"  Then she pointed upward towards space, "If we can't make it through the storm, then let's fly over it." She waited for a second before continuing her explanation, "We can fly above the atmosphere and re-enter in the eye, then we won't have to deal with the storm itself."  She hoped the girls would agree, if not, they would be left trying to enter by boat, and she did not want that.  She looked to Andromeda and Nocturnus warmly before glancing around at the others as well.

The closer they got to the hurricane, the stronger the wind was pushing them back. Some of them seemed to be faring better than others, and with dread Andromeda realized that she was barely holding against it. She wasn’t confident she could make it all the way through without a little bit of a boost.

She was surprised when Varuna suddenly spoke to her about her own concerns, looking ashamed of herself. Andromeda grasped the other senshi’s shoulder briefly to reassure her. “Don’t worry. I don’t think I’m strong enough, either.”

It would have been something embarrassing to admit, as the senshi of this planet and someone who’d been on these missions a couple times now, but she knew her experience was still far less than many of those around her. She did her best with what she had, but the truth was sometimes it just wasn’t enough. And there was no point pretending otherwise—it wasn’t like the situation would suddenly change just because she wanted it to.

Makemake spoke to them, and Andromeda was surprised by her kindness. She wasn’t sure what exactly the other senshi had in mind, but it didn’t really… register with her until now that all these other senshi were essentially risking their lives for her planet. Some of them didn’t even know her. It almost brought tears to her eyes. Why was it that strangers continued to show the kindness she never got from her own people and her own family?

“Thank you. And I’m sorry about snapping at you earlier,” she told Makemake. Now that her nerves weren’t frayed anymore, she could think clearly again.

Achelois’ laugh caught her attention, bewildering her. Had Achelois managed to find something funny in all this? But as Andromeda looked at her, the senshi brightened up and announced that she had an idea. For a moment, Andromeda didn’t understand—fly over it? Until Achelois explained that they needed to get above the atmosphere. Right, back into space.

“That seems like a good idea. Simple and relatively harmless. What do you guys say?” she asked the others who had not flown past the hurricane yet.