Sailor Nocturnus

Andromeda began the attack, and Sailor Nocturnus was ready to follow. The adrenaline suddenly coursing through her veins provided that extra boost to force the dark-clad sailor soldier-in-training from her hesitation. Her black eyes saw the baby cradle, and she nearly faltered, but no--this wouldn't be an actual baby. It was an egg: a Chaos seed. This was what was poisoning this poor planet that Sailor Andromeda wanted to protect. She couldn't let the beautiful room and the beautiful singing distract her.

With that thought in mind, she prayed that her attack would work, and unleashed it on the scene before her.

Attack:

Enyalius watched Andromeda's focus; the single-minded way she downed her potion and entered the room above was almost inspiring. Being reminded of the potion the crone had given her, Enyalius uncapped the green liquid and downed it; nearly gagging on the taste but feeling the effects immediately as her muscles tingled with added strength. Don't be stupid - ha! 

Rolling her shoulders, she shot up behind Andromeda just in time to see her Trident land in the sea-creature's chest; she took in the "furniture" and took a better grip on her sword; she didn't like this. Her eyes fell on the egg behind the creature and she grit her teeth - she didn't like this at all.

Nocturnus shot up through the floor after them and shot of an attack bravely; Enyalius's warning died on her lips, and she dove in front of Nocturnus, summoning her shield at the last second.

Quote :

Nocturnus uses Ecliptic Rotation (4 HP) and attempts to attack the enemies!
Does it hit?
Siren
--3
Miss
Chaos Egg
--4
Hit
How much damage?
--4
--CTRL 5
--MP 2
--Siren Song Barricade: -10
----Total of 1 points of damage


The Siren plucks Andromeda's Trident from her chest, but is distracted when Nocturnus's starry night exploded outward into shooting stars that did nothing to her, but attacked the crib. Screaming in rage, she throws Andromeda's Trident at Nocturnus!


Siren attempts to attack Nocturnus with Andromeda's Trident!!
 Enyalius attempts to shield Nocturnus! 
Does she get there in time?
--5
Enyalius will take Nocturnus's damage!
Does it hit?
--6 Critical hit!
How much damage?
--5
--STR 8
--WPN 2
--Armor -6
----Total of 9 points of damage

The trident hit the shield mostly, slicing through her exposed arm a bit and knocked her back onto the small senshi to land on the floor in a heap. "Watch the egg!" she warned, "It probably thinks it's its child and will defend it!"

Callisto quickly summoned Starlight Barricade again as Amatheia yelled for her shield, once again sealing the hole. That would keep the enemies out for now.... 

"It's singing," Callisto said to Makemake, keeping her voice down. Had she not encountered it before? Andromeda entered the final chamber ahead of them, and Callisto, and after waiting in case something happened, she followed after. Andromeda had not wasted any time attacking the creature she assumed was their Siren. And was that a baby's crib? Just what was going on here?

With a barely concealed growl, Callisto landed on the ground and pulled out her last potion, the Invigorating one. She drank it and dropped the empty container, not even registering the taste through the haze of rage that she allowed to wash over her. Actually, it tasted disgusting, but that only pissed her off more.

All the negative little things that happened on this mission seemed to come back to the forefront of her mind, along with her own guilt she had tried to ignore. A more guttural sound escaped her lips, and the planetary marking hidden under her dented forehead burned. Her body glowed a dark orange until only her faint outline was visible, and then she shifted into something larger and bulkier. With an angry bellow, a dark brown bear focused its gaze on the Siren, and fell onto all fours in preparation to charge.

Watching it throw a trident at Nocturnus didn't endear the Siren any more to her, and she ran at it with no remorse.

Quote :

Callisto uses Starlight Barricade! (5MP)


Callisto uses her Invigoration Potion

--STR +5 til end of battle

Callisto uses Callisto Vengeful Ursa (10 MP) and transforms into a bear!
--DEX +3
--STR +3
--ARMOR +2
--CANNOT USE OTHER ABILITIES
--EFFECTIVE FOR 4 BATTLE TURNS


Callisto attempts to attack the Siren!

Did it hit?
--3
She misses!
Did it hit the bassinet?
--1
She misses!
Turn 1 of 4 as a bear complete!


Angrily, the Siren hisses and moves in front of the bassinet to protect it!

Sailor Nocturnus

It came as no surprise to Sailor Nocturnus that the Siren noticed her and retaliated, although she regretted the missed opportunity to celebrate her attack working successfully. She knew it couldn't have had a significant impact on their opponents, but the Siren's reaction made her feel that she had at least done something. What she didn't quite expect was for Sailor Enyalius to leap in front of her, taking the brunt of the returned trident. Sailor Nocturnus felt a pang of guilt to have caused worry for the other sailor soldier...but she reminded herself that this was a battle. She'd try not to be a distraction to the others, but she wanted to help if she could.

Sailor Nocturnus nodded at Enyalius' warning and picked herself up from where she lay sprawled, eyes never leaving the Siren. She gasped to see the bear form of Sailor Callisto rush at the creature. What an amazing power!

Achelois followed up after Nocturnus and Enya through the hole, just in time to see the Siren throw Andromeda's spear at Nocturnus.  Achelois's muscles twitched to move but was relieved to see that Enya had gotten there first and shielded the young senshi.  She quickly took in their surroundings and laid eyes on the Chaos seed.  It's energy felt like every other Chaos force she and Enya had gone against, the feeling making her skin crawl.  Enya called out information but Achelois knew from the lullaby what the siren thought of the seed.  She ground her teeth and locked her jaw, they wouldn't be able to talk the siren down, they would have to kill her to kill the seed.  Achelois sighed deeply and focused her energy on Enya, Nocturnus, and Amatheia, better to make sure they weren't KO'd too quickly again.

Heals:

Quote :

Achelois uses Wide Heal (3 MP) on Enya, Nocturnus, and Amatheia
How much?
--4
--CTRL 16
--MP 2
----Total of 22 to be split
 +9
 +5
 +8 

EXP
 gains 22 EXP

Achelois levels up! Level 4 attained!
Spend points after battle
Has 14/50 towards level 5

next round attack reminder
andromeda use wave tide maelstrom; if miss, reroll for crit with item

She missed! Callisto stumbled to a halt and turned around to face the Siren again. She snorted in displeasure and stood on her hind legs this time to take a swipe at the creature with her paws.

Amatheia watched in relief as the hole was sealed once more and drifted into the air on her wings. She looked up to the hole and could already hear sounds of battle. Her stomach clenched a little. Had they reached the siren now? She flew up to the hole and into the next room and was stopped short by what she saw. It looked like a nursery more than anything else! And there was a creature with a tail, defending a bassinet. Amatheia frowned quietly in bemusement. Everyone seemed to be attacking the creature, and Amatheia began edging forward cautiously. She glanced into the cradle and felt her heart almost stop when she saw what lay inside it.

“What are you doing?” She half whispered, half sang in the direction of the siren.

She watched in satisfaction as her trident hit its mark, wounding the Siren for the first time. But while she seemed injured, she didn’t seem angry… yet. However, the moment the crib was attacked, the Siren suddenly showed emotion for the first time, akin to a mother whose child had been hurt. Interesting reaction.

But then she did the unforgivable act of 1) using Andromeda’s weapon 2) against Nocturnus. Andromeda herself suddenly wanted to shriek in rage. Thankfully, Enya was quick enough to defend her. “Are you two okay?!” she asked, moving forward to help Enya get up and retrieve her trident.

That was when she heard a growl behind her, and when she turned, suddenly a bear ran past her toward the Siren with bloodlust. She staggered back in surprise.

Unfortunately, the bear missed. Now that the Siren stood in front of the crib protectively, Andromeda wondered if there was a way to use this overprotectiveness to their advantage. Surely what they came to destroy was that egg, but with the Siren in the way they were forced to kill her first to get to the egg. Was there a way to immobilize or incapacitate the Siren temporarily so they could destroy the egg without any distraction?

There just might be.

Focusing on the Siren, Andromeda called out, “Wave Tide Maelstrom!” and sent crashing waves toward the woman, in an attempt to trap her in a whirlpool for at least a little while.

The Siren hisses at Amatheia, obviously protecting the chaos seed.


Enyalius pulled herself up off the floor, feeling rejuvinated by Achelois's energy, and watched with surprised fascination as Callisto turned into a bear. 
A bear. 
Callisto was now a bear, and was attacking the Siren, so she was a smart bear - Enyalius dropped her shield and dashed forward towards the Siren, hiding her advance behind Callisto's bulk; she had never worked with a bear before, but she had worked with a bear-of-a-man back in training, so the same tricks could work. As she approached, she waited for Callisto to swing her arm before hooking her off-hand onto Callisto's off-arm and swung, using the momentum she gained in her sprint to swing her around, sword first, into the siren.

Quote :

Callisto attempts to attack the Siren!
Does it hit?
--4
How much damage?
--1
--STR 18
--WPN 1
----Total of 20 points of damage


Enyaius attempts to sneak attack Siren!
Does it hit? Sneak attack bonus - 3+ roll hits
--3
How much damage?
--2
--STR 27
--WPN 2
----Total of 31 points of damage


Achelois uses natural energy (6) and attempts to attack the Siren!
Does it hit?
--6 critial hit
how much damage?
--1
--CTRL 16
--MP 3
----total of 20 points of damage

Sedna uses Moonlight Kiss (4)and attempts to attack the Siren!
Does it hit?
--6
how much damage
--3
--CTrl 3
--MP 2
----total of 8 points of damage

The bombardment of attacks caused the siren to cry out in pain and fear; as the bear clawed at her, the sword cut into her, the spear jabbed at her and the knife cut her, she fell back onto the cradle and shrieked loud enough to make all of them wince, buying her a split second to dig a shell decoration off of the cradle and crush it within her grip. With another cry she threw it out in an arc, the shell fragments flying in all directions!

Quote :

The Siren uses Shell Shocker and attempts to hit all enemies!
Does it hit...
Enyalius?
--4
It hits!
How much damage?
--2
----Total of 2 points of damage

Achelois?
--3
it misses!


Callisto?
--2
it misses!


Amatheia?
--2
it misses!


Sedna?
--5
it hits!
how much damage?
--5
----total of 5 points of damage

Andromeda?
--2
it misses!


Nocturnus?
--5
it hits!
how much damage?
--6
----total of 6 points of damage!

Makemake?
--3
it misses!


Andromeda uses Wave Tide Maelstrom (5 MP) on Siren!
Did it hit?
--1
it misses! Andromeda uses Weighted Die and changes her fate!
Critical hit!
How much damage?
--4
--CTRL 11
--MP 3
----total of 18 points of damage!
critical hit! The Siren is caught in a whirlpool!

Being pulled into a whirlpool and away from the seed, the siren cries out, reaching desperately towards it, and starts to sing to it.

Hush now - my story
Close your eyes and sleep
Waltzing the waves
Diving the deep --

Their barrage of attacks were doing good, and the whirlpool trapped the Siren once Andromeda used the Crone's blessing. "Now!" she yelled at the others. "Attack the seed while she's trapped!"

Sending out Moonlight's kiss, she was glad when it hit although her joy didn't last for long. 

Hissing when she was hit by the Siren, she did as Andromeda suggested, using her Halberd, she launched herself at the seed, intent on attacking it.

Once her sword hit its mark, Enyalius drove through for a solid hit, still using Callisto's mass as a ground point; as her blade cleared she cleared Callisto, landed, and turned to face the siren again, giving Calllisto a nod of gratitude as Achelois's spear and Sedna's daggers flew through the air to strike at the female creature. She prepared for another attack, waiting for the siren to right herself before trying anything, but as the siren straightened she shrieked and flung tiny shards outwards; Enya held up her arm to protect her face, but several of the sharp points embedded themselves in the skin around her greaves. She frowned and brushed them off, noting that they had been aimed her face, and then took a few steps back as the siren was engulfed in a water whirlpool that pulled her slightly away from the cradle. The woman's second scream made Enyalius wince, but the lullaby that followed worried her. 

She nodded at Andromeda's plan; immobalizing the siren before attacking her 'baby' was the better option by far.

Achelois was pleasantly surprised to see Callisto turn into a bear that then attacked the Siren.  Though she was curious as to how the power worked, she shook the distraction from her mind, and focused on the Siren.  Her energy spear mingled in with the flurry of attacks from the others.  She stumbled back near the crib, determined to protect it.  She nearly attacked again when the Siren's shell pieces hit Nocturnus but Andromeda's quick thinking of trapping the Siren allowed them the chance to destroy the seed.

Having her claws finally connect with the Siren was satisfying to her, and she only half noticed Enyalius using her to springboard into her own attack. A flurry of strikes from the other senshi followed, and the Siren retreated to the cradle. 

Callisto took a step back to avoid the shell bits, and as soon as the Siren was wrapped in the whirlpool, she lunged at the Siren again. Even if this didn't get a hit in, if she stayed in between the creature and the bassinet, it would help the group. Callisto focused on the Siren's now annoying song, and tried her best to make her stop singing. Didn't she knew any other lyrics?

Quote :

Callisto attacks the seiren!
how much damage?
--2
--STR 18
--WPn 1
---total of 21 points of damage


The siren attempts to escape the maelstrom!
--1
she does not escape!

Sedna attacks the seed!
how much damage?
--1
--STR 10
--WPN 2
--SIREN Song - 12
----total of 1 point of damage

The siren had started singing again, which made Andromeda pause on her way to the crib. Whatever the song was doing, it was probably doing something to the seed and it was certainly affecting her people. She didn’t know how much time was left for the immunity offered by the Crone by now. She lifted her bracelets, turned, and shot out chains to wrap themselves around the Siren's mouth, functioning like a temporary gag, at least until she could undo the knot.

Quote :

Andromeda uses Steel Chain Cascade to tie the Siren's mouth!
Does it hit?
--yes, auto hit
Does it work?
--5
The Siren's lullaby is silenced! She continues to hum, her eyes on the chaos seed, tears streaming down her face.

Starlight Barricade falls.
Enemies pour into the room below them!

Enya didn't particulary enjoy the idea of attacking a creature that couldn't defend itself; it was infused with Chaos, but... She adjusted her grip on her sword and watched as Sedna's halberd glanced off of the seed's exterior. Her attention, like Andromeda's, turned to the Siren. They would need to defeat her, then, to destroy the seed. She frowned, but then from below was a cacophanous sound as the enemies that had been chasing Amatheia broke through whatever barricade Callisto had kept behind. Grumbling mentally about the situation, her darker mood bringng to mind questions of whether the creatures would still be following Amatheia if she had continued to fly decoy as originally planned, Enyalius eyed the hole in the floor and walked over, standing above it, ready to attack anything that tried to get through.

Sailor Nocturnus

She wasn't nimble enough to dodge the shell shards that the Siren sent soaring towards the team. The fragments struck her, painfully knocking her backwards. They looked as though they were just seashells, but the impact made her think otherwise. It took precious seconds for her to regain her bearings and prepare to re-enter the battle.

Andromeda managed to first trap the Siren in a whirlpool with one of her attacks, and silence her with the other. Sailor Nocturnus didn't think she'd have another opportunity better than this, especially when she heard the awful sound of enemies below.

"Ecliptic Rotation!" she called out, hoping that her luck would involve success with this attempt.

Attack:

Amatheia was only vaguely perturbed by the siren's hissing. Obviously a different breed of siren, but one none the less. It tugged at her heart to see her striving to protect the chaos so strongly. It brought back painful memories...But she pushed it away. Perhaps if they destroyed the seed, the siren could still be saved. Perhaps.

She saw the siren being captured and gagged, and moved forward with the others. She looked down at it, fighting the revulsion that coursed through her body. She remembered being confronted with such an aura. If she thought about it too much, she might begin to gag or cry, or worse yet, scream. So she locked her mind off for the moment. “Shard Mist Shower” She sung softly as she swirled her hand in the air above her head. She gathered water from the air, taking care to avoid Andromeda's whirlpool. It would be a bad idea surely to facilitate her release.

The water formed in the air above her head, and as she continued to sing, she brought her hand down, and the water froze into the sharp icicles as they fell onto the chaos seed.

Spoiler:

Ah. So the weird sound was "singing." Sailor Makemake figured she would have to try it, maybe in a dew shower. Her thoughts stopped when Sailor Callisto then proceeded to transform into a bear.

"YOU'RE A FUZZY THING. YOU WERE A GIRL BUT NOW YOU ARE A FUZZY THING. WHAT HAPPENED. WHAT ARE YOU. WHAT IS MY LIFE."

Drool dripped down Makemake's face as she tried to comprehend what exactly happened. First this "singing" thing and now... this. After a very long time, not noticing much around her, she thought back to the singing and realized something.

Wait a second, she thought to herself. The weird sounds are coming from her mouth! I just have to close her mouth!

"Super Ultimate Makemake Planet Cosmos Spiral Vine Attack!" she shouted suddenly, breaking out of her daydream. She had created a rod of vines that shot out from the glove on her right arm.

But it was simply a Makemake Vine Twister attack. Her goal was summon a fury of vines from her arm, starting at the "rod." It would spiral up and out, aiming to catch the siren from the top of the whirlpool and completely wrap around her head.

Attacking the seed didn't seem like it was going to be doing much. Perhaps attacking the Siren would be a better course of action. If they could take her down, they could get ride of the seed?

Hoping that her halberd would give her enough reach, she launched herself at the siren, intent on slicing at the creature through the whirpool.

Already feeling more lethargic as her adrenaline started to wear off, Callisto tried to get one more powerful claw attack on the Siren before she'd be forced to transform back. She could hear other enemies approaching from below, but she couldn't replace her Starlight Barrier until she was no  longer a bear. They'd just have to last without it for a little while longer....

Enyalius waited, sword ready, to defend the opening into the upper room; watching how their enemies swam through the air around each other, snapping and screeching, clawing at each other to be the first to reach the opening, she did not feel like these fish-like-people had near high enough intelligent to have evolved naturally, and so had little regret when she angled her sword to attempt to cut the head off of the first enemy to poke it's way through the floor.

DM wrote:

The opening to the top floor is too small for an enemy to work its way through! The fastest of them reaches the opening first and attempts to get in! Sailor Enyalius is standing guard over the opening; as the opening is not wide, enemies must get past her in order to enter the room!


Sailor Enyalius attempts to attack Merwoman 1, aiming to take off her head!
Did it hit? Critical roll will decapitate
--4
How much damage?
--6
--STR 27
--WPN 2
----Total of 35 points of damage!

Wounded, Merwoman 1 retreats from the opening!

Makemake uses Vine Twister (5MP), and her vines wrap around the Siren's head, further muffling her voice!


Callisto attacks The Siren!

How much damage?
--4
--STR 18
--WPN 1
----Total of 23 points of damage

Callisto's transformation ends! She returns to humanoid shape!

Achelois uses Natural Energy (6 MP) and attacked the siren!
How much damage?
--5
--CTRL 16
--MP 3
----Total of 24 points of damage

The siren attempts to escape the typhoon!
Typhoon round two: critical to escape
--6 critical!
The siren escapes the Typhoon!
Kicking her fin as fast as possible, she propels herself upward and scratches at the vines on her face, attempting to remove them so she can see! 
Strength Check! Makemake's Control is 13, Siren's Strength is 8, a roll is required!
--1
She can't pull them free yet!

Sedna attempts to attack the Siren, but as she jabs forward, the siren escapes and she hits nothing but air and water!

Battle order 
Merwomen* (x2) and Enyalius*
Hippocampus (x2)*, Achelois and Callisto
Merman (x2)*, Siren and Amatheia
Andromeda, Nocturnus, Sedna* (attack noted; waiting for others to respond before enacting)
Makemake

Amatheia watched with satisfaction as her attack landed on the egg. Yet it hardly seemed to do any damage. She frowned a little bit baffled, tilting her head a bit. But before she could muse on it long, the siren had escaped the whirlpool. She looked up, seeing people attack her and she felt a clench of fear. “Wait! Don't kill her! Perhaps she can be freed from Chaos if we can destroy it! Just keep her bound!” She pleaded. She had always attempted to save someone before conceding if they were lost or not. But they had to keep the siren from the Chaos egg.

Amatheia wrinkled her nose with distaste before she motioned her hands, humming softly as she gathered water in the air and directed it around the seed, forming a relatively thick shell of ice around it. Much more comfortable with this, she picked up the ball of ice. If she had to, she would be able to toss it to one of the other senshi to prevent the siren from getting it until she could be captured again.

Spoiler:

After gagging the Siren, she turned to see how everyone’s attacks on the seed were doing. It seemed they were still glancing off around a protective shell, which frustrated her. So it looked like killing the siren was the only option, then.

She watched as Makemake tied her vines around the Siren’s head, and then their opponent managed to free herself from the whirlpool. As the creature grappled with the vines, Andromeda raised her hands toward her and called out, “Ripple Shard!”

She heard Amatheia’s call about not killing the siren and stared at her in disbelief. She wanted to save this creature? They couldn’t destroy the egg as long as the siren was still alive—that much had been made clear. Andromeda had only tried destroying the egg without having to kill her for the past few minutes. It didn’t work.

She became even more shocked when she saw the other senshi creating another layer of protective shell around the seed. They had been suspicious of her motives all along—and she was a siren as well. And now she was protecting the seed?! And those other enemies from below—she could see Enya fighting them. Why had Amatheia stopped and let them come?

Was she a traitor like everyone thought after all?!

“Are you actually one of them?!” she demanded, her sword held aloft, ready to attack her fellow senshi if she proved untrustworthy. She was this close to just slashing now and asking questions later.

"That wasn't enough," Sailor Makemake said to herself when her vines successfully wrapped around the siren's head. "She's still making the weird noise."

She smiled smugly when Sailor Andromeda voiced her anger toward Sailor Amatheia. People were getting confused lately. She had to clear things up.

"I think everybody need a great big hug, but this lady especially."

Makemake extended her Makemake Vine Twister attack in an attempt to actually pull her and the siren together in an embrace. Vines exploded from every opening in her clothing in an attempt to wrap the both of them in a sort of plant cocoon.

If the attack worked, she would attempt to wrap her and the siren with as many vines as possible to drain out the sound. She might even send some vines into her mouth and into her throat to stop the humming. She was not trying to kill the siren, but "hug" her and stop the weird singing thing that was making her feel so weird.