"I'm not jealous, just...respectful of my superiors," Ganymede said. At the sight of the yellow fog, he carefully placed Soul on her feet again and pulled out his own weapon.

"A smokescreen tactic? They're getting smarter by the hour..." His axe hit up as he heard the sounds of a scuffle in the fog. About half the group was hidden in it, and he guessed they were being attacked within. Shadow seemed to have a plan to remove the smoke entirely, and Ganymede decided to wait for a possible opening to jump in.

Sailor Bellatrix

Her entire body pulsed with pain, hot and stinging. She felt better than before, but it was still a very distracting injury. But Bellatrix pressed onwards, keeping her mind focused on simply taking one step after the other. She was able to walk without any kind of hindrance, but each step still pained her.

She was also keeping her attention on making sure Mossen was safe on his perch upon her shoulder. She remembered carrying a similarly tiny being on her shoulder once before, and that thought was strangely comforting.

Bellatrix heard something clattered to the ground, but the smoke filled her vision before she was able to do anything else. Instinctively, Bellatrix waved out her hands, trying to clear the smoke away from her, but it was far too thick to be affected.

"What's going on?" She wasn't sure who she was asking exactly. The only person that she knew was nearby without a doubt was Mossen, and perhaps he was the best one to ask in this case.

The sounds of battle caught her attention after that however, though she could not see anything at all. It was frustrating, and Bellatrix felt that frustrating boil within her. The frustration on top of her aching body only lead to her becoming encompassed by these feelings.

No, no, she had to calm down. Losing herself to her emotions would only cause even greater problems.

She held her spear at the ready and took a cautious step forward, trying to find her way out of the smoked area.

OOC:

"The Clever Ones are attacking!" Mossen replied hectically from Bellatrix's shoulder, coughing out the smoke, his eyes watering with the pain from still a stone's-throw from the lake. "They like to ambush!"

DM wrote:

Shadow attempts to compress the smoke using Telekenesis! (8 MP charge for the wide range difficulty and the brightness of the area)
As Shadow has a history of being able to move gases, the feat can be accomplished. However, with the mass of the cloud he is trying to move and the obstacles in his path, it will take some time in order to move it. 
Does it move it?
--He rolls a 3! 
...Nothing happens yet. He'll have to continue to concentrate on his task.

"Sailor Achelois," Sailor Leviathan said with a smirk. "What are you talking about? I can move myself. If I don't move myself, who else can do it? Ohhhhh... hey, Sailor Pluto."

The senshi of illusions leaned on the sol senshi. She went to take her hand in hers, as though they were going on a date in the park.

"I can't believe I wrote that you were fat!" she said with a stuttering laugh. "You're only somewhat tubby. Wow! Yellow!"

Turning again to Pluto, who was understandably alert, she pressed her finger to her lips.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhh... it's OK. It's just the color yellow."

Shadow muttered at the difficulty of the task before him; he needed to work harder to cast the smokescreen away. When it first erupted, his first thought was that an attack on the Senshi was inevitable. After all, he had put smoke before them at one time in their lives.

These fumes needed to be gone a minute ago. Shadow grunted as he poured his concentration into the fine task of banishing the smoky haze. He had no idea of whom was using the gas as cover, but he wanted it to be gone with all due haste. Moving the gas with such fine precision was difficult, and he had no desire to get his ribs tickled with natural or manufactured weapons.

Pluto sighed lightly as Leviathan leaned on her and took her hand. The girl was most definitely a few plums short of a fruit pie right now. Though her expression hardened a little at her off hand comment. Written she was fat? And who was she calling tubby? Her lips pressed into a hard, thin line as an idea crept into her head. If she was right....well, she was most certainly going to talk to Leviathan about it later. And then she had shushed Pluto, saying so foolishly that it was only yellow. She could hear Mossen's comment about how it was the crafty ones, but until the fog was gone, she didn't dare use any of her attacks, and she couldn't leave the fool Leviathan alone.

Shifting her staff to the crook of her elbow, she used her now freed hand to reach into her pocket. She dug around for a moment before she pulled out two pieces of hard candy. She swiftly unwrapped them and popped both into Leviathan's mouth, her irritation at the situation and the revealed reporter creeping into her voice. “Be a good girl and shut up now.”

"Does anyone see what we're up against?" Soul called out. She faintly heard Mossen say something about Clever Ones. "What are the Clever Ones exactly," she called back, hoping he'd hear her. She extended her staff ready to defend herself. She hoped that she'd be able to take down anything that came at her before it made it to her as she didn't think she could move too much.

Andromeda was thinking about her dream, wondering if it had been trying to tell her something. Certainly a near death experience put some things into perspective. Maybe it was time to stop making her parents suffer for their mistake. Maybe she didn’t want them to lose her for real or think that she didn’t love them at all anymore…

Her thoughts were heavy with these considerations when suddenly the small rounded objects landed all around them, releasing thick yellow smoke that instantly clouded her vision. She readied herself into a fighting stance and made sure all her senses were alert. She heard sounds of a scuffle near her but still could not see much. It was frustrating feeling like a sitting duck waiting to be attacked. Couldn’t they get a bit of a break after that crazy acid adventure anyway?

She fell into a defensive stance, trying her best to be ready for anything that might attempt to attack.

DM wrote:

Crafty One #3 attacks Sailor Enyalius!
Does it hit?
--Rolls a 2
Nope!
Counterattack! Enyalius was prepared for an attack!
Does she hit? 2x attacker's speed
--Automatic hit
How much damage?
--She rolls a 1
--Strength bonus of 14
--Fury bonus of 2
----Total of 17 points of damage!

---

Crafty One #2 attempts to sneak attack Sailor Andromeda!
Does it hit?
--It rolls a 3!
It misses!

Mossen, frightened and beginning to panic, either does not hear or does not respond to any calls made to him from outside the smoke, choosing instead to sit down on Bellatrix's collar and hold on tightly, his previous concern over being lost in hair temporarily eased due to the even more dangerous surroundings.


Enyalius felt the air shift and dodged an attack cleanly, then swiftly turned and stuck the being with her sword, throwing her frustration into the blow. Still the creature danced away into the gloom. "Sounds like a plan."

Leviathan hummed as she tasted the candies placed in her mouth. Who knew something could taste so good? Unfortunately, they only tasted so good because of the contrast of the pain burning about her body that she was failing to acknowledge.

"I don't know if you know this," she continued stammering in ignorance, "but Leviathan's a gas giant. It's HUGE. But you're a much bigger senshi than I am! Pluto's not even a real planet. It's a dwarf planet. How does you real."

Not hearing the steps about them, she giggled and leaned closer to Pluto.

"You should stop eating so much candy."

DM wrote:

With a tiny sack in hand, two gnarled little creature run full-tilt towards Bellatrix! As they close in, one jumps up and the other pushes them higher, propelling the first into the air, and then draws his sword to fight Bellatrix! The airborne one takes out a crude sack, his beady little eyes honed in on Mossen!
Crafty One #5 attempts to attack Bellatrix!
Does it hit? (Speed = 5; Bellatrix's current defense dex is 10!)
--Automatic miss!


Crafty One #6 tries to capture Mossen!
Does it hit? Bellatrix has moved out of the way of his companion! His trajectory is off, but can he reach and grab Mossen? He'd need a roll of 6 to pull it off!
--He rolls a 4!
His hand misses Mossen completely, but it brushes through Bellatrix's hair and pulls on a collection of blonde strands as he falls! Bellatrix is pulled down by his weight!

"Nononononono!" Mossen yells, his alarm tearing through the air loud enough to be heard outside the impressive fog. "HELP US! THEY'RE THROAT SLITTERS!"

DM wrote:

Everyone in the party hears Mossen's cries for help! However, not everyone can reach them in time. 

Those who may reach Bellatrix and Mossen in time ((considering Dex score, with the 2 taken off from the fog; they'd have to beat the speed of the gnomes, but be close enough to Bellatrix's location to make it to her before they quickly turn around!)):
Enyalius
Achelois
Shadow* (he'd have to stop his telekinesis)
Soul
Pluto
Venus
Those who would find Bellatrix and Mossen in the fog ((considering -3 Perception))
Achelois
Soul
Venus

Only characters who appear on both lists will be able to make it in time.

The character closest to Bellatrix, Andromeda, may be able to get there with blind luck; she'd need to roll a perfect 6 to get there in time!

Bellatrix may still attempt to fight her way out of this; however, remember it is no extremely close quarters; her long spears will not be effective against them.

The smoke was getting thicker now, and she felt pressed from all sides by the air itself. Breathing was difficult and getting fresh air was even trickier. Andromeda wished she could hold on to something; she felt as if she were floating in nothingness with nothing to anchor her. Or maybe that was just her head spinning. She was jolted by Mossen’s scream, and her blood ran cold at his words. Throat slitters?

Bad, bad. Very bad.

She instinctively moved toward the sound of his voice, unsure whether or not to wield her blade. She felt safer with it in front of her, but she might accidentally hit Bellatrix or Mossen. Groping and stumbling blindly, Andromeda kept her blade to the side for now unless she found a definite enemy, and tried desperately to get to the pair. “Where are you?!”

DM wrote:

Andromeda has attempted to find an enemy surrounding Bellatrix; if she rolls a 6, she is successful in finding an enemy without it noticing her. If she rolls a 4 or 5, she finds the enemy as it finds her. If she rolls a three or less, the enemy finds her first.
Andromeda attempts to locate an enemy!
Did she find one?
--She rolls a 4!

Andromeda finds a gnome just as it turns to see her! No chance of sneak attack from either side!

Throat slitters?!


Enyalius turned around completely, her dismay causing her to momentarily drop her guard as her red and watering eyes searched desperately in the haze for the source of the cry for help. Mossen was back there somewhere, with Bellatrix and Andromeda and who knew how many others stuck in this blinding fog, but for the life of her she could not pinpoint where the cry had come from. She had left them behind... her grip loosened on her sword, the implications clear. To her, if anything happened to them, it was her fault. Hers... her grip renewed with twice the ferocity, and those ridiculous hormone-driven teenaged-adults, she turned furiously, her eyes focused on the hazy surroundings towards where the enemy had sprung, and these damnable creatures on this thrice-doomed planet! She charged, her legs practically throwing her body forward with every step; at this moment, with her adrenaline pumping and her senses extended for any signs of an enemy, her combat intuition kicked in, and at the last moment she threw herself to the side to strike at an enemy!

DM wrote:

Enyalius attacks Crafty One #1!
Did it hit?
--She rolls a 5! She hits it!
How much damage?
--She rolls a 6! Critical Hit! The creature cannot move!
--Strength bonus of 14!
--Fury bonus of 3!
----Total of 23 points of damage!


The creature, surprised, takes the hit poorly, and falls to the ground with a scream of pain. It cannot move.


Crafty One #2 attempts to attack Enyalius!
Did it hit?
--It rolls a 1
It misses!

When she came face to face with the creature, she was surprised, but it didn’t take long for her to launch into an attack. They’d spotted each other at the same time and she needed to move fast if she wanted to beat it to the punch. This time, choosing to maintain distance (throat slitters still bumping around her head like a bunch of haunting words), she simply raised her hand and shouted, Ripple Shard!

Blades of steel started flying toward the enemy, threatening to impale their various limbs.

Time to tap into her magic.

DM wrote:

Andromeda attempts to use Ripple Shard on Crafty One #5!(4 MP)
Did it hit?
--She rolls a 6! Critical Hit!
How much damage?
--She rolls a 6! Critical Damage!
--+2 for Double Critical
--Control bonus of 7
--MP bonus of 2
----Total of 17 points of damage dealt to Crafty One #5!


Crafty One #5 Cannot move!

Enyalius attempts to attack Crafty One #2!
Does it hit?
--She rolls a 6! Critical Hit!
How much damage?
--She rolls a 4
--Fury bonus of 1
--Strength bonus of 14
----Total of 19 Points of damage!


Crafty One #2 is defeated!
Crafty Ones have 35 HP total!
Crafty One #1 is able to move again!

Enyalius turns to her would-be attacker and neatly skewers him. At last, one of the enemies go limp. She pulls her sword free and glances down at her original target, who is starting to move again.

The gnome holding fast to Bellatrix's hair saw his ally go down, and he quickly took matters into his own hands. Standing behind her, he tugged hard again at her hair to keep her in place and expose her neck, then dropped his fairy-sack to grab the crude weapon held at his waist. 

Mossen, in a fit of bravery that he himself has never known, launched from Bellatrix's shoulder and flew into the face of their attacker, beating his wings, kicking and hitting anything he came in contact with! 

DM wrote:

Mossen attempts to distract Crafty One #6
Does it work?
--He rolls a 3!

Mossen proves to only be a mild distraction! The Crafty One continues to hold Bellatrix's hair and readies his knife!

When her opponent was down, Andromeda finally dared to move toward him, brandishing her Chrome Blade. Throat slitters, huh? Let’s see how they like it themselves…

She drew her blade swiftly across the weakened creature’s neck.

She whipped around quickly to find Mossen, only to see another one of the gnomes holding a knife across Bellatrix’s neck while Mossen tried uselessly to distract him. Suppressing a scream of horror, she yelled, “Mossen, go hide!” as she tried to run toward her companion, though she knew she likely wouldn't make it in time.

She heard Mossen yell. Last she saw him, he was with Bellatrix, and they were in trouble. She dashed forward into the fog, adrenaline allowing her to forget about her wounds momentarily. She could see them through the fog. Oh god, one of them had Bellatrix by the hair and was about to slit her throat!

Once she was in range, she attacked, deadly calm taking over as her power gathered. Soul Blast she yelled, hoping that even if she missed in this fog, her scream would distract this creature momentarily.

Ganymede heard Mossen yelling about throat slitters, but wasn't in much of a position to do anything. If he charged into the smoke blind, he ran a chance of accidentally hurting an ally. After hesitating a little more, he decided to just go for it. He couldn't just sit here and watch anymore. Ganymede Knight took a deep breath and ran into the smoke from behind it, focusing on keeping up his defense.

I need to hit the books again..

Mossen's cry of alarm pierced the smoky veil, bringing dire news with his shrill voice. The craven assailants were fighting smart and using their heads!

Shadow grumbled to himself as he focused on pushing the ambient gas towards ground level. It was a delicate and difficult thing that he was attempting, as moving too fast would put his companions into a crisis of breath - an even worse scenario than the acid lake blast!

OOC:

Sailor Pluto tried very hard to ignore the delirious Leviathan, though if she continued making comments about her weight, she was going to drop her. And she didn't like not being able to see anything! How could anyone attack for fear of hitting an ally? It seemed like Shadow was doing something, but it wasn't happening fast enough. That fog had to be dispelled NOW.

She raised her staff up high, aiming at a spot hopefully high above everyone elses heads as she cried out, “Chronos Typhoon!” And she prayed that it would work. She had lowered the strength of the attack to about half, hoping it would be enough to blow the smoke away, but not seriously damage anyone.

DM wrote:

Shadow's efforts lowers the smoke from the tree tops to half-way down their length!


The smoke thickens - defensive dex is lowered by 5!
The air pressure raises - characters in the smoke will now feel pressure from all sides!
The acrid fumes from the lake condense - characters in the smoke have red watery eyes; their noses start bleeding!

---

Sailor Andromeda attempts to finish off Gnome #6
Did she hit it?
--It's critically injured! Automatic hit!
How much damage?
--She rolls a 6! Criticial hit!
--Strength bonus of 5
----Total of 11 points of damage!


Crafty One #6 has 7 HP remaining. Crafty One #6 cannot move!

Mossen hears Andromeda's cry and flies away!

---

Sailor Soul attempts to attack Crafty One #5 with Spirit Blast (4 MP)
Does it hit?
--She rolls a 4! It hits!
How much damage?
--She rolls a 5
--MP Bonus of 2
--Control Bonus of 10
----Total of 17 points of damage!


Crafty One #5 has 18 HP remaining. Crafty One #5 releases Bellatrix's hair! 


Crafty One #5 drops his blade, dashes forward for his sack, and starts looking around for Mossen!
Does he spot him?
--He rolls a 5
Crafty One #5 spies Mossen, and gives chase!

---

 Sailor Ganymede enters the smoke!
Does he hit anyone?
--He rolls a 6! Critical Hit!
He hits someone in the smoke!
Who does he hit?
1 = Andromeda
2 = Soul
3 = Bellatrix
4 = Crafty One #6's wounded body
5 = Crafty One #5
6 = Mossen
--He rolls a 5

Ganymede runs full force into Gnome #5, knocking him off his collision path with Mossen! Crafty One #5 is knocked to the ground!

---

Enyalius attempts to attack Crafty One #1
Does it hit?
--She rolls a 4
She hits him
How much damage?
--She rolls a 2
--Strength bonus of 14
--fury bonus of 3
----Total of 19 points of damage


Crafty One #1 is defeated.

Enyalius turns and mercilessly spears the crawling enemy with her sword, ending its life. 

The smoke closing in around her, she coughed and turned back towards where she had left Achelois, wondering how her friend was fairing - what was the cause of this? Had they thrown more bombs? Coughing, her eyes red and itchy, she carefully made her way back, her sword and shield spread in an attempt to find persons and objects before they found her. She felt liquid oozing from her nose and attempted to hold her breath but coughed violently - the lake's fumes seemed to have intensified. "Achelois?" she coughed; she couldn't see anything anymore.

"Oh no you don't! You don't get to run away that easily or get to harm Mossen." When the monster took off, she followed, watching as Ganymede managed to knock it to the ground.

"Good shot!" she called out before calling out another Soul Blast. hoping this would finish it off.

Before she could reach Bellatrix, she saw the creature holding her being attacked from somewhere beyond the fog and watched in relief as he released the other senshi. For the time being, he seemed to be concentrating on finding Mossen again, though thankfully the fairy had heeded her instruction and disappeared.

She returned her attention to the injured gnome near her then. This creature just wouldn’t die fast enough, and the air around her continued to thicken. She swayed on her feet and felt something dripping from her nose—blood? Alarmed, Andromeda blinked through teary eyes and quickly stabbed the gnome in front of her one more time, hopefully to kill him for good. She didn’t know how much longer she could stand in this pressure.

Much to his surprise, Shadow could only watch as Pluto directed her powers over wind towards the delicate gas that he was attempting to to force downward. Had she come up with the same plan? Either way, the conflict between their energies was not going to be pretty.

"Pluto, be careful! I'm trying to force the smoke away, but I have to move all of the air. If you want to blow it out instead, I have to drop my field!"

Hoping it was for the last time, Andromeda once again sticks her blade in her gnome's chest.