Scene #9664: The Princess and the Promises 3

Owner	Pose
Sarracenia	Last time... Alina provided all that she could, both information and artifact, about Lila and the Darkmancer. The most useful information was that the dark fairy swamp was on the other side of the kingdom, opposite the light fairy forest. Now... The plan this time is quite straight-forward. Find Lila, take her into custody, and interrogate her. But, Sarra seems much less concerned about whether Lila actually survives or not despite saying they should capture her. The dark energy readings that Arthur and the Storm Investigators gathered before are their best ways to track the fairy. Sarracenia spent little time in the war room this time before taking everyone into the book. The great deer is waiting again in the cave, but Sarra does not ride him this time. She gives him some affectionate petting but then tells him to return to Alina and Talia. This is too dangerous for a deer, even one as noble as him. Instead, Sarra once again provides flying clouds or P-wings for any who do not have their own flight powers or vehicles. She hops on a cloud herself and takes off, carrying her Silver hammer the whole way. The trip gives time for any questions to be answered or preparations to be made along the way. Arriving at the swamp reveals it to what one might expect from a swamp filled with dark fairies. Light is hard-pressed to penetrate into the swamp thanks to large mangrove trees that keep much light from reaching the ground. But, the effect seems more than what trees like these could manage. The area seems to absorb light from the very air. There is a large walkable path leading through with many smaller paths branching off of it. Down the branching paths floating blue, ghostly lights can be seen. The larger path has no visible lights, and seems to get darker the farther along it goes. Off the path the black waters of the swamp sit still and stagnate, only occasionally broken by a fish splashing or what might be an alligator dipping back beneath the water. Even the path is pretty muddy, and Sarra remains on her cloud as they prepare to cross. Sarra looks at the main path, then at the branching paths, then to the group. "I say we follow the main path." she says, giving the others little time to weigh in before she floats along on her cloud.
Riku Asakura	Riku arrives in his normal outfit at the war room. An orange shirt with blue writing on it that appears to be about Don Shine today. A jean jacket, jeans, and tennis shoes. He has his greebles on his belt, because today was more likely to be a fight than with Alina. Riku is quiet, carefully watching Sarracenia. Deep down, he knows, or at least he believes, she'll do the right thing despite the anger in her heart. It's been a troubling time for her, and he is concerned about that. Still, it's a lot to have happened to her. He takes a breath and enters the book with her. He accepts a cloud to ride on, thinking it is actually pretty cool to ride. He's never ridden on a cloud before, despite being an Ultraman who can fly. "So our goal is to take her in, correct? She has a lot to answer for, I imagine..." he says calmly. Stepping off the cloud, Riku follows the path until it splits. "I think I read once about fairies liking to trick people who enter their lands. Maybe we should stay on the main path and not wander off," he says a bit cautiously. He continues to follow the main path, wondering what mischief the dark fairie will give them for invading her home...
Storm Investigators	Opting for a P cloud on their way to the swamp, Greta and Marcus arrive with minimal fuss. The former even looks well practiced in stepping off of hers despite having only ridden it once before, and the latter awkwardly drapes her legs over the side first before falling off it all at once. Neither of them had come with any particular hopes about how the matter might be handled, but getting involved at all still seems rather surprising to Marcus in particular. Still, she's not about to second guess Greta's motives, especially when they're both already here with everyone else in a foul swamp. "Agreed. No need to spend more time here than we need to. We can find a side path once we're closer." "Yes, fae can be quite mischievous. If we aren't careful... Ah! Watch your step. If we hold onto each other, we should be safe even if they-" Marcus grunts lightly as she tightens her gloves, then lifts her lantern off her belt to shine it forward. She aims it in front of where they're going, watching the path to see if there's any obvious gaps in the path that might lead to a nasty fall or something like that. "-laid any traps that might trip us up. Or obscured any holes in the swamp?"
Arthur Lowell	> Arthur: Can I get a recap? "Fucking around with OLD ASS STORYWORLDS like this," Arthur rambles as he flies. "We get some DEEP ISSUES. If I can track the INK and the DARK ENERGY, I'll get LILA... and LILA is where all the BIG EDITS are. This fuckin' DECADE NASTYGRAM is gonna be a PROBLEM though. Using something this HIGH-MAGNITUDE on something so PETTY, CHRIST what an ASSHOLE. I gotta find this DARKMANCER guy and HEADBUTT HIM UNTIL HE CAN'T TALK." > Arthur: Arrive at swamp He descends hard, pulling a rough, intense landing maneuver with his rocket-broom. It clears space in the swamp for him to touch down, and he disembarks roughly, grumbling a little. "Man. WETLANDS be HELLA ECOLOGICALLY CRITICAL FOR REAL but this is gonna SUCK." He pulls some bugspray out of his pocket and treats himself as he drifts above the water, hovering under his own power now. "DARK ENERGY leads back here. Wonder what the INK situation is..." > Arthur: Follow the main path, no time to dig up ink He shakes his head. "WHATEVER. Path time." He takes the lead, making sure to summon up a lovely little radar display of what and where the concentrations are, of that dark magic he can detect. That grumpy scowl still covers his face, uncharacteristically, but he's more on his usual brash mood now that the main source of things is a little clearer. "Been working," He idly rambles to Sarracenia. "On something for you. INK PLUS HAMMER. Concept overlap's not clear, coming out almost CARTOON STYLE. Still gotta fuck with the PUNCHCARD ALCHEMY before it's all done. Stop by sometime after this, help me out with it. Important we get you a FOCUS if you're gonna have an ASPECT."
Angela	The Magical Girl of Love doesn't really need a recap. Frankly, she isn't even exactly Sarracenia's biggest fan here, or even Gregory's biggest fan, but she is pretty determined to see this through, at least. At this point, Angela doesn't even really have to point her around--she's just personally invested. She is happy to ride a P-Cloud over, leaning on her little cloud and looking down and oohing and aahing at the scenery but she's not really the 'investigation' type unless she has been given a cute detective girl outfit and maybe a giant magnifying glass. But even then she's not exactly the investigation type, but right now she isn't even really all that interested in helping the search. She's mostly thinking about who to blast but she doesn't really mind walking normally once they make it to hte swamp. Flying through the air is a pretty big signal in the end. Stretching her arms above her head she shakes out her hands and says, "Okay, after you! Just let me know when you need me to start blasting!" Love chirps merrily(?).
Sarracenia	The walk down the main path is gloomy, spooky, and the swampy forest gives the feeling that one is being watched. Plenty of bugs buzz around, so bug repellant certainly doesn't go to waste. Each time the group passes a branch of the path one of the blue lights moves closer and wiggles enticingly, beckoning someone to follow after it into the depths of the dark swamp where who knows what might be waiting. It is probably good that someone keeps an eye on Sarra. She is suspiciously quiet as they travel, anger obviously smoldering just barely controlled beneath the surface. Her expression is fierce, her frown deep, and her eye is focused on the path in front of her. "...take her in, yes. She will answer for what she has done." Sarra replies to Riku, a bit cryptically, keeping her hammer in hand and ready to swing at a moment's notice. Arthur's radar detects dark magic along every path, pointing toward the fairy lights. It detects dark magic beneath the water as well, perhaps magical creatures laying in wait. But, the largest source is clearly down the main path. As Arthur speaks of ink and hammers and aspects, Sarra hears but doesn't seem to let it draw her attention. "Thank you, Arthur. I will be sure to meet with you again soon." she says, though her focus remains on the path. Greta and Marcus are welcome if a bit unexpected additions to this expedition. "Thank you both for coming along. I know you said you were not particularly fighting-focused, but I have no doubt you will be helpful anyway. If you do detect any traps, do let us know." the princess says as she floats along on her cloud at about the height one might be if riding a horse. Despite the one-sided nature of their relationship, Sarra is happy to have Love along. She brings a sense of lightness to a heavy situation, as well the promise of a giant beam of destruction if needed. "I will when the time is right. You can count on it." Sarra says to Love. As the group continues along, keeping to the main path and paying the floating lights little mind...they grow more bold. They abandon their paths and move to encircle the group, slowly revolving around them and closing in bit by bit. There are dozens of them, and whether they are actual fairies or just conjured things isn't clear at a glance. Sarra continues on, ignoring that they are encircled and that the circle is closing in. As they close in though...it becomes harder and harder to see past them. A circle of darkness closes in just beyond the lights. Sarra refuses to stop, though. She continues on, even as it becomes difficult to see more than a foot beyond the ring of lights. Sarra growls lightly as they close in. "Out of the way, whatever you are!" she demands, and leaps to swing her hammer at one. The hammer hits...but the light she hits turns green before it explodes in a burst of noxious gas and burning acid. The hammer protects Sarra's face for the most part, but her arms and dress are showered with it and the gas causes her to stumble back, coughing heavily and growling in frustration born of more than just physical pain as the acid burns. And just a bit of it manages to catch her in or close to in her one good eye. As the princess pulls out a green mushroom, a voice echoes from the darkness. A shrill voice obviously belonging to Lila. "Did you seriously think you could just walk in here? This is the land of the dark fairies! You would not be able to just walk in here even if I were not a resident! Stupid princess! You could not even follow the story correctly! You were supposed to raid the castle yourself, not send a bunch of lackeys to do the dirty work for you! I thought you were trying to be a hero or something?"
Riku Asakura	Riku reaches out to stop Sarracenia before she swings, but it is too late. The explosion of noxious fumes is enough to cause Riku to cover his face and reach out a hand to try to pull Sarra back away from the cloud of noxious fumes. Riku looks up and all around him, trying to find the voice of the Dark Fairie, but to no avail. Because of this, he gets a face full of that toxic air too, forcing him to cough and ruin his favorite jacket with the caustic gas that has been released on the group. He takes a few moments to recover before standing back up. 'You were supposed to raid the castle yourself, not send a bunch of lackeys to do the dirty work for you!' "Just because you can do something like that, doesn't mean you should. She has friends and allies who want to help her; someone like you can't seem to understand that. I'm sorry for you..." he says, honestly. "Sarracenia was smart to rely on her friends and allies to stop you!" "You go!" he says, pulling out an Ultracapsule and activating it. Beside him, an image of a giant of light takes shape in an ethereal state. He slides it into a holster for it before repeating the process with a different capsule. "I go!" he states again. A giant of darkness appears, with eyes similar to his. "Here we go!" He says as he brings the Fusion Riser across each capsule in turn, scanning them. Light and dark red lights appear on the double helix light on the Fusion Riser, before he brings the Fusion Riser into the air above his head. "Time to get ready!" he states, before bringing it down over his chest. "GEEEEEEEED!" he shouts, as blue-white flame pours out from his body. FUSION RISE! ULTRAMAN ULTRAMAN BELIAL ULTRAMAN GEED PRIMITIVE Riku is gone, replaced by Ultraman Geed as he grows from the space he was a moment ago, aiming to pierce through the darkness of the lights surrounding them. He takes a breath and shouts, "WRECKING ROAR!" and lets loose a fierce roar, aiming to blast the lights away from the group and clear up the darkness.
Arthur Lowell	> ==> Arthur follows along the path, a little concerned about the darkness and a little concerned about Sarracenia's mood, but almost grateful for something simple to do to keep his mind off the talerot situation. It doesn't, of course, his mind just constantly orbits it. It orbits and orbits until the darkness is all around them and the poison is in the air. Still, he's ready to go as the fight starts! > Arthur: Strife!! A rush of noxious toxin. He tried holding his breath, not needing to breathe, but it gets in the skin, the eyes... So he just goes straight to yelling anyway. "LIIIIIILAAAAAA!" He's whipping himself up into his usual combat posture. "You UNSEELIE BITCH, cut the DARK and GET OUT HERE!" He brandishes his broom, yanking the ripcord hard. "SARRA'S gettin' all the HEAT she NEEDS on RADIOS, don't you start BLAMING HER for ENGAGING THE NARRATIVE!" The roar of his broom's engine, the pulse of fire from its rockets, the whirl of its bristles, drives away some of the poison. "I KNOW you were taking PLOT POINTS from that DARKMANCER FUCK!!" With a wide wave of the weapon, a gush of starlight bolts tears out and in all directions, striking lights to try to clear them out with hard airbursts. He's aiming to slam them with Geed's more dense heat, meaning that the toxins ought to be consumed in the combustion. But he's also got to deal with the darkness. That obstruction is going to make it impossible to fight her... A rapid motion, lime-green light forms spirographs that converge their lines rapidly into a point. A kaleidoscope of energy resolves into a star in half a second, and the shining light tries to force massive amounts of daylight energy... Into Marcus' lantern! Nothing better for piercing the darkness, right? For at least a short time, she'll find that lantern infused with starlight. "You wanted a NICE STORY? You wanted to CHALLENGE a HERO? That STUPID BASTARD ruined a YEARS LONG WORK just to turn your EPIC ADVENTURE into a BITCHY LITTLE NASTYGRAM. Don't DO THAT FUCKER'S WORK! Give me some HELP here! Have some SELF-RESPECT for your STORY!" He's almost antagonizing her with his yelling, but there's a core of authentic reaching out, at least, to see if she'll respond.
Angela	One of Love's best friends uses a hammer that splatters acid everywhere but usually it's a matter of one person with one hammer that spews acid and not a hammer hitting a light that unleashes acid that blorfs all over everybody. Love, helpfully, goes, "Kyaaaa!" as the acid hits her and leaps back several feet even as an acid burn materializes on her left arm. "I've never seen youkai this tiny before... We must be getting close...!" Love says despite there not relaly being any evidence of this but soon she hears a voice from the darkness and that tells her that her guess is SPOT ON. "Were YOU following the story? You were messing with people from outside the Story. That is very naughty!" She looks to Arthur and dramatically bobs her head with a "Mm!" to indicate that they are agree and have a similar opinion in this instance! This boosts her strength and teamwork by two fold in of itself! "Yeah!! I came from a story myself, you know! I know that my world isn't really ''real'', but it's still important to me! One day I'm going to go back and set things right there! Because our stories matter!" And that's when she starts shooting glowy yellow stars out into the darkness, intending to light it up! With magic! "You can't hide forever!"
Storm Investigators	"I gotta find this DARKMANCER guy and HEADBUTT HIM UNTIL HE CAN'T TALK." "Thank you for the recap, Mister Lowell. And... Do take care of your head, too. Headbutting someone sounds so much more impressive than it feels." Marcus gives Arthur a polite and quick nod in thanks, quickly followed by some clear concern about the headbutting thing. Continuing along the path, Marcus helpfully points out gaps in the ground where the swamp might be encroaching a little too much on their walking path. The approaching lights do, in fact, escape her notice some at first, but it's easier for Greta to notice them when she's looking above Marcus' lantern and noticing the darkness further ahead. "We have prusuers. As you said, princess. If we can find a way through beyond what you, Riku, and Love can accomplish, we'll point it out." Greta gives Sarracenia a late reply, one hand reaching into her pocket for a pistol while the other hand rests on Marcus' shoulder. That's enough of a signal to Marcus that she should stop advancing so closely to the others, taking that cue to hang back some while Sarracenia busts that acidic thing open. The spread of the gas has the pair quickly scrambling to cover their faces with their coats, backing up some more before they can breathe too much of it in. "Unpleasant mist... It's toxic. Don't breathe it in!" Marcus gives a late warning while uselessly fanning the gas away with an open hand, shining her light around to try and find the source of the shrill voice. "not send a bunch of lackeys to do the dirty work for you!" "Do you want her to become a hero, or are you trying to kill her?" Greta calls out while keeping her pistol holstered inside of her coat, still hovering over Marcus protectively. She furrows her brow briefly at Arthur's shouts towards Lila, then lets out a thoughtful hrm. "Have you never considered the possibility of the hero's call for aid being answered? Would that not be more fitting for a grander battle between the hero and the villain?" While she's working that angle with her otherwise deadpan tone, Greta leans in briefly to whisper to her assistant. "Marcus, the next time she speaks. You know what to do." She directs, only drawing and firing the pistol if it looks like anything's actually coming within striking distance of them. Nodding lightly, Marcus continues shining the light from her lantern around the circle of darkness surrounding the group. First things first: 'Reading' that gas! She's mostly glossing over the specifics of what it's made of in favor of seeing if there's traces of something identical to the gas elsewhere in this swamp, hoping to find a clue that'll lead her towards whoever placed that trap there in the first place. Once she notices Arthur's starlight infusion hitting her lantern, meanwhile, Marcus starts turning it a little more rapidly. "Thank you, Mister Lowell! This should make things even easier to read, or to..." Would it make the darkness easier to punch through? There's only one way to find out, and she focuses that light on any particularly suspicious spots, especially those encroaching light shapes to blast them with their combined energies.
Sarracenia	Sarra is pulled back to relative safety thanks to Riku, but the burning in her eye soon has her whimpering and scrubbing at it frantically with a clean cloth and bottle water from her bag. "Nnng! Perhaps I should have been there, but would that have changed the ending? I do not think so!" she shouts into the darkness. "And just who is a lackey?! You are doing the dirty work of perhaps the dirtiest being in the Multiverse! For what?! You will have soon lost everything just as he claims I have!" The group focuses on the lights, and while it has the desired effect of clearing the lights, it also has the effect of causing the rest of the lights to all explode at once. The noxious cloud of acidic gas becomes as thick as fog for a few moments, threatening to suffocate Sarra and anyone else who has to breathe. Sarra starts coughing heavily and falls to her knees in the mud of the main path. The Wrecking Roar does a good job of dispersing it in the aftermath of the lights exploding, and Love's glowy yellow stars do indeed light up the darkness. They don't quite clear the darkness, but they do illuminate the swamp around them in a decent radius. 'You wanted a NICE STORY? You wanted to CHALLENGE a HERO?' 'Were YOU following the story? You were messing with people from outside the Story. That is very naughty!' "A nice story? I do not care about the story! The humans made sure the story was not nice when they used us dark fairies for lab rats and magical fuel!" Lila echoes from the darkness around them. "I was just giving them a taste of their own medicine! And they were too dumb to make the connection! They were so easy to manipulate and so ready to blame everything on the royals! And all the Darkmancer wanted from me was to use my crystal as a relay while I skimmed off the top! That is, until -you- made him mad, Princess! Then, he came here all huffy and demanded we set up a trap for you! You messed everything up!" 'Do you want her to become a hero, or are you trying to kill her?' "Hero? Hah! No hero came while we fairies were being persecuted and tortured and killed! It took years for that rotten queen to finally outlaw it, and they did not even try to make amends! I just wish the queen had not died so suddenly so she could have appreciated the irony!" One of the stars hits something far off, and there is a yelp in the echoing voice. "H-hey! How did you...?!" Then, Marcus's lantern with its enhanced glow punches through the darkness like a lance. It reveals the main path once more, and could be used to investigate the paths that Love's stars took. "Stop that! Where did you even get a light that bright?!" Lila says a bit frantically. The darkness around them is infused with a sinister purple glow and the wide swath being illuminated by the lantern is reduced to a single beam just broad enough to keep the path lit. The darkness is obviously trying to reduce it completely, but just can't. "Uuugh! You all are so annoying! Just, go feed the lurkers!" The purple glow seeps into the water around them, and...there is a deep rumbling growl. All is quiet a moment. Until a dozen black tentacles suddenly lash out from one side of the path. Sarra, still temporarily blinded, is easily swept up by one and coiled up. She cries out, then is cut off as the tentacle starts to constrict while pulling her toward the water. Her Silver hammer lands in the mud while other tentacles try the same thing on the other members of the party.
Sarracenia	Tracking of the toxins reveals that...well, they are pretty much everywhere around here. It is a swamp, full of various poisonous and venomous creatures. It seems like the toxins from the lights was just a collection of these boosted by magic. The source of that magic though, that is easier to track. It points conveniently down the path, and if the torch is held that way it reveals a giant, misshapen tree in the distance. One that looks perfect for a storybook world's representation of a witch's or evil fairy's home.
Riku Asakura	'You will have soon lost everything just as he claims I have!' Riku looks across at Sarracenia and is now very worried about her well-being when she says something like that. This is especially true when the dark fairie reveals that they were used like lab rats by the humans, and everything now is revenge for her personal suffering. As Geed, he's forced on the defensive by the various tentacles that threaten to grab them. Geed himself is caught by some, but manages to be larger than the lurkers by a fair margin. He struggles against the tentacles before aiming to fly straight up and out of their grasp. Of course, he notices the others caught in their grasp! Especially Sarracenia! He flies back down before pressing his hands together. "WRECKING RIPPER!" he shouts, releasing a barrage of crescent energy blades, aiming to try and tear through the tentacles, and help free people caught by the tentacles. "I get why you're angry, but trying to visit your revenge on people only is going to make things worse for you. You won't ever be able to ease the pain in your heart by visiting violence on others for what was taken from you! Stop this now!" He pleads with the fairie.
Arthur Lowell	> Arthur: Get yourself mad. Mess yourself up. Get invested. Tough to do. Without a face to look at and break the nose of, how can Arthur really whip himself up into a proper frenzy? "AND WHY, WHY," He roars, coughing through the poison. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU NOT CARE?! What, you're gonna let the TORTURE break the CLASSIC FAIR FOLK NARRATIVE? Start WORKING for GUYS WITH FEUDS? Might as well JOIN THE HUMANS, doin' EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT! The last UNSEELIE QUEEN I RUMBLED WITH would'a taken ANY CHANCE for some TREACHERY with a STUPID FUCKIN' FEUD-LORD TRYING TO PRESS HER FOR SERVICE! Look at LOVE HERE!" He jams a thumb at her amid the combat. "Think she ABANDONED HER STORY just because HUMAN BULLSHIT made things COMPLICATED? FUCK NO!" Well, he's sort of correct about it. Uh oh. The tentacles. He slashes, dodges, and whirls around, taking bruises but not a solid grapple. "NO BALLS!" He shouts, inexplicably. "IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA BRING THE DARK, I'M BRINGING MY LIGHT STRAIGHT THROUGH YOUR BITCH-ASS SWAMP!" He slams a hand down, and there's a warped, horrible sound, like some sort of exotic boat horn's reverb played in reverse. Then, antigravity surges into the swamp, trying to tear the 'lurkers' out of the terrain and up into the air, square in the way of Geeds's energy blades. He raises his hands and blasts starlight omnidirectionally, looking to flash-cook whatever he's dredged and wasn't dealt with by Geed's Wrecking Ripper. Geed's grabbing Sarra, surely Marcus and Greta have ahold of the technicals of this situation -- so Arthur will focus on the emotional side. Yelling at the foe. "STOP THIS HIDE-AND-QUEST BULLSHIT! STOP HIDING BEHIND MONSTERS! SHOW ME SOME TREACHERY! SHOW ME SOME CUNNING!! SHOW ME SOME REAL DARKNESS IN YOUR HEART!!!" He's roaring. "HELP ME GIVE THIS HUBRISTIC BASTARD WHAT HE DESERVES, OR FUCK OFF!!!" He's struggling after that, for a moment, having spent a little too much breath. Residual poison chokes him softly as he coughs. "Or, you gonna let the pain those fuckers put on you make you think you never deserve anything good ever again?" A short glance to... Sarra? "Gonna give up the ambition of a strong royal, just 'cause some peasants gave you one bloodied nose? Or are you gonna fucking fight to get everything you want from everyone and everything, no downsides?" Is that spoken to Lila? Or is that to Sarracenia? Unclear.
Storm Investigators	With the lights blowing up and spreading more gas through the area, it becomes even more important for Marcus and Greta to control their breathing until Ultraman can get that cleared up. There's plenty of them to hear about from Lila, too, as she responds to each member of the group with quite a bit of information that gives them more context for everything that's been going on. "That is, until -you- made him mad, Princess!" "She made...? Oh, yes. That would explain why this all started, but what did..." Marcus pauses, sounding more inquisitive and even sympathetic while glancing over at Sarracenia briefly. "What happened between them, anyway? "they did not even try to make amends!" That, meanwhile, doesn't get Marcus nor Greta even remotely attempting to defend the humans, or to chide Lila for her and the dark fairies' actions. Marcus is easily sympathetic to this sort of thing, and Greta only goes as far as giving the voice a slight headtilt of acknowledgment. "SHOW ME SOME TREACHERY! SHOW ME SOME CUNNING!!" Should they be encouraging or discouraging this? Neither Greta nor Marcus really know, and they exchange brief glances before silently agreeing to leave the emotional side of this matter to Arthur. They're not nearly as tied to that as he is with however long he's known Sarracenia, after all, and Marcus especially is wary of saying anything that might inadvertently set off Lila or Sarracenia in such a charged moment. Besides, she still has her job to do here, and that means focusing on finding a way forward. "Stop that! Where did you even get a light that bright?!" "I don't know!" Marcus lies blatantly, fully willing to take advantage of Arthur's power to keep the path ahead lit while scoping out the sections revealed by Love's light. Spotting that odd tree as she tracks the toxins, Marcus starts shining the lantern directly on the misshappen tree. "This way, everyone! I believe that might be where- Cut off by a tentacle suddenly grabbing her around the leg, Marcus yelps while clawing at the ground with her free hand and shining her light on the tentacle grabbing her. She blasts it with a pulse of arcane energy to try and get it off of her, bolstered by Greta taking carefully aimed shots at it with her pistol. Greta's shots come at the cost of her paying less attention to the tentacle dragging her towards the water, gambling on the odds of getting that thing off Marcus before it can drag either of them in too deep. Greta waits until the last second to start on the tentacle dragging herself, too, before whipping out a knife to slice and stab the hell out of it.
Angela	''--when they used us dark fairies for lab rats and magical fuel!'' Love flinches. As a fellow lab rat and source of magical fuel, even she's bound to take some stun damage from a comment like that. Love doesn't quite have a LobCorp researcher's understanding of manipulating Abnormalities so they don't start murdering an entire facility, but even though she never minded being at LobCorp with so many enemies to fight, she knows it wasn't exactly nice all the same. Love is briefly distracted, slowing down as a contemplative look crawls across her face. She shakes her head dizzily and opens her mouth to say something when-- --TENTACLES! DARK TENTACLES! It's actually true that as a pink magical girl, dark tentacles are one of her weaknesses! She yelps as they take hold of her, pulling her wand away from her hand. "It sounds like... It sounds like the Darkmancer was just using you too!" Love shouts back. There's only one weapon more powerful to a magical girl than giant pink lasers, and that is the power... OF COMMUNICATION Many a pink magical girl has defeated a powerful enemy by talking to them. It's been so long that Love isn't so sure she can do it quite like she could in her story, but she'll have to do...hjer best! "You don't want to be tortured and killed right? You don't like how this story is going, right? Well if we get rid of that Darkmancer, we can make sure you aren't tortured and killed at all! Sarracenia can turn this into a kinder story! At the Library, we've been doing that for ages now! So I know it works!" She strains against the Dark Tentacles and points towards the yelp in the darkness. "So how about... we become friends and work this out?? If your boss from the Dark Kingdom isn't treating you right, let us treat you right instead!"
Sarracenia	Sarracenia's decision on how she wants to treat Lila when they get her remains unclear. Her words probably deserve some scrutiny from Riku. But, the tentacles deserve more of his attention. The energy blades do well at cutting away the tentacles, most going limp and releasing their grip before disappearing into the water again. Arthur attempts to lift the lurkers from the water, but...they are quite large. Their dark forms are lifted partially out of the water, just huge slick forms that are hard to identify in the darkness until those beams of light start cooking them. They seem to be krakens of a type, not merely conjured tentacles of darkness. Possibly some kind of guardian creature that is summoned by the dark fairies in times of need. A bone-rattling, low-pitched roar sounds from them as they are seared, and the tentacles that remain start lashing about angrily. Soon though, the creatures are disarmed in the most literal of senses and are forced to retreat back into the dark depths of water that surely shouldn't be deep enough to contain such creatures. Meanwhile, the party's words seem to be having some kind of effect. 'WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU NOT CARE?! What, you're gonna let the TORTURE break the CLASSIC FAIR FOLK NARRATIVE? Start WORKING for GUYS WITH FEUDS? Might as well JOIN THE HUMANS, doin' EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT!' "Why WOULD I care?!" Lila shouts back, her shrill voice echoing through the swamp all around them. "The humans started it! We just wanted to have fun and THEY decided we were worth nothing and the light fairies were worth worshipping! And what do you even mean classic fair folk narrative? The only narrative I know is this one! And in this one the narrative is apparently that the humans decide to make enemies of fairies for no good reason! I am not some petty unseelie trying to cause trouble wherever I can! I go big! Small trouble does nothing, and if humans are going to hate us anyway I may as well go big!" 'It sounds like... It sounds like the Darkmancer was just using you too! You don't want to be tortured and killed right?' 'So how about... we become friends and work this out?? If your boss from the Dark Kingdom isn't treating you right, let us treat you right instead!' There is silence for a few moments. "...friends? Why would you want...people do not want to be friends wi-" 'IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA BRING THE DARK, I'M BRINGING MY LIGHT STRAIGHT THROUGH YOUR BITCH-ASS SWAMP!' "Oh! I get it! You are as barbaric as the humans of this world! You want to see my deepest darkness?! Fine! Jerk! You got it!" Lila shouts. And from the now not illuminated tree a deep purple glow can suddenly be seen. "You might remember this from last time!" The glow surely looks familiar to Arthur, Greta, and Marcus, even at this distance. Then, a beam of pure dark energy fires much like Love's own beam, attempting to engulf the party in pure destruction.
Sarracenia	'Or, you gonna let the pain those fuckers put on you make you think you never deserve anything good ever again?" A short glance to... Sarra? "Gonna give up the ambition of a strong royal, just 'cause some peasants gave you one bloodied nose? Or are you gonna fucking fight to get everything you want from everyone and everything, no downsides?' Sarra's head snaps toward Arthur shortly before that beam engulfs her. Once it passes, the princess is...standing tall, clad in the shining rose-gold form of her Metal Cap, the edges smoldering from the blast. "And everyone happy." she says, looking toward the tree in the distance but head tilted slightly toward Arthur. "Thank you, Arthur." It seems like that more dark anger that was festering in Sarra is gone, replaced by a more righteous anger. She reaches down and picks up her Silver hammer, then...it flows into the rusty red metal lotus hairpin atop her head. "Lila! Surrender to us, and we will give you protection from the Darkmancer in exchange for your help in finding him! Keep fighting us, and I cannot promise your safety!" Sarra calls out, almost as loudly as Lila's echoing voice. She then pulls out enough Bullet Bill power-ups for the group. "Marcus, shine your light toward her once more, then everyone use these." If Marcus does so, Sarra waits for the tree to be illuminated, then uses her power-up. In an explosion a shark-faced bullet the size of a car rockets out and toward the tree, closing the gap quickly. But, rather than impacting the tree Sarra's bullet explodes just before hitting it, sending her spiraling to a heroic landing pose just in front of it. "...last chance, Lila, before we come in full force! You were barely a match for us last time, with my butler's AND the Darkmancer's help! That name should tell you all you need to know! Darkmancer is a terrible name, and he is a terrible being! Do not protect him after he darkened your world's story so much! I would not be surprised if he is the one who started the whole dark fairy trouble all those years ago!"
Riku Asakura	'You want to see my deepest darkness?! Fine! Jerk! You got it!' Geed lands, trying to interdict himself between his allies and the giant beam of darkness shooting at them. He raises a barrier in front of himself. The barrier is blasted by the beam of darkness, and like a rock in a stream, the dark blast spreads across the front of it. Beams of darkness spray away from the barrier. Eventually, the beam ends and the shield breaks, stagging the young Ultra. Geed starts to channel energy across his body, his arms come to either side of his body, moving as if he were gripping something. His eyes shine light like a haze out a ways as black and red energy courses through his body. Eventually, the surge ends, and that energy is now coursing through his body. He brings his arms into an L shape, before all that gathered energy courses to his arms, and is fired out in a beam right back towards where the dark beam came from. "WRECKING BURST!" 'Lila! Surrender to us, and we will give you protection from the Darkmancer in exchange for your help in finding him!' Riku, inside Geed, smiles a bit at Sarracenia breaking past the dark rage in her heart and turning it into something productive. Geed lands beside Sarracenia and Arthur, pulling himself into a fighting stance. "I'm glad to see you back to your old self, Sarracenia!" he exclaims. He glances at Arthur, "I guess we have you to thank for it..." He turns to Lila, "Take her offer, because it's the best one you're going to get. You've messed with her and worked with a person whose only goal was to hurt people for petty reasons. You have a grievance and want to make things right for your people. There are better ways to do it, and this is the first step in making things right." "So let's stop this fighting and make a better world, where we BOTH can live in. No more pain, no more suffering. That goes for anyone. Not just humans, not just fairies."
Angela	''Exposition about how the world is unfair'' Love gets a little crosseyed, her tongue flops outside of her mouth and makes a little snake hiss noise that still manages to be a bit dopey. "But if there weren't any problems there wouldn't be a story." Love tells Lila. "But if you let your past rule you, you'll never be able to get past it! We can't make you trust us, or feel better, all we can do is offer you an opportunity for a better future! Whether you believe us, whether you want to take that risk, it's up to you! But---!" Love strains further against the tentacles, it looks like she's really struggling. "If you are always afraid to bear your neck to a potential friend, you'll always be alone! And then, one day, you'll welcome the sword at your throat when some hero comes to end ''your'' story!" ''Why would you want... people do not want to be friends wi--'' "That's not true! People are super into dark fairies, especially outside of this story book! In my world, it's totally normal to be best friends forever with dark magical girls! It's the best feeling in the world!" ''The dark energy beam'' It impacts squarely against Love's body as she is not in a position to protect herself. She is subsumed in dark light! And when it fades, she's hanging limply against the dark tentacles. Her staff clatters to the ground and her body follows shortly after. Her magical girl outfit flickers out of existence and is replaced with a pink t-shirt with a red heart outline on it and a pair of shorts. She reaches out her hand to Lila and says, "Li...la..." And then she lets her arm drop to the floor, defeated! She lays there a moment. And then she sneaks open an eye and hisses in a stage whisper, "Now is when you realize you were wrong and you want to be friends, Lila! Try picking me up and crying and saying sorry, it'll be a good start"! And then she closes her eye again, clenches up her little fists, and giggles a little while in anticipation before she tries to go back to looking sad and pathetic.
Arthur Lowell	> ==> Darkness slams into Arthur. The weight of pure darkness and destruction slams down onto him. His fancy maneuvers falter, and he sinks into the miserable swamp, pressed up to his knees in filth. Grunting and groaning from the strain, his arms cross over his head, deflecting much of the damage but none of the force. Pressed down and back... He's on knees, and one hand, when the beam clears. It's enough that he can still look up to see Sarra's glance. And flash the absolute winning-est smile anyone's ever seen. "There she is." He whispers, under his breath. "Knew she had it." > Arthur: IT WON'T LAST "It will." He mutters. Pressing himself to his feet, he rushes up into the air, twirling and pulsing gravity to eject the dirt and grime in a dramatic moment of pose-striking, shining glory! > Arthur: Use the BULLET BILL He racks the bolt on his battle-broom's rifle subsystem, loading the powerup, and then blasts forward, shark-teethed and wide-eyed in the aura of the powerup. Then, he disgorges its effects into a pure manifestation of force, intending to target Lila herself and leave her burdened by a massive amount of gravity, to force her to stop and think Sarra's offer over! He skids, humanoid now, kicking up the swampy water and dirt in a stylish aura that frames his allies, and asserts, "'Barbarian', lotta words. Where I come from, I'm a know-nothing punk! And the only chance you're gonna get, to really slug my face for the shit I said, is if you make the choices that get the bastard exploiting you slugged too." His grin gleams cleanly in the foggy, filthy darkness. "You know you wanna get to a good spot to smack a mug like this." He keeps his battle-broom in combat posture, revving it once, but holds to let Sarra do the talking. He glances, aside, to Geed, smirking a bit. "I know how to get people outta a funk." He says. "Being big is good, but when someone's down, you gotta get small for 'em. Gotta feel worse, as bad as they do, like bending down to get a good grip on someone's hand to lift 'em up." As for Love, he makes sure to position himself so that Lila could do that. Not that he expects she will, but she could.
Storm Investigators	With their legs freed and the threat of drowning forced away, Greta and Marcus are able to regroup on dry-ish ground. They spend just a second checking each others' gaits in doing so, then turn their attention back to the voice and the strange tree in the distance. "The humans started it!" Again, Greta purses her lips lightly, and Marcus feels another twinge in her chest. It's hard for them not to symapthize with Lila's anger in their own ways, although Marcus is the first of the two to speak up as the narrative and story keep coming to the forefront. "Whoever the original writer was must have a twisted sense of humor. Or... No. They must have seen it somewhere first, or heard of it." "It doesn't matter. The writer, the Darkmancer, anyone involved with continuing this needs to be stopped before there's more victims, humans or otherwise." "we become friends and work this out??" "...friends? Why would you want..." "You are as barbaric as the humans of this world!" Easily recognizing that eerie glow gathering even in her peripheral vision, Marcus glances around hastily to look for something to use as cover. Noticing that she's slow to actually move in that moment, Greta grunts heavily as she yanks Marcus right off her feet and under her arm, sprinting for the makeshift cover created by Geed's shield. They don't quite make it all the way there before the beam hits, though, and the blast sends the two of them sprawled out on the ground somewhere behind the Ultraman in groaning pain. It's still better than it could've been, at least, but they're certainly not looking to take another shot like that. As Greta strains to hoist Marcus back up onto her feet, though, the usually meeker of the two steadies herself against her mentor to face the tree and keep her lantern shining its light upon it. "Miss Lila! There ARE good people here, even if they... Er. None of us are from this world. Miss Love, Mister Riku, and Mister Arthur are all proof of that, and especially Madam Hofmann!" Marcus swallows lightly while she collects her voice, earning a brief eyebrow raise from Greta before she moves to keep her upright and supported. "I... I do not know what Miss Love is, precisely, but she does not strike me as someone that would try to deceive you. And Mister Riku is- Marcus glances at Riku, then turns to the tree again. "-I am also not quite sure." She fidgets somewhat awkwardly as she starts to lose the thread there, but a nudge from Greta gets her back on track. "B.. But there are good humans, too! Madam Hofmann showed me that when she saved me, back when no others would." The light intensifies as Marcus keeps that light focused in, finally activating her Reading power again to try and see what, precisely the significance of that tree is aside from being the source of the dark beams. "She's taught me how to understand humans better, and to communicate with humans more effectively. If she can help even someone like me with that, I'm sure you'd have no trouble going even further if...!" Losing some of that wind behind her, Marcus hastily nods and gestures at Love, like that'll fill in the gaps for her.
Sarracenia	Ultraman Geed serves as a shield, then reflects much of the beam's power back at its source. There is an explosion in the distance and an echoing cry as the purple glow goes out. Arthur channels the Bullet Bill's power into his broom, and there is a non-echoing shriek from inside the tree as a small purple light with dragonfly wings comes bouncing down some stairs visible through the destroyed wall, landing atop the remains of the dark lotus that had been protecting the crystal and getting pinned there. 'Miss Lila! There ARE good people here, even if they... Er. None of us are from this world. Miss Love, Mister Riku, and Mister Arthur are all proof of that, and especially Madam Hofmann!' Marcus makes a heart-felt plea for Lila to put some trust in them, and like Sarra's ultimatum Lila has time to contemplate it while pinned in the lotus. "...why would I want to communicate with humans? They are nothing but trouble..." Lila says stubbornly, though not with any conviction. 'Now is when you realize you were wrong and you want to be friends, Lila! Try picking me up and crying and saying sorry, it'll be a good start!' 'Take her offer, because it's the best one you're going to get. You've messed with her and worked with a person whose only goal was to hurt people for petty reasons. You have a grievance and want to make things right for your people. There are better ways to do it, and this is the first step in making things right.' ''Barbarian', lotta words. Where I come from, I'm a know-nothing punk! And the only chance you're gonna get, to really slug my face for the shit I said, is if you make the choices that get the bastard exploiting you slugged too." His grin gleams cleanly in the foggy, filthy darkness. "You know you wanna get to a good spot to smack a mug like this.' Lila doesn't answer Riku right away, nor does she answer Arthur. The gravity spell finally lets up, and the fairy floats up and hovers for a few moments, obviously contemplating the situation and her options. After several long seconds...she floats past those gathered at the tree and toward Love. Darkness flows in around the fairy as she nears Love, then forms into a more human-sized body. Much more fair and ethereally beautiful than the form she had taken in the castle. The long silver hair remains, but her skin is pale as moonlight and her purple eyes glow. She looks much like a kind of elf, but with dragonfly wings, wearing a long black dress. She looks toward the others uncertainly, then hesitantly and with obvious confusion crouches down to pick up Love. It is possible it is as much to save her own skin as anything to do with wanting to be friends, but she makes the gesture either way. "...I am not one to cry, but...it would be nice to...have a friend. Especially if they are not human." she says, then pauses a moment before asking, "What is a dark magical girl?" Lila then looks toward Sarracenia, who has cautiously followed after Lila. "So, just what -did- happen between you and the Darkmancer? Why did he decide to upgrade his use of me and this book from energy supply to...weird, obsessed trap?"
Sarracenia	Sarra hmphs and crosses her arms, her dress and self caked with mud from the many times she stumbled or fell or was dragged today. "He sent out false prophetic items proclaiming people to be heroes of destiny. I found one in a billionaire's collection. When I touched it, it declared I was such a hero. When I followed its instructions, I found a world that was being exploited for his own gain while he harvested its people. The world's kings and nobles were accomplices in this. My friends and I leveled his dark fortress there. I suppose he took that personally." Lila, still holding Love and hovering just off the ground now, lets out a low whistle. "So, you really do want to be a hero, huh? Well, I guess this sort of thing is a risk of being a hero." she says. Then, as Sarra levels a glare at her, Lila balks. "Er...I am...so very sorry for what happened to your servant. And my part in it." she says, bowing lightly at the waist for a few moments before looking up with an expression that is more 'child that got caught' than 'actually sorry'. "I will do my best to help locate the Darkmancer. It really is a terrible name."
Riku Asakura	Geed watches Lila come from her, now destroyed, home to Love. He isn't sure if the gesture is sincere or if it's to avoid punishment. However, Riku believes in people more than he should, so he chooses to believe that Lila is being honest. Especially when she holds Love in her hands. Slowly, the power fades from his Ultraman body, returning Riku in the form of a human. He walks beside Sarracenia. He looks towards Marcus, "To make it easy to understand, I'm half human, half alien." He says, scratching the back of his head. He returns to watching Lila and Love speak. Then Sarracenia and Lila speak. He sighs; she is at least apologizing. However, it is a very real first step in the right direction. "Hey, Sarra, I'm pretty proud of you today. You... overcame a real hard hurdle in becoming a hero, and that's no small feat." "So how do you want your story to end?" he asks Lila. "I know it might be too soon to trust humans, but we are here now and willing to make things right between you and humans. I know you'll help with the Darkmancer, but I think we shouldn't just let your story be unfinished."
Angela	It probably would've been pretty fair to just kick Love over. She's HURT but is clearly playing it up for the drama here like a huge goofball. She can't HELP but play into it. And play, for that matter. ''I am not one to cry.'' Love blinks her eyes open in brief confusion, then she smiles. "Oh that's okay. As long as your heart's leaky, it's okay if your eyes aren't doing anything. My sister--well, she's not ''really'' my sister, it's more like I was made to be a big tough and cool version of her who was always brave and tried to do the right thing and was willing to be the bad guy if it meant finding meaning in her existence by doing so. But we've been together for a long time, even if I don't remember it! She used to cry all the time with her eyes, but eventually she started doing that with her heart instead. And eventually, she learned how to do it with her eyes again! Well, one eye. But that's a lot of progress. She wasn't human either, she was a 'robotess' as Miss Schneider says! But we're both made by humans, so I don't think we can say we're utterly seperate from them, even you. I know they were really mean to you and your people, but they're also really mean to humans. They really struggle with being nice sometimes." She thinks for a moment and adds, "And that's sort of what a dark magical girl represents. They're people who were hurt by humanity and have found themselves opposed to them. They're people who need to be reminded that they're deserving of love sometimes, and sometimes they do mean things themselves, but they just want to be loved like anybody else. And when they can find that, they can be the sweetest and bestest people of all, even beating a magical girl out because in feeling real pain, they know how to embrace the pain of others so they feel less alone an dbad. That's...not something I'm very good at, because I'm a pink magical girl. I know it doesn't seem like it..." rLove beams. "But being a dark magical girl is actually really special. It might be harder for them at first, but once they're given a chance--they'll do really amazing things and be beloved by so many people. Because a lot more people are in pain, than those who haven't felt it, so there's no limit to how amny people they can hold." She hugs Lila as best she can from her position as she sort of flubs another social interaction with Sarracenia. "it's okay if you are awkward at first! It's not instant! You'll get there. I know it!"
Storm Investigators	"They are nothing but trouble..." "I... Marcus takes an extra moment to really consider her verb tense here. "... Used to think that, too. Getting your thoughts together, expressing them clearly, hoping that you're not being misinterpreted, having to explain yourself when you are? It'd be so much easier to- She freezes briefly when she notices Greta just staring right at her, and then Marcus clears her throat to stop digging a hole. She also lowers her lantern so she's not shining it right in Lila's face, and then she nods gratefully at Riku's clarification. "So, just what -did- happen between you and the Darkmancer?" "I suppose he took that personally." "Hitting someone's wallet tends to do that." Greta comments with her usual disaffected tone, still keeping her pistol around for a while longer even after Lila's transformed with Love for a while already. "Still, having a motive doesn't change the threat we're facing." She looks towards Love again while she speaks of the nature of dark magical girls, wearing another cloudy expression that's equal parts intrigued, tired, sympathetic, and a whole heaping of stoic. "There will be plenty of healing necessary by the time this immediate matter is resolved. We will, however, need a more concrete idea on what the ultimate goal is regarding the Darkmancer." She's more than willing to leave it at that, but a long look from Marcus gets her to turn her attention back to Lila and Sarracenia. "... And this world, but let's focus on one thing at a time. Where do we go next?"
Sarracenia	'Hey, Sarra, I'm pretty proud of you today. You... overcame a real hard hurdle in becoming a hero, and that's no small feat.' Sarra smiles lightly to Riku for a moment, but then frowns again. "I could not have do so alone." she says, which seems to annoy her somewhat. She almost failed a hero trial, one of the most important ones. "Thank you for your help in this, Riku. You are a beacon in the darkness. I hope to be the same some day." 'Love explains being a dark magical girl' Lila listens with interest to Love, still holding Love up until the hug, perhaps not realizing it is awkward to hold someone so long. The dark fairy blinks in surprise at the hug, and sort of returns it awkwardly before setting Love down. "Sweetest and bestest people of all, hm?" she says, considering the implications. She then considers Love. "...find meaning in one's existence by being the bad guy. That is an unusual concept. I am not sure if that is what I was doing." Sarra meanwhile is giving Love an odd look. She considers Angela a sister? But not really a sister? And Angela cries a lot? Or did? Or...does? But, Angela acts so coldly and robotic much of the time. Sarra has seen it at least once, but still finds it hard to imagine Angela crying often. "...if you were created by the same people, then you effectively are as much sisters as any other sisters." Sarra says. She may not support Angela, but she does support Love. 'I... Used to think that, too. Getting your thoughts together, expressing them clearly, hoping that you're not being misinterpreted, having to explain yourself when you are? It'd be so much easier to-' Lila also ends up giving Marcus a look, though more confusion than anything. "And...now you do not think that?" Lila asks, since it is uncertain if Marcus actually thinks that. The question of the goal regarding the Darkmancer is brought up, as is the goal for this world. Lila can't comment on the first, but the second she can at least weigh in on. "Well, a world that treats fairies as people again would be nice. We used to have a kind of balance between the different types of fairies, the humans, and basically all the creatures. It was peaceful. The swamp was much prettier then, before we had to shroud it and put in all these defenses to keep humans out." Yes, she is going to try and just gloss over her part in perhaps making things worse. Sarra considers the question of the Darkmancer. She takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. "I suppose...after this we have to try and take him into custody as well." she says, then turns her gaze to Lila. "Do not think this has absolved you of punishment. But, if your help leads to the Darkmancer then I will consider...non-incarceration forms of punishment. Although, it sounded like you may have the fairy court to answer to." Lila deflates. "Oh...yes...I suppose I will..." she says, then adds, "Perhaps they will consider my efforts to help with the Darkmancer...?" She pauses a moment, then gasps. "Oh! Speaking of, take the shards of my crystal. It was linked to one the Darkmancer has of the same type. It is how he was siphoning energy from this world. It will very likely lead you right to him."
Riku Asakura	'I could not have do so alone.' "That's the thing about being a hero, they rarely do it alone. Don't think any less of yourself for needing help getting there," he says with a bright smile. "And you're welcome. I think Arthur deserves most of the credit there, though!" 'Well, a world that treats fairies as people again would be nice.' "Then we will try to write that as an ending. Hopefully, together with you?" he asks the dark fairie. Still, it's probably possible; they just have to undo whatever the Darkmancer did to this book in the first place. Arthur and Marcus probably could do it. Lila offers a shard of her crystal, which will lead them to the Darkmancer. "That's also a good start, Lila. Thank you!"