Session Start: Sat May 07 15:17:42 2005 Previously, on Hunters: The Queen is in an extended swoon, which started as the team was responding to the rapid-fire series of assaults on Thursday night. This brought on much worry, but no one could have expected what happened the next day. The club wars reached their peak as the Anime Club reacted poorly to a seeming kidnapping, confronting the supposed perpetrators in the midst of recruitment rallies for the other clubs, and thereby triggering a full-scale riot. ...the school's only choice was to call in the police, who in turn brought some SWAT groups, who managed to contain things and herd everyone into the school auditorium. At this point, the SWAT group revealed itself to not actually *be* with the police when its leader casually mowed down Principal Oldman with semi- automatic gunfire. These men wanted the magical girls they were certain were in the crowd, and were willing to do anything at all to get what they wanted. Maya was called semi-randomly to the stage for interrogation, and... [Friday, March 5, 2004 - 1322 local time] [The auditorium of Takeuchi Memorial High School] * Norcliff squirms out of Haruko's purse and attempts to make his way out of the auditorium [session start] Maya, you're going to tell me what you know about magical girls in this school, or I'm going to shoot you. ...now. Leave her alone! She doesn't know anything! * Feral_Beast drops down from the rafters with a low growl, landing heavily behind the man holding a gun in Maya's face. The momentum of its fall carries its open mouth down over the top third of the man's body as its claws close around the lower two-thirds. Rearing back, it rips the man into three pieces, covering itself, Maya, and much of the stage in blood and gore as it throws its head up and back and its claws down and to the side. Throwing the three pieces of the man in those three directions, it towers over the stage, letting loose a savage scream of terrible, animalistic rage at the ceiling above. * Leena blinks dumbly. * Maya just... stands there, in abject shock. * A moment later, a beautiful katana glints in the auditorium lights as it spins down from the rafters, embedding itself in the stage behind Maya. There's a moment of complete stunned non-reaction... and then things start moving. The Dragon King has revived the Big Bad Wolf! * Minami just blinks. * Taki ducks down and transforms in the midst of... that. Shit! Now! The gunners turn towards the center of the stage... * Leena breaks for the stage, transforming en route. Damn her identity now. * LadyNightshade just jumps from the crowd to the stage. * Feral_Beast turns, eyes glowing white with fury, and snaps its jaws shut on the nearest gunman on stage. * Haruko screams and starts to transform herself The gunman writhes in a nimbus of silvery, streamery light, then goes limp. * Feral_Beast worries it a moment, breaking a few bones, before flinging it aside and looking for its next victim. Even as he does, the first few not-SWAT men begin to instinctively pull their triggers. Most just spray bullets wildly into the air, but a couple of them manage to stitch patterns that cross the Beast's torso. It flinches, but holds its feet. * Feral_Beast turns to the nearest prey that dared to fire hot lead at it, and snarls, slashing at the man with a claw. * Feral_Beast 's claw slashes across the man's front, leaving five gruesome gashes and knocking him several feet through the air before he comes to rest on the ground, bleeding and not getting up. In the back of the hall, magical girls begin transforming like flashbulbs, lighting the room a sequential rainbow of intense colors. Taki leaps into the fray on the stage, pummeling a man with flashes of pink. He staggers, but keeps his feet... A few gunmen begin to get real shots off - one simply begins to spray the crowd, another aims for the pretty lights flashing in the back of the room, and a third is still focussed on the Beast onstage. It's hard to tell who was hit in the seating, but the screaming that started with the arrival of Feral only redoubles. Feral himself is moving again, and the burst goes right past him. * LadyMallet doesn't stop- she grabs the suddenly appearing Mallet, holds it by the head, and uses it to vault onto the stage. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!" She beelines straight for the guy who decides spraying the crowd is a good idea. * Minami drops and rolls while transforming, then comes up to let a Flurry loose at the crowd of baddies. Lady Royal picked out a cluster of three not-SWAT with her attack - one sees it coming and jumps away. Another is only on the edge of the cluster of explosions which rip into the wooden stage, but the last is right in the middle, and after being battered back and forth for half a second, he falls on his face. The one who dodged returns fire back at Royal. A bullet slams into her shoulder, spinning her around. Another, near Mallet, tries to shoot her, but only manages to put a bunch of lead into the Mallet head. Still another misses the Beast badly, his shots ricocheting off the floor near Maya. * Maya flinches at that, and finally snaps out of her daze. It only takes a moment and a loud scream of "SHOWTIME!", and the magical girl that's left after the blast takes aim at Royal's attacker with her wand, firing off a Star Gun blast. "No mercy!" The blast punches straight through the man's riot gear, splattering his insides against the back wall of the stage. He staggers, then collapses so he can bleed out peacefully. The transformation in the middle of the stage catches the eye of several remaining gunmen, and she finds herself in a crossfire. Bullets fly all around her for a moment, and when it's over, she's almost relieved to only have caught one in her right hip. * LadyMysteria hisses nonetheless. Judging from the look on her eyes, she's got one of them in her sights. * Lady_MakeBelieve seems oddly unconcerned with the gunfights going on, seeing only the visibly monstrous form onstage. She raises her hand to the sky lowers her head, and chants a prayer. * Kirin appears in a flash of multicolored light like a rainbow being born. It takes the form of a deer with a dragons head and scales, its horns are wreathed in flame. A look of unimaginable peace is on its face as it descends from the sky to settle amidst the chaos. * Feral_Beast wobbles, feeling woozy and weak, and turns on the new arrival. If its eyes contained fury before, now they promise pure, white death as it releases a low growl. A bead of pearly flame forms on the horns of the Kirin. It softly floats over to the wolven monster before erupting with a clear chime into a column of pure light, engulfing it. * Feral_Beast wavers under the light, screaming as it feels its energy drain away, and whirls on the source of this offense. It's eyes no longer contain mere fury; now they promise death to this pathetic opponent. It growls, flexing its claws in anticipation. The front rows of students - who are all still handcuffed - are surging for the side doors of the auditorium and just now banging through them, only to be mowed down by gunfire in the hallways. A couple more men on stage take shots - one is aiming at the gaggle of brightly-dressed girls in the upper rows, and his burst makes them duck at least. The Kirin catches another one's eye, and he snap-fires a round at the new monster. It hits, showing that even magical monsters can bleed, too. The other magical girls are getting their shit together, though, and a 9- inch goban pounds one gunman through the stage, while Lady Oak is doing one of her trademark vaults into the melee. * Feral_Beast makes flying leap for its unnatural horned prey, claws and jaws opening in mid-flight, roaring with killing intent. * Feral_Beast goes flying over the creature, and crashes into the bleachers, tearing itself out of them and whirling to face the monster once more with a snarl. * LadyNightshade panics as the crowd panics and rushes off the end up the stage, leaping over the crowd to the doors, pushing her way into the hall, looking for gunmen to uh... distract. There are five men with automatic weapons, at the end of a longish, narrow hall. There are doors on either side, but there's a good size killing zone with at least a dozen bodies stacked in it already. * LadyNightshade mad dashes towards the men at the far end, preparing for the worst. Three of the gunners go full-auto as she charges them, but only one actually hits Lady Nightshade. It's a good hit to her gut, and she spins woozily to the floor. * LadyMallet skids to a halt a few feet in front of her chosen target- the one who opened fire on the crowd-, eyes full of murder. "You don't kill innocent girls!" She takes a few quick steps forward, swinging the Mallet over her head, and yelling, "LEENA LEENA PANCAKE STRIKE!" She's not holding anything back. The man barely has time to focus on Leena before the Mallet connects. What it does to him is simply indescribable. What it does to the stage and the back wall... well, let's just say that a five meter circle of it crumbles, leaving a weird, gooey crater in the concrete underlying the stage, and a tunnel through the wall into the adjacent bathroom space. * LadyMallet grins for a moment, admiring her handiwork, before pulling the Mallet back. She wheels about, and charges the first goon she sees not looking her way. "ALL EYES ON ME, FUCKERS!" * LadyMallet yells again. "LEENA LEENA PANCAKE STRIKE!" as she brings her namesake crashing down in his direction. This man was standing on the edge of the stage, and the resulting crater, besides spraying concrete debris into the crowd, makes a nice, easy ramp onto the stage. As the dust begins to be sucked away by the ventilation, a strange, mini- fridge-size device that was not previously in the bathroom becomes visible. * LadyRoyal ducks the debris and runs up the ramp, shooting out a flurry at a couple of the goons. The flurry goes high, and rips the stage-right curtains into little fluttery pieces. Those two men are split - on is targeting Leena, one is shooting back at Mina. Mallet is easily missed, but Mina's scalp is clipped by a bullet, and she goes out like a light. Princess Oak completes her vault with her usual smashing, flipping attack, pulverizing an already-wounded gunman much like Leena does to her victims. * LadyMysteria carefully steadies herself after recovering from Mallet's little tantrum, takes aim at the closest gunner, and smiles grimly. "I can tell you a lot about magical girls." Another shot goes off, all light and heat and sparkles. The beam burns into another man, but this one somehow manages to keep his feet. Maybe his vest protected him? Or maybe he's just really tough and doesn't mind losing multiple internal organs. It hardly matters, as a sparkling discus flies out of the seats and decapitates him only a second later. The head tumbles forward, the sparkly thing shatters against the back wall of the stage. * Lady_MakeBelieve, seeing the savagery directed against her celestial Guard, calls forth for aid against this servant of the Dragon King once more. * Dragon_Lord answers the call for aid, bursting out of an AC vent in a flowing stream of golden scales, ready to strike down all who side with his former master. * Kirin directs another wave of purification at the snarling beast who would assault him, as the Dragon Lord moves to bind it to the ground, preventing further assaults. The Kirin can't quite seem to get a hold of Feral's essence this time, but the Dragon Lord wraps itself around the beast like it was some wolfy squeaky- toy. * Feral_Beast howls in affronted ire. * Dragon_Lord roars in triumph * Feral_Beast inhales, and belts out a sound of fury and rage that shakes the auditorium. A streak of energy - no one in the midst of the battle quite can pick out whose it was - blasts another gunman into smoking ruin. * Feral_Beast flexes it's arms, screaming as it attempts to rip the creature binding it in half, snapping at it even though its jaws cannot reach. * Feral_Beast's arms force enough room that it can get a biting grip, and shake the malformed chew-toy off of itself, flinging it a short distance away, and making ready to lash at it as soon as it has its bearings once more. Out in the hall, the gunners have mostly gone back to shredding the girls who are (more carefully, now) darting out into the hall to escape. One throws another burst Nightshade's way, just for good measure, and punches a couple more holes in her. * LadyMallet yells at Maya, "Go back up Taki and rally the rest of the MG's! I'll take care of the rest of these guys!" * LadyMallet winks at Maya, and turns and charges the nearest standing one to do just that. * LadyMysteria nods to Mallet, then looks in the direction that Taki went off to. The mass of girls at that door is starting to back away, now, leaving easy access to the exit. The gunfire in the hallway is almost visible. * LadyMallet greets him with a raised Mallet, and roars, "PANCAKE STRIKE!" She focuses exclusively on him as she attacks. The building actually seems to wobble a little this time, as the cracking reaches a major structural support behind the stage. As for the guy... well, I guess what was left jiggled a little, too. * LadyMallet jumps back, reorients herself, and goes for the last one, a dark, determined expression glazing her eyes. She's silent this time as she strikes at him. She misses, barely... but the explosion of debris is enough to knock him over. The building is definitely rocking now, as if some critical horizontal bracing is gone. Princess Oak walks over and sticks a sharp stick through the man's eye. He stops moving. ...and suddenly, there's no enemies left in the auditorium, and no combat. Except for the gunfire in the hallway, and the beastwar on the steps... There are still about a hundred and fifty "normals" in the auditorium, most of whom are still handcuffed, and all of whom have no idea what to do. * LadyMallet swivels around, staring at Feral and the Dragon. She then turns to Haruko. "Call off your friends, Make Believe! The werewolf's on our side!" * Feral_Beast growls, taking a step towards the dragon lord, flexing its claws, and...pauses. It blinks, the light in its eyes going out, revealing a surprised set of black irises. And then those eyes slide shut, as the enormous beast collapses to its knees, then onto its face. * LadyMallet curses, then hunts around for the microphone. * Feral_Beast 's sprawled form begins to shrink, fur retreating into a comparatively much smaller figure... wearing a fuku. A beautiful young woman with long black hair pooled around her head lies unconscious on the ground. Her black-and-white school uniform with an emblem of three red trees on the left breast does little to hide her well-proportioned figure, despite being relatively modest. The innocence of her unconscious, sweetly smiling face is tarnished by the blood on her lips and dripping in the spittle she drools from her half-closed mouth, and her long, well-manicured nails are painted red from the blood soaking her fingers. * LadyMallet stops, and BLINKS. * LadyRoyal groans, sits up, turns in time to catch that, and STARES. * Kirin seeing that the evil beast is gone, dips its head gracefully in a bow, then fades away leaving a tinge of the same rainbow shimmer with which it arrived. * LadyMysteria pauses... and her jaw drops. * LadyRoyal just starts laughing to herself, despite everything. She can't seem to help it. * LadyMallet moves her mouth dumbly, past conversations with Darkmoon flashing through her mind. "Wha... he... she..." ... n-no time. No time. * Dragon_Lord pauses, examining the woman he was just fighting, slightly confused. * LadyMysteria turns around and grabs for Rin's sword. "We have to hurry! We can think later!" * LadyRoyal gets to her feet. "Right." LADIES! We're LEAVING! * LadyMallet wrenches her gaze away. She moves her mouth again for a few moments before it makes any sound. "... the bomb." Right, we need to do something about the bomb! Can anyone find it? * LadyMallet points to the exposed bathroom. ...yeah, that looks about right. * LadyMallet glances Up at the ceiling. They may well have rigged it to go if it's tampered with... and we need to get these girls out of here. Point. I may have an answer to that... And I may be able to shield you from the blast. * PrincessOak points at the restroom. "Go that way! Pick up the wounded!" The Order bounces off the Hunters, as they are *so* on-duty right now, but even the normals start towards the hole in the wall. * LadyRoyal raises her eyebrows at Haruko. "One of your friends is a bomb expert?" * LadyMallet snaps her fingers, and yells, "BUBBLES! Over here for a second!" No, but I think I can make liquid air, and I saw on TV once that's what the bomb squad does sometimes. ...uh-oh. * LadyMallet calls out to Oak, "Get Bubble over here! I want to see if she can do anything about the bomb!" She got hit. So did Athena, dammit! Is she still up? * LadyMysteria looks Rin's way. "Mallet, whatever you're doing, do it fast... Nightshade." She heads that way quickly. Mallet sees Lady Goban using three of her thinner gobans floating in a row as a stretcher to move Princess Purity out... * LadyMallet calls out to Haruko, too. "Make Believe, keep Dragon about. And get over here yourself." * LadyRoyal looks around and walks over to girl!DM, still a bit staggery, shaking her head. She pokes her/him/her a little. * Rin flinches, face contorting as her slumber is disturbed, and groans a bit. * Lady_MakeBelieve motions to the dragon to follow her and heads over to where Mallet is. Out in the hall, Nightshade begins to wake up, and immediately regrets it. * LadyMallet eyes the downed Purity, something flickering across her eyes. She turns back to Haruko. * LadyRoyal pokes a bit more. "Wakey wakey, Lady Darkmoon." * LadyNightshade tries to glance down the hall without moving too much. * LadyMysteria has a peek, and winces. "Gh... Nightshade! You there? We're getting out of here, *now*!" Make a see-saw. Hurry up about it. Four men are still there, one is using a radio to describe the situation. There are no girls entering the hall now, so there is no shooting. You don't know where the fifth went. Keep the Dragon ready. I need to see if Purity can still do anything. * LadyNightshade doesn't move then. * Rin stirs, lifting her head and blinking at Lady Royal, looking confused for a moment. "Lady Royal, what are yo--" she pauses, a look of horror crossing her face as she hears her own voice, "No..." She looks down at herself, and remembers the last minute or so. "Oh no... nonono..." She buries her face in her bloody hands, and weeps. Yeah, tell me about it. But later. Can you transform or anything? * LadyMallet breaks off running to get alongside Purity. "Hey. Wake up. Now." She holds up a hand to stop Goban. T-- transform? *grits her teeth* N-no. I d-don't have the energy anymore. Hey, Mallet? Figured. Purity is a mess, and she's not getting up for a little time yet. Okay. Next step. Can you get up? If its your intention to launch this thing, I'm not sure anything I can make would be sturdy enough * Rin continues sniffing, trying to stop her tears. And nods. She slowly pushes herself to her feet. Looking around at the devastation, she cries again, but wipes her face on her sleeve. * LadyMallet grabs Purity by the collar, and lifts her up a little. She pauses, then lets her go. "... fine. Be useless and weak." She stalks back to Haruko. "Don't worry about it! It only has to take one hit." Good work. If you can't transform, though, I don't know if you'll want to stick around--bombs tend to be unfriendly. Can you make it to the agency? * LadyMallet checks the status of the leaving people, then goes to look over the supposed bomb, not touching it yet. No... not the agency. Please, don't tell anyone! Please! *eyes widening to hysteria* * Lady_MakeBelieve still wants to try her freezing plan, and summons a wall around it to hold all the liquid air she's going to be pouring onto it. * Rin looks ready to flee, like a trapped animal. Bit late for that, and you know it. The bomb, if that's what it is, is an almost featureless metal box. It has a USB port, power plug (currently without a cable), a small speaker, and a serial port. It's just sitting there. * Rin looks around, eyes darting frantically. Her mouth works silently, no actual words forming. * LadyMallet blinks at the bomb, then goes back to Haruko. "... okay. Here's the plan. Unless any of us has any idea how to disarm it..." You try and freeze it. I doubt we can let it just sit there, it's probably got a failsafe timer for an hour or so. * LadyNightshade quietly leaks blood on the floor, letting herself heal before she even thinks of trying anything. After you've tried to freeze it, I'll move it over to the seesaw, stick it on there, have Dragon wrap around it. * LadyMysteria stays where she is, trying to not be seen at this point. * LadyRoyal sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. "Look, we can be all shocked about this later, and in detail. Right now none of us has the luxury, which would be why no-one's asking you those sorts of questions right now." Then hit the other end real hard with the mallet to get it as high up as it can, then have the Dragon squeeze it to detonate it way up. ... sound good? * Rin swallows, and squints her eyes shut. "You are r-right." She chokes back another sob, and opens her eyes. The blood covering her face and hands ruins the serene expression she's trying for, though. Wh- what now? ... if we can get away with saving the school, that's something. *she spares a glance at Rin, and quickly turns away, immediately regretting it.* We-ell. First I'd suggest you wipe yourself off. L-Mallet and MakeBelieve are trying to get rid of the bomb, and Mysteria's out...with...Nightshade. Sounds ok to me, though the Dragon is going to get cold... * LadyRoyal blinks and looks into the hallway, seeing Maya peeking out. Huh. Wonder what's up over there. To save all these young ladies, It would be nothing. * LadyMallet grins, with tight lips. "If he's lucky, he'll warm up real quick." * LadyMallet turns to the Dragon. "Are you okay with it? And as for you, can you get a point on you to puncture through the ceiling better?" The fourth man has returned to a firing position, and one of them sees Maya peeking. His fire blows chips off the brick wall. * LadyRoyal shakes her head. "Anyway, as I said, it's not a good idea for anyone around here to be untransed right now. If you clean up some before you go outside, people might not recognize you. And you can meet us later. No running away and hiding allowed." * LadyMysteria gyehs and snaps her head back. "Four left." * Dragon_Lord holds out a wicked claw * LadyRoyal jerks her head up. "Ack." * Rin 's gaze snaps to the Dragon Lord at its voice, and a brief flash of pure rage curls her mouth, and her hands into claws, before she shivers and is...calm once more. "I will remain. If I go now, I will--" she shivers again, "I will not be back." Will this do for you Lady? * LadyRoyal EYES girl!DM. "Riiight. Well, your choice." * LadyRoyal jogs over to Maya. "Nightshade all right?" * LadyMallet shakes her head. "Like a spike, or a bullet. Not for tearing, for piercing." She's down. Not sure how badly she's hurt. * LadyMallet snaps her fingers at MB. "Make Believe... get started on trying to freeze it. Or drown it. Or whatever." * Rin looks around, falsely calm, for her Tessen. * LadyRoyal swears under her breath. I'll do what I can. The ceiling should pose no obstacle to me. * LadyRoyal messes around with a card, crouching down by Maya. "Where they at?" Around towards the way out. * LadyMallet nods. "Alright. And then wait till you get as high as you get before tying to crush it and blow it." Hmmm. * Lady_MakeBelieve backs a bit away, and summons a ball of clear liquid above the bomb and cage. It falls down, letting off vapor and spreading frost across the nearby area. * Rin starts walking, looking around almost as if for a place to hide. * LadyMysteria watches Mallet and Make-Believe work... and just happens to see Rin. She just stares for a moment, clenching Rin's tessen tightly. * Lady_MakeBelieve keeps a small steady stream flowing into the container as it evaporates, waiting until she can feel the cold in her bones from where she stands. * LadyMallet takes a moment to breath, setting the Mallet down for a moment, while waiting for Haruko. She glares darkly at Rin. * Rin does not look at anyone, if she can avoid it. The device clicks after a few seconds of cold, then the speaker emits a recorded message: "You have just activated the anti-tamper mechanism of this device. Insert the disarming key within the preset Omega countdown period to disarm." ...! FUCK. Change of plans. No waiting! Dragon, wrap it! The normal girls still filing past EEP! and move faster. * Dragon_Lord has started moving even before Mallet finishes talking * LadyMallet grabs the Mallet, and runs over to the bomb. She sets it flat on it's head- much like she did when she launched Taki. * Lady_MakeBelieve quickly summons a see-saw * Dragon_Lord wraps himself around it, ignoring the cold * LadyMallet grabs the bomb with both hands, lifting and setting it on the see- saw quickly. She then runs back, and grabs the Mallet, and runs to the opposite end of the seesaw. The bomb chirps a second time: "Any further movement of this device will result in immediate detonation." * LadyMallet ... doesn't do that! She freezes before touching it. * LadyMysteria grits her teeth, fingers drumming against the wall. "Of all the days..." ... well. You said it. * LadyMallet glances back at the crowd. How much of it is gone? * LadyRoyal is still fiddling with a card. About thirty girls, mostly wounded and slow-moving are still to file past. We probably have long enough to let them get out. * Rin stares at them, and starts towards them...and then realizes this brings her closer to Lady Mysteria and Royal, and stops again. * LadyMysteria pauses, then pulls out her wand again. "... any ideas?" * LadyRoyal gestures to the card with her head. "These're all I got. Can yours shoot that far?" They should... Right. Well. Let's try it then, yeah? * LadyMysteria takes a deep breath, then holds up three fingers. Then two. One, and a point towards the door. * LadyRoyal nods. * LadyRoyal flings the card down the hall. * LadyMysteria is already peeking around the edge enough to hurry, take aim, and try to plug one of the gunners while Royal follows suit. * LadyRoyal follows suit indeed. Gunfire spangs off the brick again in response, but it's definitely less than before. * LadyMysteria takes a breath, points again, then whips around for another shot, wand smoking slightly. * Rin closes her eyes again, coming to a decision. Gritting her teeth, she walks - gracefully despite her obvious turmoil - towards Royal and Mysteria. "How can I help?" she asks, barely above a whisper. * LadyRoyal flings another card as soon as she can. Taki risks peeping again, and sees one man definitely down, and another with a card lodged in a very awkward place. * LadyRoyal blinks a bit at Rin's sudden appearance, but turns her attention to the fight. "Don't get shot." * Rin 's lower lip trembles, but she nods. "...I did not bring my gun. I am sorry." Another card takes a shooter out of commission, and the last one begins backing around the far corner. No offense and all. ... it's alright, Rin. Here. * LadyMysteria holds out the tessen her way, blindly. * Rin takes it, and clutches it tightly. With a deep breath, she uses it to clean herself up. And then backs off a bit, to get out of the way. And look for any further threats. The gunner gets around the corner, though you can still see him peeking around it. * LadyMysteria has a peek, then frowns. "One more." * LadyNightshade rises, quickly and painfully, swallowing back the pain as she dashes towards the man, sticking close to the wall and trying to use his own cover against him. He sees the motion, but the corner makes it harder to bring his rifle around... Hmm. * LadyMysteria smiles as Nightshade rises. * LadyRoyal whuffs out a sigh of relief. Nightshade pinkly hammers him into the ground, then gets a chance to look around. The front hallways are abandoned, seemingly. ...everyone's...okay? *almost just a soundless breath* * LadyRoyal nods firmly. "Looks like a yes on that one. For us, that is." ... it's time to go. * LadyRoyal nods again. * Rin nods, hesitantly. * LadyNightshade coughs up an amount of blood with maybe a bullet two in it as she lurches back towards the auditorium. You don't even want to know the look on her face right now. * LadyRoyal steps up and offers help, even though it probably won't be accepted. The last of the girls have filed out of the bathroom, and presumably out of the building, though no one in the auditorium can know for certain. * LadyMallet frowns. "... look around. See if you can find what's left of the body of the speaker. The disarm key might be found." If that doesn't work... I'm down to my last idea. I'll gladly accept any other ideas. * LadyNightshade indeed does not accept the help as she pushes through the group and looks around at the devastation. * LadyMallet goes a huntin' for scraps. The bomb chirps again. "Remote detonation sequence has been enabled. Please insert the disarm key in ten seconds to disarm. Mark." ... well, no time. * LadyRoyal gives a "some things never change" shake of the head and turns-- Oh fuck. Everyone, get behind me! GET RID OF IT! NOW! *screamed* I'm going to try to direct the explosion away! Chuck the damn thing! * LadyNightshade pushes the group by the hall door out into the hall. "RUN DAMN IT!" * LadyMysteria pauses a tick... then starts to bolt. * LadyRoyal proceeds to flee. * Lady_MakeBelieve hesitates a moment, not wanting to leave behind the Dragon Lord GO! * LadyMallet blinks for a second. "Dragon, in between! Plan M!" * Lady_MakeBelieve turns and follows everyone else out Rin-Darkmoon-whatever, get the HELL OUT OF THERE! * Rin blinks, and finally registers the instruction. She turns and bolts. * LadyMallet runs to just behind the Dragon- and then flings the Mallet as hard as she can at the bomb, hoping to wreck it enough to weaken the explosion. * Dragon_Lord twists out of the way to allow the mallet access, then covers it again There's silence - or at least the relative silence of the Mallet and bomb- thing and dragon crashing through the opposite wall, and another beyond that... * LadyMallet doesn't bother trying to run- she wouldn't get far enough if it didn't work. ...and then comes the deafening silence of the bomb blowing up and shattering everyone's' eardrums. The dragon is apparently able to channel some of the blast upwards, as Lady Mallet is only mildly thrown off her feet, but then the roof of the building decides that it's going to collapse. From outside, where most of the team is, if they had the time to look back they would have seen the building slowly implode - first the far side and the auditorium, then the outer ring of classrooms, then ironically, the two-story sections... in fifteen seconds, it's all rubble. * Rin screams, not that she can hear it, and covers her ears, not looking back. * LadyNightshade covers the strange girl - Rin - as everyone is thrown to the ground by the blast. * LadyRoyal dives for Maya and covers her head. * LadyMysteria is covered, hands uselessly clapped to her ears. * LadyNightshade gets up slowly, aching badly as she surveys the surroundings. * LadyRoyal waits a bit, then carefully gets up and looks around. * Rin trembles on the ground for a moment, before cautiously removing her hands from her ears, and looking up and around. Is everyone alive? * Rin still has her Tessen in her right hand, too. * LadyRoyal blinks uncomprehendingly at Haruko. Ears still ringing like FUCK. * LadyMysteria grits her teeth, waiting for her eardrums to heal. "Gh..." * LadyMallet emerges from the rubble of the school, brought into sight by a larger section of building being lifted up and tossed away. She looks somewhat dazed, but she's definitely standing. There is some strange-looking damage to the pool building/blockhouse, and some other buildings. As she watches, a magical girl's attack eviscerates another rooftop. Looks like there were snipers on the way out, but nothing a couple dozen Ladies couldn't handle. * LadyRoyal STARES at Leena and mutters even though she can't hear herself. "Un-fucking-believable." * Lady_MakeBelieve realizes that everyone is deaf, and summons a shimmering sign that reads "Is everyone alive?" * Rin stands up, and sighs with relief at seeing Leena alive. She'd be shocked, but she's kind of beyond that, now. She ignores Haruko's question. * LadyRoyal shakes her head in resignation, and helps Maya up. * LadyNightshade just starts to walk out of school. If there's nothing left to deal with she just wants to go. ...why? *whispered, so not really audible to anyone* * LadyMysteria is helped, and just shakes her head in mild disbelief. * LadyRoyal glances at Haruko, shrugs, and points to Invinci--Leena. * Lady_MakeBelieve looks back at the building and starts softly crying, thinking of the noble sacrifice the dragon made. * Rin glances around, seeing everyone safe and alive, and then stares resolutely at some portion of the rubble that has no people in line of sight. * LadyMallet blinks at the others, as she sees them. She mutely walks over to them, detransforming. As she gets closer, it's pretty obvious she's crying. ... we need to inform the others. * LadyRoyal squints at Maya, trying to read her lips. * LadyMysteria pauses, then frowns and holds her hand to her head, a-la- cellphone. * Leena slows to a stop in front of Rin, and gestures with a finger for her to lower her head. * LadyNightshade pulls out her phone, hoping it still works as she wander off campus. * Rin 's lip trembles as she complies, looking at Leena. Though her gaze won't quite meet the smaller girl's. * LadyMysteria watches, and she can't help but pause. * Leena SLAPS Rin on the side of the face. This only increases the tears and hurt in her eyes. * LadyRoyal watches thoughtfully. * Rin 's face clouds, and tears start streaming from her eyes, as well. She turns and runs, hiding her face in her hands. * LadyRoyal attempts to block Rin. * Leena turns away from Rin- from all of them- and starts walking away. * LadyMysteria flinches herself... then marches on towards Leena. She stops and grabs for her--if not stopped, she'll try to turn her around and swings an actual *fist* at Leena's face. * Rin is blocked by bumping into Royal, and just collapses to her knees, and cries. * LadyRoyal sighs, and--RUNS AFTER Maya to hold her back. * LadyNightshade opens up her phone and sends Sakura a message. "EMERGENCY. AGENCY. NOW." * LadyRoyal is muttering under her breath, not that anyone can tell. It's not even clear if she knows what she's saying. * Leena stops, not resisting Maya. She just... looks at her with those hurt, tearful eyes, and puts her free hand on Maya's hand grabbing her, trying to remove it without forcing it. Taki gets a message back seconds later. "NO SHIT" ... * LadyMysteria doesn't stop that punch, although Royal does. She snarls and fights it rather vigorously. * LadyNightshade pauses for a moment, before sending another one "The team is alive" [end session]