Usagi Quest (CK3/Princess Maker) (Sailor Moon)

The Sun slowly slips down below the Horizon, as Usagi stares out her window. "How long do you think we should wait?" Usagi asks Luna, who lays lazily on the windowsill.

"I'd say at least another hour," The cat replies, "I'd rather not worry your Parents if we can avoid it."

Usagi nods, though she doesn't have any real words to reply to Luna. The girl is more than a little nervous about what she is planning to do.

This is the second time that Usagi is sneaking out after her curfew, and it is the first time that she is doing so intentionally.

The girl slowly paces back and forth again and again in the dark, waiting for the time to pass.

Now that the sun is far past setting, the skies are dark, and most of the light comes from the windows of the surrounding houses, and the street lights along the sides of the road.

Taking a breath, Usagi calls upon the power hidden deep within her. "Moon Prism Power!" The words are softly spoken, but they are firm and filled with intent.

Somehow, as if the transformation could feel the girl's need for stealth, there is but a moment where the girl's body is bathed in softly shimmering silver light, and thus Usagi is replaced by Sailor Moon.

Sliding open her window, the girl steps out onto the windowsill, even as Luna slips up her side, settling like a near weightless shadow on the girl's shoulder.

Sailor Moon kicks off, holding back enough to prevent herself from shattering her house, and yet still rocketing through the air, and landing with ease atop the closest streetlight.

Leaping from streetlight to streetlight, the girl darts back and forth across the street, soaring through the air. She passes unseen over the exhausted heads of men and women returning home after hours and hours of long shifts. She passes unheard over the night owls preparing for their own long shifts.

There are only a few cognizant individuals who hear the soft clack of Usagi's heels landing on the streetlights above who manage to look up fast enough to catch sight of a mysterious figure zooming away, into the dark of the night, only to land on the next streetlight down the road.

It only takes a few minutes for Sailor Moon to cross the city, passing first by her school, and then the arcade as travels further and further from her home. It takes Sailor Moon less than ten minutes to travel what would have taken Usagi over an hour to cross.

Dropping down from the streetlight, Sailor Moon takes a moment to look up at the horribly tacky sign on the front of the towering manor before her.

HOUSE OF FORTUNE The sign says, in all Capital Letters, backed by flashing lights that cycle around the edge of the sign.

Slipping up to the front door, Usagi balls a fist, drawing back to simply bash the door down, before a thought occurs. It couldn't...

It wouldn't...

Slowly, the girl reaches out, grasping the doorknob, and with ease it turns.

The door is unlocked!

Stepping through, Sailor Moon is almost caught off guard by just how... Normal it all looks.

The floors are hard wood, clean enough that she can almost see her reflection in it. The walls are the same kind of off white walls that pretty much every building in Tokyo has. There isn't really anything about any of this that looks like it is the evil lair of a monster that wants to consume people's energy.

"Are we sure that this place is Evil?" Usagi asks, as she looks around. "It just looks like every other business place around."

Luna, sitting on Usagi's shoulder shudders. "Definitely. Now that we're inside, I can feel just how slimy and twisted this place is."

Usagi simply shrugs, "Like I said... This place feels like pretty much all the other businesses I've been to. They all feel gross like this."

"..." Luna doesn't respond immediately to that. "We'll talk about that later. Right now, we need to find the Youma and stop whatever it is planning on doing."

"Okay." Usagi says, as she continues making her way slowly through the House of Fortune. Room by room the two go. Checking each door they pass - And it is here that things quickly start to show just how odd the House of Fortune is.

The foyer is furnished, but every other room that they looked into has been completely empty - Some even didn't have wallpaper, while other rooms didn't have flooring. It is almost like the building had been built just enough to look like it was complete, instead of actually being complete.

Finally, after over a dozen doors, Sailor Moon approaches one last room. But as she approaches the door, she starts to hear something - "Good, good! All of you have done so well, collecting energy for our great lord." The voice calls out from the other side of the door. "Now! Go! Wreck havoc upon this primitive mortal city! Make the humans fear the name of the Dark Kingdom and our wondrous Queen Beryl!"

"It's really quite rude - Destroying things that don't belong to you." Usagi bellows, as she raises a leg, "To say nothing of ignoring the feelings of others!"

"WHO'S THERE!" The voice from within bellows.

You strike out, kicking the door with your impressive strength. The wood shatters below your heel, and the door flips out, crossing the room at an impressive speed.

The room is tall and dark, with heavy red curtains hanging from the ceiling, and the air is filled with a cloyingly thick smoke that filters out of a trio of metal urns around the back of the room. There are close to two dozen young men and women situated around the room, all standing stock still, even as the door of the room rockets past them, only barely managing to avoid a few of them as it approaches the tall, pale woman standing in the center of the room.

The woman barely manages to avoid the spinning door, her body twisting and bending in a clearly inhuman way. In one hand, she was holding a glimmering crystal ball, even as her face warps angrily.

"I am the Pretty Solider who fights for Love and for Justice!" Sailor Moon calls out. "I am Sailor Moon!" Crossing her arms, the girl points towards the fortune teller. "Now, in the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"

The Fortune teller shifts, cradling her crystal ball in the crook of one hand, even as she idly shuffles a deck of cards that she seems to have pulled from nowhere.

Then, with a flair, the cards cut through the air.

THUNK THUNK

THUNK THUNK

THUNK

Sailor Moon barely manages to step to the side, allowing the cards to pass her by - burying themselves nearly halfway into the walls. "Hey!" Usagi cries out, irritated. "That nearly hit me in the face!"

"That would be because she's trying to hill you." Luna argues, from where she is hiding on the far side of the door frame.

The fortune teller hisses at the Senshi, her form warping and shifting. Her skin turns green as her eyes take on a golden tinge, and the woman's black hair starts to lift and writhe like serpents, even as two long strands twirl together forming a pair of clawed hands.

Now that the Youma is no longer disguising herself, changes begin to happen to each of the men and women controlled by the Youma.

Their eyes begin to glow with an inner yellow light, as their skin takes on a greenish tinge. As one, they begin to start marching towards Usagi, steps in unison as their arms reach out towards her.
The nearly thirty controlled men and women start to stomp closer and closer to Sailor Moon, their movements sharp and unnatural, with their hands clawing out in front of them almost like a zombie. In fact, much of the way that the possessed humans move reminds Sailor Moon of zombies. Closer and closer they come - To be honest, it would be easy for Sailor Moon to handle them. They move so slow, and act so stiff that even with the sheer number of them, she would probably be able to defeat them all...

But these people are innocent. With no control of their actions, and Usagi doesn't even know if they are aware of what is happening around them. Sailor Moon cannot fight them. Dodging backwards, Sailor Moon jerks to the left, then to the right in order to avoid the clawing hands getting closer and closer.

They are all too close! Moon Tiara Stardust takes a few moments to charge up, and Usagi doesn't have the time to do so, the possessed people are all too close. If they get any closer, then... Usagi takes a breath, shaking her head.

She's just got to be careful, hit them hard, but not hard enough to hurt them...

Darting forward, the girl ducks low, sliding under a pair of grasping hands to get in under the guard of the closest almost-zombie. She places a hand against her attacker's chest, looking up for a brief moment to see the emotionless face of Umino, before she extends her arm, pushing hard.

Umino effortlessly slides backwards, arms still clawing at her, even as he slams into the other people possessed by the Youma, tripping over them and sending the lot to the ground in a confused pile of claws limbs and stomping feet.

Now, after so long, Usagi has a moment the breath, the moment that she needs to cast her spell.
"Hmmm... It is Pretty, I will give you that." A voice says, from right behind the Youma. Everyone in the room stops. Somehow, there is someone else is the room. There are no windows in this room, there is only the one door, and yet, even so, someone other than you, other than the Youma has managed to sneak into the room, to sneak right up to the Youma, without ever once being seen.

As everyone whirls around to face the source of the voice, Usagi gasps - It's Tuxedo Mask! Somehow, he is standing there, right behind the Youma, with the monster's crystal ball in one hand, and her deck of razor edged cards in the other.

There is an effortless smile on the Phantom Thief's face, "However, I must say I am disappointed. Having heard that you were able to control the minds of others... I had hoped that this was one of the Rainbow Crystals that I seek. Seems that I was wrong, and your abilities are little more than petty tricks, seems that I shall have to continue my search elsewhere."

The fortune telling Youma hisses, a serpentine tongue sticking past sharp fangs as it's fist snaps out towards the masked man. He starts to dodge, sliding so smoothly it almost looks like he isn't even trying - But then! Tuxedo Mask's cape pulls taut, held firm in the grips of a handful of the demon's mind controlled servants. There isn't time to dodge the other way, and without any means of escaping the blow, Tuxedo Mask takes the hit directly to the face.

Tuxedo Mask's head snaps back, and for a long moment the man doesn't move, his entire body as still as the grave. It doesn't even look like he is breathing. Did the Youma... But then, slowly, Tuxedo Mask begins to move, tilting his head down to glare at the Demon standing in front of him. It also allows Usagi to see that there is a rough bruise just below the edge of the man's domino mask. "That..." He says, voice quiet and sharper than steel. "Was very rude."

He reaches out with one hand, grabbing hold of his cape, and with a sharp tug tears it from the hands of the Demon's minions. "I'll be taking my leave now."

"Like hell you will!" The demon cries out, but before she has a chance to react further, a rose buries itself into the wall behind the demon, as a line of deep blue ichor starts to well up on her cheek where the thrown flower kissed her skin. By the time everyone's eyes have returned to the spot where Tuxedo Mask had been, just a few moments ago... He was gone.

"Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask's voice calls out, echoing from everywhere in the room "It is clear to me that you have learned something very important from your last battle. I am glad to see you standing against evil. Do not lose sight of the goals you fight for. You are doing very well."
The Youma screeches, clawed hair swiping at the spot where Tuxedo Mask was a moment before, "FIND HIM!" She roars out, "REND HIM LIMB FROM LIMB FOR DARING TO HARM ME!"

It seems that for a moment, the demon has completely forgotten about Sailor Moon. A moment that she uses to finally take a breath.

Then... Something strange happens. With that single breath, the world changes, shifts, and flows. Everything starts to fall away, leaving only the girl.

Usagi worries about the possessed people, what they may do if they are left in the control of the Demon.
Serenity rages against the monster, the servant of the people who destroyed everything she held dear

And Sailor Moon holds both, balancing the needs of the present alongside the wants of an ancient past.

The world crystallizes as the disparate pieces of Usagi's self come together.

Then you move. A hand snaps up to your tiara, pulling your primary weapon from your brow, even as you moves, knees bending for a moment then snapping straight. The ground beneath your feet shatters, a the exploding CRACK of wooden shards draws the attention of the demon and it's minions once more.

It is too late however, as the force of your kick blows you up towards the ceiling, and as you lands, the tiara in your hand glows with a shimmering silver power.

"Moon Tiara Stardust." With the lightest of tosses, the tiara spins out around the room, silver colored dust falling from the ring of light, covering all the possessed humans. For a moment, they stand still, but the dust glimmers brighter, before one by one by one, they collapse to their knees, gasping and wheezing. A light glimmers in their chests, rectangular.

The light shudders, then slowly starts to raise up, lifting from the bodies of the minions, each one a tarot card filled with a writhing darkness. But once the card leaves the body, it quivers for a moment, before shattering into so many motes of darkness.

The Youma has lost it's minions.

The creature bellows in rage again, "HOW DARE YOU!"

The beast's claw like hair starts to whirl out towards you, but gravity is a cruel mistress, and you are already falling to the ground by the time the hair digs furrows into the place you were before.
You land in a roll, coming up to your feet at speed. You bob and you weave in between the confused and exhausted mortals, each step as sure as the one before, and as steady as the next. The important part is that you keep moving, if the Demon cannot get a good look at you, then it cannot hit you.

Of course, you do need to keep your guard up and attention sharp. If the thing is smart, then it will be able to tell that the reason you did what you did was to protect its former minions, not simply to remove them from the battle.

Thankfully, it seems that the monster is not particularly smart. Instead of trying to force you to block by attacking the people around you on the ground, it is instead simply tossing it's hair like claws directly at your face. Something that is easy enough to dodge, if you simply keep moving.

Your opponent isn't going to be able to keep this up forever. No, there has to be a gap in her attention somewhere. No attack can go on forever. You can remember the time that you watched sfjslk and nnmh spar. Nnmh was much stronger but sfjslk was faster, and sfjslk was explaining to you that all combat was a matter of timing - Nothing could go on forever, and the more powerful an attack was the more effort it took, and thus it would have a different flow. Attacks that don't require much effort can be repeated many more times than a large attack that requires a lot of effort.

The Youma's clawed hair attacks don't see to require very much effort, but it does require some effort - She is slowing down after all. Breathing harder. She's going to have to take a break before too long.

Another dodge, to the left, then to the right. "Stay still!" The Youma cries out, gasping. The Youma's bellow is met by a handful of screams from the humans all around, who are starting to come around.

Shit. If they start to panic, then more than likely someone is going to get hurt, or worse... Killed. You cannot let that happen.

The Demon starts to look towards one of the civilians, turning it's attention away from you. That is the opening you need - it isn't exactly the attack running its course, but it is still a break in the fight's rhythm.

No time to wait. "Moon Tiara Action."

Throwing your Tiara a second time, the ring of light rockets forward, slamming into the chest of the Youma.

She screams, shrill and loud as her skin cracks and shatters, the entire creature beginning to disintegrate into dust. As the creature falls to shreds, another of the Tarot cards drops, shimmering in the evening light before it too shatters, leaving nothing left.

"Wha-what was that thing?" A quivering voice asks, as a girl stumbles to her feet, eyes wide as she stares at the pile of ash that was once a Youma.

"Where am I?" Another asks, while more voices start to call out, questions and panic building.

Before you have a chance to say anything, Luna scampers over and up onto your shoulder. She crosses from one shoulder to the other, hiding her face from the civilians, as she whispers into your ear. "Usagi... I hate to be the one to suggest this... but..." She glances up, over the growing panic. "These people don't have any idea how to handle what they have just seen. They don't understand what they have just seen. The monster, the things you did... None of that makes any sense to them. I can't even..." The cat sighs, "No. I can imagine all too well the kinds of nightmares a night like tonight could instill in them. It might be better for them... and for us... if they don't remember tonight too clearly."

You start to open your mouth, but the moment slips away from her, and Usagi stands there, putting a hand to her head for a moment.

"Better... for us?" Usagi asks quietly, trying to understand where the cat is coming from.

"I've said it before, the more people know about us, the more complicated our lives and our battle could be. If you want..." Luna pauses for a moment. "I have a bit of talent of hypnosis. I can make all of tonight feel like a dream to them. Keep them from remembering this properly."

[ ][Memory] Completely erase their memories of being possessed
- None of the Victims will remember anything past the point of becoming possessed.
- Attention: -10
[ ][Memory] Reduce their memories of being possessed to just a dream
- Everything from the last few days will be reduced to little more than a dream.
- Attention: -5
- There is a chance that sometime in the future, their memories may reawaken
[ ][Memory] Do not alter their memories
- Leave everyone's memories as they are, allowing them to not only remember the monster, but what they have done over the last few days.
- Attention: +10
- There may be wider ramifications

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Okay... I hope this new voting feature works right.