World Tree MUSH

    Juuban Tokyo! It's pretty active into the halloween scene with the month of October in full swing. People wander the streets in costumes, decorations are up in every window and store.
    It's a regular october festival. And of course who would be wandering the shopping arcade but Usagi Tsukino and Naru Osaka, chatting away leisurely.
    "So Usagi, didya hear? A new haunted house attraction opened up!" The redhead says chipperly. "We should go!"
    "Eeeeehhhh? A haunted house? I don't know those are kind of. Scary."
    "Oh don't be such a fraidy-cat Usagi! --Aw shoot I have to get home, but it's just down the block, you should go and tell me how it is!" She says shoving Usagi onto a line.
    "Whuh hey you can't just leave me here in front of a scary place!"

    Well this is certainly an unexpected scene! But Octavia de Tenebrae has taken a liking to this Tokyo place, and the sudden onset of bright and flashy costumes and a festival atmosphere is more than enough to draw her curiosity. So when she's told it's all about dressing up in costume - and that her outfit looks like it'll fit right in - the young noblewoman comes right out on the street in her usual fancy fencer's outfit.

    Her butler, on the other hand, is in full armor as a knight. He might be retired, but he can at least put on a bit of the old polish for the sake of the youngsters!

    "Oh my, a haunted house? If you've problems with spirits in this world, I should be able to help," she calls out, approaching Usagi from behind as Naru bails. "I would be glad to... wait, is this some sort of attraction?" she asks, confused by the sudden realization that everyone is lining up. "Do you... do you make sport of hauntings here?" She sounds suddenly rather dubious.

    Lex wanders down the street, wearing a forest-green witch costume with a white apron. ... A cyborg witch-costume, given that her prosthetic limbs are in green-and-white mode.

    "Metaphorical hauntings," says Lex as she comes up behind Octavia. "Like. This world doesn't have real hauntings," she says, shooting Usagi a significant look, "so from their perspective, it's like, all in good fun, kind of thing."

    "I've been doing research!" says Shard's voice from her wrist, doing the 'pretending this is remote-communication' routine. "Trying to see if there's anything ... interesting ... about its creators, y'know what I'm saying?"

    ... Somehow, Shard manages to be even less subtle about her investigations into the haunted house attraction than Lex is.

    Scary things? Yeah, Josuke's not really a fan. It's one of those amusing deals where he's scared of the concept of ghosts, but actual ghosts don't really bother him.

    Of course, one of the other reasons he doesn't really do the Halloween thing much is because there aren't a whole lot of costumes that incorporate his signature hairstyle. Except that of 'delinquent', which he already is, so that's hardly a costume!

    So why's he here? Well, because he's actually working there. He's still playing to type, though -- he's wearing that signature pompadour (or 'regent', if you're Japanese), but the leather biker costume he's wearing is ripped and torn, and he's got some zombie SFX makeup on. And it actually looks pretty good.

    So yeah. Zombie biker. Or zombie Elvis, if you're American.

    He's got his assigned little corner of the place that he's supposed to jump out at people from. Though to note, he's going full zombie B-movie when he does -- plenty of warning first (a kind of purposely snorty-sounding snarl), and then he makes sure his faux-rotted hands, in claw shape, are the first thing the customers see.

Crow is here! Or is he!? It may be hard to tell, since there's a person of vaguely average height in a full-on plague doctor's outfit. A plague doctor's outfit complete with beaked mask, cane, leathers....is that a hoodie with the mask, and fur lining? And an upside down cross on the front of the plague doctor's outfit? 

It's an unholy gothy plague doctor! One who spins their cane as they walk into the line. 

"Are you so sure about that? Ghosts are real. Very real, and if you disrespect them, then their curse will take your life." Announces the plague doctor to those in line. 

One can almost feel him smile. 

He hasn't spotted Josuke the Belvis yet! But there's a scare in Chrollo's future!

    Ah there's Octavia!
    "Well it's not really haunted!" Usagi says, flashing a grin. "It's just people in costumes and a scary atmosphere to get your heart racing, you know?" Usagi explains to further Lex's answer.
    "Nuh uh I don't know what you're saying." The blonde answers cluelessly, rubbing at the back of her neck. But the line is moving pretty fast! Even if 'Crow' coming up on the group sends a chill down Usagi's spine she can't quite identify. His costume is pretty good because if she could see him for who he really is, the poor girl woudl probably be going blue in the face right now.
    It's not long before Josuke gets his chance to jump out at the group as Usagi and the others are let inside.
    Fake cobwebs in the corners, furniture covered in sheets, creepy old portraits with watchful eyes, it's standard haunted house fare, you know.
    Right down to the plate-sized fake spider that drops from the doorway into Octavia's hair.

    "Oh! I see, I see," Octavia says, to both Lex and Usagi. "In that case, I'm very interested to see this world's scary atmosphere!" She casually flips her hair, then folds her gloved hands behind her back, looking on Chrollo's display with amusement born of her new understanding. This is actually kind of fun! She can sort of see the appeal of making amusement of all this in a world where it's... not... real...

    ...

    "...A-are those... spiderwebs?" Octavia asks. Her attempt to sound casual is entirely, transparently forced. "Those aren't real, are they? This is all just for fu-"

    Plop.

    "KYAAAAAAAA!!"

    Josuke has either a mirror or a camera he can use to see approaching people, so he'll know when they get near. And it's about when that spider drops into Octavia's hair that Josuke releases the zombie snarl; it echoes in the hallway.

    It all happens at once, the spider falling, and the costumed delinquent reaching out of his little corner of the haunted house at the group, hands clawed and (fake) grasping as he emits his zombie groan/growl.

    He does not, however, growl 'braaaaaaaaains' or anything of the sort. He thinks the snarl/growl/groan is scarier!

    Lex jumps slightly at the sudden arrival of the plague doctor. "Oh, well, y'know!" she says. "A witch ... wait, how did that book quote go. A witch need not be afraid, because -- wait, no, afraid in the dark woods -- because she's the scariest thing in it."

    "A dorky, awkward, high-strung witch," says Shard's voice. Shard recognizes Chrollo's voice, and she privately puts him on her tactical display. Not, of course, that he's seen them as Lex-and-Shard before, but her electronic voice might sound somewhat like that of a certain Shinewander -- similar, but different.

    "Shoosh!" Lex says into her wrist. "Hmm ... oh, right!" she answers Octavia. "They're, I mean, they're fake, just for the spooky atmosphGAH!" She lets out a not-particularly-feminine squawk at the sudden spider and zombie. It doesn't scare her as much as the spider scared Octavia, of course, and she almost immediately rallies enough to do a karate-chop to try to knock the spider away, before interposing herself in front of Octavia and Usagi. "Stay back ... uh ... creature of the night! You are in ..." Several expressions cross her face as she tries and fails to improvise. "... good company!"

>> SUMMARY[Lex Brando] >> Lex's heroic 'help/defend people'-urges apply to haunted houses.

"Spiders lurk where you least expect them." Comes Chrollo, inwardly approving of this haunted house's owners' taste. Pausing at one of those eye-paintings, he peers in, very nearly bonking his beak'd mask into one. 

And then a rather familiar zombie leaps out! Inside the costume, Chrollo blinks. Pause. It's maybe a little awkward. 

"Ahhhhh." Comes the man's 'scream', a hand going to his chest, and then he just flat out 'faints' onto the floor. Thud! 

He lays there for a moment. "...Is a witch going to turn me into a undead-plague-doctor?" He wonders aloud. 

The Spider makes several thoughtful 'braiiiins' noises, as officially and doctor'ly as possible. 

He also keeps an eye on Lex, or rather that /voice/. It's so familiar. Hmmm. Suspicious thief!

    So Octavia doesn't like spiders, huh.
    "Oh, yeah they're totally fake." Usagi says, though the atmosphere of the haunted house has her halting and stilted in her speech.
    Then... Then Josuke Hizombiekata happens.
    Now the blonde goes blue in the face as she latches right onto the squealing, spider-assailed, Octavia and attaches to the girl's back.
    "WAAAAAAAH! KEEP IT AWAY KEEP IT AWAYYYYYYY!"
    Chrollo sure isn't helping as the panicked blonde starts frothing at the mouth in abject terror.
    So yeah that happened.
    One of the paintings blinks back at Chrollo as he peers into it.
    Good job Josuke. Mission accomplished. You scared two teen girls witless.
    Neverthelss into the next room, it's... It's a graveyard. Fake tombstones covered in fake moss, with skeletal arms reaching out of the ground, fake corpses here and there with 'ghosts' floating around on strings. It's... It's pretty cheezy. Except for the fog that rolls in, and the silhoutte in the fog that whispers...
    "Give your energy to our Great Ruler..."
    Wow that... That fog sure does make anyone it touches really tired.

    Octavia stumbles back against Usagi pretty much the instant she makes contact. When Lex bats the spider off her head, her response is immediate - on sheer reflex, she lashes out with a boot and STOMPS it. Stomp stomp stomp STOMP. Only then does it finally register on her that the thing was fake... and a range of emotions flits across her face. Horrified, angry, mortified, angry again, finally settling into a very visibly false indifference. "I-I was just getting into the atmosphere. That's all." Hmph! "...my goodness, that splendid hair. Higashikata, is that you?"

    She seems almost indifferent to Usagi's continued panic. Hmph!

    On they go into a graveyard setting, but by this point Octavia is a bit cranky. Even if she tries to hide it. "What a low-quality imitation. The skeletons aren't nearly..." Wait. Energy? On this world, that's got some very serious connotations. "It's- it's one of those energy-draining monsters! Be on your... guard..." Oh wow, that really does hit kinda quickly. Octavia quickly rushes to draw Hauteclere, but between her previous fluster and the current drain, she's fumbling a little. "...got to get Holy Ground down..."

    "Uhh ..." Lex glances down at Chrollo. "Dunno, that's probably necromancy, I think. I'm Lex, by the way. My, uh, friend is Lightshard 18." (Just like Shinewander Sky introduced herself as Lightshard 17 back on Kore's world.) "And ... this is Usagi and Octavia ... wait, yeah, that's Josuke, huh," she says, grinning. "Hey, Josuke!"

    "Charmed," said Shard. "Y'know, the 'scariness' of this place is kind of ... passe."

    "Oh, hush," says Lex, strolling into that graveyard. "I'm not really seeing anything scary -- NOPE!" As soon as that silhouette says the words 'great ruler', Lex just runs back the way she came.

    ... and over to Josuke. "Energy-draining-dudes in the graveyard room!" she says quickly. There isn't anyone else in the room right this minute, so she just materializes her sword in a burst of green pixels and Elvish computer code. "Á virya!" Transform!

    Josuke also blinks. Well, at least Chrollo was TRYING, right? Of course, the teen may not be able to actually identify Chrollo at a look -- that costume covers a lot. It might be easier to recognize some of the others. But either way, Josuke actually pauses when the plague doctor actually faints (or at least seems to). "...Oh geez, are you okay?" he asks, concerned.

    Yeah, that's a familiar voice.

    That 'zombie' gets more familiar when the fog rolls in and that silhouette speaks. And then Lex comes running in, with the news that -- yep, might have known -- those energy vampires are at it again!

    "...Shit, not again..." Josuke mutters. That was kind of why he joined up with this operation, is he was trying to keep it from being a front for those energy-stealing assholes! "I'm on it!" he replies, and heads to where the action is!

    As he does, a purple aura springs to life around him, unseen by the normal people. And then a muscular pink-colored human figure with crystal blue armor appears behind him! It levitates just off the ground behind him, and seems to be following him.

    Octavia seems to be starting to falter, and he frowns. He's feeling the drain too, but he heads over to her. "Here, lemme see if I can..." As he speaks, Crazy Diamond reaches out to her, golden-orange aura around it. He's trying to return her energy to her, to use his Stand's ability to reverse the drain.

It really is Josuke! His voice is a bit muffled at least. So who knows, maybe it /isn't/ Chrollo in there! "You were simply too terrifying." Entirely deadpan, that. 

"A pleasure, Lex, Lightshard 18. Call me ~The Doctor~. ...I think I met another Lightshard somewhere. Hmm. You must have a large family." Chrollo is clearly trying to lean on halloween here and stay in-costume. 

"Nice to meet you all." 

It's another energy-draining trap! And Chrollo knows what that means by now. That there's no doubt a certain fascinating, innocent young magical warrior on the way. He shoves down the anticipation, and instead focuses on staying just out of major fog'ing range. The man's Nen flares around him, coating his body, and he raises his prop cane. 

A glance over to Josuke...and he gets his first look at Crazy Diamond! It's odd. Vaguely reminded of Lovely Ghostwriter, he can't help but be distracted for a moment. What /is/ he doing!? 

This time he's going right on the offensive, flitting from gravestone to gravestone before leaping out at where he last saw that figure! 

And he makes for a vaguely knee-height swipe!

    Nope. Nope nope nope. Nope.
    With the spider dealt with and Josuke... Being Josuke, Usagi...
    Still hasn't calmed down.
    In fact she's still piggybacked onto Octavia right up until part way through the graveyard room she detaches and...
    "WAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"
    ... Runs out crying.
    Oh well, that leaves the group free to deal with the youma without a civilian in the way as Usagi just... Bails. Wow she bails hard and she bails fast. That girl really does have the worst luck when it comes to trying to have fun.
    As Octavia fumbles to draw her elegant blade that figure emerges from the mist.
    Eight glowing red eyes, six arms, and dripping fangs, the spider-woman youma lunges for the noblegirl, trying to web her up. While Shinewander Sky changes in the other room, it's while Josuke works on rejuvenating poor Octavia that a second youma, a woman in a mummy costume attempts to assail the zombie youth.
    It's a third youma that meets Chrollo, a woman in a red cape with sharp fangs and dark hair. A vampire! That tries to swipe him out of the air.
        ... At least these three youma are very festive for the halloween holiday anyway.

    The power of Crazy Diamond rejuvinates Octavia, and as her strength returns, she gives Josuke a grateful look and a firm nod. Then, she snaps Hauteclere out of its sheath in a firm, swift motion, draws the blade up, and-

    "AAUGH! NO, GET AWAY YOU AWFUL WOMAN!"

    -completely forgets to lay down a Holy Ground spell. A spider-youma is attacking, and Octavia immediately begins backpedalling, swinging her sword with far less composure than is usual for her. They're still vicious attacks, but they're much less skillful and precise... and, of course, she's not slinging any magic whatsoever. So that might be a problem. Especially when the energy drain sets in again.

    And then, visible through the mist, there's a six-foot-tall figure with mint-green running lights approaching from the direction of the entrance. Then mint-green running-lights on a five-foot sword turn on, along with a glowing edge. "Shinewander Sky!" she says, slicing through the mist.

    Do we have to be this dramatic? Lex asks telepathically.

    <<We're a magical girl, what do you think?>> Shard replies inaudibly her ear. <<Oh, there goes Mr. Crow ... or should I say Doctor Crow.>>

    Okay, just checking. W-wait, that's Mr. Crow!? With Usagi out of the picture, there's someone obvious to protect here.

    Deciding to forego her usual maneuver of a ten-foot vertical leap due to the relatively low ceiling, she jumps about two feet off the ground and glides forward, swinging her sword and launching a sword-beam at the spider-youma. "None of that, thanks," she says, interposing herself in front of Octavia and holding her sword in a defensive sideways position. "So, do you guys have names which are awful puns?" (Lex is the one speaking at the moment.)

    In retrospect it was probably a bad idea to get hired on here, particularly after he's made such a nuisance of himself in these people's plans. If they even are people. But either way, he's committed now.

    Also between the energy return and the way Octavia freaks out at the spider-woman, Josuke is so concerned with Octavia that he doesn't even see the mummy youma until he's bowled over by a hard punch.

    But even if he's knocked over, Crazy Diamond isn't! So it immediately turns on the mummy youma and unleashes a flurry of punches at her, the Stand emitting its droning, "DORARARARARARARARA!"

It quickly becomes a night of goth-on-vampire violence! That red coated lady goes for Chrollo's airborne doctorly body, and the thief frowns within his break'd mask. Twisting himself nimbly in the air, he manages to get his cane up in time to block the blow! The strength of it causes the thing to crack, not fully covered in Nen as it is, and then shatter. 

Dropping down low, Chrollo tosses the now splintered cane-bits into the vampiress' face. Next, he lashes out again with a hard kick aimed at the vampiress' midsection. He's trying to kick the unbreath out of her and bowl her to the ground with such a swift strike! 

For such a slight guy, he sure does have a lot of pep to that stone-shattering kick! Chrollo isn't putting his all into the fight. Instead biding his time, his energy, and keeping his ears out for a familiar voice.

    Sword beams punch into the spider youma, giving poor Octavia a bit of breathing room as the impact points smolder on the woman's chitinous body.
    "Shaaaaa!" She hisses at Shinewander Sky, "I'm Arachne!"
    The mummy... Does not fare well as she tries to assault Josuke. Though she gets that vicious punch in, the Stand User replies in kind with a whole barrage of them, sending her body jolting and juddering before she's launched backwards. Slowly she picks herself up and groooaaaans. "Tutankhama..."
    While The Doctor meets the vampire head on. That kick is brutal, but she soaks the blow, staggering backwards and cluthcing her midsection as she spits cane shards. "Haaaaah... Dracule."
    That's the youma's introductions as they move to attack again, the mummy UNRAVELLING herself to try and bind Josuke and drain his energy that way, while the vampire rips a stone support pillar from the floor and tries to baseball bat Chrollo with it and-
    WHAM!
    Arachne crumples to the ground.
    "How dare you try and use the spirit of Halloween for your nefarious purposes!" Sailor Moon demands, crowbar in hand.
    "In the name of the moon... I'll punish you!" She declares. Posing with said crowbar as Arachne picks herself up rubbing her skull.

    Shinewander Sky runs interference - getting in the way of her blade forces Octavia to stop and think for a moment, and in that pause, she's able to recover her mental balance... to an extent, anyway. "Th-thank you," she says to Sky, taking a quick glance around. Oh! Right. Energy drain. Youma. Holy Ground.

    A pair of gloved fingers brush across one of the engraved spells along Hauteclere's side, and a moment later, a gold-white glow suffuses the area, laying down a blanket of lingering holy magic. Following that, she immediately draws out a second spell, this time the one that infuses her blade with a holy enchantment... and about that moment Sailor Freeman makes her entrance.

    The young noblewoman looks confused for a moment. Then it hits her that, wait, there's an opening! Quickly, Octavia lunges in, taking a pair of sweeping slices at Arachne with perhaps an unseemly degree of enthusiasm.

    Sky grins at Sailor Moon's arrival. "Need any help with this one, or you got this?" she asks.

    Wait phooey hang on, I just threw myself in front of a girl who was wildly swinging a sword, didn't I? Lex says telepathically.

    <<Yes,>> Shard says bluntly.

    Sky shakes her head. "Well, uh, anyway, we outnumber these losers," she says. (That was Lex.) She stands her ground within Octavia's Holy Ground spell, and launches a couple of sword-beams at Dracule. "Not quite two to one, but, y'know. One point six six six six six seven to one." (That last part was Shard.)

    Josuke gets Crazy Diamond between himself and the mummy, the Stand reaching out to grab the whipping bandages! That might probably keep her from wrapping the teen up...

    But see... the Stand is part of him too, and is just as susceptible to energy drain as if Tutankhama had succeeded in wrapping him up! Maybe more so, in fact! Because, you see, Stands are energy!

    Josuke winces as the drain via his Stand happens. "What?! How can that--?" Crazy Diamond flickers briefly, and its teenage user slips to a knee, suddenly really tired. Hopefully there won't be much time for Tutankhama to drain him via his Stand, since Josuke's going to stand up quickly... and Crazy Diamond is going to try to hoist the mummy by her own petards! Well, to throw her by her own bandages, that is. Right into a wall, if possible!

    Josuke notes Sailor Moon's arrival, and smiles broadly. "Hi! Glad you showed up!" he greets. He pulls himself to his feet again, with some difficulty. "Guess you already know what's up, since these guys only seem to have one trick up their sleeves." Saves him from having to explain!

It's a /feast/ for Chrollo, and he finds himself more and more split in his attentions. Octavia's holy magic and its' effects on the surroundings are curious! Josuke's bizarre spirit strikes him as similar to the odd Nen Beasts he's heard rumors of. And of course, there's one Sailor Moon that finally shows with a hammering attack of crowbar upon spiderskull that's audible. 

She's /here/! The shining example of innocence and light. Once again his mind turn to the shadows cast but such purity. He fully intends to find out! 

Also the man almost gets his head taken off due to all this distraction, ducking at the very last second. His mask's beak is now bent, and he's forced to throw off the thing in order to really get a look at his opponent. 

Time to use this youma to his own devices. Chrollo begins a purposeful series of approaches, feints, and dodges. He'll aim punches and kicks such that might do more damage to Dracule's weapon that the vampiress herself. He is, in fact, trying to bait her to strike closer and closer with that pillar, leading her towards Sailor Moon! 

Step, duck, retreat, punch! He's extremely annoying about it to, now that he has a plan, always seeming to be /just/ out of range. 

"Sailor Moon! This one's strong. What was that power of yours called? Moon Beam!? Isn't it strong against monsters like this?" Questions Chrollo to the magical girl, keeping an eye on swordbeam-wielding Shinewander. 

He needs this youma alive!

    Just where that crowbar came from is a mystery, but right now it's pretty indispensible in youma bashing.
    "I so do not have this." Sailor Moon admits as Octavia goes on the attack, immediately putting Arachne on the defensive, backpedalling away from that sword and the holy magic thereof as it slashes and cuts through her chitinous body. "Haaaah!"
    That leaves Tutankhama, who is slowly but surely withering Josuke down and draining his energy! Up until he tries to hoise her. "Wha?!"
    Sailor Moon is immediately running over as soon as the youth is brought to his knees.
    "Ah, Josuke are you--" He swings and the youma slams into the wall, crumpling with a cough. Slowly she picks herself up with a snarl and rips up the nearest tombstone, intent to just batter Josuke into the ground with that.
    Dracule's strength is indomitable that much is for certain as she swings that pillar around effortlessly at Chrollo- who's true identity is revealed.
    Just seeing 'Crow' sends creeps up Usagi's spine and halts her in her tracks. He was pretty menacing the last time they had met. "Wh- uh-" Does... Is she supposed to help him? There's a beat of conflicted confusion before she huffs, angling her tiara to reflect moonlight from one of the windows outside. ... Which launches a beam of white light from the gem in the circlet to join the sword beams that set Dracule staggering and opening her up for reprisal.

    Even if she's recovered some semblance of rational thought, Octavia is still more than a little agitated by the mere presence of Arachne - she barely even registers the other youma present. "As if life-stealing monsters weren't enough, you have the absolute temerity to be a spider as well...! Normally I treat exterminating you lot as a simple duty I'm obligated towards, in your case I'm taking it rather personally!"

    She whips Hauteclere back, then swishes it through a rapid, angular series of runes, a bit less elegant than her usual, flowing script - but it will be more than enough to call forth the spell she's weaving. When she swings her blade across to activate the spell, the gold-white of her holy runes explodes into a shining cloud of holy energy, and then quickly coalesces again - into a huge hammer hovering directly over Arachne.

    As if conducting a symphony, Octavia lifts Hauteclere upward... and then drops the tip downward. As she swings, the hammer drops, a forceful attack of pure holy magic.

    Lex is probably not the smartest person in the room, but she's seen the way "Mr. Crow" fights, and she has a good enough sense for other people that he's creeping her the heck out, just like he's creeping out Usagi.

    And so, for a second, her sword is held out sideways between Sailor Moon and Chrollo, as if defending the former from the latter.

    But then Octavia goes all-out, and that snaps her back into the ... She decides to leave Arachne to Octavia. She's not going to stand in front of that again.

    She decides to go for Tutankhama. She jumps five feet into the air, careful not to hit her head, and glides forward so that she can back up Josuke, swinging her sword wildly -- firing several sword-beams at the mummy-youma!

    "Yeah! Yeah, I think I'm okay," Josuke answers to Sailor Moon's partial question. "Just caught me off-guard, is all." Mental note, poke the Old Man again, because this is getting a bit ridiculous with these energy-drain youma!

    And then the mummy comes back, with a tombstone! "<Crazy Diamond!>" Josuke calls, more to focus his attention than anything else. The Stand swings at the tombstone -- and the hands of the mummy-youma -- with that golden-orange aura, a loud, "DOURAAA!"

    Josuke isn't just looking to break the stone in Tutankhama's hands. Or to break the youma, actually. No, it's looking to do much worse...

    ...It's trying to FUSE the youma's hands with the stone!

    And he's not going to stop there, either. "I was gonna send you back to you 'Great Ruler' in pieces," he sneers. "But I guess one piece will do!"

    And then Crazy Diamond just UNLOADS on the youma, unleashing punch after punch. Should be hard to dodge both Crazy Diamond's fists AND Lex's sword-beams! But still, that orange-gold aura persists. Because he is literally trying to fuse the youma into the tombstone she was holding, appropriately enough...

Chrollo gets what he wants...kind of! That's the downside of having so many Conditions to meet! And with her timid, intimidated ways, Sailor Moon doesn't answer that critical question. 

It seems he'll need more direct methods. But Shinewander is playing guard dog. Now won't be the time. And of course, he now knows yet another ability of that mystical tiara of hers. 

With the staggered vampiress, Chrollo dissappears in a burst of speed. Rather than risk that pillar caving in his head, he aims two quick punches to both of the vampire's forearms hard enough to break even supernatural bone. A sweeping kick to get her on her knees, and... 

Out comes that oversized knife, and like something out of a slasher movie, he plunges it down directly towards her skull from behind! 

Then his gaze turns back, eyeing the others. 

Eyes go wide, as he watches what Josuke's Fist Ghost wroughts... 

What a curious ability this young man has, even more than he could possibly have imagined. Now he /needs/ the young man to join him.

    Octavia... Octavia really doesn't like spiders does she? It's kind of frightening to watch the noblegirl go all out on her arachnid foe and bring that hammer down, reducing Arachne to a pile of dust under the glimmering light of the holy summoned hammer.
    That mummy sure doesn't get it any easier as Shinewander Sky and Josuke work in tandem, sword beams and that furious flurry of blows that pummel her into the tombstone itself before she's reduced to ash as well.
    And then there's 'Crow'. Ever the efficient thief and killer, the blows stagger Dracule long enough for the kick to drop her to knees and--
    "Eeeeeeeee!"
    Oh that was Sailor Moon. She totally can't watch that kill even if there's no blood and the vampire explodes into dust.
    And just like that the haunted house quiets down. The youma are no more.
    And Sailor Moon is sneak sneak sneaking towards the nearest window, as sneaky as a train wreck.
    "O-okay that was fun and all, gotta go now, bye!"
    Oop there she goes.

    An irritated huff is the last thing Octavia has to say towards Arachne. Huff! And then she goes to turn around, already straightening her jacket as she speaks. "Sailor Moon, you-"

    Sailor Moon is running away.

    "-hey! Get back here! I've got a few choice words for you, this monster situation in your world is getting seriously out of- get BACK here!" Steam steam fume rant.

    Shinewander Sky sighs. "Well, that happened," she says. (Lex.) She shrugs, and her smile returns, looking around. "Good show, everyone! And you, Mr. Crow, that was ... decisive work over there." (This is Shard talking now.) "I'm definitely gonna keep you on my tactical screen."

    The smile she turns on him is definitely not a friendly one.

    She shakes her head. "I mean, seriously though, does anyone know what those monsters are all about, or who the 'great ruler' is?" (Lex again.)

    Josuke sighs once he notes the youma are gone. And then looks around at the others. "Everyone okay?" he inquires. That's always his first concern once these situations get resolved, is whether anyone's seriously hurt. Aside from himself, since he can't really heal himself.

    And then Sailor Moon just BOLTS. "H-hey, wait!" he tries -- is she hurt? He doesn't know. But then, she probably wouldn't be able to run that fast if she was injured. At least he hopes so.

    Octavia's words get a sigh. "Honestly, there's just way too many for one person to deal with alone... especially somebody who just got it dumped in their laps one way." He recalls that she did explain a little bit about it some time ago.

    Shinewander's question gets a shake of his head. "No, just that there is one, and they want a lot of energy. Whatever they want it for, changes are, it isn't something good."

'Eeeeeee'! 

Oh, woops. Did he upset Sailor Moon again? He vaguely watches as she sneaks away with her moonlight abilities and frankly /embarrassing/ levels of sneakery. 

Sigh. 

"...Walk on the balls of your feet more." Comes the man's words with a vague hint of depression. Eyetwitch. 

As for the Shinewander though? There's a vague smile, and a half bow! "I'm flattered that you would even consider me worth looking at." Offers the young man oh-so-politely. 

Yeah, Lex has the question. "They're gathering life energy for something. And it will not be good for the people of this world." 

A glance back to Octavia and Josuke. Hand wave. "I think she may be shy."