Warm Front - Aftermath (Now mainly Natsume)

[Midnight Sun]

"Well, since you're standing before us now, you must be far stronger than whatever darkness she managed to throw at you," Natsume says. "Its not easy to overcome your own demons."

[Anastasia]

Wrapping his arm around Hotaru, Professor Tomoe nods. "If you overcame that, you have nothing to be ashamed of." Jostling a bit to accomdate his daughter, he goes on. "But as you were saying, you found out about Celcia at the mall?"

[Bean Bandit]

Ami smiles faintly, nodding. "Well...After a few...incidents, we made our way to the first floor, where we found a castle occupying the majority of the open area. After I'd suggested an alternate entrance, and Haruka made one, We were preparing to enter when we spotted Natsume-san."

Ami smiles a little shyly at the bigger girl, then resumes. "She was dealing with a horde of animate Ice statues, and was rather outnumbered, so we dropped down to help her. After those were dealt with, we resumed our entry into the palace." Ami hesitates, glossing over Artemis' encounter with Oxyite.

"We had little trouble making our way to the room where the anamoly was located...but when we did...Nakahime-san was waiting." Ami takes a deep breath, and goes on. "She was surrounded by a corona of deep blue energy, and flanked by Ice statues of Cynthia and Orestes, another enemy we'd fought before."

[Anastasia]

Letting Ami come to a pause point before speaking up, "I understand that she converted the entire mall...and she was using this woman, Miss Nakahime, in some fashion as well? As a conduit or as a possessed victim?" For that last part, he idly sends another glance at her, perhaps slightly searching.

[Bean Bandit]

"Possession, I think. Her method of dealing with me indicated she wanted a host...." Ami replies somberly. "I can show you what the Mercury computer recorded later....but the readings I had at the time indicated she was undergoing cellular modification due to Celcia's influence."

[Anastasia]

Turning his full attention to her, "Celluar? If that had lasting effects...I suppose we'll need to scan her as well," Professor Tomoe concludes, frowning a bit as he ponders more and more complications from this incident.

"How about yourself, Ami? You had the same contact with her?"

[Bean Bandit]

Ami blinks at that. "I'm...not sure." She admits. "My wounds were initially created to...'bleed the warm blood out' of me and freeze my heart." Ami smiles uneasily. "Or something along those lines. I was a little distracted. At any rate, Some of the same may have happened to me..."

[Anastasia]

Professor Tomoe nods thoughtfully, idly taking off his glasses and cleaning them with the hem of his lab coat. "We shall see," he nods simply, motioning for Ami to go on.

Artemis says quiet, close to you. He's a nice presence, at least.

[Bean Bandit]

Ami falls silent  for a moment, stifling the sudden urge to pull Artemis closer.

"We moved into the room where she was, and prepared to face off, Haruka and Viluy taking point while I tried to scan the energy surrounding Nakahime-san...Celcia said something, but...I don't remember what it was."

Ami blushes and ducks her head. "I'm sorry. I've heard so many variations on 'I hate you, prepare to die', I've begun tuning them out..."

She shakes her head and goes on, "My intial scans showed me what she was doing to her, but not a great deal beyond that. I asked Haruka and Viluy to buy me some more time, and they moved to engage the golems while I continued.

Unfortunately, my scanning was taking too long...and Nakahime-san would wrest control long enough to beg for help at frequent intervals.." Ami shuddered, dropping her gaze somberly. "I couldn't wait for my scan to complete to allow me more options, so made a deduction...more like a wild guess, really. If the energy flowing into Nakahime-san was from Celcia, and causing the changes, her nature would suggest ice energy in it's most basic form...theoretically, I could affect it with my elemental affinity. So, I put my theory into practice, and reached out with my power, and...Pulled the energy out of her. My first attempt at storage in my talisman lead to a slight backlash...so I simply pulled the energy directly into myself."

[Midnight Sun]

"Since you pulled Celcia into yourself...do you still...feel her?" Natsume asks carefully. "I mean, is she still resisting, or has she been completely subdued?"

[Bean Bandit]

Ami smiles slightly at Natsume, shaking her head. "She's not inside me any more to feel..." she explained. "As soon as she entered me....that's when I fell unconscious....and I woke up inside my own mind."

Ami gets a slightly pained expression on her face. "She was waiting for me. We...talked. Or, rather, she confronted me with what she'd found by touching my mind...and began torturing me, to soften me into willingly accepting her control...and I couldn't move, or fight back..." Ami trailed off into a whisper, then looked up, smiling shakily. "It was then I realized why I'm fond of thinking out my courses of action a little more thouroughly."

"But, as she started in earnest...something happened." Ami smiles at the rembembrance, looking around at the twins, Artemis, Natsume, and back at Viluy and Haruka, as well. "I felt....better, and my senshi transformation activated on it's own...and I could see you all, surrounding me as it happened." She relates warmly, then her exression grows uneasy again. "I suddenly had the freedom to move...and just in time, too. She began attacking in earnest then...I took serious wounds in my stomach and chest before I was able to restrain her...and when she finally was drawn into my talisman, an coffin of ice formed around her, and she dispersed...and then....I woke up."

[Anastasia]

Professor Tomoe nods at points, letting you tell your tale as you will. He stays clearly thoughtful and interested, however. "That's quite a day," he comments, perhaps going for gross understatement.

"As for the rest of it...we can deal with the finer, techincal details tomorrow," he offers, carefully thinking it over and nodding.. "I've asked Eudial to come and drive you home via the underground passages, so you can avoid the growing mess outside. If you feel safe about it, we can put off any in depth scanning. I'll be busy with Celcia's other victim tonight, regardless.

A basic scan, however, I would insist on tonight."

[Bean Bandit]

Ami nods in response, offering the professor a self-conscious smile. "By all means. I'd like to know exactly what I...did to her." she replies quietly.

[Anastasia]

Professor Tomoe merely nods, rising. "If you'd come with me, then, Ami," he offers, nodding to Natsume and the others. "Eudial should be here shortly, and she'll get you and the others home. It's not much, but there should be some snacks and juice in the clinic refrigerator they keep in the side room, as I'm sure you're hungry."

[Bean Bandit]

Ami nods and rises, slipping off the examination table, her serious expression marred by a slight wince as the bump her feet make on the floor jars her still healing wounds slightly, and she prepares to follow the professor out...