[open] Santa Claus came to town, and then we followed him home.

[theearth]

Who: EVERYONE, santas, grinches and aliens
What: The great big Finale
Where: Korvatunturi Mountain, Lapland, Finland
When: 30th of January

So all these things went down.

And then three things happened in short succession:
↬ Dani and Toushiro connected to the network.
↬ An earthquake shook a large part of the wider area, including the northern half of Finland; small parts of northwestern Russia; northern Sweden and Norway.
↬ All santas and grinches, no matter if they were currently engaged in combat or not, started running towards Korvatunturi Mountain, a mountain with three peaks located northeast of Rovaniemi and roughly 50 American miles away from the numbered cabins and the police station. The only minor exception is that if they come across a sentient person that has no yet completed their 14th year of life, they will take a short detour in an attempt to still snatch them up, numbered or not. Last minute kidnappings!
Once there, they will try to ensure three things: That the heating is not turned off, that the children remain where they are, and that the numbered don't get into the building. Numbered children will be considered children in this, and their opinion won't change even if the numbered in question attacks them with their powers.


Fun facts:
↬ The area around Korvatunturi Mountain seems to have an autotranslate function??? Everyone can understand everyone, no matter what language they're speaking.
↬ All the kidnapped children are currently in the same room, which is the second floor of the building on the western side of the mountain.
↬ The structure in question is three stories high:
>The lowest is built almost entirely into the mountain, almost like a basement, and the floor is the mountain's own rock. There is only one room and a narrow hallway running all around that room. The hallway connects to the room through two doors (one open, one locked with a simple locker lock) and to the outside through one door on the opposite side from the staircase. At the room's center, a huge block of ice protrudes from the ground, and a multitude of radiators and really all kinds of heating machines including hair dryers are aimed at it. The electricity comes from two large generators next to the building. A separate metal staircase connects it to the second floor. The staircase was once separated from the hallways by doors, but these have been bust open.
>The second floor also consists of one large room, this one with three doors, surrounded by a hallway that has no doors to the outside. In this room, Dani, Toushiro and the kidnapped children can be found. As long as the heating items in the room below are working, it has a comfortable temperature, but that will drop quickly if the heating is turned off (and most of the kids are dressed for bed, not snow adventures). The staircase leads on to the third floor.
>The third floor contains a few bedrooms, abandoned with more or less haste, a kitchen, a living room with a TV set and a small office. It is by far the most normal floor, even having windows and a door that over a bridge leads to the mountainside, offering an additional exit.

Please direct all questions, including "if I do this what will happen?", to the Lapland plot post. Please also go here for NPC requests and so on.
You may NPC grinches and santas yourself under the following condition: They are no easy opponents. They are stronger than a human (they CAN twist your head off), their teeth and sharp, sturdy nails are nasty, and most importantly they can blip out of time and thus gain a few seconds for action between one moment and the next. The best plan is to attack them as a group, as they have trouble focusing on more than one person at a time. They can sense numbered and children but don't understand speech, and they are not malicious towards children, simply neutral to their well-being.
You may also NPC kidnapped children yourself. Most of them are Finnish or Sami, some Russian, and there's one or two Swedes/Norwegians. Some of them speak a bit of English. They were kidnapped and then deposited in the room where the numbered found them, and oddly enough have felt neither hunger nor thirst nor other human necessities since - they even seem in fairly good health for having been there for days and longer. They are, however, (understandably) scared and confused. Also, most of them are not dressed for the cold but for bed. So getting them out of the building without providing blankets/etc will make them freeze to death.

↬There are two major directions in which this whole venture can go at this point, thanks to Shiro-chan! So it is impossible to give even a rough estimate of how this will turn out, but two notes on future plot things anyway: Location voting ends today, and the doppelgänger trouble start on the 1st!

Comments

[open; combat insertion]

[peacefulwinter]

In the span of a day or two, Winter went from being a little concerned but generally optimistic, to completely and utterly terrified of what was about to happen. Dani and Toushirou were kidnapped, which was bad, but at least they were largely safe, still armed, and with the other children. The earthquake, coupled with the random kidnappings, was significantly more worrisome. She'd made the case to at least one person that this might mean they had a monster on their hands; earthquakes had signaled changes in Locke and Vegas that brought the giant snake and the lobster-thing, respectively. And if the earthquake were in the north, which was also where the kids were... there wasn't time.

This will likely explain why she's foregone any and all attempts at subtlety, and chosen to just dump them into the fray. Liberal application of Google Earth, cross-referenced with Toushirou's description of the facility's location, gave them what seemed to be a place to come out, a weird, unusually tall building built right on the mountain. Zooming in close and visualizing the place in her mind, she nods when she thinks she's ready, raising her voice to make sure everyone present hears her. "We're about to start. Everyone, get ready - we don't get another shot at this, and we're going in hot. Be prepared for anything." There are several more reminders she doesn't add; she trusts everyone here not to hurt the kids, and to recognize Toushirou well enough not to shoot him.

More quietly, she adds, "We're not taking any chances. Lily, let's suit up, then we'll teleport everyone in. I think... it might be better for us to start with Silhouettes, for the extra power. We can't afford to make even a single mistake on this." Winter doesn't call the Mirage on her own - it's not really hers, so she doesn't have it quite down yet - but just looks at Lily to make sure it's okay, reaching for a hand. Raquel, on her shoulder, pops into her Commune and drops into her free hand, sensing the mood and electing to not wait to be asked.

==

Lily's not been a whole lot better than Winter, but sensing her partner's apprehension has been doing her best to keep herself together. She's just as worried about Dani and Toushirou, just as concerned about what all of this and the earthquake could mean, but... She has to keep her head straight, she's known this. They're about as much on the same page as one could be before the kids' message reaches the Numbered's ears.

Once they've zeroed in on the location, she's readying her own transformation device and her Precure Seed. "We'll take anyone who wants to follow along with us along through the Mirage's portal. The children need to be first priority, once we find them, teleporting them back the way we came is probably going to be easiest. Not to mention, safest. Beyond that... We need to watch our heads, and not do anything stupid. And if anyone else wants to create an outside distraction... well, that might not be a bad idea either."

She takes a steadying breath, slotting her trinkets together. She takes Winter's outstretched hand, attempting to deliver to her the most calming smile she can. From there, over the next few moments, light and spectacle erupt around them, with Lily summoning the Heartcatch Mirage and pushing them further, until Super Cure Moonlight has willed a large, heart-shaped portal with their destination before them.

((Winter and Lily are opening a portal that will dump anyone going through it geographically just outside the building, on the mountain. Or at least, where she's pretty sure the building is. Realistically, it's close, but they're still a minute or two's walk from the structure. Anyone's welcome to come along; the portal will close eventually, but it'll stay open for at least a few minutes, whether they're watching it or not. On request, if they can break off, the Precure will open a portal that will return anyone traveling through it back to the cabins. Because the portal's only sized for people, nothing crazy can really follow; this also means they're not bringing any snowmobiles.))

Open;

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Multicolored wings of light blazing, Super Cure Moonlight is one of the first through the Heartcatch Mirage's open portal. She wills it to stay open for a little while, but also isn't about to stick around forever. It'll close when it close - for now, she's wasting little time. Skimming across the ground, she's able to fly quickly and in relative silence, but there is a distinct trail of snow flying up behind her.

Once at and inside the building, she's going to waste no time in attempting to zero in on Dani, Toushirou, and the other gathered children. Any of her other fears or hang-ups are secondary right now - no matter what she faces, that is her end goal, and heaven help anyone who gets in her way.

[OOC - Lily can be poked her on approach or within the building, either's fine!]

[dragon_blossom]

Of course Marina's following. She's slower, and less durable, and can't punch a cement truck through a skyscraper and into Godzilla's face or anything to that effect, but she's still got spells and magic armor - and if a big rock monster does show up, she's finally got an actual edge.

People need them, again, and this time that includes Dani. And Toushirou, can't forget him, but Dani is someone Marina's pretty damn fond of on top of everything else; she'll just have to take up the rear guard if all the Precures can rush ahead, looking out for any bizarre attackers coming up from behind. "Don't worry about watching your back Lily!"

[alilyinthemoonslight]

The shout causes Moonlight's lips to turn up into a smile even in spite of the situation, and she gives a fierce nod, looking back to her. "I wouldn't doubt that for a second!"

She looks back ahead, and can see the three story building on their approach. Three stories, and she very well can enter any of them... The kids are only going to be on one of them though, right?

"One in three shot!" she calls back to Marina or anyone that can hear her. "First, second, or third floor?!"

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Jasmine is there too, arriving just shortly after Marina. And her first instinct is to more or less hover between them, so she can watch both their backs, but Jasmine knows that even with others in their super mode, she's best suited at the front lines.

So she delivers a look back to Marina, before flying to Lily's side.

"This still splits the choices, but... wouldn't it be more likely to be the lower or top floor?"

[Open]

[scarlet_devil]

As soon as the portal was open, Emilia was one of the first to head on through it. Once through, the vampire takes to the air with powerful flaps of her bat-like wings, rapidly picking up speed while keeping relatively low to the ground herself. The second she's at the building and inside, she'll keep going, and she will not be stopping for anything.

Anyone that tries to stop her will be swatted aside. She refuses to let anyone stop her from getting the kids out. Once they're safe, she intends on showing whoever is in charge of this place exactly how a vampire can invoke terror.

[open]

[charcoalfeather]

Standing at the portal, Rakka had watched as her friends charged in, determined to bring down these kidnappers. But... she was hesitant to do. She'd heard that they were difficult to fight, and with her gear gone, Rakka would be little help to them as she was.

"Maybe... they're better off without me there..." She muttered, turning back to the cabins... right before something smacked her head-on in the face and nearly threw her off her feet. Completely surprised, Rakka panicked and fumbled to get the fuzzy obstruction off of her face. Which wasn't too difficult, as it tried to separate as well.

"Grr, that was a terrible landing..." Finally free, the disoriented creature shook... his head, he was small and odd looking, mostly covered in white fur but with grey areas here and there, as well as a few heart shaped accessories and a mohawk, which contrasted everything else a bit. He was also floating in midair now, in front of Rakka without any kind of visible wings. Then, he noticed who was in front of him, and his eyes lit up. "Hey! It's you! It's got to be! I know it!"

For a brief moment, Rakka believed that she had been knocked unconscious, and was currently dreaming all of this. That had to be it, right? "...Uh-"

"Whoa!" The creature floated over to the portal, peering through it. "Did you do this? This portal is cool!" A slight grimace crossed the creature's face as he looked back at Rakka. "Hey! Where are all the other Precure? I need to find them!"

Dumbly, Rakka pointed at the portal which lead to the mountain base beyond. "They're in there... fighting the monsters that--" She frowned. "W-wait, did you say... Precure?"

"Yeah! And you're one of 'em!" A frown, almost mirroring Rakka. "I think. You gotta be! You're the first person I saw around here. I just know you're a Precure!" Apparently, he didn't care about the lack of logic in that statement. "Come on! We have to go fight the monsters too!"

"W-what...?" Overwhelmed by questions, Rakka went silent. Which seemed to be good enough for the creature, as he immediately jumped through the portal. This entire situation was insane, but Rakka knew she couldn't let him go in there alone.

With an anxious breath, Rakka jumped in after him.

----------------------------------------------------

Stumbling out of the portal, Rakka was quickly on the creature's figurative tail, sprinting down the hallway after him. The way seemed to be mostly safe, as everyone else had already cleared the way for them.

"W-wait!" Her voice echoed off the walls. Rakka realized too late that this might draw more monsters, but she had to keep going now.

[peacefulwinter]

It's a funny thing; even though Winter is a Precure, she's not part of the same team Lily is. That means she has no link to the Heart Tree, except through the Mirage. Which... she's not holding. It's not hers. Anything relating to that is Lily's domain, by virtue of her being more likely to know what the hell is going on.

That means, when Winter hears the voice bouncing down the hallway, her blood runs cold. Cure Diamond is a superhero in basically any sense of the world: she has magical powers, she's supernaturally durable, her reflexes are superb, her physical strength is insane... she has a lot going for, and she's still not doing so hot. Rakka? Rakka has none of that, and just became a liability that needed saving. Wheeling on her heel, she starts in the other direction, holding her snow in a ring around her so she can quickly send it out at anything that wants to get in the way. Because she's bolting toward the shout, making absolutely certain that nothing befalls the new arrival.

That's when she sees the little plushie flying toward her, and she pauses for a moment, too shocked to process it. The thing definitely doesn't look quite like Raquel. It's... different. And she doesn't know what Yuri's fairy looked like to compare. But... no. This is a problem. "Moonlight? When did we get another fairy? Why is it here? What's going on? Please come look at this." Her thoughts are jumbled as she stares at something that shouldn't exist, for... she'd lost track of how many times that is, honestly.

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Unfortunately, Lily does not quite hear the shouting at first, herself. She's too busy in that instance dodging a very angry Santa, and attempting not to get her face sliced off. She knows very well that she's not impervious to such things as she once might have thought, and has no interest in trying to take the bring of their clawed fingers head on. Still, he knee flies up in the middle of his attack, in order to catch him before he can blink away. Risky, but it pays off - this time, at least.

She senses as Cure Diamond takes of in another direction though, almost instinctively. If she thought about it much, she'd probably put that more on herself than on her abilities as a Precure, or their current connection via the Mirage. Her multicolored wings give a flash, and she takes off after her partner like a bolt of lightning, and...

Then she sees just what she'd come for.

It's unmistakable, really.

She'd seen something just like it in her mind from the moment she became one of the Numbered. A fairy, soft and furry. The way its colors were laid out upon it, its size... It can't be anything else. Without a doubt, it is just like the ones that Blossom and Marine had.

Or Yuri Tsukikage, once a long time ago, until that fateful day in which Lily also has gotten to see his dying breath, feel Cologne's body as the life drained out of him.

Her eyes are as wide as she is open to outside attack when she just sort of locks up, staring blankly.

A fairy, and one she's never seen before. One Yuri never saw before. It doesn't trigger a pulse, nothing but her own memories, or those she's already obtained from the original Cure Moonlight. Its presence can actually only mean one thing, but... how? How in the world...?

No, wait - there's still something more important here. "Rakka!"

[charcoalfeather]

"S-stop! At least wait for me!" As much as she tried, Rakka's pleas went unheard by the fairy. She wanted nothing more then to turn back, to return to the cabins where both of them would be safe and she could get an explanation for all of this ridiculousness.

But she knew as they raced farther and farther into the base, it was obvious that something was going to find them eventually, and if that were to happen she had no way to protect herself.

It was a terrible situation all around, and Rakka just wanted to leave, worry clear in her voice. "Please! We have to-" But then she hears it, a voice, up ahead. There were a few, but they both sounded more familiar then she'd expected. Was it...?

"H-hey! Why're you slowing down like-Ack!" In his confusion, the fairy had turned his head to look back at Rakka without slowing down, himself. Fortunately, Lily provided enough of a roadblock to bring the fairy to a stop. He looked around, disoriented and shaking his head. "What the..." He gasped. "You're-"

"Lily! Winter!" Two faces Rakka was relieved to see. "Are you okay? I... there was..."

There was far too much to explain.

ota; the building on Mt.Korvatunturi

[freeclimbs]

Two of the kidnapped children are sitting in a corner of the main room with the others, but... unlike everyone around them, don't seem to be scared. After a while, the younger one, a boy, stands and his sister quickly follows to catch his hand, and hand in hand they walk around approach numbered, only to stand nearby and study their faces before moving on. They'll be around the building as much as people will let them wander.

[radiantchicken]

It hadn't been hard for the seven-year-old birdman to get taken to the other children, weird dinosaur-shaped handgun and all. And even if these two don't seem scared, he still wants to check on them. "Hello." He'll crouch so he can be a little more on their level. "Are you two all right?"

[freeclimbs]

The boy stares up at him in.... not awe, but the emotion resembles it closely enough, and steps forward to try and touch his face, while the girl nods. "But it took longer than I thought for you to come."

[radiantchicken]

Torin crouches a bit lower so the boy can touch him; he doesn't mind children at all. It's an honest sort of curiosity, far better than adults trying to take quiet cell phone pictures or not realizing he can hear what they're saying behind his back. "We were delayed. It's a big area to cover, and while I cannot speak for the others, I'm not used to moving around in this much snow."

[freeclimbs]

She nods earnestly. Yes, the snow can be a problem. "I thought that more would come. The strange men are dangerous."

open

[savethenpcs]

[The block of ice in the basement is melting away happily under the heat of the radiators and other heating tools, while on the floor above a bunch of children is reliant on the heat for their survival, because they aren't dressed for the cold.

The santas and grinches will try to stop people both from taking the children away from there and from turning down the heat.

What do you do?]

[guitar_case_vagabond]

Running "backup" is not Raye's idea of a good goddamned time, but... well, the others had had a point when they'd said that her usual way of dealing with things wasn't the best when they didn't know exactly where the roomful of children was.

So, much to her frustration, she's spent most of the attack circling around up above waiting for the all-clear, that the kids are out safely and then... well....

"Alright! Let's see what they got down there!"

She flies straight up, gaining some altitude and then turns in midair and dives straight down toward the side of the building opposite where the kids are and just... barrels straight on in like a motherfucking missile. Walls and floors give way rather easily as she smashes through like a crazy-ass hot knife through butter before landing heavily on both feet on the stone floor while dust and debris rain down around her.

She clutches the Scissor Blade in both hands as she slowly straightens to see whatever it is to find in the bottom floor.

[purestambition]

Wait for it.

This is what Saretha has been telling herself. Letting her patience work for her, hiding out in the snow while others rushed in. While Raye circled overhead. She waited, and bid her time. She's a rather patient individual as it is - she can play the long game just fine. Then, she sees it.

Like a rocket, Raye slamming straight on into the building. Through it, down below.

She doesn't need much more prompting than that. Flicks of Junketsu's clasps beneath her jacket send needles jamming right into her skin, and her armor forms, systematically shredding that coat. Luckily, she had plenty of others back at the cabin - she'd packed several for just this reason.

She leaps up, high, brandishing Bakuzan. She falls into the hole that her sister has smashed into the building from on high and just... drops, batting away any debris that decide to get into her way before she slams down beside her, looking as casually poised as one could ever be expected and as if she did not attempt such a feat.

"I will admit one thing, Raye."

She raises her blade, scanning the area.

"You do know how to make an entrance."

[savethenpcs]

The heat in the basement floor is significant - not high enough to cause damage upon exposure, regular heaters can't do that, but it is definitely very uncomfortable. The block of ice in the middle has by now lost again most of what Toushiro added to it. If they look closely, they'll see that down below something seems to be stuck in the ice, in stasis due to being frozen in.

Scratching and rummaging around the area make it clear that the santas and grinches that made it back to the base already are trying to follow the two women.]

[purestambition]

...well, that sure is a thing. Isn't it? Saretha tenses as she sees the block of ice, feels the heat... and she focuses in on the heaters.

"Raye. Don't bring this place down. Don't touch that ice - disable the heaters. We need to get them dismantled immediately."

She doesn't wait for a response. She leaps into action, lunging across the way, flinging out blades of powered willpower into several heaters as she travels. Small, quick blades of light cut through the machinery, until she lands on the other side, wary for any attackers.

Open - The children's room

[icy_heavens]

Toushirou said he'd stay put and he meant it. He's still in the room with Dani and the other kids, barrier spell set up along the walls and ceiling. Said barrier is mostly invisible, but at times appears glassy and reflective, the occasional rainbow of colour coruscating over it, like sunlight hitting a mirror.

The break-in is rough, shaking the building, but the barrier holds. What he'd told Winter about it is very true; it's high-level and strong. Garden-variety debris will not get through it, only the most powerful of head-on attacks. Only high-powered Numbered or their equivalent might be able to break through, and even those are maybes. Of course, Toushirou has no idea what exactly happens to attacks that fail to penetrate the barrier. Are they simply stopped cold, or do they bounce off? Guess they might find out.

"Just relax," he says to the frightened children. His voice isn't soothing, but one of firm authority, like he's used to commanding people. "That's the rest of us coming in. We're putting a stop to all this."

[freeclimbs]

"Will they kill all the santas?" The little boy stares at Toushiro inquiringly, his arms crossed over his chest against the slight chill in the room.

[jasminebloominginshadow]

The door to the main room suddenly slams off its hinges before that question can be answered... which is due to the super powered young woman kicking it. Her eyes widen as she sees inside... they've finally found who they were looking for.

"Finally!" Jasmine exclaimed. "Don't worry everyone, we're getting you the hell out of here!"

[scarlet_devil]

Emi is quick to barge into the room the second the door is open, not particularly caring too much if Marina and Jasmine happen to be jostled by her or her wings in the process. And there's the fact her appearance was sure to be frightening...

"Dani! Everyone! We're getting you all home!"

[prismaticdestruction]

Dani had been sitting there, trying to keep things quiet and calm in between her chewing on her fingers nervously. They were bleeding by this point as she had not been paying too much attention to when she'd get them with her fangs.

Thank goodness she'd dismissed her clones a while back or else it would have attacked. Instead when they barged in, Dani was to just bite her finger before staring with a smile forming.

"You guys made it!" and then, turning to the kids and shivering. She'd long since given away her sweatshirt to another kid so she was starting to get cold. 'Told you rescue was coming!"