[dohtml]<center><br> <p>
<div style="width: 425px; text-align: justify;">
Shinshoku is something of a confused monster. Dressed like a Shinto monk, but addressing himself as a priest, many people mistake him for an actual member of the temple, or even a ghost of a former priest or monk from days of yore. He has been seen lurking around the temple grounds, carrying a bell that he rings at people he finds to be disrespectful, and then chasing them out. He comes off as an old-fashioned individual with a high set of morals when it comes to the temple... but if he's made extremely angry by someone goofing around, or not being devout to the temple, he will tip his hat so that his face can be seen -- red on black eyes, pointed teeth, and guttural sounds coming from his mouth. The bell hangs around his wrist, ringing wildly as a stout pole appears in his hands, bringing with it several shadowy imp-like shapes that attack anyone in the vicinity. He can cause those shadowy shapes to twist and turn, wrap around people, and even to suffocate them until the bow down to him and the temple. <br></div>
<p><br>
<div style="width: 450px; color: 242223; font-size: 40px; font-family: georgia; letter-spacing: -5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; line-height: 75%">set up & information</div>
<br><br><div style="width: 425px; text-align: justify;">
setting --- it's midday at the cherry hill temple on a weekend, so the place is crowded with tourists and locals coming to enjoy the festivities. there are stalls with a few local vendors, food at the small mess hall, and the charm shop is open...
<br><br>
needed --- 4-5 characters should be involved, including artemis, for whom this will be the grand awakening.
<br><br>
notes --- to avoid confusion, there will be a posting order for all monster attacks, so please try to keep that unless there's a note by the monster account to skip someone. the monster will "attack" as soon as i feel the right amount of people (or even those needed for the thread) have already posted.
<br><br>
remember --- once the monster jumps in with the attack, the minimum word count drops to 100. at that point we'll start up the rolls (if you haven't already granted permission in regards to how monster attacks work, please do so here.), and you'll learn how the monster attack will affect your characters. anyone can be grabbed/injured by the monster, so be prepared for that just in case your character is the one grabbed/injured.
<br><br>
questions --- if you have any about monster attacks in general, then ask the miaface! account. if it's about this particular monster attack, please pm this account. thanks!
<br><br></div></center>[/dohtml]

He hated the Cherry Hill temple and usually avoided coming here. Even with the fact that that he was working with Takashi Hino, he still would rather not have to come here. Besides, the annoying Hino princess worked here as a Priestess, and he really didn’t want to see her. The last time, he had almost slapped the girl. He didn’t know what would happen if he saw her, again. As he walked up the steps, Adam had to remind himself that the only reason he was here was because his latest date wanted to meet him here before they had they fun. His thoughts shifted to the events that happened in the park, and the cowardly monster that had ran away, and he knew that he was still upset about being ordered to destroy that monster. The only problem with getting his revenge, was that he had no clue who the man was, and because of that one simple fact probably wouldn’t be able to locate him. Unless, he popped up here, but Adam was certain that the chances of that happening were slim. So maybe...just maybe he should use his new powers to cause a little havoc here at the temple. It was something that he was considering, whether he would actually do it was another story altogether. Just as long as he didn’t run into Alexia, or someone who knew her, he didn’t need that sort of drama today. Not when it looked like he would actually be having some action later on tonight. Not to mention that he hadn’t seen her since he had broken up with her. He wasn’t all that worried, but how was he supposed to torment something he couldn’t find.

On another note, he would have to check in with his parents, sooner or later. It wasn’t as if he really cared if they were worried about him, he just didn’t want them or his brother showing up at his apartment and butting their noses where they didn’t belong. They didn’t even know that he had broken up with Alexia just yet, and he didn’t want them to know about it. Well, at least they didn’t expect him to show up at the hospital when they called him about his brother. His mom was a bit shocked, seeing how he had acted the time they hadn’t called him when his brother was in the hospital. He then started to finger the crystal that was in his left pocket as he awaited Cindy’s arrival. If he got lucky then she would be a whole lot more fun than his last date had been. Truthfully, he was enjoying being a womanizer again more than he thought that he would, especially when he wasn’t held back by sill ideas like commitment. Before he could actually finish walking up the stairs, his phone rang, and he answered it. A few minutes later, he closed his phone, and sighed angrily. So much for his date.

He wondered if he should pretend to be slightly disappointed that she had cancelled on him, but it wasn’t like it was the end of the world. After all, there was always the opportunity to annoy the self-imposed Hino princess...if she was around. Or, just go ahead with his first idea, which was transform and terrorize the people that might be inside. With that thought he finally entered the temple. He would figure out what he was going to do based on who was inside.

[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 400px; border: 20px solid #cc9933;">

<div style="background-color:#ffffff; width:380px; padding:10px; line- height:120%; -moz-border-radius: 20px;">

<div style="width: 370; line-height: 1.5; font-family: georgia; font-size: 9; color: black; text-align: justify;"><br>

That day she'd hidden away in the Cherry Hill Temple, Grace had made a promise to return and enjoy it. Not that she hadn't the first time, but her mind had, at least initially, been preoccupied with getting found by Jacob and losing whatever sanity she still had. The priestess, Rei, who'd also given her a little bit of a scalding for using the temple such had helped. In fact, Grace was half hoping she might get to see her again during the festival. Rei hadn't been an air headed ditz like most teenage girls she knew and Grace liked that. She liked Rei and she'd told her she'd worked at the temple most of her life. It was safe to assume she'd be at the festival then wouldn't it? Grace thought so, hence why she'd arrived bright and early. As the day had progressed, more people had come, and even Grace was partly surprised at how many there were. Could they all be tourists? It didn't seem like all that many people went to the temple normally. Maybe it was just the festival that brought everyone out. Shrugging that off, Grace continued on around the stalls and stopped every now and then to look at something. <p>

She had been intending to get her father a gift at the festival, a bit of an apology for the way she'd apparently been acting recently. Grace herself didn't exactly understand it. She couldn't remember being especially mean or disobedient, but her father had been in a mood with her for a few days and when she'd finally asked what she'd done wrong, he'd asked why she'd suddenly started acting like a stubborn brat. At first it had hurt, her father wasn't known for his temper, but since she couldn't honestly remember, she couldn't answer it. So, she'd apologized instead. That little rift may have been mended, though apologizing to her sister was going to be a different story, but Grace still felt guilty over it. Hence the gift. While she greatly disliked her sister, and even her father sometimes, they were still her family and she especially didn't want to have them hate her for something she couldn't even remember doing. <p>

But the problematic question was exactly what should she get her father? She could buy him a charm for health, or prosperity or something, but Grace herself didn't put much stock in them. Especially not the love ones all the girls at school had been going gaga over. It really was puzzling her. Brushing a piece of hair out of her face, she picked up one of the wall scrolls for sale and examined it. It was pretty enough. She liked it. Perhaps her father could hang it over his desk at work or something. Either way, it was a start. Pulling out her wallet, she paid the woman with a smile and continued on, adjusting her hair clip as she did. Since the park, and her sudden new found powers, it hadn't been far from her at anytime. It was like she'd grown a physical tie to it and taking it off worried her. Having it away from her worried her. Just in case anything happened, Grace wanted to be able to protect herself. <p>

Finishing the adjustment, she sidestepped a guy who had just headed into the temple and continued around, keeping a wary eye out for Rei.

<p>

<marquee> --- words: 571 --- </marquee>

</div><div style="font-size: 7; color: black; text-align: left;">&</div></div></div><br>
</center>[/dohtml]

He had no idea why he was here, none at all. Normally on his days off, Artemis lounged around his apartment and did absolutely nothing except watch football, sleep and eat but here he was, walking around one of the larger of the local Shinto temples during a festival. Despite having worked in Japan for a few years straight and with a Japanese company for practically his whole career, it was a sad fact that Artemis knew very little about the culture, despite his father's best efforts. Sure he could speak the language with ease, knew the correct forms of address, the etiquette and believed whole heartedly in their work ethic but beyond the fact that the official religion was Shinto and the national pastime was baseball he was ignorant. Some information had certainly been imparted to him by neighbours and coworkers when he got curious about something or when he committed a faux pas (which was pretty much every three seconds according to Mr. "I should really be living in an old age home" Yuan downstairs).

Of course given his job, if Artemis wasn't at work keeping Catherine Aino in line, he was at home trying to catch up on sleep that had been lost (almost in a sad parody of when he was a student). This fact made it doubly shocking that the man was even out and about, especially given the location, but a small part of Arty figured that if he was going to be making his home in this country, he needed to actually do some exploring of places not relating to work, his home or sports bars. And what better way than a nice temple? It was actually quite picturesque with the trees swaying slightly in the breeze and the decorations tastefully strewn about the property. He could see and older man dressed in robes that he assumed were those of a priest's lecturing a similarly dressed younger man (probably for staring at the girls dressed as priestesses) and many locals dressed in traditional kimonos. Now I feel really out of place. he thought, looking down at his khakis, loafers and golf shirt ensemble. Not that Arty would ever, ever get dressed up in traditional gear ever again. He'd done so once before for a family picture shortly before his university graduation; his father looked dignified, his mother looked demure and the was his sister looked probably inspired their father to bring the prized baseball bat out of hiding. Arty himself just looked ridiculous.

Of course given the way he was dressed he wasn't going to feel totally stupid when he asked one of the priests or priestesses for information about what was going on. If he'd dressed traditionally he probably would have got a "what are you? stupid?" look instead of information. At least with his "Western" fashion they'd think "tourist" and be a bit kinder with their judgement. He hoped. He was planning to venture inside the temple proper when a blonde girl neatly moved to the side so they wouldn't bump, the light catching a bead on the girl's hair clip. Hold up there! That wasn't a bead! Stopping suddenly - and causing a woman to run straight into him, causing several rounds of apologies - Artemis realized he had just seen the girl from the park, the one who had become Sailor Pallas. His first instinct was to wonder if trouble was brewing - if the sailor scout was here, was trouble going to follow? But then he remembered the video he had and the half formed idea of talking to her about it. After backing up out of the temple, he scanned the crowd, looking for the golden hair, not seeing it in the crush of people. Being so fixated on the accessory he hadn't glanced at what the girl was wearing or anything else distinguishing about her. Well, hell. Now what do I do? he wondered, cursing his impulsiveness.

A distraction, that is what she needed, a distraction, something to keep her mind and hands busy seeing as painting wasn't doing the trick. Ever since the break up with Adam painting had grown a bit more difficult and she had no muse. She hated that he had such power over her but at the same time one did need time to adjust and get over hurts, because as not worth crying as Adam was it still hurt to loose what was once had and there was a mourning and adjustment period, so really she could live without painting for a little while longer but she could not just sit at home and read and do nothing, that equated to moping and that was a victory for Adam. She had successfully avoided him but she was not going to stop living. How the whole thing became a battle between her and her ex-boyfriend she wasn't sure but it was, and she was going to win despite the considerable losses she had suffered.

The festival was still going on at the temple and it was as good a thing as any to keep her busy and doing something. Really, she should pay her respects anyway and be part of general Japanese traditions. Maybe she would find inspiration once more like she had before at the temple? On her way there Alexia purposefully avoided the area of the bus stop where she had lost her powers just in case. She didn't want to make things worse, she generally wasn't overly superstitious but, following a few things that fell under superstitions wouldn't hurt anything, particularly after going to the amusement park she was beginning to feel a little bit better. As far as she knew the crystal still wasn't working but considering that there was no magic to be found there at the amusement park she decided to try and move on and let things go keeping the crystal charm as a reminder and memory of things.

Upon arriving at the temple Alexia was surprised and yet not surprised that the place was crowded. Indeed business was booming there at the temple in light of the festival and in some way the distraction of the sights and crowds seemed to lift Alexia's spirits until in the distance she saw what looked like Adam. In an instant there was a sinking in her stomach and she thought about turning around and leaving before he saw her but at the same time he did not run her life and she had every right to be there as he did. All the same she figured it was best to try and avoid him. Looking away Alexia decided to move forward and continue to where ever it was that she and the crow that she was in decided to move, at least until a man, who was not dressed in traditional clothing suddenly turned around and ran right into her. "Hey!" she proclaimed upset with the man for just changing course and breaking the flow of everything as their run in clearly showed, but she didn't get a chance to say much more as the man apologized and continued on his way as if he were chasing something. Alexia turned to continue forward when she realized that that was where Adam seemed to be heading and turned almost following in the man's foot steps. She needed to truly keep her distance from Adam as her red hair was a very clear and big give away, why did she have to be a red head?

[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 350px; border: 20px solid #5C0000; background-color: white;"><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; line-height: 11px; padding: 30px; text-transform: none; color: black;">

For the most part, seeing a crowd of people at the temple was a good thing. It meant people were still interested in festivals, and to some degree, the temple, despite the monster that was lurking around. She had only become convinced that the wolf creature was a monster after her last run-in with it. Seeing such a large, dangerous creature in person was enough to make her want to steer clear of such things in the future. And yet, at the same time, Rei didn't think she would be able to just ignore such a thing. After all, the temple was basically her home away from home -- if there was evil lurking, she needed to do something about it. She had the powers to do so... even if she didn't understand them, or where they had come from. But if she was going to have them, she might as well put them to good use. <p>

Unfortunately, Rei couldn't exactly use her powers in the middle of the festival. She had to use a calm, semi-soothing voice in order to deal with any potential troublemakers. Or the broom. She had actually used that earlier in the day when some teenage boy had tried to pocket a charm without paying for it. He had been lucky she hadn't used her fist, which could have happened if she hadn't kept her anger in check. But she had, and now Rei was back to patrolling the place. Or trying to patrol. The crowd was actually getting larger, and it was getting hard to be in a dozen different places at once. Perhaps she would be able to rest easier if she felt she had competent girls working as mikos at the temple. Not many had shown up, a result of either their parents barring them from going while a wolf-monster was lurking, or because of their own fears that they might be next. Whatever the reason, Rei was working with a limited number of helpers today. <p>

Tired of trying to move through the crowd, Rei finally positioned herself near one of the buildings so she could keep an eye on people coming and going. She had already spied a few familiar faces from school, and had made sure to turn away so they wouldn't see her. Rei highly doubted that they would come up to greet her, as she didn't have many friends at school (if at all, to be honest), but she didn't want to endure their looks and whispers either. She was trying to remain in a good mood after her last run-in with someone familiar. Mina had been the last person she had wanted to come across on her own turf, and yet for the second time in so many months, that had been been exactly what had happened. <p>

But today, other than those girls, Rei hadn't spied anyone she knew. When she finally did, she found herself spying several people at once, which only annoyed her. First she caught sight of Adam -- Alexia's boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend if the rumors were true. Rei didn't take much stock in rumors, but she had certainly heard about a breakup between him and the redhead. And, quite naturally, Rei spotted her not far away either. Of all the things... Rei muttered under her breath as she glanced between the two, debating whether or not to keep them away from one another. The last thing she needed was a lover's tiff at the temple. Luck seemed to be on her side, for not a moment later she spied Grace -- the girl she had come across a few weeks ago. Grace hadn't been all bad; she actually seemed to have some common sense, and Rei could use that. Perhaps she could get Grace to chat up Alexia and keep her away from Adam... It seemed like a safe bet, just to avoid any potential trouble, so Rei decided to do just that. <p>

Of course, as she stepped away from the building, one of her fellow Miko's appeared, saying something about an old priest being a nuisance. Rei frowned. She had been getting complaints from some of the festival goers about a priest, but she had figured out early on it wasn't her grandfather. She wasn't sure who he was, only that he liked to try and keep things from getting out of hand. Rei didn't mind that bit, but his methods seemed to be a bit old fashioned, which meant she was going to have to find him and ask him to leave her to disciplining anyone that might be causing any form of havoc. Sighing, Rei moved off in the direction the Miko had indicated, deciding she would deal with the potential Adam-Alexia problem later.

<br><br><hr>

<center><font style="font-size: 8px;"><b>words</b>; 794 | <b>notes</b>; <3 </font></center>

</div></div>
<div style="width: 390px; text-align: right; font-family: calibri; font-size: 9px;">♥!</div></center>[/dohtml]

[dohtml]<center><br><div style="width: 450px; color: 242223; font-size: 40px; font-family: georgia; letter-spacing: -5px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: center; line-height: 75%">post order & rolls</div>
<br><br><div style="width: 425px; text-align: justify;">
1. adam --- you rolled a five -- just when you need them the most, your powers are now gone or the next four threads. that means that chaos has lost its hold on you, and you will have to deal with whatever damage you did while under its influence. good luck.
<p>
2. grace --- you rolled a five -- apparently fate doesn't want you to have your powers either, for it seems you are losing them for the next four threads. that should make fighting monsters interesting in the future. we wish you the best.
<p>
3. artemis --- you rolled a two -- this is quite the awakening for you. not only are you going to find yourself changing into a cat, you are also going to have your powers fritz out on you... it seems that for the next five threads you will be stuck in cat form. life just isn't getting easier, is it?
<p>
4. alexia --- you rolled a two -- you, too, will experience troubles with your powers. no matter how hard you try to use them properly, it would seem that they just aren't going to heed your command for the next three threads. as a result, you will end up knocking sailor mars unconscious with your powers.
<p>
5. regan --- you rolled a one -- you seem to have a knack for gaining injuries while in battle, and this time is no different. between all the chaos of powers being lost, or going on the fritz, you are going to be knocked unconscious when galaxia's powers go out of control, and the monster will go free.
</div>
<br><br>

<br><br><div style="width: 425px; text-align: justify;">Dishonorable heathens. That's what they all were. He had tried to endure the crowds, believing that they were there to honor the gods with prayer, but only a small handful seemed to be doing that. The rest were milling about, laughing, talking, buying charms -- they were making a mockery of a sacred place, and Shinshoku would not stand for it. How dare they come here and desecrate the grounds with such tomfoolery? This wasn't how the temple was supposed to be run -- and Shinshoku was determined to let the proprietor know. He was ready to let everyone know, as a matter of fact. He would make the temple pure again; he would rid its grounds of such sinful souls. <p>

Seething, Shinshoku summoned his pole, and with it, the dark creatures that could only be from hell. People around him took notice of the creatures as they began to terrorize them. Shinshoku would send those filthy humans away from the temple so he could seize it for his own. That was the only way to protect such a holy place -- and he would do whatever it took to make it be that way.
<br><br></center>[/dohtml]

As he spotted the guy from the park, Adam couldn’t help but smile coldly to himself before actually moving to follow him. However, as he did, Adam caught a flash of familiar red hair. Well, if it isn’t dear sweet Alexia. However, this does pose a problem. As he thought that, Adam felt torn between revenge and torment. Both prospects sounded so delicious when he thought about it. Before he could actually decide which would be more fun, Adam spotted the third person that he wanted to toy with...Regan Hino. Could this day get any better? Three of the people that he wanted to toy with. It would seem that coming here wasn’t going to be a complete waste of time, after all. Still, even though this situation was somewhat enjoyable, he was faced with a decision to make. Who would it be? The so-called Hino princess, his ex, or the one from the park? It only took a second before he actually decided which one it would be. The Hino girl could wait...just this once, and that was only because of the fact that he was at this blasted temple. He might as well greet his ex first, before deciding what to do concerning the man from the park. He was about to make his way to where he had seen Alexia, when his steps faltered for a brief moment, and he placed his hand on his forehead. When he recovered, he looked around for a brief moment, and let out a silent curse. Whatever happened had distracted him long enough to lose sight of Alexia.

He knew that he wasn’t sick, but for some reason he was feeling weaker than he was a moment ago. Was something wrong with him? He felt as if there was something slightly off with his powers, but that couldn’t be the case. As he looked around, Adam was once again about to head in Alexia’s direction, until he heard the screams and saw shadows attacking people. It was then that he noticed the strange Shinto priest. He shrugged before moving to a safe place where he could transform. ”By the dark power of galaxia.” As he said those words, he felt a familiar rush of power hit him. However, for a brief moment his armor faded before reappearing. What’s going on? Even as he thought that, he brushed of the thought that something was wrong. He would allow the strange Shinto priest to deal with terrorizing everyone else here, including the one from the park. At this moment, he was mainly focused on one person and that would have to be Alexia. He slowly started to make his way towards her, summoning his swords as he did. As he reached her, he pointed one of his swords at her and smiled coldly.

”I suppose I should introduce myself. I am the Dark Prince.” As he stated those words, he lowered his sword and bowed slightly. He also started to wonder why she hadn’t transformed yet, maybe she just needed some incentive. ”Oh, and I would run if I were you...little girl.”

[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 400px; border: 20px solid #cc9933;">

<div style="background-color:#ffffff; width:380px; padding:10px; line- height:120%; -moz-border-radius: 20px;">

<div style="width: 370; line-height: 1.5; font-family: georgia; font-size: 9; color: black; text-align: justify;"><br>

Grace wasn’t quite as wary as everyone else, so she didn’t notice anyone she knew really. Oh granted there was the occasional giggling girl running around she’d seen at school, but nobody she’d actually bother going to talk to today. This was for her, not so she could get annoyed by someone. The sounds of people running and a few shrieks and the like drew Grace’s attention rather suddenly. She wasn’t right in the middle of the fray due to her wandering, but even she could see the little black critters that were running around and now chasing the fleeing people. She had no clue what they were, but they weren’t any kind of guard dog she’d seen before. Besides, why would they be out at the festival if they were designed to scare people off? <p>

As the crowds parted a little, Grace spotted someone raising a sword towards a red headed girl. Was he the cause of the creatures running around? He certainly looked out of place too in his strange armor. Either way, Grace didn’t feel comfortable running around like she was. So, it was time to put those powers of hers to good use. Utilizing the confusion of the crowd, she slipped behind one of the trees and, after making sure no-one was around to see her, she transformed. Something felt off though. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but somehow she just felt different. Wrong. Another scream drew Pallas from that though and she stepped out to face the threat. “Hey you! Back off buddy. I don’t know your reason for attacking this peaceful place, but you really picked the wrong day! In the name of Pallas!” she yelled out, trying to draw the guy’s attention from the girl. After all, why didn’t he pick on somebody his own size? <p>

Unexpectedly though, one of the dark creatures lunged out of the nearby crowd at her and, having no other choice, Pallas had to take the weight of it. But, she rolled with it and pushed it back off her. It was also at that point she spotted the priest controlling the things. So it wasn’t just sword boy. She was once again behind the tree, but as she pushed herself up, her transformation suddenly dissipated. Frowning, and a little scared, Grace tried summoning it again but it took her a few tries before it returned. This wasn’t good because she felt like she was holding onto it by a thread. <p>

What on Earth was going on with her? Had that creature done something to her when it had attacked? Getting up fully, she refocused on her surroundings. Right now, that guy and the priest were her priority, but Pallas didn't feel too confident. She really hoped that whatever was going on with her would wait until after she got out of this to blow up.

<p>

<marquee> --- words: 484 --- </marquee>

</div><div style="font-size: 7; color: black; text-align: left;">&</div></div></div><br>
</center>[/dohtml]

Having made it back down the temple's main steps, Arty was still frantically scanning the crowd when a shriek rose up and drowned out the rest of the noises. Like a person at the scene of an accident, Artemis couldn't not look at the source of the commotion and once he glanced, he was unable to look away. The priest waving around some sort of pole with tied charms looked normal for a temple ceremony but when shadow monsters started exploding from it and going after a few of the temple patrons, the man's only thought was not panic or fright or a herioic instinct to save the people around him. Instead the deep and profound thought of Artemis Inoue, honours graduate of a Bachelor of Communications degree was Oh no, not again. (Thought with the same deadpan delivery as the bowl of petunias in the movie version of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.) Of course that feeling faded fast when a second piercing shriek sounded out and at the epicentre of the new set of screams was a familiar face - the dark warrior from the park...and he had a sword drawn and levelled at the throat of a redheaded girl. I always knew he was a git, leaving me and that jogger to get eaten. He thought, captivated by what he was watching. But this is far worse.

However a sudden flare of heat in his side suddenly distracted Artemis' attention from the self proclaimed "Dark Prince." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his keys and saw the crystal he'd picked up on that (highly embarrassing) day at the pharmacy. He'd thought nothing of the little object when he'd picked it up and found its way onto his key chain like all the rest of his silly knick knacks he'd picked up over the years. (In fact it was a miracle his key chain didn't weight in at over five pounds.) But now the crystal was glowing with a silvery light. However he didn't have too much time to contemplate the crystal because the crowd suddenly surged, knocking him into the bushes near one of the walls, spilling the key chain to the ground along with Artemis himself. Rubbing his sore behind, Artemis groped along the ground until his hand closed around the keys. However the moment his hand touched the small crystal, it emitted another burst of heat and silver light. And then for Artemis, reality suddenly went "tilt" and normal laws of the universe decided it was time to take a holiday. He was dimly aware of the shadow monster priest chasing around people and the "Dark Prince" taunting his target, but with the world seeming to spin - and also getting bigger for some reason - he was more inclined t worry about his own problems.

When everything finally seemed to be settled, Arty brought a hand up to his temple to rub beside his eyes and stopped - he no longer had a right arm and hand and instead had a snow white paw. Looking down revealed the same had happened to his left arm as well. Slowly, fearfully, Arty looked behind him to see a cat body, complete with a fluffy, white tail. Holy crap! I'm a CAT! A bloody, freaking, white feline. How! Why? More importantly, why me? It's not as if my life isn't already difficult enough! He was still complaining when a familiar voice broke out over the din. Poking his head out of the bushes revealed a transformed Sailor Pallas which brought some much needed relief. Unfortunately it was short lived when the Shadow Priest attacked, leaving the sword inching closer to the redhead's throat. Well at least he won't see me coming. Arty thought to himself as he took off at a run, realizing it was much, much easier to move through the crowd - and thus do something extremely stupid - as a cat. Once he was behind the centurion/prince (whatever he was) Artemis sized up the leather clad ankles, opened his mouth wide and with al the force his new mouth could muster, bit down. Ignoring his victim's reaction (though it resulted in Artemis being flung violently away), all Arty could think about how awful that experience was. "Ugh, what a nasty flavour" before pulling a very human expression and trying to spit, as if the action would erase the after taste.

Shaking his head to clear away the after effects of the blow, Arty looked around, hoping the Prince hadn't spotted him and decided to make kitty wasabi out of him. This is going to taste four times as nasty, but perhaps the biting trick will work twice. he hoped as he set off full tilt towards the monster.

For what it was worth it seemed that her efforts to avoid Adam were not working too well as the crowd was difficult to navigate and it seemed that he had spotted her. She braced herself for another fight and this time she was not going to break she would take him down if she had to. She was ready, she hated him, at least that is what she tried to tell herself, but her focus from avoiding Adam and preparing to face him was broken as there was a loud shriek across the way and a strange shinto priest was sending shadows all over the place. Why here? Why now? She couldn't transform! But as that last thought played in her head there was a warm heat against her arm and she looked down to see the crystal charm glowing slightly. It couldn't be could it? She had her powers back? A slight smile played on her lips and she knew what she needed to do. She needed to find a place to hide and transform not so much to protect everyone though that was a good thing but to see if it was really true was she Galaxia again? But before she could look for a spot there was a sword in her face, wielded by a Dark Prince.

Something about the cold cruel smile seemed almost familiar and she hated this Dark Prince on the spot. She glared at him vehemently not moving. She should be scared but she wasn't she was just mad and didn't do as he demanded. It would have been stupid to run anyway he had her at knife point or rather sword. Why was he after her of all people anyway?

Then another scout showed up one she hadn't seen before calling to Adam to back off. In some ways Alexia was grateful she could use the help but unfortunately the dark creatures attacked. She wondered if the creatures were of this Dark Prince or not. In addition to Pallas who was attacked calling to the Dark Prince a white blur of a cat came forward and attacked as well. Between the two of them Alexia was afforded enough of an opportunity to dash out of the way and duck behind an abandoned display table that were selling things there at the festival, she quickly grasped the already familiar warm and glowing crystal and called out, "Galaxia prism power, make up!" She was instantly surrounded by the light and power and transformed much to her joy. She had something back and something to fight with. She had finally caught a break.

She came out from behind the display, "Like Sailor Pallas said instead of going after young girls you should really look to taking on something a little more challenging!" she called out to the Dark Prince failing to notice that there was also a Shinto priest who was the cause of the dark shadows. Now being transformed Alexia felt like she had a little bit more than when she had first transformed but she wasn't certain of it. It was as if her powers were back and they were better in some respects but in others they were faulty. She wasn't sure she wanted to risk using a power that was new and unfamiliar to her and opted instead of using her new power to use what she had before against the big spider creature. She reached up to her tiara calling out the words she had done at the amusement park, "Galactic halo inflation!" She sent her tiara which had started sparking with energy toward the dark prince but as soon as it had left her she knew it was going wrong. "Oh no! No, no, no!" she said to herself as she saw her tiara not head for the Dark Prince but rather a priestess who looked a lot like Rei from school.

[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 350px; border: 20px solid #5C0000; background-color: white;"><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 9px; text-align: justify; line-height: 11px; padding: 30px; text-transform: none; color: black;">

Everything seemed to happen at once. Rei had barely moved away from her spot, intent on seeking out the priest that was causing so many complaints at the temple, when the first scream bounded across the grounds. The sound made Rei move quicker, but within moments she found herself being pushed around as others tried to move in the opposite direction. Gritting her teeth together, Rei tried her best to keep pushing against the flow, unsure if this problem was related to the priest, or something else entirely. Her first thought was a monster. It was becoming natural for her thoughts to stray in that direction given how many times such creatures had appeared in places she was at. What if it was that large wolf again? Rei sucked in her breath, pushing forward faster. If that was the case then she needed to find a way to get people out of harm's way. <p>

But it wasn't the wolf that was causing the screams. Rei thanked her lucky stars for that, although such relief was only passing. At the center of the temple stood an old man dressed like a priest -- but no priest Rei knew would ever call forth such dark demon-like creatures. She didn't think any of them could. Dispelling danger, yes, but not creating it. The teen was quick enough to figure out that this was the priest that she had been receiving complaints about, and now that she saw him, she understood completely. But who was he? He appeared to be human, and unlike the other monsters she had come face to face with... but at the same time, there was something else about the man that suggested he was not human. It didn't really matter in the end. What mattered was that he was causing trouble, and Rei was in absolutely no position to try and stop him. There were too many people around, and if she dared to transform now, she would only be seen. <p>

Out of the corner of her eye she saw flashes of color, recognizing the soldier from her last run-in with a monster at the temple, and another she hadn't seen before. Rei didn't know what to make of the strange looking guy, but she didn't have time to try and wonder too much about him. If there were two soldiers then there was a chance they would actually destroy this man and save the temple. Rei would have to hope that for now, because there was no way she was going to be able to do more than usher people out of the line of danger. Resigned, the teen turned away from the priest, her attention now focused on the people nearest to her that seemed frozen in fear. "Come on, we need to get away," she murmured, a hand going to their shoulder to bring them back to present day. This seemed to be all those people needed, because Rei quickly found herself retreating behind the people, casting a glance back at the priest. <p>

She didn't know why she paused. Perhaps it was morbid curiosity. Leaving things for others to take care of wasn't something she was used to doing, nor something she was comfortable with. In a way it was only natural that Rei pause to be absolutely certain that the soldiers would defeat the monster and save the temple -- and that she wouldn't need to get involved. But that momentary pause happened at the wrong time. Just as Rei turned to reassure herself all was well, a bright flash of light came speeding in her direction. It was hard to determine what exactly the object was, and it was too quick for Rei to even register she was in immediate danger until it was too late. A cry caught in her throat, and then everything went black.

<br><br><hr>

<center><font style="font-size: 8px;"><b>words</b>; 643 | <b>notes</b>; <3 </font></center>

</div></div>
<div style="width: 390px; text-align: right; font-family: calibri; font-size: 9px;">♥!</div></center>[/dohtml]

[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 9px;"><br>
Regardless of the fact that Shinshoku had been the one to create the disturbance in the first place, he found the ensuing chaos too much to bear. This wasn't what he had wanted. He had wanted to clear the temple grounds of the heathens he didn't deem worthy of the place -- he hadn't expected anyone to try and stand their ground. But they weren't really standing their ground against him. The trio with magical powers had appeared out of thin air, but rather than go after him or his minions, they were seemingly in a standoff with one another. This angered Shinshoku slightly. How dare they ignore his demands and stick around! How dare they even think about spilling each other's blood on holy ground! He was only slightly mollified by the feeling of unbalance in the air. Although they might have magic, it didn't feel nearly powerful enough to stand against him and his powers. They were easy targets -- made even easier by the fact that they seemed to think each other was the source of all the trouble rather than him. <p>

Humans really were quite stupid. <p>

The crowd was thinning out as his demons continued to chase the other humans away. Turning his attention toward the strange trio a ways off, Shinshoku ushered a crowd of demons in their direction, hoping that they would either scare them off or knock them to the ground. Let those strange half-powered beings fight with each other. What use did Shinshoku have for them? Three humans and a cat were nothing to worry about, not even if the three humans had a sense of powers... they hadn't done anything to stop him, and as far as he could see, their powers didn't seem to be creating much damage against one another. <p>

Humans were quite pitiful as well. <p>

A siren sounded in the distance, and Shinshoku knew that meant they were coming in this direction. He gave a final glance around the temple, annoyed at the mess now left behind. He would have to make sure the place was cleaned up, and from now on he was determined to keep people from entering the holy grounds again. There would be no more festivals, no more welcoming those that did not respect tradition, and no more half-powered humans. Not as long as Shinshoku was around. He had half a plan worked out in his mind, and it seemed to be growing as he turned around, ushering his demons back to him. As they swirled around Shinshoku, vanishing into his robes like smoke, he began to take slow steps away from the ruckus he had caused until eventually he too had disappeared into a cloud of smoke. <p>

He was done bothering with humans for today.
<br></div></center>[/dohtml]

Distractions. First from another one of those pathetic soldiers...or nuisances as he had begun to call them, and finally from a white cat that he had flung away hoping that it landed in a lake somewhere far away from where they were at the moment. However, the only form of amusement from this whole ordeal was the fact that Alexia’s powers as Sailor Galaxia had screwed up in some way and ended up attacking the Yakuza Princess otherwise known as Regan Hino. Now, that was going to be something that he was going to have fun remembering in the days to come. He then turned his attention to Sailor Galaxia and once again smiled at her. “I couldn’t have done a better job, little girl.” He then pointed to Sailor Pallas. “ Now why don’t you tell this one to go away so that we can continue what we started.” As he waited for her reply, for some strange reason he once again felt his powers weakening and figured that it had something to do with being at this blasted temple. After all, he didn’t have this problem while he was at the park when that vampire-like creature attacked his old professor. So, it must have something to do with him being at this temple. He then raised his swords and was about to swing it in the two soldiers direction, when they vanished out of his hands completely.

He then scowled, at the fact that he was going to be forced to leave this battle before he was done with what he had planned to do for today. “We’ll meet again, little solider.” Before taking off, he looked to where that strange priest had been and noticed that he had vanished, and smiled under his breath. Even though for some strange reason, he felt his power draining, The Dark Prince felt that he had a bit left in order to provide a distraction for his own escape. He then pointed his hands at a few civilians that were still trying to escape. “Dark Galactic Grenades.” As the attack headed in the direction it was going into, he used the fact that these soldiers would care about trying to stop his attack, than try and stop him, and used it as a distraction to flee in the direction where his motorcycle was located.

Just in case, he was wrong and one of them actually decided to follow him, he didn’t stop to detransform on his way to his bike, however before he could reach it, he collapsed on the ground, and his transformation left him all on its own. As he felt his mind clear, Adam looked around and tried to figure out why exactly he was outside of the Cherry Hill Temple with his bike parked closed by. Only because he couldn’t quite remember how he got there in the first place. However, in the back of his mind he placed the blame sorely on the Yakuza seeing as though they were known to stay here. As he pulled his helmet on and climbed onto his bike, Adam managed to shake the fuzziness that he felt off. However, as he rode off, the only thing he was thinking about was trying to find out if Alexia was okay after the whole art gallery attack.

[dohtml]<center><div style="width: 400px; border: 20px solid #cc9933;">

<div style="background-color:#ffffff; width:380px; padding:10px; line- height:120%; -moz-border-radius: 20px;">

<div style="width: 370; line-height: 1.5; font-family: georgia; font-size: 9; color: black; text-align: justify;"><br>

Everything just went to hell, and that was the most eloquent way Pallas could think to describe what was happening. While initially she'd thought this guy was the cause of the commotion, it seemed to be something else though she couldn't determine what. Those shadow creatures were still running around, and the one she'd manage to throw off her was making another beeline for her, but she couldn't yet locate the source. Her first priority though had to be the girl that was being threatened. Once she got her bearings though, she saw the girl had vanished, and another senshi had joined the fight. She hadn't come across any of the others yet, though she knew reasonably they were out there. Part of her was grateful for the help, especially since her own powers looked like they were having a serious problem since she could feel her transformation flicker a little. That bit of thanks dissipated though when the senshi's attack veered off and hit a bystander. She recognized Rei from the temple, but she couldn't run to check on her. Not yet at least. <p>

Suddenly a group of those shadow things headed towards them, and Pallas was pulled from her concern for Rei. She could check on her later. For now these creatures and their Dark leader was the problem. As she tried summoning her powers to attack them, it wouldn't come, causing her panic to rise. She couldn't protect anyone without them, let alone herself. So, Pallas did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed a pole and started swinging it. They seemed to back away, and she noticed their ring leader making a beeline from the temple. So he had decided not to stand against them. Not that she was in any shape to stand against him but the thought was there nonetheless. Glancing over to the other senshi, Galaxia she had said, Pallas swallowed and took advantage of her slight distraction to slip behind the tree and her transformation vanished altogether. <p>

Dropping the stick, Grace dodged out from behind the tree and over to where Rei had fallen, checking her over for any injuries. She didn't know exactly what the other senshi had hit her with, but she only seemed to be knocked out, which was better than being dead as far as she was concerned. Rei was breathing at least. "Rei, can you hear me?" she said, trying to rouse the girl.

<p>

<marquee> --- words: 411 --- </marquee>

</div><div style="font-size: 7; color: black; text-align: left;">&</div></div></div><br>
</center>[/dohtml]

Well apparently running full tilt as a cat was not quite the same as running full tilt as a human. Had he been a human - or had thought to try and change back - perhaps he could have caught the monster. However with the reduced speed and endless weaving between bodies, by the time Artemis managed to get where the monster had been standing it seemed to shimmer and vanish, leaving no trace that it had been there at all. Not that was stopping the panic any; people were still pushing and screaming to get away and Artemis himself was nearly stepped on again. Wiggling away and looking for a safe vantage point, Artemis noticed that the dark centurion also seemed to have disappeared as well...as had Sailor Pallas. Damnit. That's twice she's vanished without a trace. Or perhaps not - she'd simply changed back to normal to deal with the girl who had fallen unconscious. At least he thought so; he had only paid attention to the hair clip and hair colour, not anything else. Still, how many blonde girls were there at the temple any ways?

However before he could change direction again, he felt himself being lifted in the air and pulled tight against someone. Gasping at the sudden pressure he looked up to see a woman holding him close and cooing in what she must of thought was a soothing manner. Oh man, I know protecting animals is a good thing, but this woman's timing is awful. he thought, squirming with all his might. Unfortunately the person who'd picked him up obviously had practice with cats because he was not getting loose.The only thing that was soothing his nerves was the sounds of sirens - help for the injured was obviously on the way and the people would be taken care of. Which meant he could be free to plot his own escape by biting the forearm that held him prisoner. With a mental apology, Artemis fell to the ground and took off as far away from the person as possible. Unfortunately it wasn't until he was three blocks up and four blocks over that he remembered his keys were still at the temple. Bloody hell. If I go back, crazy cat lady will either scoop me again or try to kill me...of course if I'm a man she won't know its me. Now, back to normal. Closing his eyes, Artemis focused on his real body. Opening his eyes however revealed he was still Japan's most adorable white cat. "Oh bloody hell."