[b]Aadya![/b]

It's no choice at all, really.

Even before you saw Juniper helping lead people away from the Chrysanthemum, across from the holy monastery of Vesper Victoria's, you knew that you had to get involved. So it's as you're making your way inside, using your bulk to work against the tide of people breathlessly yelping about dragons-- fire-- the trees coming to kill us all-- [i]maid knights--[/i]

That's when the front of the Chrysanthemum explodes.

The beautiful murals, broken. The supporting beams, splintered. (One falls directly towards you; you catch it like a training weight.) The Serigalamu huntresses all about break down streets, herding fleeing customers and employees and the goblins of a petting zoo alike towards safety. (They didn't do that in Crevas. Something to note.)

When you run inside, you're accompanied by two other women: Juniper, her face pale, and a Serigalamu woman with a drawn heartsaber. Across the street, Sayanastia the Dark Dragon is pinned against a statue of herself by this city's worst nightmare. And across the city, bells are tolling: [i]invasion. forest. our nightmare is here.[/i]

[hr]
[b]Cutie![/b]

Back and forth! One and two and hop! The two of you dance across the platform, even as something unfortunate happens to Cousin It above. Everything is focus! You slip into the rhythm of evading her stabs, start reading her tells, because for all that she's a peril, she's not a spontaneous swordfighter. Like a video game opponent, she fights like someone with a preset list of moves. She's got the reach on you, but you are adapting admirably, and then she manages to fence you in, against a bit of remaining banister on these great big stairs, with quite a drop behind you, but you see the opening and you [i]take it--[/i]

Her wicked weapon tumbles out of her grasp as you twist it away, and it descends to the floor. (Don't worry about it falling tip-down. That's fine. Probably.) And now, disarmed, having lost the battle, she...

Reaches up and pulls down your makeshift mask.

Time seems to slow. Behind her, you can see Yuki. You can see your would-be Nagi savior being helped up. You can hear something unfortunate continuing to happen to Cousin It.

She is cradling your chin and leaning in.

You wanted a hard choice, little Golden Fawn? Well, one way or another, you've got one, because here's what you can do:
[list][*]you can stab her in the ribs with your sword, without hesitation, just show Yuki that you're capable of actually [i]stabbing[/i] someone, to protect yourself, stab someone who doesn't have a weapon, someone dangerous, her eyes full of light, her lips rich and full, OR
[*]you can let her kiss you.[/list]

Show us all who you are, Cutie.

[hr]
[b]Yuki![/b]

So you stagger out of the wrecked cafe, exhausted, and notice a lot of things:

[list][*]the giant hole where the front of this building used to be, and the way that the wind's pulling chrysanthemums out from that great big tree in the center of this place, in a rather unnatural way
[*]the awful woman who gives you the [i]bad vibes[/i] leaning in to give Cutie there a kiss
[*]the Serigalamu huntress in a gaudy tiger-striped one-piece bathing suit and starglasses who is pulling a heartbow back to her cheek, aiming at the both of them, that's right there's a [i]new challenger[/i] here, taking aim from a lower and now mostly-abandoned turn on the stairs
[*]Pasenne heroically pulling Sulochana back up onto (for now) stable ground
[*]your friend Eclair grinding on the face(?) of Cousin It with her skateboard[/list]

I think you have plenty enough to be dealing with. Good luck, dear; you always do shine under pressure.

[hr]
[b]Eclair Espoir![/b]

The Architect-Knight is a figure from ancient stories, a dependable henchman and lackey for Bad Queen Aria. Any story about plucky knights deserting from her ranks (including the ancestors of the Order of the Aurora, looking for something good and true to serve rather than the emptiness in Aria's heart) wouldn't be complete without their being suddenly fenced in by walls, by cells, forced to escape a prison-labyrinth being built up all around them. (Fortunately, almost all of these "dungeons" were demolished, and good riddance.)

She is a nightmare. She is unbreakable loyalty given to a monster. She has really let her hair go while she's been imprisoned.

And she is at the beginning of a [i]combo chain.[/i]

Time to start cleaning up around here, isn't it?

[hr]
[b]Handmaidens![/b]

Well. Hrm. That big tree there has become a very bad problem. Even with its roots sealed away, even with all of those paper talismans dangling from its branches, even with all of those iron bands around its trunk, somehow the poison of the Rot Star has entered into it. It's obviously starting to die, but it's releasing hundreds-- thousands?-- of blossoms into the city through the hole that was made when Sayanastia got bulldozed through the front wall. That is almost certainly Bad. But you're the Handmaidens of Heron! Which will make your impending failure to contain them even worse.

Also, you're getting a pinging from Kalentia in the group chat at the same time, because apparently she's in the middle of a collapsing dream-prison that had some sort of awful evil tree magic bloom at its heart, looking for her, and you all should watch out for Rootwalkers or things of that nature! It looks like a Fallen Star is making a big move, so be ready for that!!