A Baptism by Flames

[bravenewmods]

"It's here."

The feed to the Warp Band flickers on. The image projected is intensely distorted and shaky, showing nothing but the too-close face of a woman. She's running; it's obvious from her breathing and the way she keeps glancing over her shoulder. Though her voice is carefully calm, spitting out words between each breath, she's continuously interrupted by the sound of an enraged bellows from close behind.

"This is Mamir, of the Eastern Gale Tribe. The beast has emerged again, southwest of our tree."

The video flickers terribly as she thrusts the Warp Band behind her - it's incredibly difficult to get a good view: blurred images of an enormous, seemingly grinning face, of swarms of... somethings darting through the skies in a panic, of waves of some liquid rippling out through the plains leaving trails of steam and smoke...

And then, through no planned effort of her own, the running Valkyrie takes a few steps without jostling her arm, and a clear view of the creature is displayed for the world to see. It bellows again and a plume of fire erupts fifty feet into the sky.

"Matriarch! It's advancing quickly! We're keeping it at bay for now, but we have to retreat! Our companions - they refuse to obey commands - they're too afraid to get near. I... I've lost Aerie."

It isn't entirely clear who or what Aerie is, as a shockwave echoes through the plains, sending the Valkyrie tumbling through the ground. The image on the Warp Band distorts wildly before it cuts off into static.

...

Hardly ten seconds later, the feed flickers on again to display the grim countenance of the Matriarch.

"Well. I think it's in everyone's interest to get rid of this thing before it heads say, west towards a certain comfortable volcano, or south to warmer climates, don't you think? My girls could lead it in circles to another destination, but we'll keep it in the plains if you step up to the plate."

((This is the final portion of the event, and the first Legendary Pokemon (openly) encountered within the game. In dimensions, Heatran is about 12 feet in height and 20 in length. Like all Legendary Pokemon in this game, it exudes an aura that induces fear and terror in all opposing humans and Pokemon. This sensation can be mastered by the strong willed, but is difficult to overcome. Also like all Legendary Pokemon, Heatran is incredibly powerful and should be handled with care.

Please remember to sign up here and post in your groups. Each group may individually choose how they approach this situation; in terms of RP, it will be considered that each group runs into Heatran in a separate location on the Plains and confronts it before it moves on to the next group. There are several potential outcomes depending on how the majority of groups respond to this threat.

Thanks and have fun! We'll be responding about once every 24 hours regardless of whether or not the whole group has posted, as per our usual policy. Questions can be asked in the sign-up post.))

Comments

[bleeding_heart]

"Oh! That's a very useful trick. It feels very... safe."

Merrill is her usual distressingly upbeat self about all of this. It comes with having a broken sense of self-preservation. This is the same person who thought nothing of bonding a still-sealed Spiritomb with forbidden blood rituals based entirely on its say-so. So it's not too surprising that she's so calm in the face of certain death here.

"I suppose we'll find out soon, won't we?"

Very soon, from the look and sound of things. What with the plumes of fire erupting everywhere and the unearthly roar that accompanies them. And even though her tone is casual bordering on flippant, there's certainly an edge of determination in Merrill's expression as she readies her staff.

[wildflight]

"We can do this," Arado says. He takes a step forward. He already shifted; the young man is presently a scyther, with arm blades out and ready for fighting. The wings flutter lightly -- and then he lifts off the ground. The sense of unease is only growing, so he tries to fight it back willfully, and then he glances back at Merrill, then towards Lucas.

He focuses -- and then golden light glows around his insectoid frame -- as he does a quick Focus Energy, to prepare.

"Just gotta give it our all!"

[bravenewmods]

The creature gives a mighty roar as it continues at an even pace. With each footfall, barren ash is left in its wake. At this point, the entire team might as well be insects, it pays them no mind at all as it continues its singleminded journey toward the Citadel.

[a_gentle_boy]

Lucas draws in a sharp breath as it comes into view. His hands are trembling, and there comes a moment when he visibly compares the stick he clutches in his hand towards the size of the monster. What could they do against something like this? What move would even affect this creature? For the first time, he thinks he understands how a global massacre might have come about...

And here they were, three people awkwardly sneaking up on it as if they could hope to affect its path.

He exhales a long breath before a bright light flashes on his Warp Band.

"Wisp..."

A Castform appears and blinks at the creature before them for a few moments before quickly floating around to hide behind Lucas's head.

"Make it rain."

A squeak is the only response, but... it's like watching the world move in fast forward. Clouds swoop in much faster than it should be possible and the first drops of water begin to descend from the sky.

[bleeding_heart]

Merrill, seeing this display, quietly reaches over to activate her own Warp Band. Two of the lights flash briefly, and within moments her Croconaw and Drilbur are standing next to her. They are both appropriately awed by the giant in their midst, but some calming thoughts from their trainer go a long way to help them calm down.

"Get ready."

Her voice is a low whisper, obviously aimed at her Pokemon and companions, but her gaze is squarely fixed on the Heatran as she raises her staff and begins to chant. With any luck, the Sleep spell she's casting will cause the monster to lose its senses for long enough for them all to plan a strategy.

And if not... well, that's why the Drilbur is already digging under the ground as the Croconaw gets ready to take advantage of that rainstorm.

24 hour tag advance

[bravenewmods]

The rain sizzles and pops as it touches the Pokemon's skin, it doesn't seem to notice or care. The sleep spell, however, it does notice. Merrill doesn't feel it take effect, but she definitely notices when it turns and stares right at her, directing the entire force of it's aura of fear at her. She feels her stomach knot and will be overcome with physical nausea to the point where she might actually vomit if she doesn't hold firm or flee.

[a_gentle_boy]

...It may or may not be opening his mind to a floodgate of things he'd be better off not seeing, but Lucas will hesitantly reach out, opening his thoughts just a little bit while it's busy trying to stare Merrill to death.

What is the creature feeling and why is it on this rampage?

[bleeding_heart]

It's just as well that Lucas is doing that, because at the moment Merrill is hunched over desperately trying to keep her lunch down. Her Drilbur is peeking up at her from its hole, and the Croconaw is standing next to her protectively. Both are still ready to defend their trainer should something happen.

[bravenewmods]

Lucas touches the Heatran's mind. Sifting around the edges he gets the impression it's angry, but also indignant and posturing. It definitely thinks highly of itself, and seems to feel like the team is just in its way.

Seeing Merill more or less neutralized and not really caring about the little empath boy, Heatran continues on its way, lumbering toward the tree.

whoa, sorry! The notifs were setup wrong!

[wildflight]

Arado is, finally, starting to panic.

Merill is lurched over -- and Lucas is doing something, but he can't be sure what. He decides to fly this time; he lifts up over it, and then sends down a buffet with his wings -- trying, it seems, to just send some air and distract it.

"Hold up!" he yells down at it. Maybe, he reasons, some old-fashioned diplomacy will work. "That's not gonna work!"

It probably will not.

[bleeding_heart]

"S... stop!"

Merrill finally staggers back to her feet, looking down at her Pokemon. Her initial gambit failed spectacularly, so it looks like the only thing there is to do is to try to slow it down.

"You two..."

Her Drilbur nods, burrowing quickly underground with a Dig attack - he'll come up right under the lumbering beast in a few moments. And sensing the urgency without the need for words, her Croconaw jumps right into the fray, letting loose a Water Gun at the monster's back.

[a_gentle_boy]

OK, now that his mind hasn't been totally shattered by making contact with this thing, Lucas will open up a little bit more. He can't exactly communicate telepathically, but he can at least open his heart and make their intentions clear.

We want to help... Please tell us what we can do...

And his heart will reflect the genuineness of his desire to aid.

This might be slightly complicated by the fact that his companions have begun to attack, but.

[bnw_sheepy_npcs]

Mud. Why did there have to be mud? First he was knocked over flat on his backside by a Magnitude, and now his feet were wet and squishy. True, there were worse things, but even still. And if he didn't feel as if he were being chased, he would marvel at the fact that, despite the extreme, stifling heat, his feet was wet. Well, marvel and moan.

As Max rushes toward them, looking over his shoulder, he holds a pouch in his hands. It looks very similar to the ones on his side.

"I'm so glad that I found you! Although really all I had to do was follow this big thing, so it was fairly easy, all told. I found something that should calm this beast down!" He sounded a bit rattled, but not quite enough that he wasn't babbling on. He hands the pouch in his hands to the group. "Here, take this, and listen closely.

"Inside is a piece of a much larger stone said to be able to pacify this creature. This needs to be placed on its. There should be some kind of indentation there. Once placed along with the others I have here," He pats the other pouches at his side, "It should calm it down enough that it will stop charging Citadel!"

Max looks up, swallowing hard. It was following him now, wasn't it... "I-in any case, I need to get these to the others! Be careful!"

[OOC: Your group has acquired a shard of a Magma Stone. It will need to be placed on the back of Heatran in order to help pacify it. However, sight of the stone will further anger it until it is in place.]

[wildflight]

"Holy crap," Arado said, looking down at the stone Max offered. He stared at it, then he looked up. He glanced between Lucas and Merrill for a moment. The boy -- shifted into a Scyther -- considered that for a moment.

"I can fly pretty fast," he said, "but it's gonna piss this thing off and I'll get ahead of you. If I try to distract it, uh... can you two do it to it?"

[bleeding_heart]

"I'll try."

There is, after all, still the Drilbur to consider. And as Merrill nods, the little mole comes up right under Heatran, the earth exploding up and bursting forth into its underbelly.

"Go! Go now!"

Not wasting any time, apparently. Merrill chants again, her staff glowing as she places a Hex of Torment on the Heatran. If it takes effect, it will cause future attacks to deal slightly more damage - like the second Water Gun her Croconaw is aiming at the great beast.

[bravenewmods]

Heatran roars in sudden rage as Drilbur explodes under it. Merrill definitely feels her hex take effect, but the creature is so strong she's not sure how much it will work. The water gun is definitely not something that pleases it, however, and it in turn slams its foot onto the ground as giant plumes of lava explode out and scatter across the battlefield at the team.

[a_gentle_boy]

So much for plan 'communicate with the creature and calm it down'. Lucas will sigh a little bit since his preferred option is generally not to use force, but there's probably no helping it.

"I might be able to -- "

And then lava see this is why he didn't want to attack it.

"Wisp, Weather Ball!"

Under the influence of the rain, the Castform spews out an intense orb of water to meet any lava about to melt them. Lucas's barriers and shields shimmer as well as he holds Wisp close.

[wildflight]

"Holy shit!" Arado shouts.

He needs to distract it now he decides. The Scyther flies into the air -- and only barely, through haphazard weaving and bobbing, avoids the bombs of lava coming down. Some smash into the ground behind him, chunks of flame raining every which way.

He tries to fly around Heatran, then turns and waves both scythe-arms. Draw its attention, he thinks, and piss it off so he doesn't notice the Magma Stone.

Hopefully.

So then he bolts forward, flying fast as he can -- and lets out a loud whoop.

[bravenewmods]

Fortunately the team's efforts are enough to prevent the brunt of the damage, although sizzling and crackling flame still strike them. Arado's movements do manage to distract it however, which it answers by setting its fangs aflame and attempting to bite down on Arado in midflight as he passes.

[bleeding_heart]

"Who's taking the stone?"

They hadn't really figured that part out. Merrill herself isn't that fast, and Lucas is just a child. She wonders aloud for a moment before calling out her Ninjask, Adahlen. This will be a bit of a gamble.

"Adahlen, take this. You need to get it into the hole in his back."

As a Bug type, if it's hit even once, it's the end of the line. Thankfully, Ninjasks are second to none when it comes to speed, and without even being told to, it uses Double Team to split into several copies of itself before taking off.

"Cuddleclaws! Lockjaw! Keep going!"

As for the Drilbur and the Croconaw, both of them are going to continue hitting Heatran with everything they have. Which happens to just be Dig and Water Gun over and over, but you gotta use what you know. For Merrill's own part, she chants again, attempting to paralyze Heatran with a Horror spell from her staff.

[a_gentle_boy]

So the plan was to use speed... Lucas forms a plan as quickly as he can and prods at his Warp Band.

"Ferro!"

In a flash, a Steelix appears to rise between Lucas and the Heatran. 30 foot long rock snakes are still bigger than you, you weird monstrosity.

"Use Rock Tomb and slow it down!"

Around Heatran, the ground begins to rise around Heatran's legs and to pull it down to keep it from moving.

[wildflight]

Arado almost manages to fly away before Heatran grabs him. The Pokémon clamps down on his foot -- and while he yanks it back before it's severed -- he still goes flying hard to the side, the force and sudden pull sending him flying to the ground. He slams into it and rolls a couple times, before he comes up kneeling; if he weren't in Scyther form, he would be breathing hard.

[bravenewmods]

Fortunately for Arado, Heatran has lost interest in him as it turns to face the Steelix. Breaking free of the ground rising to bind it, it swats Cuddleclaws away as if it were a toy and barrels through the Water Gun attack, diving recklessly toward Steelix with an Iron Head attack. It seems oblivious to Adahlen.

[bleeding_heart]

Merrill's other Pokemon may have been swatted away, but at least Adahlen is still on target. And as it buzzes through the fray, picking up speed as it goes thanks to its Speed Boost ability, it finally reaches Heatran's back, making a desperate dive at top speed toward the indentation on its back to drop the stone in. Merrill stands back at a safe distance, tending to her Pokemon as they recover from the blow.

[a_gentle_boy]

The idea is to buy time! So Steelix will simply meet the assault head on before it quickly attempts to Bind Heatran in place long enough for Adahlen to get the shard in!

Ferro roars in pain as it attempts this; unfortunately, its natural resistance to Fire was removed by its evolution and it's not very fun trying to wrap around something that's part magma. Lucas will grit his teeth.

"Hang in there; just a few seconds...!"

A blue pulse races between Lucas and his Pokemon as he begins to take some of the damage into himself.