bravenewworld | Descent

Entry tags:

Descent

Iron Mines:
The trip to the eastern mountains is punctuated by the continuing aftershocks. After each one, it may be tempting to glance back at Union to see if any of the towers have fallen yet. The expedition parties move with incredible speed, knowing that the fate of their City hangs on the line.

When they reach the mountains, guided by the coordinates given of the 'strange radio signal', the parties will find that many of the normal entrances and routes have been blocked by cave-ins. In contrast, however, a gaping hole has opened up where none existed before. As this seems to be the easiest way to gain access, the parties slowly lower themselves in...

They will find themselves in the long-sought iron mines.

But there are so many twisting turns and tunnels, it will be impossible to stay together and make any sort of progress. Each group will have to take their own paths from here...

Old City:
Each of the twelve entrances down into the Old City take a different meandering route through the ruins. Though several are blocked off by this time, there are still many potential paths to take. The state of the Old City is poor, being underground as it is, and occasional soft rumblings are certain to cause unease. As the report states, however, there is enough of an interval between quakes that it should be possible to investigate safely.

It would be unwise to venture down alone, but it is impossible, too, for everyone to stay together if they wish to make headway.

Union:
The wild Pokémon continue to come out of the Old City, though the frequency has been somewhat lessened. Rubble lines the streets and though no towers have collapsed as of yet, some seem to be dangerously close and certainly nobody should be staying inside of them. As stated, the towers in Sector 3 are the worse off and construction crews work frantically to attempt to restabilize the foundations of these buildings.

The injured are innumerable, the number of casualties is as of yet unknown, and the chaos and panic is difficult to fend off.

There is a great deal of work to be done.

((Please post below with your groups - in the first comment, please note the members of your group, where you are, and whether or not you intend to keep a threading order. Regardless of threading order, mods will be responding at least once every 24 hours to keep the event moving. Groups should be three to four people in size.

At this time, all characters entering the iron mines will be able to choose to bond with a free extra Pokemon listed under 'Cavern' in the Map and Wild Pokemon post. Please respond there if you intend to make use of this. Characters who have already claimed a free Old City Pokemon may not do so.))

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Asemu, meanwhile, unloaded two shots at its mouth from his rifle, then leaped out of the way. He used a burst of energy to further propel him.

"Supersonic!"

Zubat let out a series of sound waves. It was just one Zubat this time, so it didn't have the same effect on the party as the swarm earlier, which was fine -- Asemu just wanted to confuse the Tyrantrum.

Imogen had pressed herself to the back wall of the cavern so when the whatever it is busted through she could get behind it. A wicked gleam in her eye as they returned to their normal dark hue.

Wind was rustling her skirt, not like there was much natural wind in the cavern. It circled up her body gathering more pink energy and dust to it before Imogen launched the Fairy Wind at the Tyrantrum's back. Hopefully it can't focus on both parties at once.

She was so sad this wasn't a good time for diplomacy, because the big guy was gorgeous.

It took her a moment before she could do anything, because, much like Imogen, she wanted to admire this gorgeous yet terrifying creature.

"Camille, help us out!" The Dratini stretching upward, it took in a deep breath, unleashing a fiery dragon rage at the Tyrantrum open jaws.

Psychic blasts, gunshots, fairy winds, and dragon rages are enough to give Tyrantrum indigestion. Its jaws snap shut, and it veers away in disgust, choking up some flames.

The Supersonic strikes! The high-pitched sound once again incites even further rage from Tyrantrum; it's unclear whether or not it's confused, but its Stomps aren't exactly well aimed as it rampages around the cavern in a rage which seems to indicate success. Still, it's flailing around so much that the party remains in great danger of being crushed.

"Back! Give it space!"

Ezreal is going to fall back and away from the Tyrantrum, keeping his hand charged. He doesn't want to engage this if he can avoid it.

Imogen figures, wherever this guy came from, has to be something important. "Everyone through the tunnel!" If he's confused he won't be able to stomp them all down in the enclosed space, and maybe he'll crash into a wall in the process which might give some help. If he doesn't take the tunnel down on their heads.

So best to hedge those bets, Imogen will give everyone a head start and Quash the big guy again with a rush of dark energies.

While she wasn't keen on getting anywhere near the Tyrantrum, Asemu's Zubat at least made it a bit easier. Moving quickly, she threw another snare at it, taking a deep breath and running past. She probably should have had Camille hold it in place, keeping a light up and throwing spells about was starting to get to her a bit.

"Can someone get a light, I can't keep this up much longer!" And with that, she threw it out, letting it hit and illuminate a hanging stalactite. It wouldn't last long, but it would be enough for someone to pull a light from their bag.

"It's not much, but it's all I've got!" Asemu activated the beam saber in his left hand, bathing the area around him in a flame-like glow. "I'll bring up the rear, so you guys run ahead of me! Sielg, use Poison Gas!"

Sielg floated in close and let loose another cloud of gas, this one very different from the Smokescreen it had used before. Asemu supported it with rifle shots aimed at the Tyrantrum's feet and head, hoping to make it struggle to stand and to hit its eyes.

The rifle shots are hardly effective against the Tyrantrum as Asemu fires them off. It would take more than brute force to damage this creature's rock-hard skin; the Poison Gas will hang in mid-air and doesn't seem to have an immediate effect beyond making it a bit difficult to aim.

Imogen's Quash has successfully allowed anyone who was going for the tunnel to make it inside, but as Asemu remains to fend it off, Tyrantrum Roars! An immense blast of air will sweep away Sielg, Asemu, and Zubat. If they're lucky, they'll land somewhere close to the tunnel the others escaped down although being slammed into the rock probably won't be too pleasant - if they're really lucky, they'll be blown right into the tunnel.

The tunnel has not been much improved by Tyrantrum brute forcing its way through the solid rock, but it will be manageable. In the front, Imogen will spot something when she emerges into a larger cavern - a machine of some sort, set against the cave wall to the left.

As they enter this area, the party's Pokemon will become extremely agitated.

((Just in case this is confusing at all -
Im/Lux/Ezreal went into the tunnel and Asemu stayed behind to keep off Tyrantrum. Tyrantrum Roared and blew back Asemu somewhere - into a rock wall or into the tunnel, up to you!))

"The hell is this thing?"

Ez moves up to the machine and starts examining it.

"I think... this might be it. Lux, can you help me with this? Im, you might have more luck calming down our giant friend over there before he eats Asemu. Think you can?"

"WHOOOOAAAAAA--OOMPH!"

Asemu suddenly flew into the tunnel, landing on his back. He lost his grip on his weapons, and the beam saber shrunk and nearly died out. His Koffing and Zubat both landed nearby.

"Huh...huh..."

It took him a moment to catch his breath; the blow had knocked the wind out of him. He was breathing normally soon enough, though he was definitely sore. Not in a position to say anything, he simply climbed up and grabbed his gear.

"Right, give me the hard job." Imogen moved back to the tunnel, she hated the constant shifting of her eyes. Still, Lux and Ez can handle the machine, and she can give the big guy a talking to he needs.

"HEY!" Imogen shouted to the large monster, "That guy didn't know to run from a swarm of Zubats, why not try dancing with someone a bit more on the ball. If you can manage it!" Imogen taunted as she came back into range. The Kindred Enlightened figured that if she can get the thing talking, she can find out what's what with him.

It was very rare for Camille to communicate with Lux in more than simply feelings, but as soon as they entered the cavern, the Dratini fell silent, lowering herself close to the ground. Marta too stopped in her tracks, reeling back a bit.

"...Make it stop."

Already walking toward the console, the blond stopped, looking at both from behind her shoulder.

"Luxanna make it stop, that sound, make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop make it stop makeitstoprightnowmakeit. Stop! Right! NOW!" Curling in on herself, Camille tried to cover her ear fins with the rest of her body, coiling and writhing about.

Her Onix, too, seemed to be having issues, the boulders that made up her body twitching, and, fearing that they might have a whole other litany of problems if she didn't do something, Lux ran to both, first putting a hand and then her head on Martha. Whether she said something was hard to say, but, with a brief flash of light, she sent her friend back to the habitat, for her own safety and everyone else's. She went to recall Camille, but quickly jumped back as the Dratini hissed.

"Ezreal, something has them on edge! Do you think it's that machine there? What do we do?" Quickly trying to hush her wound up--literally--friend, she rushed back to the machine. "What do you need me to do? We need to make whatever this is stop. Now."

As Ezreal and Lux work at the machine, they might be able to work out some recognizable words. The script is unusual, unlike the script known to belong to the old civilization, but seemingly a relative of the common dialect in Union with a differing evolution. Words that resemble 'Power' and 'Dispersion' can be made out on certain dials. All of the dials are turned all the way to the right at the moment.

As Asemu flies into the tunnel and Imogen flies back the other way, the Tyrantrum will ram into the wall of the cavern in its confusion. Whoops. ...Momentarily dazed, the Taunt lands; it immediately lowers its head to begin to charge in her direction.

"Well, here goes nothing."

Ezreal turns the switches down to the lowest setting.

There is a low hum.

...Ezreal and Lux might not notice anything interesting, but Camille, at least, will probably be rejoicing.

Back in the other cavern, the Tyrantrum suddenly pauses in its tracks with a slack expression.

"What is that?"

By this time, Asemu got his wind back, and Sielg and his Zubat are nowhere to be seen -- presumably recalled. At the moment, he was walking over to get a closer look at the machine.

"...That's a machine, isn't it?"

"Are you sure you should--" But before she could stop him, Ezreal was already going to town. Wincing deeply, ready for absolutely anything to happen, she holds her staff tightly, back pressed against the other teen.

"Makeitstopmakeitstop please make it...

"..."

Camille stopped writhing there, simply laying on the ground, unresponsive. About ready to break away from her position, Lux stopped as her partner let out a sigh of relief, slowly unwinding herself and, as best as she could, shaking that disgusting feeling off. Dusting off her scales with the end of her tail, she slinked over, rubbing against the blond like a cat, then stopping to look long and hard at Ezreal.

He would get a small tail flick in passing. Not malicious by any stretch, but more of a thank you as she went back to guard the entrance. Lux almost laughed.

"Alright... now that things are a bit... different, care to talk. Or are you still a bit addled from that Supersonic and the taunt?" Imogen was really hoping she wouldn't be left alone with the large impressive Pokemon. But... at least maybe they could talk now that the bat wasn't here?

She was hoping for a bit more back-up, but whatever was messing with the big guy probably would mess with her friends. So she'll just have to manage on her own. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

((I've received note that the players of this thread would like for Imogen to be the one to bond, so you may feel free to boomerang from this point. If the others would like to hop in at any point, feel free, too, but I won't be waiting for them!))

Tyrantrum certainly seems to be addled for a moment or two as it stares at the tiny human with a slow blink. It had been incapable of making any coherent speech before, but now...

It growls lightly.

What in the world is happening? ...And why is it so high up?

"So high?" Imogen certainly doesn't have an answer right away... then it dawns, "Oh! You were smaller before but... you didn't notice you changed?"

That's... wrong, Pokemon don't do that. They evolve because... they should, they're ready, it's the right time. "What do you remember before that? Before you were up so high?"

...It doesn't really remember much of anything.

There was the noise. The noise that had suddenly like a million bells ringing in cacophony and that had made it feel as if it were being torn apart.

...The noise was gone - hadn't they heard it?

((Sorry for vanishing right after I said I would boomerang, aha, I feel like a jerk. We had some important announcements to put up, my apologies!))

Edited 2014-02-04 05:47 (UTC)

"Our hearing isn't as good as most Pokemon, that's why I've kept my friends away from here. Doing this on my own." Imogen carefully moved closer, eyes kind as she watched for it's reactions.

"There was a thing, an old thing, in the cavern you came from. It's probably what caused this." Imogen hoped, really hoped, that nobody does anything stupid to turn it back on while she's talking, "We'll take it away and make sure it never does this again. Do you have anywhere to go? While you work out what you don't remember?"

It pauses to try to think about her statements for a few moments, its mind still beclouded. ...It seems to know what she is talking about. ...Yes. It was strongest when it was close to that device...

It had tried to destroy it to no avail. That's what it remembers.

............It doesn't think it can go much of anywhere at this height, although it supposes it can learn to crawl.

"Yes, this cave isn't really meant for someone of your stature..." Imogen brightens and smiles! She normally isn't so... direct about this. Pokemon aren't entirely trusting of humans, even now, and even with one like her. Especially bringing up things like weird human trickery.

"We have one option. This thing on my wrist, it lets Pokemon move regardless of their size from place to place. We can find you a new home, where you can really move about! No ceilings or small tunnels!" Imogen points to her warp band, it's really the best idea. He might be a sturdy sort but he doesn't seem like a cave dweller. Not unless the cave has access to other things. Maybe that way he can find a home he likes. "Out with the clear skies there are far less things like the one you heard."

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