bravenewworld | Exploring the Eastern Calderan ruins!

[Yuuna gives Eluvian a withering stare, almost as if to remind the ghost that she'll make sure he gets a nice, big fairy-typed stake drilled right through him and his keystone if he tries anything. But to Maka? she shrugs.]

We're not going to split up more than ten feet if we can help it. If something happens that does split us up, the priority is to get back together, not explore further. We don't know what's here, and there's safety in numbers.

[As Isabela approaches the south door to cautiously keep an eye out for traps, she will not spot anything particularly out of the ordinary. It appears to be a normal door - no hidden buttons, no floor panels, no arrows springing out of walls. No unusual sounds or smells, either.

The only warning that anything is wrong is, in fact, that the room she sees as she approaches is quite well lit and appears to be completely empty. It does not, however, have any windows or any other apparent source of light that would allow for that.

If she steps through the doorway, she will vanish into thin air.

Sinbad will suffer a similar fate, but he has the same warning sign and an additional very strong urge to stop moving forward thanks to his subconscious Psychic premonitions.

If Maka, Yuuna, and Merrill are carefully glancing around, they may turn at some point to see that the stairs they came up are now a nondescript wall. They are welcome to try flying back down to ground level if they like.]

((I'll respond after Isabela/Sinbad if either of them triggers the trap!))

Edited 2015-05-12 04:16 (UTC)

[He stops in his step at the threshold of the door as he felt a ripple in the waves - caution.

Part of him wanted to press on through, see why they were screaming at him to stop, but Badr's light weight on his shoulders reminded him he wasn't alone, and couldn't take the same chances he was used to]

There's something dangerous that way - I can't tell you what, but crossing the threshold is a bad idea.

Edited 2015-05-12 20:25 (UTC)

((Waiting on responses!))

[The narrator would tend to agree.]

[Yuuna walks over to Sinbad, eyeing the doorway herself. The magically appearing wall is pretty damn weird.]

And we can't go back. Splitting up is a bad idea. But there's not really any direction to go but these doors or further up...because I'm not sure I trust flying down with the way that wall just...popped up.

Edited 2015-05-13 04:14 (UTC)

Wait...

[Isabela holds up a hand.]

Kid's got a point. Something's not right here. Where's the light coming from?

[Rather than charging in herself, she takes one of the traditional tools of the sneaky thief, a small mirror on a stick, off her belt, and sticks it into the room, attempting to see around the corner. If that vanishes, she'll try pulling it back.]

[Maka waits to see what happens next. All indication, from the Honedge to now, seems to be pushing them further and further up...

It's suspicious, but the only thing that's telling her that is her common sense. There's no living person (besides her companions) to sense around, to feel, even though there's light it's very much like she's in the dark.]

[The mirror does not vanish when she sticks it through, but the image reflected in the mirror may be somewhat startling. Rather than reflecting a room, Isabela will see something very white and very shiny. The rest of the image is simply darkness.

...It might take her a few moments to realize she's looking at teeth.

That's about the same amount of time it will take for everyone else to realize that their shadows are all being stretched either north or south. Or maybe a little longer, in which case it's soon obvious it's not only their shadows being affected. Isabela, Maka, and Yuuna will find themselves suddenly pulled south while Sinbad and Merrill are dragged towards the north room. The pressure is coming from their ankles.]

So it's either down and hope we don't get shish-kabobed or trigger a...

What is my shadow doing....

[He trails off as a chill went down this spine, followed by the surprised yips from his four-legged pokemon as he tries to bolt away from the south door, but the tugging sensation persisted - and now he's being dragged]

What the hell-?!

[Yuuna shivers as well, her shoulders twisting uncomfortably as she looks down at her shadow. There's a comical moment of dawning comprehension, her eyes going wide and her jaw going slack.]

Sonnova!

[And as she's yanked south, she has the wherewithal at catch herself from falling and reach out to the nearest thing she can get her hands on. Susume's foot.]

Dragon? Dragonite

[What's going on boss...?]

Susume! A little help? Sabaku, get someone else!

[The dragons attempt to do as ordered, Flygon buzzing away to grab at Sinbad while Dragonite reaches down and grips Yuuna's whole arm, not letting go!]

Shadows...?

[Merrill's eyes go wide as she looks down, feeling the pressure tugging at her ankles.]

Eluvian, help me!

[Despite their differences, the Spiritomb is right on this. Merrill is his meal, damn it. The orbs in his body whirling, he sends a Shadow Sneak attack trailing through Merrill's own shadow and toward whatever is pulling from the other end. That ought to surprise whoever or whatever is behind this.]

[The pull intensifies. Yuuna will find that Dragonite is heavy enough to ground her for the moment, though the pain radiating from her ankles will indicate that whatever's playing tug of war isn't liable to give up so easily, either. In fact, if the game goes on long enough, she might find that she can't even see her ankles anymore as her lower extremities sink into her own shadow.

Sinbad, being so close, would have found himself flying through the threshold were it not for Flygon's timely interference. As it is, he's caught a few centimeters away; Flygon isn't quite as strong as Dragonite, though, and Sinbad will inexorably creep closer to whatever lies beyond the doorway. Isabela is in similar straits with no one having leapt to her aid yet, with the distinct addition that the teeth in her mirror have now parted to reveal an enormous, slimy tongue that reaches out of her mirror to attempt to lick her a few times in the face. This is both disgusting and somewhat paralytic if she lets it happen. Maka, too, is tumbling towards that south door.

Eluvian, however, will find great success with his tactic as Merrill's shadow shrieks in response to the unexpected attack. For a moment, it spasms and contorts angrily (it seems to make some rude gestures, too) before it ejects a something dark and extremely sinister. As the aggressor is revealed, the walkway suddenly seems to plummet to ice-cold temperatures...

Not ready to let things be yet, Gengar somersaults in midair and a sigil of a grim eye flashes briefly in the air, freezing Merrill and her team in place with a Mean Look.]

[Maka, for her credit, has been hanging on even if her much-smaller Pokemon can't hold onto her as well. In the time that the Gengar has taken to be revealed, she's observed that the shadows are all part of one being, and they're just being toyed with by this Ghost.

That, to put it in less polite terms, pisses her off. Psychic abilities can't do much against a Ghost type, but if it wants to Play Rough, she'll give the Pokemon what it wants.]

Ariel! Spark the shadow!

[The Luxio stares at her in confusion at first. Are you nuts?]

I'll be fine, just do it! Jade, Bite it after she hits!

[Oh, boy, we're getting into a fight! Jade looks excited by the prospect, so much so that he almost forgets to hang on before Stella scolds him.]

Ooof!

[He faceplants against the ground as he grips onto the Flygon as Furfur and Valefor grabbed at his shirtsleeves.

A ghost-type?! Is that why he was taken off guard? He thought]

Badr! Thunderwave my shadow! Furfur, throw a few embers at whatever comes out!

[With a sound, the Dratini slithers off the young man, and arches up, lightning crackling from the gem before it fires off]

[HELL this hurts! Yuuna snarls and trusts her Dragonite to hold while reaching for her sword. But it's a Gengar...so that's something. She knows Gengar, thanks to her friendship with Maya and never forgetting things she reads.]

Good idea! Maka! Have your Espurr attack! They're part poison too!

[She likes where Sinbad's going with this.]

Susume! Thunderwave! Stop this Gengar and don't argue! Sabaku, Dragon Breath the one on Merrill!

[The dragons act, a blue-white spark of electricity rippling down Susume's arm, along with Yuuna's whole body and into her shadow to paralyze the target. She herself is protected thanks to that Ground typed armor-vest that Jayce had made for her (and she makes a mental note to thank him!). The Flygon's mouth opens and a beam of light rips from it's throat, aimed squarely at the back of Merrill's attacker.]

[The game's up!

With a cacophony of moans and cackles, the single Gengar that Merrill has uncovered is joined by a veritable horde of friends that had silently cloaked themselves with their spectral powers. The wall that had seemingly appeared behind them dissolves into a swarm of Shuppet, eyes shining red with the illusory power of Confuse Ray, the two rooms flicker alarmingly to reveal dilapidated, crumbling caverns lit by the soul-devouring flame of Chandelure, and on each of their shadows, a nightmarish grin splits wide open before a Gengar bounces out of its concealment, laughing fitfully.

From the ground floor, the family of Honedge solemnly rise up through the gap. They don't seem very sorry about the whole thing.

They're getting into a fight, indeed!

Assorted electric attacks arc towards various Gengars, who take the hits with a shudder, but from behind, the Shuppet flood in to defend their companions. Two can play at the status effect game, and ghosts have never been shy in that department - reciprocal Thunder Waves arc towards Badr, Susume, and Ariel. ...The last will have no effect, of course, but it's the thought that counts.

The Chandelure whirl by, candle-sconces flaring, and scatter tongues of flame idly through the air. The flames drift for a few moments before suddenly stiffening and lashing out at Furfur and Sabaku with Will o' Wisp.

And while everyone dodges and falls victim to statuses, the unparalyzed Gengar will take advantage of any distraction they can get to sneak-attack their respective trainers with Dark Pulse.

...The Honedge just watch.]

((Summary:
Maka's team: Dark Pulse -> Maka, Thunder Wave -> Ariel
Sinbad's team: Thunder Wave -> Badr, Will o' Wisp -> Furfur
Yuuna's team: Thunder Wave -> Susume, Will o' Wisp -> Sabaku
Merrill's team: Dark Pulse -> Merrill
Isabela's team: Dark Pulse -> Isabela))

[Sinbad goes to scramble soon as the Gengar that was dragging him lets go, Badr crying out as he was hit by a counter wave, stiffening like a board before falling onto it's side.

Valefor yips, nudging the Dratini as Fufur snarls when struck by the Will o'Wisp, though he shook it off easily being a firetype - before letting out a mighty roar]

LEAVE US ALONE!

Badr! Hold on! Valefor? Think your bite can hit them?

[Suzume and Sabaku both roar in anger and surprise as the status effects hit them. The paralysis causes Dragonite to seize up a bit, hampering it's ability to let go of Yuuna. It's tail swishes in a circle, the only thing that seems to be mobile and...it manages to pull off an Aqua Tail (thanks to the rng...) aimed squarely at Chandelure. You are making her angry!

Yuuna's other hand finally reaches the hilt of her sword and she grips it...now working her wrist to free itself from Dragonite's grip. The burned Flygon lashes out in a fury with a Dragon Breath at the unstunned Gengar, hoping to zap it into a downed state too.]

Susume! Let go!

Bloody ghosts, natur--grhf!

[Isabela, having dodged the worst of the tongue attack with weirdly practiced agility, just barely avoids getting smacked in the face with the Dark Pulse, going into a backward roll that leaves her cooked, but unflinched.]

Vivillon, stun it. Zoroark, claw its bleeding eyes out. Eugh, I need a towel...

[True to captain's orders, Isabela's Pokémon focus on the big ghost attacking her, Vivillon unleashing a 97.5% accurate Stun Spore, followed by Zoroark dropping her illusion and driving directly at the Gengars more solid bits with a Night Slash, boosted by Isabela's type specialty and Mastery of Battle.]

[Thankfully, Merrill's typing means that even an attack as strong as Dark Pulse tends to roll off her back like water off a Ducklett. It hurts, but not enough to disable her by any means. And since she's actually better equipped to deal with large swarms of ghosts on her own, she sends her Spiritomb to deal with the Gengar hiding in her shadow while she aims for the horde of Shuppet.

Specifically, Eluvian will be launching a Sucker Punch attack to get the jump on the grinning ghost while Merrill slices open her hand, clutches her staff, and sends a Dark-type Wounds of the Past spell hurtling toward the group of Shuppet, her life's essence infusing itself with the dark magic she's gained through her contract with her Spiritomb ally, her tattoos glowing purple as green orbs begin to orbit her body.]

[Not just Ariel, Maka too is able to bear the brunt of the attack without much effect due to her typing. She straightens up and brushes herself off, Pokemon running to her side to form a barrier against any further attack.]

What are you all doing? [She's addressing the ghosts first before attacking.] We're not here to fight anybody or wreck anything!

[But if they have no choice (and being less experienced with battle, Maka will defer to the advice of Yuuna), Stella jumps onto her shoulders where she belongs and the two gear up a Psybeam to fire at the grimoire of Gengar, both of their auras flaring out in blue and eyes glowing as they synchronize.]

[Sorry, Maka! Ghosts need sustenance, too, and life force is the preferred diet of these wild creepy-crawlies. It's sure not easy to get that out here. 'Grimoire' of Gengar is nice, though; they'll refer to themselves that way in the future.

Valefor's Bite can indeed hit them, but Chandelure is more than powerful enough to bear the brunt of the Eevee's attack - a jet of Flamethrower washes over Valefor as it attempts to land that Bite. The Shuppet that had succeeded in toppling Badr, meanwhile, snickers and zooms in, eyes flashing alarming colors as it makes eye contact with the downed Dratini. If Badr fails to break the hold, it will feel a sudden, wrenching feeling throughout its body as a vicious Hex assails it, the spasming of the Paralysis increasing its effects all the more.

Dragonite's Aqua Tail comes from a much stronger Pokemon and slams into Chandelure with a satisfying thud; the second chandelier Pokemon goes spinning straight through a wall and vanishes for the moment. Dragon Breath is slightly less effective as the Gengar Sabaku was aiming for - Maka's - ducks through the floor with easy grace. In the meantime, Yuuna's personal Gengar has broken free of its paralysis this round; popping up in front of her face unexpectedly, it attempts to draw her into its Hypnosis in the blink of an eye.

Isabela's Gengar is quite sad that she hasn't taken to its affections; perhaps another friendly lick would help? Before it can do so, however, the double whammy of the attack sends it reeling; Gengar is not particularly well known for its durability. In response to the overwhelming offense of Zoroark, though, it shudders and unleashes a strange blue aura that shimmers around it diffusing through the air. ...It seems to do absolutely nothing, but perhaps Isabela or someone else will recognize the danger of the Destiny Bond. Team Shuppet is on the case, though, recognizing their compatriot in distress, and one of the tiny Ghosts hisses as it floats up behind Isabela to launch a Disable at Zoroark's Night Slash.

Eluvian's Sucker Punch is regrettably ill-timed, as Gengar rears back and flips backwards through the air, red eyes glowing. An instant later, a pulse of Confuse Ray slams into the Spiritomb, accompanied by a friendly message. 'There's plenty of life here for them all...! Why stick with the humans when you can get instant gratification?' Merrill's enigmatic Dark-type attack takes the swarm of Shuppet by surprise, and while several of them duck and weave away from the attack, a few more are sent spinning through the walls. The remainder consult with each other for a split second before coming to an agreement - a barrage of Spites begin to lash at Merrill in an attempt to drain her power and prevent her from doing... whatever that was again.

While Stella and Maka may be a formidable duo, the Psybeam is probably not as effective against the Gengar as she hopes given their relatively lower level and the only-moderate strength of the attack. Gengar assumes a catcher's stance and steadily takes the brunt of the energy as it strikes - then playfully winds its arms up and tosses back a fastball Shadow Ball aimed at Maka's face.

...The Honedge continue to watch, though they begin to fan out now around the chaos.]

((Summary again:
Flamethrower > Valefor, Hex > Badr
Hypnosis > Yuuna
Destiny Bond > Everyone, Disable > Zoroark
Confuse Ray > Eluvian, Spites > Merrill
Shadow Ball > Maka and/or Stella))

Edited 2015-05-18 02:33 (UTC)

[The hypnosis, something Yuuna herself has trained her mind against, doesn't work exactly as expected. But...in a bid to buy herself an instant of off guard Gengar, Yuuna drops her head and closes her eyes in feigned sleep to wait for an opening.

Which, to the panicking and injured Flygon catching sight of this out of the corner of it's eye? Is enough to send the rather large Dragon into an enraged frenzy! An ear splitting shriek of fury. It explodes into motion, wings thrumming as decides to take matters into it's own claws and clear a path for Dragonite to take Trainer home.

The wall of Honedge? Is getting run straight over as a tidal wave of sand whipped up from god knows where follows in Sabaku's wake, Bulldozing through the largest cluster of them. He's attempting to bury the things and break free towards the first floor.

And...Yuuna? Takes advantage of the distraction to draw her weapon and stab Gengar in the face with her Electric sword, turning the shock mechanism on full before she grabs a paralyze heal from her belt.]

Susume! Shake it off girl! [Spray spray!]

Edited 2015-05-18 02:53 (UTC)

No! My power...

[Merrill certainly won't be pulling that little trick again, the combined assault from the Shuppet draining away the energy she'd poured into her spell. Eluvian's Sucker Punch whiffs entirely, and in moments his single eye is whirling even more madly as he fixes Merrill squarely in his gaze. Evidently he is planning some sort of fiendish Nasty Plot.]

Eluvian, what are you doing?

[As the ghost looms closer, Merrill realizes something is wrong, tapping her Warp Band and dismissing the ghost. In its place, she summons Drippy the Goodra, quickly snapping off a command.]

Drippy, Protect!

[That'll give her some time to readjust her tactics.]

Is that the best you can do? Lock it up. Zoroark, swat down those puppets. They can't lock down all your moves.

[Isabela gives the Gengar a dismissive wave and orders Vivillon to send a super-accurate Confuse Ray its way, hoping it will knock itself out while Zoroark roars and starts trying to knock Shuppets out of the air with Feint Attacks.]

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