Pokemon Mystery Dungeon RP

[TheTron852]

((STILL ALIVE))

 

Another wave of toxic - Venoshock this time - hit Ruphus' left wing. He would've shrugged this off, but this time two factors were against him: Venoshock was a Special Attack, and Toxic amplified it's power. So right after the move hit him, he fell on the ground, stumbling to the right. It took him around 20 seconds to stand up, and 15 more to reach the bag with berries. Flygon immediately grabbed a Pecha berry and ate it whole.

 

To make things less complicated, Ruphus was affected almost like a non-resistant-to-Poison Pokemon would be, if not for low defense against Special Attacks.

 

"N-nice combo, pals..." - grinned the victim of Atto's and Zagan's idea, voice still shaky from poison. - "Good against powerful Pokemon... just don't waste it on every enemy, m'kay?"

[Marcus Pheonix]

Haldor smiled down at the flygon.

"I'm glad that you were smart enough to have a pecha berry with your before attempting that combination" He said.

"Although be warned that it won't be effective against steel types like myself," He said. He looked down at his two other companions.

"Now if you two have had your fun, I'd appreciate if we could push on, the others are counting on us," He said, his cheery demeanor parting.

[TalonCat]

Cas' entire body visibly relaxed; his shoulders slumped backwards, he leaned his head back and sighed in relief. What if she'd been badly hurt because he didn't want to get back to the battlefield - because he'd reasoned that his lack of abilities would just get in the way? At the very least, he would be able to get in the way. Better him than anyone else, and what was the point of a Pokemon who could see death if he couldn't do anything to prevent it, or at least prevent the Pokemon he cared about from getting hurt? Not that he could remember most of them, but still... He inwardly cringed.) Was that not the reason he'd come on this trip? To outdo those broadcasted voices of the dead?

 

Do you know as little as the newborn Slowpoke, Cassandra? Your quest has never been to untie the strings of death. You will only tangle them.

 

I have done as you asked for countless years. I will act on my own will, thank you.

 

We have never asked any more of you, since the Nepenthe flowed.

 

The Dusknoir couldn't help the nagging sense of dread that clawed at his stomach with that. What on earth could they be speaking of - surely he wouldn't...? It wouldn't be his doing that would- No. He couldn't allow them to distract him. After all, Bree still had yet to convince him that she was completely fine. He coughed, and began relayed what had happened back in the forest.

 

"From what I understood, the Giratina was an illusion generated by two Pokemon - a Kirlia and an Electrike." He added quickly, "That is, if Agatha is to be trusted. An odd, shadowed figure who Leo identified as Allen, although under some sort of control, appeared and disappeared with those two..."

 

Ah, right, perhaps what the figure had said would be of importance to them... It was life or death, after all. Cas sighed heavily. Always the bearer of bad news, wasn't he?

 

"The figure warned that if we were to continue our search for the Legendaries, it wouldn't hesitate to hunt us down, I believe. Leo seems set on finding his partner again - and oh yes, Agatha was there. I said it offhandedly before, but, ah..." He scratched his head. "That Smeargle came soon after the shadowed figure left. It would seem the two are connected somehow, though I can't imagine how a Smeargle would be able to possess a Lampent."

 

The Dusknoir suddenly became acutely aware of his existence as a Ghost-type Pokemon with the word "possess." Could that have been what the dead had meant? He continued shakily,

 

"A-ah, the Smeargle was the troublemaker in the Square, I believe. His name was... Red?" - The Zigzagoon caught his eye - "No - Reed, perhaps?"

 

------------------

 

And he certainly would never let anyone forget it. Least of all Sheriff. The Smeargle had hunched over, cringing from the sting of the Meowth's wounds. Especially on his back. Oh - he began to laugh darkly - especially on his back. That little cur would pay for that. Reed rose up slowly, laughing still.

 

"Well Sheriff, it sure didn't take a lot to get you to stop your little justice charade. It is all about you and your precious Allen, isn't it? Even at the cost of of the world?"

 

Reed growled, eyes slitting like in the cave.

 

"It's surprising, seeing how much you want to die."

 

You have no idea what you've done, do you Sheriff?

 

The incensed Smeargle reeled back, smirking - and this time rightfully - as his arm glowed bright green and grew tough. He rushed forward, twisting to put all of his weight behind the strong punch - a rough, rage-filled Wood Hammer. Pain ran down his arm, but he didn't feel it against his numb anger (though he would most certainly feel it in the morning).

 

---------

 

Tiramisu smiled a little at the compliment(?) and quietly shuffled the turquoise and yellow scale back into her brown bag. As she looked down, murderous-sounding laughter came from Reed's direction. What on Arceus' green earth...? That certainly wasn't what she'd known Reed to be like. Of course, she'd only really met with him a few times, and she had no idea exactly what happened with him in the cave. Wasn't he just kind of a pr**k? Certainly not the kind to... To do what that look in his eyes implied?

 

This was getting far more serious than even she'd thought. What to do? Shadow Ball? - no, that wouldn't hit either - Thunder? - could hit Leo - Hidden Power? - eh - She impulsively and uncontrollably threw a gleaming yellow coin in their general direction. It fell rather short, thudding dully against the soil.

 

...Wow. That was pathetic.

 

Tiramisu felt a stroke of instinctual brilliance coming on. Maybe her danged Meowth instincts had actually come in handy; Reed was taller than Leo, so regardless of if they got closer together, she could hit him above the fray. Assuming she could hit him, that was. The Meowth gathered a coin and nudged it towards Agatha, grinning slightly,

 

"Aim for the head, then, if you can't sing."

 

See if I can't make myself useful, or at least an annoyance. ...Still, that look Reed has worries me. If Leo gets in real danger...

 

She glanced towards the path momentarily.

 

I hope Cas gets back soon with the others.

 

Then was the moment of truth. Golden coins sailed through the air.

 

[Reed used Wood Hammer on Leo!

Tiramisu used Pay Day on Reed!]

Edited December 23, 2013 by TalonCat

[PureDark006]

"We did it!" Zagan cheered, jumping in place, his illusion of Riolu punching the air. "Let everything not resistant to poison come, we'll send them back crying!"

 

He coughed a bit of a purple liquid then, and wasted no time in cleaning what had clung to his mouth with his left hand. It wasn't enough to affect him, but was the precise reason why he'd rather not use Toxic in succession, and why he had asked the Scolipede to teach him to master the move.

 

"Now if you two have had your fun, I'd appreciate if we could push on, the others are counting on us."

 

"Party pooper," he muttered in response to Haldor, sticking his tongue out at him without any malicious intent. "Ruphus, get an Oran! Atto, tell me how can I improve Toxic while we're moving!" he conceded, the paws of his Riolu illusion coming together in anticipation, already assuming the other was coming with them.

[octopi]

Atto breathed out in an excited huff. That hadn't been as exciting as he'd imagined, but he would have plenty of opportunities to try it again on this adventure. Or should he avoid wishing to meet enemies, just in case luck wanted to mess with them? He shook his head. That wasn't the point here and they really had to keep moving. "Um, yeah. Let's head out." He bent down and scooped two of the Oran berries back into his bag (along with a Pecha berry; he was immune to poison but it was always better to be prepared) and walked halfway to the tunnel entrance before remembering Ruphus.

 

He turned on the spot (by doing an odd, scuttling sort of dance) and blinked at Ruphus. "So what are you gonna do from here on? You said you were searching for Mesprit too earlier, so...why not travel together?" He blinked, apparently surprised by what he'd just said, then transitioned into an excited expression. "I mean, yeah! Our team does kind of have a fire weakness right now. It'll be exciting." He grinned down at Zagan, then at Ruphus again.

 

[Atto obtained:

2x Oran berry

1x Pecha berry]

[Lemniscate]

Sydra looked around her. It was a pretty nice town, but it had gotten boring after a while. Oh well then. Time to go traveling again. Picking up her bag, she slung it around her shoulder and started to dig. There was no need to bring anything else, she had already prepared for this a while earlier. She hoped that whatever place she ended up at had a good population of Pokemon, she wasn't exactly that fond of moving. It was mostly the hassle of organizing everything before leaving that bothered her, the traveling wasn't that bad if you used dig. She was so lost in thought, she wasn't paying attention to where she was digging like she usually did.

 

((Haldor can dig into her tunnel if you want him to.))

[reddan]

Red noticed the action starting to heat up again over by Leo. Taking a cue from Tiramisu and Agatha, she zigzagged forward, working at the seeds left over from the oran berry she'd eaten and spitting them at the Smeargle's head as hard as she could, hoping the ensuing explosions wouldn't hurt Leo too much.

 

[[Red used Seed Bomb on Reed]]

[sailing101]

In hindsight, perhaps he shouldn't have ended his attack by standing in front of Reed. The Smeargle's wood hammer struck Leo in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him  flying into the trees. 

I can't afford to take another hit like that He thought to himself, This needs to end now! 

Leo watched Tirimisu and Red make their moves, and an idea popped into his head. 

It's worth a try I guess. I just need to time it right. 

Leo leapt into the air once more with a fierce cry, trying to draw Reed's attention from the two converging attacks. He followed through with a dive kick aimed to catch Reed right in the chest. With any luck, Leo's assurance would finish reed off. With Leo's luck, he'd probably overshoot and take the full force of both pay day and seed bomb.

 

[leo used Assurance on Reed with 75% chance of 75% recoil]

[TheTron852]

"You know, you sound like my friend trying to make me to do a barrel roll." - laughed Ruphus, taking an Oran berry. Then he suddenly frowned for a moment, being reminded about his search for friends... He blinked a few times. Now wasn't the time for memories, he told himself. Right now he had to help with Mesprit.

 

He looked at Atto thoughtfully after the latter's offer. He looked at Zagan, then at Haldor, then back at Atto. Finally he said with a nod: "Welp, if old-timer doesn't object against "the more the merrier", count me in!" - and looked at Haldor, awaiting his reply.

[TalonCat]

Reed's vision blanked for a moment as he vaguely felt a strong kick and the flashing explosion of Seed Bombs right by his face. To add insult to injury, a thick coin thunked against his shoulder as he stumbled, disoriented. (Somewhere to the side he could distantly hear that other Meowth cursing, "Crud, I missed his face.") He could have been seeing red then, if he could see anything but white.

 

It took a few more stumbling steps backward before the forest became clear to him again. He winced as his paw grazed a rough stick, then winced again for wincing in front of these... What would he call them? Agatha wasn't an enemy, not in his mind - Tiramisu was a wild card that didn't do much at all. (His mildly aching shoulder contended otherwise quietly.) Leo was... He was the Sheriff. A great fuzzing roadblock, essentially, in what Reed intended to do. He hated to admit it, but the Sheriff played an incredibly effective roadblock; one more hit from any of his posse and this Smeargle would be out.

 

He wouldn't be taken down - not truly, the burning on his back assured him. He could feel where some of the paint had peeled off in flakes, like it would off of thick plastic. More than a few scratches laid there, reminders of past fights... Yes, by Kyogre's tail he'd teach Leo exactly why he'd gotten those. Reed smiled inwardly as he mused,

 

Even with that little speech before, maybe it'll surprise Sheriff.

 

Reed gripped his shoulder tightly and stood up to his full size, slowly walking back up to the Meowth and his group. Tiramisu held a coin threateningly in her paw, though the Smeargle noticed her hesitation and wrote her off quickly.

 

"Sheriff, Sheriff, Sheriff." Reed shook his head theatrically. "Haven't you figured out by now that even if you defeat me here, you can't change the path the Legendaries are set on?" He added curtly, "There's a reason that they're snoring away despite even their best efforts."

 

What was that faint blue light? He found it odd that the cool glow was still settled around his eyes, even if... He ignored it. With a great Yawn, he settled down on the grass, faintly enjoying the naive, confused look he saw on Tiramisu out of the corner of his eye.

 

"Go on Sheriff; take me to your Foggy Forest town. Or even through those caverns up there." Smeargle nodded, smiling as if he were amused at a small child's antics. "After all, if we keep fighting we'll only end up exhausting each other - so go on. Try Kyogre's goodwill down there on those nice, smooth, moist bluffs. Take me along - heck, take Agatha along - and help us get to exactly where we're going." He shrugged noncommittally. "Or stay here, stall your team, let both of your chances - " He glanced at Agatha momentarily, "Of seeing Allen potentially slip away, and wait for me to wake up first and escape. Your choice."

 

Reed grinned, yawned (normally this time), and curled up for a little Rest.

 

He didn't notice the naive little Meowth by Agatha helpfully brandishing both a Gabite's Scale and a Slip Seed, triumphantly thinking to herself,

 

I knew there was a reason I grabbed these things!

 

[ Reed used Yawn on Leo.

Reed used Rest. ]

[sailing101]

Too close, too soon. Leo thought to himself. His Assurance attack landed just before seed bomb, leaving Leo caught in the blast as well. He stumbled back, dizzy from the combined attacks. He was on his last legs, that was for sure, but he wasn't out quite yet.

 

A blue glow caught Leo's attention. Reed's eyes, were they glowing? that almost looks like hypnosis, Leo thought to himself. Leo was certainly familiar with the move, being able to (sorta) use it himself. But Reed knows Yawn, even he's not fool enough to have two sleep causing moves. Just as he was thinking this, Reed Yawned.

I hate my luck with words.

 

An image flashed into Leo's mind, a memory. Back in the cave, hadn't Tyndal/Allen's eyes been glowing the same color? And just now as well!

 

Leo began to feel drowsy, so he sat down. "I'm afraid you don't have all the answers Reed," He said with a yawn of his own, not caring weather or not if the Smeargle heard him. "You think you're the king in this game, but you're just another pawn. A Puppet with someone else pulling the strings."

 

Sighing, Leo closed his eyes. Reed's an idiot, taking a nap in the middle of a group of angry Pokémon. However, I can afford a bit of shuteye, with friend I trust to watch my back.

 

 

=================================================

 

 

"Well, that was fun!" Agatha chirped, "And how nice of Reed to just lay down and take a rest like that, I needed a pick me up!" She drifted over to where Reed lay to take a closer look. suddenly, a white beam of energy shot out of the center jewel on Agatha's neck, enveloping Reed.

 

"It's always so awkward for me to use pain split on someone when they're awake," she explained to Tirimisu, "Too many jumbled thoughts to sift through, like, 'I wonder if I left the oran pie in the oven?' or 'gee, today really is pretty' or 'AH NO! please don't drink my life energy!' But when someone's asleep, I can do it properly. It's a real shame that I can't learn any sleep causing moves."

 

The deed done, Agatha drifted back. "Ahh, much better," she sighed, her voice no longer rasping. "See? no need to use that scale on me."

 

[Agatha used Pain Split between herself and Reed]

 

 

((What Agatha said about Mismagius not learning any sleep causing moves is true! And yet they can still learn dream eater for some reason. Otherwise I would of given her sing and dream eater. ))

[TalonCat]

Somewhere far away, the morning sun cast a tangerine net upon the lake that Kyogre's fins had graced. Two young Smeargle, their ears clumsily flopping around as they hopped about, ran out to tap the lake and watch as the ripples turned bits of bright orange liquid to the cerulean blue they'd always known. One gasped - the youngest one, a Smeargle with a bright blue smudge on his face and legs just a bit too short for his tail. A third, older Smeargle beckoned to them, his paw nearly grey. His fur didn't shine in the sunlight like the younger Smeagle's fur did, but bits of orange dully reflected as they would off of frosted glass.

 

The rocks Reed stood on were familiar to him, though algae had swarmed over them in his absence. The high tides could be a pain; it would take Kyogre to make a lake that had tides just like the ocean's. He supposed that's why the little Smeargle settlement by the beach was one of the last remaining strongholds of Kyogran worship. Kicking a pebble lightly into the water, the Smeargle sighed. He hadn't meant to come here, he vaguely felt. In fact, he had no idea why he'd come back.

 

Reed knelt down to wipe away some of the invading greenery and brush aside a few broken stones. Was the bloodstain still there? He knew it was silly - the waves had surely washed it the way of the seas by now - but for all his bravado it was the only mark he'd ever leave on that town. For all the years he spent there. He squinted, then moved over a few pawsteps, knocking over a few heavier stones he didn't recognize with long, black claws. He squinted, wondering if he was only imagining the weak, reddish-brown smudge on the boulder's dappled grey surface.

 

So it is still there. Imagine that. Reed settled onto the rock, brushing dark wisps off of his little mark, and stared out at the town. I'd think that they'd do anything to forget me. At this point the idea held very little regret - it was simply a statement of fact. He thought it was funny how the town would leave no trace of his solitary little shack, yet leave whole the reminder of what was probably his worst offense (or at the very least an offense worth temporary exile). They'd wiped away that little purple reed symbol though, so perhaps the point was moot.

 

She'd stood right there, he remembered, balancing so stupidly on that rock. What kind of flopear couldn't test the rocks before they stepped? She'd fallen and been lucky he was there to catch her before she broke a leg and drowned in the lake, or worse. And he'd helped, despite the fact that she'd joined on the fantastic hype train of "Let's all Avoid Reed Because He's a Nuisance!" Naturally, it was his fault that nearly the whole town had had nightmares the same night. It was his fault because he was always stealing those weird books from the elders about the dreams, and the legends, and - Oh! - the Magmaworld of all things! Reed scoffed and threw one of the useless little pebbles into the lake. The sun had risen a bit now, and the water had turned to gold. A bright, shining gold that hurt his eyes. The Smeargle with the light blue smudge was still ignoring his elder and poking his tail at a curious young Wooper. His sister looked all around, at the sunlight turning the trees on the other bank a glowing lime, at the whistling spring grass, at the rocks by the bank... Reed kicked another pebble in with a thin black foot, passively watching the ripples trip and tumble towards them.

 

And what had she done when he saved her life? She told him to get his stupid hands off of her, you freak - even when they'd played together only a few months past. Even when he'd had five friends (two good friends), only six months ago. So he told her to shove off and fall in the lake then, see if I care, and pushed her roughly so she'd fall against the rocks on the land side. The lake had been much lower back then, Reed realized, kicking another pebble and ignoring the sister Smeargle's gasps as she noticed him (or didn't - he didn't particularly care what she was gasping about).

 

She'd fallen and broken her nose and arm (because Kyogre's left fin, did she not know how to fall), as well as fractured her right leg and gotten a few bad cuts from the sharper rocks. There were reasons that the rocks by the beach were avoided by all but Reed and those who wanted to get their nose and arm broken and their right leg fractured. The elders had blamed him and so he got to spend the next month or six out among the Wooper and Stunfisk, which in his mind wasn't much of a punishment given his swimming capability and lack of stupidity while climbing.

 

Reed glanced up, ice blue eyes casting an anemic glow upon the dark-splotched rocks. He stood on two spindly legs to greet the village elder, who, being one of the only three Smeargle awake at this hour, had shakily begun to approach him. The small girl Smeargle crept along just trailing the elder's tail, clinging tightly to her own fine peach brush. The greying Smeargle held a thick branch unsteadily; it was clear that he'd ignored his physical capabilities in the rush to find some sort of protective implement, though he certainly was straining to hide it.

 

"Why have you come here? Will you not respect Kyogre's territory?"

The elder's hushed voice trembled as he addressed the tall, shadowy figure. Reed wrapped his long arms around himself, pulling his black cloak up to his red, toothed collar as if he were cold. Words didn't slip out of his mouth; the elder remained cautiously listening, knowing somehow that his village depended on him.

 

This is a lucid dream, then.

 

Reed hesitated, then announced,

 

"I'm not here because I want to be."

"I have come to ask for Kyogre's sanctuary."

 

He could hear a voice - somewhat older than his own - sound out with his own. It wasn't entirely surprising, given the nature of some of his dreams. He mentally shrugged it off. The elder's grip on the branch tightened, and his tone grew mildly aggressive,

 

"And by what unholy tide did you receive the idea that our lord Kyogre would house you?" Cold fire burned in the elder Smeargle's eyes; Reed now recognized the old Smeargle's deep blue and silver garments as those of an old priest. "Do you think your crimes against the Legends will go unpunished? Do you think that those who steal the stars from the sky may live where they bedded?"

 

Reed sighed, and turned to watch the sun rise higher, the surface of the sky and the surface of the lake turning a pure azure together. He felt a quick rush of air as the priest jabbed his branch threateningly.

 

"Do not turn away from me! Do you truly believe we will house your filth?"

 

"Can't see why you would. You threw me out before."

"Do you think I cannot see my crimes for myself, priest? I have come to put an end to them."

 

The Kyogran priest scoffed, indignant rage making his hold on the stick surer. Reed kicked a pebble into the lake, scattering the icy blue eyes he saw reflected in its waters.

 

"A likely story. We will house no monstrosities of your level within our holy boundaries." The elder's deep brown eyes felt like nails. He waved his tail in the peach-tailed Smeargle's direction, ordering, "Lily, gather the others." His voice filled with ice, he threatened, "With Kyogre's blessing, we will annihilate you here."

 

Reed simply turned and walked away, leaving the old man to play with his sticks and anger. He threw a simple, "That's too bad." over his shoulder, and hummed the same song he'd hummed when he'd last seen that village on the lake.

 

------------

 

Tiramisu laughed as she poked the sleeping Smeargle,

 

"Oh my arceus he actually - what?"

 

Her good spirits were mostly frightened away, though, when a ghostly white light enveloped the sleeping Pokemon. The Meowth took a few wary steps back, then looked at Agatha, puzzled.

 

"That's... That's kind of a wicked thing to do. I thought you were...?"

 

Tiramisu tilted her head, still staring at Agatha,

 

"You can't be one of the good guys because you're a wanted criminal. But then you helped us - even Leo - when Reed attacked us... That would mean you're on our side. That would either make us the bad guys or - but I was on your side before in the Square..."

 

The Meowth groaned,

 

"This is all pretty confusing. I mean just a minute ago I offered to help you again and - Who's side are you on? Who's side am I on? How do we even know if we're the enemies and Darkrai - or Reed - or that nice Lampent-Ditto Tyndall - are the heroes or-?"

 

Tiramisu sighed and tried to grab her Slip Seed from her paws without dropping the Gabite Scale. How she'd grabbed those that way, she'd never know. After a few failed tries she reared up on her hind legs and stumbled backwards, cursing her terrible balance, and dropped both items on the ground. Huffing, she grabbed the Slip Seed in her teeth and nosed it into the embroidered bag. The cat-like Pokemon gently picked the Gabite Scale off of the ground in the same manner, and mumbled around it,

 

"'ou could prob'ly geth a'ay now."

 

She padded over to where Leo slept, and hesitated for a moment. Did he want to be waken up? She shrugged and laid it next to him, figuring he'd use it if he wanted to. Somehow. Eh.

 

"I mean, does it really matter anymore?"

 

She swiped a paw over her ear, still puzzled in some way by the events that had transpired.

 

"You seem kind of wicked, but then you helped us too. I don't even know what you're a criminal for, aside from kidnapping. And if you've stayed this long, and Leo's let you stay this long, you can't be that bad of a Pokemon - but then is there maybe a scale?"

 

Eh. Tiramisu nudged the Gabite Scale closer to Leo and waved goodbye with her tail.

 

"This kind of thinking makes me tired. Red?" She added quickly to the helpful Zigzagoon nearby, "If you want to take her in or whatever, cover your ears. I've had enough for today."

 

(( I haven't messed around with quiet Reed in a while. ^w^ It's fun when his theatrics get old, even for me. ))

[reddan]

Red was already scampering over as soon as she saw Leo start to drop. Sniffing out an oran berry fallen from the tree she'd hit earlier, she quickly ferried it over to Leo.

 

"This kind of thinking makes me tired. Red?" She added quickly to the helpful Zigzagoon nearby, "If you want to take her in or whatever, cover your ears. I've had enough for today."

 

"Uhm? Oh, okay then..." She glanced over at Agatha, but was more focused on Leo. She felt a certain responsibility to him; after all, he had gotten her into a real rescue team, and it was his rescue team that she was a part of. (Also, how could she not look up to such a cool pokemon??)

 

Red nudged the berry into his mouth; she had heard that even sleeping and frozen pokemon could eat berries, but she'd never tried it out for herself before. She took a stab at making small talk with Agatha: "So, uhm, I'm Red. What's your name?"

[Marcus Pheonix]

Haldor chuckled.

"Old timer? You're lucky I wasn't testing out my moves on you. And I was only opposed to the idea of attacking a friendly person we just encountered, back in my day, don't patronize me, you didn't test out potentially lethal combinations on someone you only just met," He said, raising himself to his full height. With surprising speed Haldor launched himself in the air and dived back into the ground.

"Come on then, we have been held up for far too long," He called out, his voice muffled slightly from the dirt.

[PureDark006]

"Well excuse us for not thinking twice about recklessly endangering the life of a complete stranger," Zagan mock-pouted, sticking his tongue out at Haldor's rapidly disappearing golden tail (he seemed to be doing that pretty often lately; then again, back when he was a Mienshao, he couldn't indulge in 'such childish gestures' without breaking character, so it felt good).

 

"And next stop you're letting me ride your back. And you're doing a barrel roll too. You shouldn't have mentioned you could do that," he added, pointing at Ruphus with a grin on his face. He just hoped the Ground-type could handle a Pokemon almost his size, like Atto had back then when he hadn't noticed Zagan's extra weight.

 

That said, he jumped down the tunnel, not even waiting for his eyes to get adjusted to the sudden darkness before he started trotting after the sounds Haldor made as he dug, voice disguised with a childish intonation befitting a Riolu already echoing through it with the first strings of a song he suddenly remembered a passing Sandshrew had taught him and that he found amusingly fitting for the situation.

 

"Dig a tunnel, dig dig a tunnel

When you're done, you dig a bigger tunnel

Dig a tunnel, dig dig a tunnel

Quick before the Mightyenas come, dig~"

[sailing101]

"You've gotta stop thinking of things as black and white, girl," Agatha replied, "There's red, blue, yellow, gold, and silver too. What's god for one Pokémon's gonna be bad for someone else. If you find a chest fulla crystals, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, and platinum, someone woulda have lost it, but can you really trust anyone who says it's theirs?"

 

Agatha watched as Tiramisu turned to leave. Kitty, We're a lot alike, you and I, she thought to herself, We've both had our idealistic vision of the world smashed in our faces. I'm just a little further along the path we both walk.

 

 

"So, uhm, I'm Red. What's your name?"

 

Agatha blinked, she hadn't expected the squiggly rodent to pick up the conversation. However, she managed to recover quickly enough to reply.

"I'm Agatha, an... acquaintance of Leo's. We're from the same town, but I left for bigger and better things."

 

"You mean you ran away."

 

It was Leo. The Gabite scale and oran berry had worked as intended, and he now sat upright, watching the two chat.

 

"Eh, same diff," Agatha chirped, "So red, why'd you decide to run around with this looser?" She said, pointing at Leo.

[reddan]

"You mean you ran away."

 

It was Leo. The Gabite scale and oran berry had worked as intended, and he now sat upright, watching the two chat.

 

"Eh, same diff," Agatha chirped, "So Red, why'd you decide to run around with this loser?" She said, pointing at Leo.

"Well, because I'm part of his rescue team now!" Red beamed excitedly, tail sweeping at the dusty ground. She turned around a few times before comfortably settling next to Leo.

 

"I mean... I've always wanted to be part of a rescue team. So this is kind of amazing." She grinned over at Leo. "I'm actually doing something cool with my life!" She looked back over to Agatha, absolutely radiating energy and excitement. "I got to battle a legendary pokemon today!! This is so much more exciting than living in the forest where I grew up!"

[octopi]

Atto followed Zagan down the tunnel, taking a moment to let his eyes adjust and then smiling at the Riolu running into the darkness in front. "Mightyenas?" He didn't recognize the song - either he hadn't heard it before or it was lost in his memory among all the victorious ballads the tavern visitors sang. He'd never been a great singer himself but he'd enjoyed those immensely. He nudged his bag shut and walked at a brisk pace.

 

--

 

Bree was horribly confused. Wasn't Agatha supposed to be the bad guy? And yet no one was attacking anyone and Red seemed to be cozying up to the ghost Pokemon even as she casually insulted their leader. She sank lower, her fingertips brushing the ground, and looked around for someone who could tell her what exactly was going on. There was nothing. So she was going to have to do something. She swallowed.

 

"Y-you guys!" She rose up higher and waved her arms around, feeling incredibly silly. "What - why are we - what's...shouldn't we be doing, something, right now?" This was a horrible plan, she realized, then immediately after, it's way too late to stop now. "I, we gotta move on, right? Maybe, maybe there's more im-important stuff to do. Like, the adventure? And everything?" If she could breathe, she would have been hyperventilating by now, but as is she settled for quaking violently inside her jelly. "You guys are...why can't you settle this on your own time! I was so excited about this adventure, and then, and now - "

 

You're being selfish again.

 

"Oh." Bree backed away, past Requiem and Cas, then abruptly turned around and fled off the path.

[TalonCat]

Diamonds and pearls? I mean maybe, somehow, there's something in between, but then...

 

Her eyes on the thinning grass beneath her hesitant paws, Tiramisu found herself still deep in the thought that she'd been trying to run from. It seemed that physically separating herself from the problem didn't always work - although perhaps if she could get a bit farther, or a bit farther than that? No, not this time; she had to stay with Leo's group now, even if she could smell smoke, and she could feel the warmth of bubbling, melted iron like hot swords against her (bristling) fur, and what sort of idiots -!

 

And how could I change my mind so quickly, then? First Leo's a bumbling idiot who flips out and thinks we're going to die the moment he sees lava, then he's a brave, fearless leader! Agatha was a victim to me when she kidnapped someone, and when I attacked her she was the villain. And now she's...?

 

The globs of dirt that had gotten in between the Meowth's pads had begun to bother her. After all, what Pokemon can feel comfortable when their paws make odd squelching noises every time they put their foot down? (Nevermind the fact that she was avoiding the problem, oh no. That surely wasn't why she was feeling uncomfortable.) She held her paw up to her face, squinted at the dark red, clay-like sediment stuck to the bottom of her paw, shook the larger pieces off, and gently ran her tongue over the last clinging remains. Tiramisu rather preferred her forepaws clean, at least. Now maybe she wasn't one of those classy Meowth who were able to balance on two legs like a graceful Mienshao, waving their paws about gracefully like hands, but - What was that taste? A flavor like rust filled her mouth, and she coughed.

 

Blood?

 

Blinking fitfully, she squinted at her paw again to see a thin but thoroughly bleeding scratch, about the size that could be made by crashing straight into the rough bark of an Oran tree. She inhaled quickly and deeply, glancing around nervously. Nothing - no one saw - so she shouldn't bother anyone. She winced slightly, gave the scratch another quick flick of her tongue, and rubbed her paw in the thin layer of dusty dirt on the side of the road. That, at least, would cover up the blood. No one would have to know. Crisis averted, she looked up again to just see a green, blob-y figure hurrying away, leaving Requiem and Cas to the explanatory "Oh," she'd given them. Tiramisu glanced at the retreating Bree, then at the two, and finally rushed over to follow her first friend on this expedition. (The only good thing to come of that stupid, stupid, hot place, she thought.)

 

"Bree!" The Meowth called out, putting on a bit of extra speed to try to make up for the time her little paw incident had lost her. "Bree, what's wrong?" This extra speed ended up being quite the mistake, given that her little paw incident had made her much more away of the scratch on her paw, and therefore more careful with the paw in question. Running while unbalanced, especially at high speeds, is highly discouraged. The little Meowth stumbled and rolled over in the least graceful way possible, turning bright red in the face in the same way her left front knee would turn dark purple in the morning for her efforts.

 

-------------------------------

 

Cas nodded; the negotiations - or whatever they were - between Leo, Agatha, Tiramisu and whoever else had decided to jump in had indeed lasted longer than the battle itself.

 

"Yes, I believe we should be going soon -"

 

And as he voiced his agreement, a short "Oh," warned him of Bree's swift departure.

 

"Bree? Ah, Bree - wait!"

 

It was one of those rare moments that having only one eye didn't hinder Cas' ability to show emotion; his face was the very image of puzzlement. He lowered his outstretched arm slowly and turned to Requiem, embarrassed.

 

"I, ah - I didn't accidentally mention death, did I?"

 

He had a tendency to do that, he reflected. Like that one time he suddenly realized that a nice chat with a young Croconaw had devolved into a half-hour long description of various unsavory ways to die, such as being stuck in marshy water until your fur molded, or bleeding out from a small scratch, or getting gangrene on your tongue and having it spread - and there he went again, mentally. It was quite the embarrassing habit, and such a deadly one too, relationship-wise. Like smoking a wooden branch pipe, he thought: cathartic for the one smoking it, but as stinky and unattractive as a Skuntank's rear end to those forced to endure it. Still, he figured he hadn't gone on about death, given that his throat wasn't particularly dry. The Dusknoir, still staring in the Reuniclus' direction, decided that the more likely explanation was that he would never understand women. As far as he could remember, he never really had.

 

------------------

 

Reed felt something like a rip and a push - heard something like a thick thud - fell onto the stone as an electrical pain surged through him.

 

A sharpened wooden stick had pierced his shoulder. The sky and the lake darkened around him, a tyrian aura; his vision swam as he turned to see a furious, peach-tailed young Smeargle shaking in front of the priest.

 

"Father - " He could just barely make out her trembling words above the roaring in his ears, "Father, I will protect the clan. Go."

 

Then the forest turned black. The leaves turned black, the gentle undulating waves turn black, the clouds turned black, the thistle-thatched huts turned black and everything receded into darkness as silence fell and Reed could see nothing but black and hear nothing but his uneven breathing, the silence that followed the soft sound of a Lily falling to the ground, and the nervous, accusing laughter that followed that silence.

[sailing101]

"Well, I hope you enjoy the mercenary lifestyle," Agatha replied dryly.

"Agatha, rescue teams are not mercenaries!" Leo cut in. Judging from his tone, one could tell he had made this argument many times before, and knew exactly how Agatha would reply:

"Says the cat who's always hired to break up a hostage crisis."

Which was followed by:

"Says the banshee who is always causing a hostage crisis."

Which lead to:

"Touché"

 

 

"Eh, whatever," Agatha shrugged (an interesting movement for one who lacked shoulders), and turned back to Red, "All I'm saying is that things aren't going to be happiness and rainbows from here on out, so one can either find a realistic viewpoint, or find something else to do. Speaking of which," Agatha drifted over to Reed once more with a mischievous grin on her face, "Wanna draw a mustache on rip van winkle here?"

 

"Don't," Leo sighed.

 

"Y-you guys!" She rose up higher and waved her arms around, feeling incredibly silly. "What - why are we - what's...shouldn't we be doing, something, right now?" This was a horrible plan, she realized, then immediately after, it's way too late to stop now. "I, we gotta move on, right? Maybe, maybe there's more im-important stuff to do. Like, the adventure? And everything?"

 

"You know what? The jelly bear's right," Agatha said, "What are we standing around here for? Daylights fading, it's time to move on, let's Go! Go! Go!" Without waiting for an answer, she flew off after Bree.

 

"Wait! Foggy forest's the other way!" Leo called out, running after the two. He paused for a moment when he saw something shining on the ground. It was the scope lens. Oh, I must of dropped it when the fake Giritina appeared

 

Leo picked up the scope lens, dusted it off and put it back on, before resuming pursuit of Agatha and Bree.

 

[Leo reacquired scope lens]

 

[TalonCat]

Four fair travelers -

All rather tall -

Set off through the ground to seek Mesprit's Hall.

The Eaves of Hiraeth,

Where Emotion sleeps (or so it's told):

This was their ultimate goal.

 

Though the four would never have known from their earthen transport system, the sun was casting a thick orange glow against the mountain fog. This thick tangerine spray obscured all view; though a passing traveler could imagine that the light had taken Pokemon form, one standing in the mountains would have wished for more than the eerie amber ribbons that sometimes visited between the hanging clouds. Atto, Haldor, Ruphus, and Zagan would feel nothing but the relative dampness in their surprisingly comfortable hole.

 

The turning earth was nearly as pretty a scene as the sun-stained surface. Flashes of crystallized leaves - trapped in sap older than Haldor - and the blood red of Cornet Stones, and the clear crystal blues of Water Stones - a thin vein of them undulated like a wave in the passing dirt - all coloured the grey and auburn walls of the tunnel. The ground itself was a surprising mixture of silt, solid volcanic rock (though soft enough for Haldor's lifetime of experience to crush without much trouble), and clay. This was surprising because the general consensus about the mountain that the quartet was nearing was utterly impassable by air, land, under-land, or sea (the lattermost because there was no sea anywhere in the vicinity).

 

In short, the going was curiously the opposite of rough.

 

...At least, until they fell into a hole.

 

The ground rumbled beneath them; the tinkling sound of silt falling through a deep crack echoed all around them. The clay gave way as the stones supporting some sort of cavern tumbled and fell. The pit yawned below and around the small crew, and as a sort of unnatural fatigue (which fit the tales of the mountain more closely) came over them, they fell.

 

Before they hit the ground, gentle magnetism lowered them slowly to the cold stone floor. Tens and twenties of living gems surrounded them, looking on in silence as the lavish torches that lined their walls shone straight through the azure crystals of their bodies. One winced. Another shuffled forward (as best as a legless creature can) to sniff at the odd bug-thing on the ground. Two or three rushed down the cavernous hallway to fetch a few friends and some medical attention if they remembered to do so. (It wasn't that high on their list of priorities, considering some of the rocks from the ceiling seemed to have formed a living serpent.) A larger Carbink sighed, rolling his eyes.

 

"More visitors? We need to have that roof patched."

 

-------------

 

It had started to rain and her fur was wet and she was tired and Tiramisu kind of hated it. The rain, she thought, was fantastic. It brought new green sprouts and was a pleasant sort of cool on her fuzz-covered skin. It lifted her up on bad days, and this should have been one of those bad days in retrospect. But her paw burned a little, and she knew from experience that the small, constant pains were the ones that filled her with the strongest rage. That meant that the steady, torture chamber rhythm of plip-plop-plip-plop-plip-plop-ploooop of the rain on her face and the water rolling down her forehead would almost certainly drive her to insanity within the hour. Luckily for her, the entrance to the Seaside Bluffs was just in sight. There would be just a bit of shelter, even if it was of the algae-covered, wet stone kind.

 

Cas, on the other hand, had enjoyed the walk from the clearing. The rain had a fantastic effect on his disposition. A fire could never start in this wetness, and, grim premonitions aside, the feeling of the spray had calmed his nerves. The Dusknoir drifted contentedly beside Bree.

 

He supposed that one thing was weighing on his mind still, though. He thought that perhaps the Reuniclus would take offense if he'd asked about her outburst immediately... But surely now he could inquire safely? It hadn't been a long thing, but nonetheless he hadn't heard the whole of it, and he was embarrassed to admit that he was highly curious about it. If she seems at all uncomfortable, he resolved, Then I'll leave it.

 

There was still the matter of how to phrase the inquiry so it wouldn't bother her. Cas promptly threw that matter out of the metaphorical window. It was too opportune a moment to be worried about every detail. (This was mainly the rain's effect on him; if it weren't for the inclement weather, the question would have been asked exactly three days later.)

 

"Ah, Bree..." Cas rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. Perhaps he could just not say anything after that? Or better yet, never say anything again? yes, that would do nicely - no, of course it wouldn't. He just wanted to know how she was feeling; this reaction was ridiculous.

 

"If you don't mind my asking, what happened back there? Are you alright?"

 

[Team Shadow Tag has arrived at Seaside Bluffs!~ See the "YOU ARE HERE" portion of the Location Post for a little bit of info, and then proceed into the dungeon!]

 

(( Nnnng, Reed's part will be with the next post. He was left behind, right? ))

[sailing101]

((Yep. It's also possible that Agatha perhaps maybe did sneak in drawing a possible mustache on Reed possibly perhaps before leaving maybe.))

 

For a majority of the trip, Agatha had been drifting near Tiramisu. Sometimes she floated behind, others she drifted to the side where she would just be visible out of the corner of Tiramisu's eye. And how could Agatha not? The Meowth's current mood was quite palatable.

 

 

Leo surveyed the area ahead. The cliffs seemed to change every time he looked somewhere else, and nothing seemed to quite fit together properly. Without a doubt, the area ahead was home to a Mystery Dungeon; The Seaside Bluffs. He stopped by the Kangaskahn Statue and sat town.

"We should take a few moments rest here before moving on," He explained, "We're about to the Seaside bluffs, a known Mystery Dungeon. It's a low challenge dungeon, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful."

Edited February 27, 2014 by sailing101

[octopi]

((Ooh, if Zagan was hit by one of the rocks (or, uh, the ground, which did indeed happen), does that mean he's gonna transform back? ))

 

Though he didn't want to ruin the kid's fun, Atto was about to tell Zagan to for the love of Arceus stop singing when the ground suddenly gave way.

 

A few minutes later, he cracked one eye open and stared straight into the face of a rocky Pokemon he didn't recognize. She sniffed at him. He blinked. "Oh. Um." He peeled his other eye open and realized he was upside-down - poor form for an adventurer, not to mention very uncomfortable (he could feel little clumps of dirt lodging themselves in the cracks in his carapace). "Oh! Excuse me." With some difficulty, he rolled over, causing a miniature rockslide in the place he'd just been. He shook himself like a wet Herdier, but he knew that there would be dirt stuck in him for days to come. Maybe Zagan would help him get it out later.

 

Speaking of Zagan...he craned his neck up and squinted at the rubble, trying to see where his friends were. Haldor was sprawled around the wreckage - and was that a Flygon wing trapped between those rocks there? - but he couldn't see the smaller Pokemon, at least from where he was. From there, his gaze flicked up to the torches lining the cave walls, then the group of Pokemon staring at them. "Ah." Stuttering was becoming a recursive theme for him today. "Er, we were just passing through! We didn't mean to...um...sorry about your roof."

 

--

 

Bree parked herself on a rock covered by slick moss. She had been moping the entire trip here, since the Giratina incident, and she had no intention to stop now. Petty anger and remorse were a mix of emotions she felt basically any time she disagreed with someone, and it was particularly bad right now, considering she probably just angered or at least startled a lot of potential friends. She wanted to fall facefirst into the water, float away, and never think about anything again. But she knew that wasn't an option right now.

"I'm...'m alright," She mumbled in response to Cas. "Just...stuff. I do ssstupid stuff like this s'metimes. S'fine." She was becoming less legible by the second, and decided to shut her mouth altogether. She turned around to survey their group. Leo's mood didn't seem to be affected, but a vaguely depressing aura surrounded the entire group - or possibly that was just her. Why was Agatha still with them? At least she wasn't...trying to murder or kidnap anyone anymore. The fact that that's a positive thing really says something about your state right now, she thought, and giggled out loud. "Um, yeah. I'm fine," she continued, trying to enunciate everything clearly this time. "We can just...rest. And, move on, in a bit." At least mystery dungeons were something she'd trained for, and with a bit of luck she could just spend the rest of this adventure not talking at all.

[reddan]

The day before...

----------------------

Red was beside herself with joy. Just a day's journey away from Foggy Forest! Wow! A real Mystery Dungeon! Now she was really going to be a real adventurer!

 

Knowing the challenges she'd face the next day, Red did her best to get some rest that night when they set up camp, oh she tried, she really did, but she was just too excited to sleep. She paced, she fidgeted, even practiced launching shadow balls and seed bombs into the woods, and digging around their campsite, just to expend her excited energy.

 

The moon was high in the sky when she finally felt tired enough to sleep, having whiled much of the night away practicing for the battles to come.

 

-----------------

 

Alright. First battle. Here we go. Red could handle this opponent. Granbulls were normal; she could take cafe of this with just a couple of rock smashes, no sweat.

 

The zigzagoon darted back and forth, quickly nearing the enraged pokemon. Drawing close, she leapt into the air and smashed her paw into it with as much force as she could muster. Yes, truly the best rock smash she'd ever done! If the Granbull wasn't already fainted from that, the rest of the team could easily finish it off!

 

She lightly landed back on the ground, feet barely disturbing the dusty floor of the dungeon. She turned back to see what state the Granbull was in.

 

The next thing she knew, she was flying across the room. Her back slammed into a pillar and she rolled to the base of it. Her eye felt bruised and swollen from the impact, but she couldn't tell if it and the other injuries she sustained were from what hit her, or the pillar that she hit. Peering up with her good eye, she spied the Granbull stomping over to her. Her rock smash - it had done nothing! There wasn't a scratch on its hide! How... how could this be??

 

The Granbull was bearing down on her now, jaws opening wide, crackling with electricity. Thunder Fang. Red looked to her friends for help, but they had turned away - no point in helping the little zigzagoon take down a granbull. If she couldn't take down one opponent by herself, what good was she? They had bigger fish to fry. There was a big boss right over in the next room, they were going to fight that, no time to wait for the inexperienced little rodent pokemon.

 

Red called to her friends for help, but her voice caught in her throat. She coughed and tried again, but they were too far away to hear her. Her fur began to stand on end as the granbull's jaws closed around her.

 

The last thing she saw was black.

 

--------------

 

Red awake with a gasp, sweat drenching her fur. Light was just starting to tinge the sky in the east. The zigzagoon shakily got up and started to lick herself off. The dream had left her even more anxious than the night before, but it was no longer a happy excitement that gripped her nerves.

 

After pacing a few more minutes, doing her best not to disturb any of her sleeping teammates, Red eventually tried to go back to sleep. She had a couple hours, at most, before they completed the last leg of their journey to the dungeon.

 

Her first dungeon, and she was going to be a sleep-deprived, nervous wreck. She had a feeling this wasn't going to go well...

 

----------------

 

And so when Leo said that they should all take a moment's rest, Red was all too eager to flop down for a quick nap. She was too tired to let her nerves keep her up now; anxious Butterfrees still fluttering in her stomach, Red lay down to try and catch a few moments of shut-eye, the nightmare from earlier dancing just at the edges of her consciousness, teasing her, taunting her, haunting her...

 

Hopefully, this hour or so of restless sleep would be what she needed to survive her first adventure.

Edited February 28, 2014 by reddan

[TheTron852]

Ruphus coughed, regaining his consciousness. The first thing he felt was a pressure on his wing and a dull pain in his back. "Oooh boooy... what in the name of Arceus just happened? And what happened to others?"

But that thought temporarily vanished, as he opened his eyes to see a rocky Pokemon unknown to him, with glowing jewels embedded into its body.

 

And it was right in front of his face.

 

"WHOOAAAH!!!" - Ruphus screamed from the surprise, launching himself backwards. Bad move: his wing was trapped under the rock, so he fell back in his position with pain shooting through his joint where his wing was connected to the body. It was enough to fully wake him up, and now he noticed that this Pokemon's jewels weren't glowing: a light from the torch shone through them.

 

"Oww... Standing right in front of someone's face is not the way to wake someone up..." - he muttered, rubbing his joint.

Edited March 4, 2014 by TheTron852