The Eternally Guilty Sun: Revival

[padfoot]

Ratchet had been playing with his wrist com. After decending the stairs he took a seat on the bottom most step. He found that he was in range to buy ammo from Gadgetron so that was a little bit of good news. He managed to use his membership to replenish the ammo lost since he got to this planet. He closed the shop app and turned at a flurry of noise from the top of the stairs.

 

It was the pompous couple. The female seemed to be pummeling the door with some kind of invisible force. Ratchet was impressed....until it passed thirty seonds. They it was just embarrassing. What a bunch of losers. Ratchet went back to his com, opeing the mini map to see if it functioned in this area.

 

"Come shoot this part of the wall! I marked it with my sword!" the loud male yeled at him, not even bothering to use his name.

 

Ratchet rose from his seat and looked up at the pair. He cupped his hands around his mouth, " off" he yelled back, "Why don't you just punch it again? Worked great the first time."

 

 

Ratched looked at the checkered floor when Ascension scolding them for taking a distructive approach. Firepower was what he knew best. If Clank was here he would have taken a more diplomatic apporach. He was always the talker in their duo. Ratchet's mood got much better when the couple declaired that they would not be talking to them anymore. That was fantastic. No more long winded rants or condescending racist comments. He wasn't even convinced they needed two loudmout apes to help them.

 

After they (thankfully) left to go deeper into the castle, Ratchet looked to Ascension, sooo. Just an idea. But...how about we ditch them once the storm is over? he asked, ' where are these stars anyway?"

 

 

 

 

[Sugar-Free]

Were Ascension a more petty god, he would have reacted to the beratement he was receiving from these two children.

 

Were he a more powerful god, he would have smote them in their places.

 

 

He would have liked to restate why this near-impossible task at hand was not possible to accomplish on his own. He would have liked to remind them that, so far, he hadn't said a single out of place thing to them; he would have liked to remind them just how horrible they had treated the ones they demanded respect from. But instead, he merely ignored them. It wasn't possible to expect respect in turn from those who claimed they were above you, no matter how unlikely and pointless a projection that was. Disillusionment seemed to more of a running trait even outside his own family, and he saw the madness of his siblings manifested near-perfectly in these two. He wondered why, and fought the urge to hate them because of it.

 

When the two disappeared into a door he'd assumed was sealed, he stood at the top of the stairs and regarded the others.

 

"Now that Owain and Severa have decided their fates, we should do the same." He spoke to the Star Door, "What paintings are active?"

"Well, I guess now Whomp's Fortress is. Other available paintings are: Bob-omb Battlefield; Shifting Sands Land; and Dire, Dire Docks. Some Castle Stars may remain."

 

"Hmm...excellent. That means splitting the team..."

 

"Sooo. Just an idea. But...how about we ditch them once the storm is over?" Ratchet asked. Ascension saw the look of disdain and apology in his face. He sighed, his ears drooping a bit from exhaustion. It seemed that the blight in his blood wasn't the only thing wearing on him.

 

"That would be admittedly wrong of myself. I'm in the situation where I can't afford to lose people." His eyes trailed over his hodge-podge group of dragons, humans, and everything in between. Much quieter, under his breath, he asked himself, "I wonder even if you all will be enough..."

Ascension ruminated on this possibility before turning his attention back to them all, steeling himself again. He couldn't show that amount of weakness; he trusted in them. Now wasn't the time to stop believing in them.

 

Again came the Lombax's voice: "Where are these stars anyway?"

 

"It's as the Bowsertron voice said--there are paintings around the castle that lead to dimensions linked to it. I'll need to group the remainder of you into groups of three, and one of you needs to accompany me to search the castle itself. Once more, the star locations are: Shifting Sands Land, Bob-omb Battlefield, and Dire, Dire Docks. The obviously hot area is better suited to those acclimated to it, the docks are good for the aquatics we may have, while Bob-omb Battlefield is well-suited for anyone. If you have any preferences, or for some reason you'd like to join Severa and Owain, tell me now."

Edited January 12, 2017 by Sugar-Free

[DuskOfTheStars]

Solar hissed at the duo as they proceeded to be rude to Ascension when he hadn't stepped out of line. The other thing she was peeved about was how they talked to Ratchet. The thoughts of how these two humans seemed to think of everyone made Solar spit. Plus the last time she'd checked, gods were supposed to be HARD to kill! She'd heard of Legends trying to kill one another but only destroying the place in the process...

 

"I think I'll go with Ascension. I don't think the Trainers'll keep their Pokémon out constantly, and I don't think anyone else can understand me. So I suppose, Ascension, I'll come search the castle with you."

 

The Torracat stepped towards the Eevee.

 

---

 

Stormcatcher snarled quietly. Why should it come as a surprise that there were dragons that could heal with lighrning magic? Why should it be a surprise that he was impervious to lightning? He wasn't in Sornieth, but he still expected there'd probably be dragons that could heal off elemental magic in other realms. After all, he highly doubted that was exclusive to Sornieth.

 

And then he realized he was being touched. He tried to jerk his head away. "I"am not a hatchling. Why does everyone keep acting like I AM?!" he snarled, miffed at being called precious.

 

"And as for my name... I am the Stormcatcher." The dark dragon was now wondering when that Beastclan would leave him alone. I... don't... need any help! He used his mantis claws and regular arms to help support himself as he lifted himself off the ground, underbelly still throbbing from the impact. His left wing was twisted, now that he saw it properly.

 

Of course he had fallen out of the sky. Rrgh. He snarled again, frill flattening. This was when he missed his immortal healing factor.

Edited May 19, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[Thaelasan]

Owain and Severa stood outside a very large painting, staring at its intricacies with a bit of concern.

"Very nice and well-painted."

"Somewhat." Severa replied, touching the frame. "Probably expensive."

"Oh, most certainly." Owain responded, nodding.

The two of them stood for a long while before finally talking again.

"But what is it OF?" Owain asked, confused. "Is it a tower?"

"What are those little black, floating things?"

"And the stones?"

The two gave each other a glance. It was obvious they had not seen much, if anything, like this before.

"So... where are the stars? In this room?" Owain asked, looking around. "I don't see anything like that around here."

"Bah. The door was probably toying with us." Severa said, grimacing. "Stupid painting!"

She reached back a fist in anger, then released it, punching the painting with as much force as she could muster! It shattered!

Or... would have, if her hand hadn't gone through the tapestry, and not like going through fabric. She squealed in disgust, pulling her hand back quickly as a ripple spread across the painting.

"EW EW EW OH MY GAWDS!" she said, horrified. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"....Wowwwwaaaaaah..." Owain mouthed, tapping the painting so that more ripples began to develop upon the surface. Caeldori watched with interest.

"What?! It's disgusting!" Severa said, holding her hand as though she was afraid it was going to leave her body. "It's like some kind of ooze!"

"No no! It's like the Outrealm gate!" Owain suddenly realized, reaching his hand into it. "Remember how it felt to go through that?"

"I'd rather not!"

"But it's exactly the same! And no hero of the epoch leaves an adventure undiscovered!"

"I'm not jumping in there."

"Not alone." Owain replied.

"No. Let everyone else get those damn stars if they're so important. Why do we have to do this?!" Severa said, irritated. "And it was always hard to escape the Outrealms! Ugh, such a damn chore!"

"Hey, we're already in a world we can't escape. May as well go further down the rabbit hole." Owain stated, holding out his hand. "Coming?"

She gave him a disgusted look, but then sighed, taking his hand.

"....Fine. Come on Caeldori." she sighed, grabbing her horse's reins. The horse agreed readily.

Owain slid through first, then Severa, and then the horse...

And then silence came over the painting room.

[Sugar-Free]

Ascension nodded as Solar came up to his side.

 

"Alright. Solar will be joining me in the search for the stars hidden in the inner castle. The rest of you will need to pair off into groups of three and head for your painting. Bob-omb Battlefield is here in the atrium on the far left; Dire, Dire Docks is through the double-doors with the keyhole behind me in the basement, and Shifting Sands Land is in the basement as well. Any questions?"

 

He looked around, hearing no complaints, then continued:

 

"Alright. Everyone is free to go to a painting. Ratchet, Kali and Zoey, I'll assign you to Dire Dire Docks; Arctic, Vulpes and Valerie can go to Shifting Sands Land; and Doey, Blossom and Shawn are to head to Bob-omb Battlefield. Once you find a star or so, meet back here in the atrium. Good luck!"

 

Ascention looked at Solar and nodded.

 

"Okay, let's get going! There should be a door on the far right with stained glass in it. It should be a sure-fire first star!"

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

 

"Stormcatcher? Huh! What a cool name that is! Very suitable~if you ask me!" She tilted her head and smiled at him.

 

She did spot the badly-twisted crook of his wing, and the smile faded. The bone hadn't been set correctly, and it was likely to have been rendered lame as a result. She averted her eyes in embarrassment and guilt.

 

"Uh...I know a lot about dragon biology, and I could prolly reset it...buuuut I assume you don't want me to go breaking your bones all willy-nilly..."

 

About then, Alex noted Ike's heavy footfalls just behind her.

 

"Hey! You guys alright?!"

 

"Yeeeah, for the most part," Alex said as she turned to him. "Stormcatcher here broke his wing, and I fixeded it, but...uh...yeah, so, I didn't mean to, and it's actually prolly worse now..."

"So long as he can still walk, it'll have to do for now." He wiped the water from his face and looked out toward the forest.

 

"We need to get moving. I'm getting worried about Soren back at base." He motioned a hand at Tyrande, "For anyone unacquainted, this is...?"

 

"Tyrande! And this is Stormcatcher!"

Edited January 14, 2017 by Sugar-Free

[DuskOfTheStars]

Solar nodded, taking note of what Ascension had said. She turned to stalk over to the stained-glass door, hissing in annoyance as her claws clicked on the floor.

 

She had a question, though. "So... what are these Power Stars, and what do they do?" Solar questioned, turning to the Eevee. Noticing Ascension's scars, she couldn't help but wonder exactly what had happened to him...

Edited May 20, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[Sugar-Free]

((Lol I just realized I made an oops in my post. Intended to say "a door with stained-glass windows inside it" :| ))

 

Ascension's ears pricked up as Solar began to talk to him. He considered her words as he looked at the door in front of them. This was going to be a small issue.

 

"Mmh, should have brought a human for this...just a moment!" He stepped back and jumped at the door, "--Hwah!!", grabbing the knob with his whole body and letting gravity swing him down to turn it. The force of his impact send the door swinging inward toward the wall, and he dropped down when it bounced back and slowed to a stop. He motioned for her to follow him in to the room, which seemed oddly cold and dark for what had once functioned as a sort of sunroom.

 

"The Power Stars..." he began, "...they are ancient sources of power--as the name suggests--that were created by and infused with a sort of celestial energy." He could feel Solar eyeing the marks on his body, and he felt compelled to speak on it: "...not unlike what was used to impale me, and end my life so many thousands of years ago."

 

He walked to the center of the room and studied one of the two the stained-glass depictions of the Princess Toadstool.

 

"They, in conjunction with the Princess, are what allow the castle and its multi-dimensional paintings to exist and function, as well as serving as protection. Without them, entire rooms are 'locked', and if they were to ever be stolen, would lead to the destruction of the castle itself, at least over time. And a Peach without her tree is VERY dangerous..."

 

His eyes glazed over as he remembered tales of the disruption of her placation...and shuddered a bit. Bowser and Mario had bith their work cut out for them constantly playing the "Capture the Princess" game for her amusement.

 

The still images of the princess and a rose in hand were identical. Only one was the entrance to the Secret Slide. At the bottom: a Star in a box, hopefully.

[Felixr2]

"Yes, one of them came back for us, but haven't you heard what they said? They didn't even know we were missing at first! I told you, they don't care!" Kali shouted out, clearly annoyed.

 

"Shush, shush, Kali. It's easy to forget someone in a bit of confusion. I'm sorry, Vulpes, was it(?), for her behavior. She's a bit stubborn and impulsive from time to time, but usually she's nice. Thanks for coming back to pick us up."

 

After mounting herself on Vulpes' back, she waved to Kali, Blossom and Spritzee to join her there. Kali sat down in front of Valerie, Blossom in front of Kali and Valerie held Spritzee between her arms.

 

After a while of flying, they they arrived, seeing the scarfed boy with the odd ball walking into the door. As the walked in, they heard a thing about finding power starts in paintings. Perhaps not even the weirdest thing that had happened that day.

---

 

"Huh... huh... seems like this should be it."

 

Shawn had just arrived at a majestic castle and saw the rest of the group go inside. A bit out of breath from the long run, he decided to take rest.

 

After a little while, he suddenly heard explosions coming from the castle. He ran towards it with his ball, just to find that the human-fox creature was trying to destroy a door. And was failing miserably. The fuss about the door went on and on, until the other fox creature put it to a halt. He said they had to find Power Stars and named the paintings that they were in.

 

"Alright, so, who are Doey and Blossom?"

 

"I'm Blossom!" the young lady said, walking up behind Shawn. "And I think that man in the lab coat over there is Doey. Please, tell me, why do you keep carrying that ball around like that?"

 

"It's called a football, it's used in a sport called soccer. Back home, I'm part of the Raimon Eleven, we're aiming to become the best soccer team in the world so we can beat the aliens and stop them from destroying schools as they please and trying to take hold of the government. It also involves some special techniques with the ball, that I think might come in handy in real fights as well, which is why I'm carrying it around with me."

 

"Interesting... I'd like to see what those techniques look like." Blossom responded, hoping the techniques would be somewhat elegant.

 

---

 

Tyrande smiled as Ike asked her for an introduction, that smile fading a bit when Alex was faster than her, giving a very... summarized version of what she'd told her.

 

"Whisperwind." She corrected the girl. "Tyrande Whisperwind, High Priestess of Elune. So, Ike, where do you think we should be heading?" She asked him, convinced that following this man was the best decision, considering the situation she found herself in.

Edited January 14, 2017 by Felixr2

[DuskOfTheStars]

Solar nodded. Interesting... the Torracat walked up to a painting snd tapped it with a claw after noticing Ascension looking at them. Still, part of what Ascension had said bothered her slightly.

 

What does he mean by a Peach without her tree being dangerous...? That didn't sound good...

 

And then he's supposed to have died thousands of years ago and came back to life... why?

 

----

 

Stormcatcher eyed the Beastclans. It seemed he had to go with... Ike seemed to be the blue-furred one. And the dark one seemed to be Tyrande Whisperwind, as she called herself. Stormcatcher didn't know who this Elune was, but Whisperwind's title made him guess a goddess. Was she some type of Wind goddess? It seemed so, judging by the Beastclan's name.

 

The annoying one who had been hovering over him earlier seemed to be called Alex.

 

And these Ike and Alex seemed to be the only ones with some sort of idea of the situation. Though he remembered Ike had mentioned someone knowing more, and heading there...

 

Well, if they DID know more, then great. The dark dragon needed to get out of here, and he didn't know how.

 

With that, he began to follow the Beastclan. Of course, if it turned out to be a trap... lightning hummed across Stormcatcher's scales as the great dragon readied himself for a fight.

Edited May 20, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[Sugar-Free]

Seeing the one that Solar tapped resist, he gained that the other was the Slide's entrance. He touched the other with a paw, seeing it waver and ripple like water as he did.

 

"Solar, this is the correct entrance. We'll jump in and we should land on a platform. From there, there's a slide that leads to a room where a floating box is. So long as you don't fall, we should be able to reach it and hit the box and retrieve the star." He stood back a bit and nodded at the firery cat.

 

"I'll jump through first. You head in just after me; the painting feels like water when you touch it, but it'll give as soon as you pass through. I'll see you on the other side."

And with that, he shot forward, the pseudo-glass bulging and rebounding as he disappeared.

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

 

"Our best bet is to head into the forest. There's a large area that's been burnt out, and once we pass there, it shouldn't be too long before we reach the river." The ground was becoming soft and malleable, and when he moved out of the growing depression, a soft squelch accompanied. By now, the weather had nearly soaked him down to his underlayers, making him almost long for the damp chill on the docks prior. Even worse, Soren had likely grown weary of waiting, and had left to find a place to stay dry. He tended to get a little upset when he was left to sit and worry about things; he'd have to be sure to make it up to him as soon as it was convenient. He hoped he'd be able to trace him in the muck.

 

He looked to the great dragon again. He felt almost personally at fault for Alex's blunder, but at least it wouldn't pain him too much.

 

"Stormcatcher, watch your wing as we move. We'll take a better look at it once we get to our destination. And try to keep away from the riverbanks and stay on higher ground. I don't think any of us together would be able to pull you up out of a hole."

 

Ike pointed to the spot where he'd come into the clearing.

 

"Keep an eye out for boot tracks. My strategist could be looking for us, and if nothing else, we'll be able to follow him to wherever he took shelter. If I know him well enough, he'll make sure we know exactly where he is."

 

With that, Ike motioned for the others to follow, rubbing a hand through his hair in a futile attempt to wipe away the moisture.

[DuskOfTheStars]

Solar listened. Hmm... She watched as Ascension hurled himself through the painting, fisappearing into it as it rippled.

 

At first, she drew back as it rippled. But... no. And then she leapt through it.

 

It felt... strange. Solar wasn't sure she liked it very much--

 

--and then she landed on a purple-carpeted surface. Ascension was nearby.

 

"...so this is where the Star's hidden?"

 

Solar spotted a slide... of sorts... over a void. She headed to the slide.

 

----

 

Stormcatcher continued to spark. He noticed the rain...

 

...and then he realized Ike was talking to him, telling him to watch his wing. He had to restrain himself from snarling angrily about how he'd LANDED on it, not smashed it into a branch.

 

The dark dragon continued on after the Beastclan. He wasn't too bothered by the rain. At least now. If he fell into the water, on the other claw... that was reason enough to stay away from the river with the ground mush and holes in it. Sure, he'd fish for food, but he didn't exactly want to end up falling into the water if he could help it while fishing or walking.

 

Occasionally he glanced at the ground, but his attention was on what was ahead, and listening for any signs of a potential ambush. He was also eyeing the weapons that he could see, ready for any sign of a fight.

Edited May 20, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[Lemniscate]

((sorry for the delay!))

 

“We need to make for higher ground. I’d like to await my commander’s arrival, but I see that simply isn’t possible now.”

 

Cyil listened intently to Soren's words as she finished off the last of the food and dusted herself off. As she stood up and adjusted her armor, she noticed Soren's gaze trailing over the treetops and landing on an imposing stone tower. A loud peal of thunder soon punctuated the end of his statement, lending weight to his words.

 

“There’s what appears to be a tower just over there. If we hurry, we can take shelter before the river consumes this area.”

 

He motioned to the tower helpfully, although it was unnecessary since there wasn't much else around to block it. She quickly glanced back at the river and noted that it was indeed rising at a rapid rate before turning back to Soren.

 

“You will lead us there. I’m certain you understand my position.”

 

She nodded, although she briefly considered transforming into a dragon and carrying Soren to the tower. It would be faster, sure, but the sudden shift was bound to be startling and would reveal that she did indeed still have a weapon on her. Plus, she was understandably picky about giving out rides to people. The last thing she wanted to do was degrade herself into some common mount, especially since the very reason she could transform was due to her bloodline. My bloodline... no, now's not the time to think about that. There are more pressing issues at hand. Unconsciously, she curled her hand around her bracelet before shaking herself out of her thoughts and back to the present situation. Walking would serve them just as well since the tower wasn't far from their current location.

 

With that settled, she set off at a brisk pace towards the tower, keeping one eye on Soren and her weapons at all times. The rain pelted her hair, plastering it to her face, but she brushed it off of her face and readjusted her headband to hold it in place. A few droplets ran down her forehead and ears, causing her to raise a hand to flick them away. Ah, that reminds me. Without shortening her stride, she cleared her throat and turned her head back to direct a question towards Soren.

 

"I couldn't help but notice your reaction to my ears. I understand that they can be a bit jarring to those who have never seen them, but your reaction seemed... deeper. Would you care to divulge the reason or reasons why?"

 

While the question could be considered a bit prying, it was important to clear up any potential misunderstandings if they were to continue to work together. The situation wasn't optimal at the moment and they would need at least a moderate amount of teamwork if they were to brave the storm. She didn't want to risk anything happening later, so it would be best to get the prickly subjects out of the way first. Admittedly, it may not have been the best idea to ask a question that could trigger a hostile reaction while Soren had all her weapons, but she might not get a chance to later. Once they arrived at the tower, they would both be busy making preparations for shelter and travel.

Edited January 16, 2017 by Silverphoenixx

[Thaelasan]

Allow the camera to pan for a moment, if you will, over the entirety of Whomp's Majestic Fortress, rebuilt several times thanks to the sheer amount of times the very inhabitants have broken parts of it with their own weight.

See it zoom upon the top two parts, surrounded by traps and bullet bills that fly incessantly, droning for any threats. Watch now, as the camera moves down a bit to show the platforms and dangerous pitfalls which would surely lead to a tragic end should someone be foolish enough to fall.

And now see...

Wait, what in the world was that?

Dear GOD! Point the camera up! UP!

 

-----

 

There was a roar as three beings materialized into the air above the base of the fortress, screaming as they plummeted from a decent height into a bed of yellow flowers. First, Owain slammed into the flowers, then thanked the gods that he was alive.

Then Severa landed on him and knocked the air out of him, sending them both rolling over and over until they were covered in yellow petals and both sprawled near each other in the flowers.

A large neigh accompanied the final party member, who fell - thankfully - on neither party member but instead into the flowers with a larger thump, sending the petals all over the place so thickly that for a moment they could no longer be seen.

"Owain..."

"Yes, my love?"

"Please remove your hand from its current position."

"It's soft though."

"....Now, Owain."

"AS you wish my beloved."

Owain sat up, twisting and turning to shake himself of the petals which coated his face and body. He coughed and sneezed, rubbing his nose.

Severa pushed herself from the ground, a hand over her chest as she looked around, turning her body as well to try and see where they were. Petals fell from her hair and shoulders.

"Well, it definitely isn't a Ylissean castle." Owain said, holding a hand over his eyes. "....Looks barbaric."

"Ugh. Who would live in a place like this?" Severa grimaced, standing up. She began to brush herself off nonchalantly, picking off the stray petals.

"People who really don't like visitors!" Owain said confidently.

Severa looked over at him with a very disapproving expression.

"...I can't say you're wrong, but no way in hell will I say you're right." Severa grimaced, brushing a hand through her hair. "Not today anyway. I'm already irritated."

"Oh, because we're doing grunt work?" Owain asked, walking towards the fortress with a curious gaze. He began to inspect the stones that made up the foundation, impressed with the time it must have taken.

Severa looked up the tower stairs and patted Owain's back.

"Well, we're not getting anywhere sitting down here." Severa grunted, beginning up the stairs...

Suddenly, a block fired from the wall next to her and pushed her off the stairs, sending her toppling into the grass. She groaned, furious.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" she yelled as it retracted back into the wall, a grin plastered on its face. Owain just stared in disbelief.

"THE WALLS! THE VERY WALLS WISH TO PREVENT OUR SAFE PASSAGE!"

"Dammit Owain quit and find a way to get around it!" Severa said, furious. "Wait, you know what?!"

"What?"

"WHY ARE WE EVEN CLIMBING? I HAVE A FLYING HORSE!" she shouted, gesturing to Caeldori. But Caeldori whinnied.

"WHAT? You won't fly me?!" Severa asked, but then her tone went soft for a bit. "...I'm sorry, but why?"

Caeldori motioned with her head towards the roof of the fortress.

Several flying objects patrolled the peak, searching for targets.

"...Damn sentries. So we HAVE to climb to be under their radar..." Severa grimaced. "...Caeldori, do some low flying by yourself around us and keep an eye out for any power stars. If you see one, COME BACK IMMEDIATELY."

Caeldori nodded her long neck, and then began flapping her wings broadly. Soon, the horse was aflight, moving away from the two and heading into the sky -... but there was no ground beneath her. Severa looked out over the railing and almost vomited with fear. Owain shared her sentiment.

The two were on a floating island, with nothing beneath them save the ground of the fortress.

"Who... who designed this crazy place?! How did they build it in the sky!? Where the hell are we?!" Severa shouted, grabbing Owain's cloth that hung from his armor. "Owain oh my gawds if you've gotten us stuck on this flying garbage pile I'm never going to forgive you!"

"Do not worry, my sweet." Owain assured, taking her hands softly. "We shall escape. One thing at a time. We must find the leader of this place. Surely he'll help us get home if we... rough him up a bit."

He gave Severa a grin, which she soon returned.

"Oh you're damn sure I'm going to teach him a lesson in treating guests." Severa sneered, cracking her knuckles. "Let's head up."

[padfoot]

Ratchet nodded when he got his assignment to a place called Dire Dire Docks. Sounded pleasant enough. He turned and scanned the steadily dispersing crowd. He remembered the introductions of Zoey and Kali but couldn't remember the faces. They were one of the tall pink things. Eventually, Rathet caught the expecting eye of a female with large black pigtails and assumed that was one of them. As he got closer he gave a small wave, "Kali? I'm Ratchet and I don't think we were properly introduced" he said, holdig his hand up to shake. She had almost two feet on him. In fact, most members of the party had quite a bit of height on him.Ratchet was used to that though. He looked around the room, "so who is Zoey? And do both of you have aquatic equipment?" he asked. neither one of them seemed to exhibit any sort of amphepian characteristics. he was confident Ascention knows what he is doing. He needed to learn to trust his group. It wasn't everyday he got a team to be a part of.

[Sugar-Free]

Without a word, Cyil turned from him and began walking toward the tower. When words fell to silence, and Soren was sure she was invested in the path ahead, he chanced a look back at the river. Just minutes before he had sat there, still unsafe but fortified in the presence of the person he trusted with everything. Though the mind games had been a strangely invigorating but taxing distraction, he couldn’t help but feel that looming dread in his stomach and chest, that niggling concern for Ike’s well-being now that some of the tension had settled. He should have returned long ago, especially because of the weather and that they both only had a few changes of clothing. Of course, if he’d met up with Ascension’s posse, or what was left of them likely, he no doubt would have had to haggle with them a bit to get them to listen, if his experience was anything to go by. But...there was another possibility.

 

That the Nix beast had returned to finish what he’d started. That the sun-creature Eos had shown herself at last. For all the man had accomplish, for all he could do, Ike was only human, only beorc. Though that understanding pained him on more levels than just the association to his own decidedly inhuman heritage, it served as a reminded that, above all else, he was perfectly mortal. And that these celestial beings were, if not immortal, then certainly above-mortal.

 

And...what if he needs me...and I can’t reach him...? Hah...I suppose it doesn’t matter—I’m useless in this state...like this, I’d only be in his way—

 

The sound of Cyil clearing her throat brought Soren’s attention back around the front. He cursed inwardly at his lack of attention, knowing she’d likely caught him in his moment of weakness. To make up for it, he again set himself as expressionless as possible, What could she possibly want now?

 

"I couldn't help but notice your reaction to my ears.”

 

Blast. He must have let on too easily, letting her see him looking. He silently prayed she wasn’t the vain type, or worse, the suggestive type.

 

“I understand that they can be a bit jarring to those who have never seen them, but your reaction seemed... deeper. Would you care to divulge the reason or reasons why?"

And with just a few words, one in particular—deeper—his stomach wound back tight into a knot and his heartbeat became erratic. This reaction felt more intense than the realization that she couldn’t be human, which in itself was strange, as he had met plenty of inhuman folk earlier the other day. For some reason though, as he and apparently her knew, it was much more complex than just a simple bias. He studied her face for any sign of...anything, just something to drive away the sensation of unease he was feeling, but there was nothing but just the question she asked. He breathed in and exhaled through his nose.

 

 

It’s simple enough. Just a question; she knows I’m aware of it. There’s no harm in answering. If she wanted to kill me, she would have.

 

 

“You’re a shapeshifter of sorts, aren’t you? I simply wasn’t expecting to see any of your kind here.”

 

He shrugged, and gave a quick shake of his head to free a stray bit of hair that had fallen in front of his eye.

 

“You almost managed to hide it. Very impressive; if I hadn’t had any experience with shifters, I may not have caught it. I suppose I owe you my thanks for choosing not to take advantage of that, even if you did deceive me against my wishes.” The tower was now within full view. Judging from the height, it must be several stories tall, and the rooms massive. If he had a pen and paper on him, he’d busy himself charting it through once they got inside.

 

“What exactly are you, anyway? If your appearance is anything to go by, I’d say a dragon. Am I right?”

 

Even saying so caused his nails to bite into the binding of the tomes in his arms. He would have to watch her closely...something about her, something about the way she’d read him earlier had rattled him down to his core. Soren had built a reputation of having an indiscernible state of mind, and he rarely ever divulged information about himself or that which concerned him, an especially not to an unaffiliated party. Though his tone was somewhat biting, there was a sense of relief from coming forth to Cyil with this information; he could feel himself starting to ease up a bit. As if he could trust her.

 

And that wasn’t normal.

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

 

 

With a light ptap!, Ascension met the soft purple carpeting that covered the entrance to the strange, otherworldly slide. Solar followed soon after, and after a moment of consideration, took her place next to him.

 

"...so this is where the Star's hidden?"

 

She walked over the slide. Ascension followed suit, standing close enough to paw at the decline. It was deceptively textured to the eye, but the stone was slick to the touch. Beyond, he could see a couple gaps in the slide, but the rest was lost to darkness.

 

"Just down this slide. I'll warn you there's a couple gaps you'll need to jump over." He looked at her to see her expression, then back to the slide. "Now, if the rules of this place still apply, if you do drop, your position will be reset to the top of the slide. Just...don't make it a point to do so..."

 

With that, he backed up and poised himself to run.

 

"I'll go first! I'll see you on the other side!"

 

And he leapt, paws touching the slide for a moment before they splayed out around him, making him lose his traction. He didn't tense of panic--that was the enemy of what little control he had, and simply focused on making the few jumps without issue. A short curve and a jump later, and he arrived at the bottom, and saw the yellow box floating above a platform. He waited, hoping no harm had come to Solar.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Sugar-Free

[DuskOfTheStars]

Solar watched as Ascension leapt down the slide. He skid down... down... and away...

 

She leapt out onto the slide too - whoa. Fast.

 

She had to lean her body as a curve came up, sliding close to thenedge - nearly falling off, but managing to stay on - and then a gap, which she leapt over.

 

More sliding, and another gap, which she jumped too early. She barely managed to hang onto the other side with her claws. One perk of being a cat. The Torracat pulled herself back up, and continued to slide until she slid onto a platform. Digging her claws in to stop her momentum, she looked around, and saw the platform with a box.

 

And then she saw Ascension. She shook herself off, and walked over to him, waiting to see what he'd say next.

Edited May 20, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[Thaelasan]

"Oh this was a lovely idea, Owain. You just know the best places to take me." Severa said sarcastically, grabbing the side of a block as she heaved herself up. She turned around, holding down her hand for him to grab hold of. He grasped it, allowing himself to be pulled to her height as he used his own legs to get traction.

"I apologize, beauty of the stars, but what must be done must be done!" he said enthusiastically, moving next to her as he searched for their next point of climbing. "Relish in the adventure! Look around us! How many could say they have climbed this peak? But we two, the legendary chosen, have gained the right! Forced it upon ourselves!"

"Much to my chagrin." Severa replied. "Wait, what are you eating?"

"I found a Green Mushroom." Owain said, holding a piece out to her. "After thorough examination, I discovered it to be safe to consume. Fret not, it shall not hurt you."

"A GREEN Mushroom?" Severa asked, severely concerned. "Where the hell did you find a mushroom in a fort?"

"It was flying." Owain responded casually, taking another bite. "Little above us earlier. I saw it to be a portent, a sign!"

"Oh my gawds you're eating a flying mushroom that came from this crazy place??" Severa asked. "Did... did it make you go insane? More than usual? This isn't normal behavior, Owain! Not for normal people!"

"I never said I was." Owain replied, frowning between chomps. "It's delicious. Do you want a piece or not?"

"....Ugh. Well if it's poisoned and kills you, then I'd have to deal with everyone else alone. If you're going, you're taking me with you." she sighed.

"That's... the spirit?" Owain pondered as he watched her eat it.

"WOAH! What's in this thing?!" Severa asked, eyes wide. "I feel... like there's a shield around me or something! I feel stronger!"

"I mean yeah that's one aspect of the mushroom but I was more worried about the flavor." Owain said. "I thought it was pretty delicious by most standards."

"Oh. Yeah. It was pretty good." Severa shrugged. "Anyway, come on. Lunchtime's over."

"As you wish, milady."

Owain began to stand to his feet, looking around for a long while. He noted that Caeldori was making another pass around the fortress, still keeping her eyes on them when she did. It seemed she hadn't found anything yet.

Earlier, they had made great headway onto the castle when Owain had noted a man-sized cannon located near the base.

 

"It must have been made by an assault unit! We can use this to get higher!" Owain had claimed as he had gestured to the cannon.

"OR WE COULD DIE." Severa had argued.

"That's probably a very small chance."

"IT'S A CANNON."

"Medium."

Through much coercion (and after doing it first) Owain had convinced her to take the cannon higher up the castle - though she had overshot her trajectory and had almost fallen off to a lower level. Thankfully, Owain had caught her.

 

And now they were further up the castle, near the middle point. There was now a spinning platform in front of them, impeding their progress.

"Oh you must be out of your mind." Severa said as she grimaced. "No way. We're finding another way up. Let's climb the wall. This is worse than those slamming blocks we avoided earlier."

"Are you sure?" Owain asked, taking a step onto the platform as it made its next round. He had timed it correctly and was now spinning with the entire thing. And it was NAUSEATING.

He began to walk forward, trying to keep his balance, as Severa watched with trepidation. Finally she made an agitated noise and followed his example.

Now the two of them were on the spinning plank, trying desperately to keep their respective balances.

"Hey look! Another Green Mushroom! Want some?" Owain asked.

"Why didn't we just ask Caeldori to take us over this thing!?" Severa yelled, ignoring his question.

"That ruins the fun!" Owain replied. "We're almost to the end, I promise!"

Finally, they reached the end of the plank, and waited for it to reach the other side.

"You know, looking back, we could have just gotten on it, waited for it to spin to the side we wanted, and then gotten off... But then we wouldn't have gotten this amazing mushroom." Owain said, devouring half of it. "I feel validated."

"I feel nauseous." Severa said, as they both stepped off. "Give me a second."

"Don't worry. I do too. But don't vomit up the mushroom!" Owain warned.

"Ugh don't SAY it!" Severa said angrily.

[Sugar-Free]

A red-black form burst forth from the darkness, claws dragging on the stone as she slowed her momentum. After composing herself, she joined Ascension on the platform. He gave a little bow to her.

 

"Good to see you've rejoined the party~"

 

He led her over to the box, looking up at the box. The first star.

 

"Here we go...hup!"

 

He jumped and bonked the underside of the box. With a distinct boing!, the sides burst apart and dissolved, the familiar ringing of the star resounding as it spun up and came down. It rotated slowly in place, the black eyes staring out into nothing expectantly. He stood back and motioned at the star.

 

"Ladies first! I'll let you have the glory of taking this one."

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

 

Ike began to lead the party toward the forest. Alex, who was hanging out under the shelter of Stormcatcher's broken wing, had her arms crossed in front of her, just admiring the scenery. Everyone was rather quiet, which she didn't mind, but it was kinda boring. Her eyes began to wander around, trying to find something to talk about. She didn't know anything really about...well, ANY of her companions! Maybe they'd have something in common...

 

She began to pull out Cereal Killer to show to Stormcatcher before her eyes found something...shiny. Something sorta blue? Alex liked blue...a lot...and shiny was always good...~

 

"'Scuse me for a second guys! I'll be back in a sec~"

 

She left Stormcatcher's side to the fury of the elements, darting over to the something-something that she realized was partially buried in a rut in the mud. She knelt and started pushing away the mud, dirtying her hands up to her wrists as she finally managed to retrieve what she realized was a pouch, belted to a couple familiar sashes--one cream, one dark blue. Seeing as how they were so filthy they'd likely be impossible to clean, she opted for sliding the sopping sashes out of the belt loops and smoothing off as much dirt as possible from the once-soft leather pouch. It was nicely made, very sturdy and almost too lovely to use for its intended purpose. She slipped the ornate metal button on the flap out of its loop and lifted it, revealing the three blue objects she recognized from her own world.

 

"Jackpot! Elixirs!!!"

 

She shook them and uttered an ecstatic squeal, jumping in place before sneaking back to the group. She shoved them inside her robe and and started giggling to herself. She literally couldn't be luckier.

[DuskOfTheStars]

Solar looked up at the Power Star. Its eyes were dark - black, but they seemed to be... waiting...

 

Ah, yes, Ascension seemed to be letting her take this one. She padded up, and then launched herself into the air, snatching it with her jaws.

 

Energy. Energy that made her feel... powerful. Confident. Without any worry... and then the rush was over. And they were standing back in the room they had come from. The stained glass windows caused coloured light to play faintly over the ground.

 

She shook herself and turned to Ascension. "So where next?"

 

------

 

 

Stormcatcher felt something under his twisted wing. He realized what it was a couple seconds later when Alex started talking and darted out from underneath it, running towards something in the ground. The dark dragon hissed, wondering HOW the annoying Beastclan had got under his wing without him noticing.

 

He turned back, and continued on, until he heard Alex squeal something. Elixir? He knew of them as healing items, but he didn't know if that meant the same to this strange type of Beastclan. And the Beastclan was coming back... She (well, he assumed it was a she based on its facial structure compared to the tribes he knew) seemed to be heading back towards him, and he wasn't inclined to find out if she was going to try pulling something on him. Or let her sneak under his wing again - it was a good position to stab him in... He stepped away from her, slightly, and continued on.

 

The rain didn't bother him much, but what bothered him was the fact that only strange Beastclans seemed to be here - he'd seen a couple other dragons, but they definitely weren't from Sornieth, and some beasts and another, cat-like, variant of Beastcln that didn't appear in Sornieth. The only ones who seemed to know much of anything were Alex and Ike, but he wasn't going to ask anything. He didn't need help. Especially a Beastclan's. If they explained... great. If not, he may as well sneak off and find the coward who'd rent him from his immortality and power...

 

He glanced back at the group, casting a wary eye over the swords he could see. They probably had magic, too... and he narrowed his eyes.

 

If it came to a fight... he knew lightning magic. It was what made him, after all.

Edited May 20, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[Felixr2]

"Yes, that's me!" Kali told Ratched, honestly surprised - and not much more than that - that this creature had remembered her name.

 

"Zoey is the girl over there." She added, waving to the girl who was with her Reuniclus on the other side of the room. "Aquatic equipment? Not really, but Zoey over there obviously has a Reuniclus, which is a psychic type, so chances are it knows the move psychic, which would be just as useful if used a bit creatively. As for me..." She took a short pause to grab one of her pokéballs out of her dress. "Azumarill, come on out!"

 

"Azuuu!"

 

"See, although Valerie, Blossom and I are all dedicated fairy type trainers, that doesn't mean we exclusively train pure fairy types. This Azumarill, for example, is part fairy type and part water type, so it will be of great aid in the water."

 

When she was done talking, she noticed that her Azumarill was almost a third of Ratchet's size. Heh.

 

((will post for the others later, this is so padfoot can go on))

Edited January 18, 2017 by Felixr2

[padfoot]

Ratchet's eyes lit up with wonder when she pulled a ball from her belt, Changed it's size, then released a blue spherical creature from it with a burst of light. It was similar to the way his wrist com constructed weapons. The creature was light blue and white with a pair of rabit ears. It was sO CUTE. Ratchet poked it's belly gently with a finger. It was springy and soft, like it was slightly filled with air.

 

"I LOVE him. And he's a water...thing so thats perfect!" he exclaimed. Ratchet looked to the door with the key. Ascension had said thats where the...painting is. Everyone else in the room had already left to retrive their power star and Ratchet was excited to start a level. He looked back At Kali and waved his hand towards the door,"Well...letsgo He said, walaking towards the door.

 

The basement was like he expected. Damp and spooky. What Ratchet didn't expect was the fine tase in art. Massive paintings hung on every available wall surface. As they explored the room Zoey pointed out a small painting of a shipwreck hung near the ceiling. It was even built into the wall about a foot.

 

Ratchet pointed his fist at the ceiling and his wrist com materialized somehing that encompassed his hand. His Grppler fired a three clawed hook trailed by a cable of light. The claws sank into the stone ceiling and Ratchet was jerked off the ground and up to the platform. He turned and looked down at the women, "Here, use this" he said, tossing his grappler down to Kali Jusst grab the handle and point and shoot. it'll do the rest' While he waited,Rathet inspected the painting.

 

(((feel freee to advance as far as you want)))

 

 

 

 

[Sugar-Free]

The door remained open from when Ascension had first opened it. He followed suit to Solar and shook himself all over. He gave her question a thought; there were many areas where stars could be hidden. He didn't know if the position of the stars remained after the Princess's death, and there were no references outside of the paintings to know so. The Star Door was knowledgeable, but knowing its penchant for scavenger hunts, it was completely unreliable. Even to a god, of course.

 

"I don't know yet...I know there's a rabbit in the basement with a star, but Ratchet and Kali could probably pick it up on the way through..." He chewed at his lip as he walked back out into the atrium.

 

 

What he saw...perplexed him.

 

 

Standing stark and wide-eyed were Zoey, Doey, Arctic and Vulpes. They seemed oddly devoid of purpose...as if they'd forgotten what they were doing. He lifted an eyebrow at them, but assumed they may just be shocked by what was going on. Alone stood Valerie, though, and she looked a little purposeless. He regarded her as he and Solar approached.

 

"What's wrong, Valerie? Did you get reassigned somehow? If need be, Solar and I could accompany you to Shifting Sands Land." He turned to Solar, "If you're okay with that, that is."

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

 

Alex looked up as drips of rain pic'd and pac'd against her forehead. Stormcatcher had accidentally moved away from her as they were moving, and she skittered back over into his shelter. This time, now that she was properly shaded, she took out her Wind tome and flipped it open. She looked up at the dragon, a hand cupped at the side of her face.

 

"Hey, Stormcatcher! You wanna see some magic tricks? I'm popular at parties for my family-friendly approach to spell-casting~" Again, another half-truth--she was never allowed to light candles without matches. She burned a table up doing that once.

[DuskOfTheStars]

Lightweaver growled softly. Stormcatcher had somehow gone missing, according to the rather panicked Lightning dragon in her territory. She had thought he might have been sleeping (how long WAS it since he'd had a good sleep?), but the dragon was rather insistent that he was gone. It seemed his office and room had been searched, yielding no sign as to his whereabouts. The last dragons to see him had seen him exiting a room. And no one in the hall reported seeing him...

 

Was the Shade up to something again? So here she was, preparing to leave for the Shifting Expanse to investigate the Tempest Spire. Normally, she'd rather be investigating her relics... but if the Shade was involved...

 

She stepped out of her room, intending to go collect her supplies - and then reality shifted. Something tore away at her, and she had to fight back a pained roar.

 

When her surroundings stabilized, she was a bit of the way in the air - and she didn't have time to open her wings befire she crashed down in a heap with a noise of flesh and bone hitting pavement.

 

"Yow!"

 

First things first, what IS this place?! The trees are oddly shaped, the grass is much too green, and she was on a paved road in front of a... pink and white castle. Couldn't the owner have picked a less vibrant shade of pink? If anything, gold went better with white. Far better.

 

There was a picture of some sort of Beastclan in a dress, which she appraised. It wasn't that interesting to her, though, as it seemed to not be that old. The castle's building style was one she didn't recognize, and winced internally at. Who would live in this type of place? Beastclan weren't notorious for a good attitude towards dragonkind - in fact, the opposite.

 

Lightweaver looked around. The unnatural setting unsettled her - and so did the sky.

 

It was orange, at least the parts she could see through the clouds. Orange like a sunset or sunrise, but the sun was not in either position from what she could tell. Something was wrong here...

 

The brilliant dragon realized she was wet, and felt raindrops. Just perfect. The best shelter was the castle. She'd have to enter and keep her magic ready...

 

Oh. It feels... weak. And this place is too big. Much too big. Lightweaver looked down at herself, realizing that she was small. As if this couldn't get better...

 

Something also felt missing. Where was her connection to the light...? No... she felt... weakened. Weaker.

 

What manner of lowlife had pulled this off - and what magic did they command? The Shade couldn't do this...

 

---

 

Solar looked at Ascension. "I'm good with teaming up with V-- what's that noise??"

 

A noise like a body hitting the ground had come from outside. Faint, but cats had better hearing than humans... and then a voice yelped.

 

"...let's go investigate that."

 

Solar darted off, towards the noise. The sound of doors opening reached her ears as she continued.

 

---

 

Stormcatcher growled softly as Alex returned to under his wing, shifting a mantis claw down close to his side. He wouldn't hesitate to bring it out if it looked like he was going to get stabbed. And then she pulled out a book of sorts and asked if he wanted to see a magic trick.

 

 

"... and why, exactly, in this rain?" He looked up, feeling droplets hitting his body and wings. He wasn't interezted in any magic tricks. By the rest of the Eleven... he was a deity. And it was mostly hatchlings that were interested in magic tricks. He snarled, angry at being treated like a hatchling yet again.

 

Quietly, he growled "I am ages old... why do these Beastclan keep taking me for a hatchling..."

 

These Beastclan, the ones that looked like odd Serthis or Maren with legs... if they were all similar, snd they looked to be, they could also use magic, too... more to watch out for.

Edited May 20, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[Sugar-Free]

Stormcatcher started up his grumbling again. "I am ages old...why do these Beastclan keep taking for a hatchling..." That made Alex frown a little. He sure wasn't giving her a lot of room to work with.

 

"Alex," came Ike's voice from ahead, "stop bothering Stormcatcher. If he takes a bite out of you, I'm just gonna look the other way."

 

"Oh shush," she retorted, and looked back up at the great dragon. He had a super-unique (but more functional than some deer-lizards she knew) body structure, very different that the dragons she knew of. She wondered what environment he must have come from to lend himself to those weird mantis appendages. Was it hereditary? And why an affinity towards Thunder magic? The way he kept moving himself, she wondered why he seemed wary of magic. After studying him for a few moments, she gave him a playful little shove.

 

"Don't be so rigid, Stormy. We all know what we're doing here. I'm just trying to be friendly~" She smiled at him and shrugged. "Since we're in for the long haul, why don't you tell me a little about yourself? Maybe starting at why you're being so antsy being around a bunch of megucal people? I mean, you are a big 'ol lightning dragon, right?"

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

 

 

Before Solar could properly answer, a resounding THUD!!! shook the ground beneath their feet, and tiny granules of plaster falling from the ceiling into his fur. Without notice, Solar moved forward, saying to him "...let's go investigate that." He nodded and followed, ready to push at the door to open it.

 

 

--but skittering forward as he cam face-to-face with a massive, light-suffused winged serpent--another dragon! His ears flipped down and up in shock, trying to recover from the surprise. Where were they all coming from???

 

It was his duty as the chosen of the Stars to be as courteous as possible to these folk from the outer realms. He bowed to it--gender was difficult when it came to dragons for him.

 

"Hello there, outerfolk. You've arrived in a realm known as the Smashverse, and this is the building of the departed Princess Peach. This beside me is Solar, and I am Ascension; could I have your name in turn?"

[Thaelasan]

She had her head down, crying on the table. He had never seen her shed any tears. And he worried for her, deeply.

She noticed he was standing in the doorway, then looked up with an annoyed face.

"What?! You wanna say something!?" she screamed, and he merely shook his head.

"...No. I would never jest about something like this." he said. "What do you cry for?"

"Someone I lost... and you're making it worse.." she had replied.

"...I've cried for that too." he said, as the two stared each other down.

 

With a final grunt, Owain lifted himself onto the top floor of the tower, then held his hand down for Severa. She grasped it tightly, then he pulled her up.

"...Please tell me there are no more stairs. No more bombs. No more traps..." Severa whined, laying flat on her back on the ground, arms outstretched. "No moooree..."

"I agree... Those strange, projectile creatures were ridiculous." Owain replied, rubbing his face as he laid next to her. "It's almost like they were on a set path or something. But they looked sentient. How curious."

"Ugh don't try to overanalyze them. They were annoying and shouldn't have existed in the first place." Severa responded, groaning. "...It's like someone IS leading them."

There was a sudden, shaking sound of stone upon earth as the ground began to tremble and quake. Severa and Owain suddenly lost their balance and struggled to grab onto the lip of the stone as the massive slab they were on began to move.

"WHO IS ON MY BACK!?"

A strong, bellowing shout echoed across the fortress as the stone shook more uncontrollably, sending Severa and Owain toppling onto the ground below - which wasn't exactly soft. The two of them rubbed various parts of their bodies in pain as they turned to look at the stone slab they had been laying on only moments ago.

A behemoth of stone stood before them, with a malformed mouth that seemed to be trying to make a grin - but certainly didn't have enough teeth for it. Two, beady, red eyes glanced from dark sockets. Small arms and legs that couldn't possibly have lifted it off the ground were defying physics by doing just that. It stood in front of them now, looking at them with what could only be considered confusion.

"YOU'RE NOT RED HAT MAN." the beast scratched the side of its head, confused. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

"..Oh gawds, it speaks too." Severa muttered, rubbing her backside with a frown.

"WE HAVE COME FOR THE POWER STAR!" Owain held out both of his hands, proclaiming his goals. "GIVE IT TO US, GREAT STONE BEAST!"

There was a long pause as the stone creature rubbed the side of its head again and then considered the request.

"NO."

"Well that's just rude." Owain stated firmly. "I'm out of ideas then."

"YOU TWO NEED TO JUST LEAVE." the beast yelled, sitting down. "THIS IS MY TURF!"

"Well now we're just at a complete impasse." Owain frowned, hand on his hip.

"NO. IT'S SIMPLE. YOU RUNTS LEAVE." the beast asked, slightly annoyed. "GO AWAY."

"...Owain, can we kill it?" Severa asked, irritated.

"Oh. Yes. Let's." Owain grinned, flourishing Solas.

He ran forward and cleaved one of the beast's stone legs, leaving behind a very large mark. The beast obviously seem surprised.

"WHAT?! METAL CANNOT HURT ME! NO STONE CAN BREAK ME!" the great thing yelled. "I AM THE WHOMP KING! YOU CANNOT DESTROY ME!"

"Just shut up already." Severa yelled as she leaped at the King, enhancing her strike with Galeforce. But rather than wind, Owain jumped behind her and struck just as she did, leaving a massive crater in the Whomp King's side.

"I. SHALL. NOT. BREAK!" the Whomp King howled, stomping the ground. The entire roof of the fortress trembled as cannons began to aim themselves at the top of it. "GUARDS! SERVANTS! DESTROY THESE PUNY THREATS!"

Bullet Bills began to fire at the top of the fortress, the black projectiles grinning as they headed for the pair. But Severa had already had enough of them.

"It's because of YOU things that my horse couldn't fly us up here! I'm DONE with you!" Severa screeched, grabbing the front of one and shoving her spear into it. She directed it into the Whomp King, then jumped backward, removing her spear from it just as it exploded into him with a satisfying blast. The creature screamed in what could only be constituted as pain.

"HOW DARE YOU!? HOW DARE YOU!" it roared, trying in vain to swing at them.

"Little arms aren't the best for strikes." Severa smirked, landing in front of him as another Bullet Bill flew at her. Owain grabbed it this time, hurling it at the king as well.

"Indeed. You're poorly equipped for a battle with us. But we'll show you mercy if you give us the star now, FIEND!" Owain added the last part with a flourish, pointing at the creature.

"NEVER! YOU SMALL THINGS TAKE AND TAKE AND NEVER GIVE ANYTHING BACK, AND IF WE TRY TO STOP YOU, YOU HURT US!" the Whomp King roared, his broken body struggling to stand. "I WOULD RATHER BE RUBBLE THAN SEE YOU HOLD THIS IN YOUR HAND!"

He held up the star with a proud remark, only for a black, flying shape to grab it from hand and deliver it to Severa's.

"Thank you, Caeldori." Severa patted her horse, rubbing the beast's shadowy mane. "We'll be on our way now. You annoy me."

They began to fade away into dust as Severa held the star triumphantly but the beast didn't seem angry, he just seemed defeated.

"FINE THEN. GO, AND LEAVE AN OLD STONE TO TURN TO DUST. JUST LEAVE US IN PEACE." the Whomp King sighed, exhausted.

"As you request, 'King'." Owain bowed, but he felt a slight ting of sympathy for the stone creature. He wondered why.

 

-----

 

Soon the trio were standing back in the castle's middle room, a star in Severa's hand. It began to disappear inside of her palm, becoming part of her person.

"Well, that's one claimed? I guess? It did it just evaporate?" Severa wondered, worried.

"I think we claimed it." Owain shrugged.

"Ugh, I'm just glad to be back in this castle, believe it or not." Severa sighed, shaking her head. "My arms hurt from that climbing."

"Agreed. Let's take a moment to rest."