ITT: We Have All Become Pokémon

L'Arachel's Manor: Foyer

   HEY, WHAT ARE YOU—   , I yelled in surprise as Whitney tried to push me down.

   I'm not trying to hurt him mor— Look...I was trying to take a "precautionary measure" so that the "vendetta" the Quilava dude had against those two would have been put to an halt, and then possibly brought up in future and peaceful situation. With that out of the way, we can resume our main objective!   , I tried to explain,    I'm sure that you've more diplomatic skills that I do, so go ahead. Try to calm down the guy who randomly got a stick up his ass, and is fucking trying to tear those two into shreds. You're better mediators than me, so you've obviously know how to calm him down!   , I said, with a sarcastic and venomous tone. I then sighed.

... Now Whitney was getting mad. She tries to hold herself back as she talks again.

"Do you even know what Confuse Ray does, dummy? He'd just smack himself a bunch and pass out again. Why are you being difficult about this, anyway? And honestly, I'm not a talker. I think that's what the princess is for. I'm just trying to keep you from making this worse."

L'Arachel's Manor: Foyer

   If he's not stupid enough, he might not even try to attack!   , I retorted. I sighed again, this time, the sigh was slower. I directed my gaze towards Hikari. I stay silent for a while, before speaking up again.

   We'll see if our Damsel in Distress has got some good sweet-talking skills...   , I said, visibly calmed down, with a slight pout on my face.

Edited by Theyja on Feb 16th 2019 at 8:41:16 PM

"... Damsel in distress?" She looks over to the princess she had in mind, Autumn Farbridge. "I mean... Yeah, guess she looks a little bit distressed. Weird phrase for it though."

Foyer

I watch as the scuffle ensues between Niles and the Vassals and find myself immensely curious about the statement "mental afflictions lasting for some time after the hex has been lifted?" What the hell does that mean (besides the obvious?) How deep does this thing go?

What more aren't we being told? How deep does a hex like this run?

L'Arachel's Manor, Foyer

"Fuzzy? Noooo, I'm Woodruff." He laughs at his own little dad joke, noting how it's about twenty years too early for him to be making that sort of quip...and he can't say he'll ever actually want kids...why is he thinking about all this now?

"...suppose Dinah's got ya stayin' with—" Suddenly, he notices Niles lashing out at the two former vassals. His adrenaline and anxiety spiking, he yelps and shirks back a little, putting Marlon between himself and the Quilava.

"Niles, what are you—!" [I fall forward onto my hand, reaching the other hand to try and stop him, but he's already off, and he's already been stopped for now by Hikari's barrier...for now. He is out for Monty and Notte's blood...and at this point, I can't care about what they did, I just want this to be done.]

[Pulling my tail back, I well up a thick cloud of pheromones around it before pushing myself up and whipping it forward, sending a swirling column of the stuff towards the barrier. I'm hoping it'll catch him on the rebound and...overwhelm him...hopefully, just overwhelm him, that's the most pleasant outcome I can think of...]

Edited by BlackMageAnolis on Feb 17th 2019 at 5:22:17 AM

[Foyer]

"We have already confessed the deed", said Notte, clearly ashamed, "All on L'Arachel's demand, we saw to it her desires were fulfilled. We realize that it was horrendous. We realize many of you may not be willing to forgive us. But we have come all this way to try and repair the damages we have assisted in making."

The barrier still stood.

Hikari looked a bit anguished by everything happening, but she still responded to Marlon, saying, "Not a direct aspect of the hex itself, but oftentimes people who can be cured of a hex still have to deal with... Bad memories and resulting trauma surrounding the hex. These are of the mind exclusively, and should be handled as such."

Montresor considers using Hypnosis, but he sees Gene and Cole rushing to hold Nyquil and stops for now. He can only offer a solemn gaze in response to Nyquil's rush of bloodlust, Dana's glare, and Mila's disgust.

Gerome approaches slowly, looking prepared to assist in any restraint.

Noriaki breathes out with a hint of sadness, "It deeply saddens me to see him in such a state..."

He still keeps his quill in his wing, ready to use Spirit Shackle if necessary.

Nephenee also approaches, coming near Whitney and Rainmaker.

"I wouldn't say we should just let the guy run rampant", the Scolipede said to Whitney, "He wants to straight-up murder them, it looks to me. I get where his anger comes from, hell, I'd probably react the same way myself, but I think just not doing anything while he gets violent isn't the best idea."

Edited by Konkfan7 on Feb 17th 2019 at 6:29:25 AM

Other people try to grab me, to which I respond by using Wild Charge to turn myself into a living taser. Doesn't stop a weird cloud of… something from coming at me. "Convenient that you only feel bad AFTER screwing me over, isn't it? You don't give a shit about me. You only gave a shit when Nori gave you two that stupid speech about friendship or whatever! Well, FUCK ALL OF Y-!!" All of the fatigue and pain I've been holding off hits me at once. I crumple to the ground with a "KHH!" I try not to breath in the cloud. "Hurgh… I hate you… I fucking hate you…"

Edited by shrubBird on Feb 17th 2019 at 8:29:33 AM

Foyer

(Zapped by Nyquil, Cole and Gene stumble backwards. Cole falls backwards onto his rump, dazed, while Gene passes out against Dodie's side.)

(I simply look back to the others in silence, unsure of what to say or do.)

He gonna be okay? (Marsha asks.)

L'arachel's Manor, Foyer

As Nyquil uses Wild Charge, Mila grabs on to him suddenly and absorbs as much of the energy she can into herself. She holds on to the Quilava even afterwards, not knowing what to say any further but hoping that he'll stop the fighting at least for long enough for them to handle L'arachel.

"... You'd do well not to act like you know more about Nyquil than us."

Staring at Rainmaker in bewilderment, Autumn offers him only a single comment before she turns around and stomps off. As she moves, however, she notices Eliot's actions and rushes towards him, still on edge from what Rainmaker had just attempted. She doesn't approach closer than a few feet, but she's clearly distraught as she tries to process the situation.

"Eliot, what are you doing? Didn't you— didn't you just hear what I said?"

Foyer

Wait a second—why does this seem familiar? Hold on...now I remember. I caught some of this very thing earlier today at the stand. Watching Niles getting taken down by the poison gas I look over at the vassals.

Okay, I'm sorry...I do remember now you saying something about this earlier. You're trying to improve yourselves and look past aiding that witch by working together with us, and that's enough.

Kevin is getting rather impatient. He really wants to get moving, because getting that kid back still ranks high and knowing that he's this close to rescuing him increases pressure on him.

Can we get moving yet?

L'Arachel's Manor, Foyer

"Autumn, I was just trying to..." [...oh, shit, I basically just sent a cloud of poison Niles' way.] "Goddamnit...I, I really didn't hear what you—look, I..." [Shaking my head, I just walk over towards Niles, bending down to try and grab him and pull him out of the poison cloud.]

Seeing that Nyquil's outburst has been quelled for now, Woodruff peeks out from behind Marlon, breathing a deep sigh of relief. He isn't quite sure what to make of it...he could go with what Hikari said and chalk it up to some small part of this curse still holding onto him, which...doesn't bode well...not at all. If the curse doesn't fully go away...

"W-we need to go," Woodruff says to the others, though perhaps too quietly to reach everyone effectively. "Say we spent enough time on this." Without much warning, he starts dragging Marlon towards their destination.

I continue coughing. As Eliot pulls me out of the cloud, I hear what Marlon has to say. "You've gotta be shitting me..." Cough. "That's all it takes to win you over? God, I didn't realize you were this fucking shallow." I hack and spit. (Does that apply to the rest of them? All it takes is some "I'm a good guy now/Okay, I believe you" to be "one of them?") This is the fucking worst. All of this frustration and my body doesn't even have the strength to get it out.

Foyer

(Fixated on Nyquil at the moment, Marsha nearly falls over sideways when Woodruff suddenly begins pulling Marlon away before picking up the pace and helping support Marlon with Woodruff.) Dang, Ruff, warn me next time... (Marsha mutters as she begins moving.)

(I'm still rather perplexed over all of this, but nevertheless, I lift Sally back up and begin following Woodruff, Marlon, and Marsha, looking at Nyquil in worry all the way.)

[Foyer]

"... Very well", said Noriaki, tipping his hat and going back to the march forward, "It pains me to have to leave Nyquil in his current state without immediate reconciliation, but we have done what we could and must stop L'Arachel. No amount of what we could do now aside from confronting the source will stop whatever she intends to do with her still growing power."

Hikari followed closely behind, with Notte and Montresor still looking solemnly to Nyquil before turning to follow themselves.

"Hey. It might be good idea for some of you to stay here with 'ol Niles, or maybe keep him close on a tight leash at least", said Nephenee, crawling to where the others are going, "Just leaving him right here in this place on his own would be asking for trouble."

Gerome nods to this and also joins the trek, mentioning, "I've got some mostly foolproof methods of restraint, if anything from him starts looking like too much for you to handle with your bare paws."

The two beetle guardians lag behind, but are still clearly coming along.

The walk through the kitchen and hidden passage is uneventful but a bit crowded.

Upon coming up via the ladder again, those who were in the throne room earlier would see that the throne is no longer placed near the hidden entrance, and the hall seems to have gotten longer, with a staircase going upwards placed where the room's end behind the throne previously was.

Whitney shrugs. Guess that makes sense. "I can stay with him. If he tries anything, I'll... I dunno. Do something for sure!"

Then, she looks again to the two defectors. Again, she's brand new to the group but this whole thing still smells like fish. "But should those guys come with you? I mean, if I were about to fight a boss, the last person I'd want on my side is one of their employees, their ways changed or otherwise."

Foyer

You wanna stay with him, Gene? (Cole asks Gene.) You seem really put out.

I can... (Gene says, climbing off of Dodie and moving toward Nyquil. Cole and Dodie begin following the others.)

Throne Room

We're in the right room, right? (Dodie asks.) I don't remember there being those stairs here.

Well, most of us haven't been here yet so we couldn't tell yas! (Marsha remarks.)

(Goodness, Sally is heavy...I place her down for a moment as I look at the stairway. We're past the point of no return at this point, aren't we? I feel my stomach starting to churn again like it seems like it has been since this day started. "Stay strong, Dinah...")

Foyer to Throne Room

I get dragged along as we make our move ahead to the throne room.

Throne room

How much further until I can take a break...?

I ask, exhausted and a bit exasperated from being pushed back along too fast.

Kevin prepares to draw in deeper.

Say, is there any way to actually tell what mon a combed was previously? If so, did you see a Tediursa?

He asks the vassals.

Edited by Team42Larson on Feb 18th 2019 at 6:44:48 AM

L'arachel's Manor, Foyer

Autumn remains behind with Nyquil, Whitney, and the others. She crouches down next to him and holds on, making it evident from her body posture that she doesn't want anyone else getting close. Once most of the others file out, she looks down to Nyquil, and speaks to him quietly.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry for not being there for you, for telling you I was someone I wasn't, for not being the person I should have been. For being upset when you wanted to fight. I'm sorry, I want you to be okay."

L'arachel's Manor, Throne Room

Mila felt torn deciding to travel with the group to face L'arachel instead of remaining back with Autumn and Nyquil, but she knew that there was no running away for her any more, and that this was what she had told herself to do. To face her fears and make sure they didn't get hurt. As she looks over the crowd coming with them, she notices Dinah with a strange mon in her arms and moves over to try to figure out what's going on.

"Dinah, is that... a kid? Why are you bringing them here?"

Sally doesn't respond to this aside from clattering shut as Mila approaches, fear returning to the girl as she feels the tension in the room. Koss follows behind Mila, likewise curious about the Clamperl Marlon had mentioned earlier.

"If yer gonna go an' fight, ah should keep an eye on 'er. Ah ain't gonna go past the sidelines... an' ah'll make sure others don't either."

Koss gives a pointed stare towards Marlon as he mentions this. Though maybe he should keep an eye on Woodruff and Eliot too, neither of them seemed particularly up for the mental strain of the fight ahead and it didn't take a psychic to figure that out.

Throne room

I was afraid of her getting lost in the manor again... (I admit to Mila.)

(Mila is right. Sally doesn't need to get any closer to L'Arachel than she already is.) Please do... (I tell Koss.)

Throne Room

As I hope to god I can get a break sometime soon I feel the eyes of Koss stare me down after mentioning how he'd keep people from moving off the sidelines and into the fight.

What? I'm being serious about not getting into the fray. I'm pretty sure if this leg gets injured even further I'm screwed for life.

(… They seriously did it. They're just accepting them with no fucking hesitation.) I watch as they leave, partially hoping my gaze could just kill most of them. Once they're all gone, Autumn starts talking to me. A massive pit began to form in my stomach. "I don't… I don't get it, Mom… Am I actually just some joke?"

Foyer

(One look at the Quilava had made the decision for Claude. He looked at Zelda and nodded.)    I shall stay here. If you wish to continue on without me, I trust the others. I hope you take care.   

(Looking at the wounds, although somewhat healed, Zelda nodded back.) I will. I hope you don't push it any more. (With that, Zelda followed the others out, albeit reluctantly.)

Throne Room

(After that little incident, we made our way to the stairs. Pretty much the easiest thing I can do is just quit and try to pretend this never happened, but who said my line of work was easy?)

(The Tsareena looked at the Clamperl with a mix of curiosity and anxiety. What in the world is a Clamperl doing here? She clearly looks too young to be an adventurer or a servant. Whatever she is, she hoped that Krokorok knew what she was doing.)

(Arsene glared at the stairway ahead. Another hidden passage. Hopefully this one won't lead to a trap or an ambush.)

L'Arachel's Manor, Foyer

"Guys," [I say to those already making their way out,] "he'll, he'll be fine. We don't need to restrain him..."

[I look to Autumn, already attending to Niles...and apologizing like crazy. I bend down and lay a hand on her shoulder.] "It's gonna be alright...we'll sort this out. ...all of this, I, I guess..."

[Niles...I'm gonna need the full story after we take care of L'Arachel...though at the same time, I don't know about just leaving him down here.] "...just..." [I pat his forehead.] "R, rest up, buddy." [With that, I walk over, gather up the staff, go over to get my bag...]

"...Claude...I wonder...could I..." [No, just say it.] "Could I borrow your shield? F, for the fight, I mean..."

Throne Room

Woodruff buckles in exhaustion, still wondering just how the hell they managed to get Marlon up that ladder. "Ahh, I gotcha, Marl..." It was a small miracle they managed it, but they did...

Nyquil is still on Woodruff's mind. His outburst at the two former vassals and the matter of his curse. He still reserves some worry about Montresor and Notte as to their true stance in this conflict, considering how quickly Nyquil said they gave him in to L'Arachel, but at this point, thinking on it is pretty much moot. The possibility of the curse lingering...just a moment ago, Hikari releasing Nyquil from L'Arachel's control felt like an absolute victory, but now, it's as if...

...they would have to kill her, wouldn't they. Maybe not to release his parents, release whatever spell she had placed on them, but certainly to prevent anything from lingering. It only made sense, didn't it? As long as she was alive, there would still be some part of her there asserting her influence.

...the thought of doing it himself still wracked his nerves. He gulps, cursing his diminutive willpower.

"Don't mind me, Koss," Woodruff responds a little sullenly to his old friend. "Gonna make sure these guys don't get a scratch on 'em." Perhaps he was a little jealous of the others then.

Edited by BlackMageAnolis on Feb 18th 2019 at 12:40:15 PM

L'Arachel's Manor: Foyer To Throne Room

I sighed as the chaos about Nyquil finally ended, and we moved to the hidden room.

Did he just calll Autumn..."Mom"?

I suddenly cracked up and started laughing for a while before shutting myself up.

   O-Oops, sorry...   , I said with a sheepish smile,    ...I kinda cracked up, and...c'mon, guys, let's go! We must slay L'Arachel!   , I looked more sheepish as I shouted.

I quickly floated towards the hidden passage.