Route 4 - Spikes Averted
"Thanks to someone's might with a sword," Mitzi answered Lambert, smiling. "I really don't think being crushed and skewered would be good for my flyer's maintenance. I probably wouldn't like it either."
She could go at a careful pace thanks to Lambert—and maybe Kaia—stopping the walls. Her flyer was actually meant to carry some cargo in a basket that she didn't have. And she certainly hadn't calibrated it for full-sized hummies. On that note...
"You can let go now," Mitzi turned from Lambert to address her hanger-on, Zachaia. "We still have a ways to go in this exercise I think." Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Acid, that mix-up critter was all iced up in there - just as he laid it out!
Seez rotatoed his eyegazers over the other cats in the room, who all looked like their heads were about to roll off into the sunset, they were so completely bonkers-crazified.
"Dudes, dudes, let's get downtempo for a sec, a'ight? I just solved your prob! See, he - or she, or whatever - 's all iced up! Can't move! Now, before ya go losin' yer walnuts again, it don't-"
It seemed his beaming hit a blinder, 'cause heads were still rollin' - enough for Princess to grab at him with... green ropes? He didn't have much time to figure it out before he was yanked from his footing. Those green ropes wrapped around a pretty sensitive spot on his upper chest, too, sending a sharp jolt of shuddery not-focus all over him.
"OOF!" he grunted, his 'stinx telling him to look down at the source of the ouch. He didn't even see his Pause Bubble begin to 'buffer' - it'd look like the Griffon was starting to move again, frame by frame, like it was being played back on a very laggy video feed.
Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!Lux - Jungle Challenge - Hallway 1/2
Ah, so the griffin actually stopped. Well, that meant that Lux - who was now slightly relieved - was going to slow down his pace when Seez assured them that he successfully took care of the griffin.
But then Rosa scooped them up with some vines. Lux yelped in surprise (his Opalescent Wing twitched a bit as well) as he and Seez got pulled towards the remaining three. They were going at a faster pace than before now, so it's probably more of a blessing than a curse. With a bit of an effort, Lux tried to turn around - as much as the vines wrapped around his chest could let him - to take a look at the frozen griffin.
The thing was...that the griffin was no longer frozen. It was slowly starting to come back to normal!
"Guys...we have a problem!", Pollux shouted at Mara, James and Rosa, looking back at them. "The griffin....i-it's starting to move again, so you b-better quicken your pace~", Lux then tensely stared again at the griffin, with a clenched jaw and a clenched Wing (into a fist, to be precise).
Sweet dreams are made of this~ Who am I to disagree?Rosa, Group 1/2
When the griffin stopped...er, stopping and started to move again, Rosa realized that she may have just made a rather critical mistake.
"Understood!" she yelled back to Pollux. "Moving faster!" She looked towards the stairwell and flung her hand outward again. Another vine burst from the ground and wrapped tightly around her wrist, Rosa grabbing onto it as well. Then it jerked backward, pulling her, Mara, and James (assuming they were still holding on) to the stairwell.
"Go go go!" She let go of the vine, causing it to fall to the ground, and started hurrying up the stairs as fast as she could.
"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."Hallway 3
His aim was normally good, but he'd miscalculated exactly how fast Izzy was going and somehow managed to nail her on the ass. Thankfully she didn't seem too worse for the wear. Brokk still winced at the impact, though strangely it seemed to just make her fly into the thing faster.
The gargoyle was fortunately dealt with, and Brokk jogged across the bridge before another monster could pop up.
"Sorry about that, Dizzy." He said, rubbing the back of his neck as she landed. "Don't know how my aim was off that much. How's about I make it up to you by making you some armor? Something that'll dampen the force on you when you crash into things? Even with your power, that looks like it hurts."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?Dizzy
”Huh? Ah, nah dude. It's fine. Faster I go, less it hurts. I don't just mean feels bad, I mean I actually legit don't get hurt at all,” Izzy reassured, only to pause in thought as she completely reconsidered this idea. Mostly due to the fact she was still idly rubbing her backside.
Hmm.
“...on second thought. Uh, maybe some light stuff? Like maybe some underarmour... I'm gonna be getting my supersuit made soon so it probs won't matter by then anyhow. But 'til then...”
She offered him a grateful smile, awkwardly patting his back before sort-of floundering her hand away out of doubt that it was too friendly.
“...Thaaanks, man... heh... anyways. Anyone else got a numbbutt 'cause I ain't gonna help with it!” she lazily called out to the others, flipping down her sunglasses and grinning at them lopsidedly.
bork"I-I'm doing my best on r-running for my l-life, yes! J-Just s-stay behind t-the barrier a-and you'll...p-probably be o-okay. I-I hope."
...Well, he would've started running faster but considering he was mostly being dragged along, James just looked a little silly And glad that the vines Rosa sent out hadn't bounced off the inside of the dome.
Although if that'd happened...that could only mean bad things. Or there was a slight glitch with the backpack. He wasn't about to complain.
Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.Inner Sanctum 1/2
Thankfully, Rosa and the others managed to drag the stragglers to safety in one piece. The broken time bubble had loosened the griffon's hold, but it was slow enough to keep it off their tails. Before long, they were all up the staircase, their final challenge laying before them.
At the end of a long, slanted hall sat several golden monkeys atop a small stone pillar. They were well-sculpted, fitted with several glowing gems across their bodies and polished to a golden sheen. The only discrepancy was they all bore Sue's face, but they were works of art all the same.
But there was a small catch. Up above, two large boulders hung over the monkies. They were held aloft by a flimsy old net, barely keeping them at bay. The ropes continued to fray with each passing second, and there was no telling how long before they gave way and turned the students into pancakes.
Inner Sanctum 3
Group 3 had a different problem. Beneath their feet lay a glass floor filled with deadly acid. The monkeys sat atop a pressure-sensitive pad. The moment they removed them, the pressure would be offset, and the glass protecting them from the acid would open. There was probably a way to remove the monkeys without giving them all an acid bath, but even if there were, they'd be cutting it close.
Inner Sanctum 4
Group 4 would see a similar sight. But instead of the glass laying beneath their feet, it loomed over their heads, brimming with molten lava. The monkies lay on a pillar at the end of the hall, but they were balanced on a set of scales. Two large monkies on one scale, three smaller monkies on the other. For now, the scales stood still. All they waited for was whatever fools dared to upset the balance and turn them all into slag.
Edited by kkhohoho on Mar 20th 2021 at 11:58:35 AM
Inner sanctum, fiery monkey business
Lambert gave a look at the challenge. What were they supposed to do here? The lava looked no fun at all, and it might even get hotter than tolerable soon.
"So, what is the big idea here?" He asked, trying to give the room a look. "Keep the monkeys from moving?"
Wake me up at your own risk.Mara Springwood, Group 1/2
Mara held on for dear life as Rosa launched their little daisy chain toward the exit. She landed heavily, but nonetheless let out a jubilant bark of laughter as the group climbed the stairs and continued down the hallway. She belatedly let go of her grip on Rosa and James, and nudged Rosa jocularly as they moved.
"Talk about flower power, huh?"
She also cast a glance back towards Seez and Pollux.
"Maybe save the yowling for the actual cats next time, you dig? We're keeping it on the down low here..."
Mara trailed off as she took in the scene ahead of them. On the plus side, they'd reached the monkeys. On the other hand, giant boulders. Mara's skill set was not particularly helpful in the face of boulders. Still, Mara'd been in some tight spots before, and she could at least throw her two cents in.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to sponge off you cats for this one. But here's my pitch. Angel Face, Flower Child, I figure you've got some torque in you if you work together. If we yank the pillar down, we've got monkeys on the floor, and if we're lucky we've also got a mother of a barrier between us and the pinball game from hell. Seez and Jimmy here could play damage control, help control the fall, you feel me? And, uh..."
Mara winked at the group.
"I'll be the eye candy."
Edited by furnacedoor on Mar 20th 2021 at 4:08:08 AM
Inner sanctum, fiery monkey business - Hall 4
"Plan?" Mitzi looked at Lambert then ahead of them at the type of video game puzzle she always skipped. She didn't have to look at the lava. She could feel it. Simulations were not supposed to make her sweat.
"We're just going to knock the monkeys off the weights from here and let the lava fall on an empty room. If it gets hot this way, we'll fly back until the heat's off." She shrugged. Seemed simple enough. "You can wave your sword and knock them over from here right?"
Edited by CenturyEye on Mar 21st 2021 at 9:40:56 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our livesDizzy
...
“...Dudes. I think I played a game like this once...” Izzy observed, noting the glass floor beneath them and experimentally tapping it with her foot. “Like a puzzle thing. Maybe we gotta do it in the right order. Or just grab all of 'em at once...”
She let herself levitate, mostly so she didn't feel distracted by the constant threat of an acid bath. Even if it was only simulated.
“...I mean I beat that level with noclip. But blah-blah-blah. Got any ideas or stuff...? I can uh... pick things up near me when I start floating next to 'em. Like they get dragged up... not just people, other stuff too. Can't control it though. Maybe it'll help though...”
She shrugged, which admittedly looked strange when she was by then completely upside-down.
Edited by Enirboreh on Mar 20th 2021 at 3:02:42 PM
borkCarol
After shaking the gargoyle's wreckage off, and nervously crossing the makeshift door-bridge, Carol arrived in front of their objective, a bunch of weird teacher-faced golden monkeys. Which was a relief, since it meant they were already pretty much done.
Unfortunately, they were attached to an incredibly obvious booby trap. And Alice still wasn't talking to her, but that took a backseat right now. Still, Carol felt like she knew what to do here. She'd seen this in Indiana Jones. And it wasn't like there was any real danger if she screwed up.
Without bothering to consult her classmates, Carol walked up to the pedestal and carefully took hold of one of the monkeys, getting a feel for its weight. Quickly and carefully, she lifted it up, and replaced it with a mass of hardened mud from her own body that weighed more or less the same.
Once she had secured the monkey, she hightailed it out of the room in seeming success. Only to stop short at the bottomless pit that she had no way of crossing on her own.
That's what you get for being an ass
Lux - Jungle Challenge - Inner Sanctum 1-2
Yes! They managed to get out!
With their entrance into the Inner Sanctum, Lux - with a few grunts and wiggles - managed to free himself from the vine's grasp. "Woo! That was...tense!", he said as he quickly did some stretching.
"What I did back at the clearing was kinda reckless...", he sheepishly glanced at Mara as he gradually finished stretching, "I-I promise to not do that again..."
Moving on, at the end of the hall lied some golden monkeys that bore the face of Ms. Wukong. They are also adorned with jewels. They seemed like they wouldn't really look out of place in Ma's collection.
Fetching them would be a piece of cake if it weren't for the large boulders looming above them. For Lux, though, that was kind of debatable...
"Hm-hm, your plan could work, Mara, buuuut...couldn't I just destroy them?", he casted a look at the boulders, pensively stroking his stubble. "I mean...hehe- I'm plenty strong and I've got an equally strong third arm, leg, whatever you wanna call it!", with a proud grin, he humorously flexed his arms, with his Opalescent Wing following suit.
"But still...I'm just asking a question here. I'm not really opposed to following your plan, sis. Whatever floats your boat..."
Edited by Noussibonne on Mar 21st 2021 at 3:49:32 PM
Sweet dreams are made of this~ Who am I to disagree?James, Inner Sanctum 1/2
"Um...i-if things get really bad...I don't t-think my backpack c-could stop multiple b-boulders from c-crushing us..." James quietly replied, getting flustered and nervous at being called Jimmy and rummaging through his backpack and Emergency Emergency Kit before brightening up a little at mention of damage control.
"I-I could...maybe u-use the backpack to push t-them away...b-but I can't exactly promise it'll be enough."
Edited by TheRealWren on Mar 21st 2021 at 8:40:52 PM
Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.Rab-Team 3
The young speedster rolled his eyes at Carol's "plan." "Yeah, I saw that movie too. Now what, Indy?" Edging up to the pressure plate that was now coated with mud, he started looking around the edges of it. "So you did well, as far as you went, Miss Double Trouble. The plate isn't the problem. It's not the heist, it's the getaway...or so I've heard. Let's figure out the pit so we're not trying to do it on the fly, especially since I'm betting Doorknob's portals won't be an easy solution here." He paused, contemplating. "I might be fast enough to grab it and get across before the acid opens. Might. I'm willing to try. Or....we attach a rope to Izzy, she sits on the plate, then once we're across the pit, we just pull her off like we're flying a kite?"
He was walking around, looking down at the acid. "Looks unpleasant. I bet it will stain our clothes, at the very least. That's what I'd do, to drive the lesson home. But we need to pretend it's real. And work together." He shot another look at the Muddy Buddies. "That's why we're here, right?"
Brokk
"It's no trouble." Brokk assured, "In fact, if you wanted, I could make your supersuit for you. Not to brag, but there's few in this world who can match the craftsmanship of a... dwarf..."
Brokk trailed off as they entered the next room, revealing an acid pit hidden under glass. It was obvious from the pressure plates that as soon as they grabbed the monkey statues, the glass would open and drop them in.
"Ah, well that's certainly a trap. Bit obvious, though." Brokk mused, staying behind the door so as to be off the glass floor. "Probably best for the lot of us to wait back here while Dizzy grabs it and flies back."
Even as he spoke, the mudgirl(s) had already taken one of them, replacing it with a glob of mud to hold the pressure plate down. "Or that, I suppose. Though I think we need one each, so we'd best grab them all."
Mentally, he grumbled at the fact that his particular skills weren't useful here. But he supposed there was a point in that - not every power would be useful in every situation.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?Seez groaned as he freedomized himself from the slicky fingers of Princess' gunge green ropes. Dusting himself off, he only rolled his eyegazers as he listened to Angel Slice sorry-spill all over the place. Seez' sorry tank was all outta sorry, he had no reez to spill any of that - he had that sitch slooshed back there, until they had to static up his signal! Not his fault they weren't using their denklumps.
He got over that quickly when he saw the monkeys at the other end of the room. "Oh, hey! We just zhwooped all the way to the ca'cloosh of this whole 'jective? That was sonic. ...Gungely sonic..." he said, scratching his chin in suspicion.
"So that's our golden graboid? 'Course, there's phantine rocks up there, 'cause this whole place wasn't already givin' off enough Indy Jones vibeoramas. Alkali," he said, dismissively. "Don't pop your heads off, I'll just ice one o' those rocks like I did with Grif der Griffon back there. Can do it right pronto."
Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!Dizzy
“Hey hey hey. That was reckless but we know that works now,” Izzy commented in regards to Carol's move, looking more pensive than irritated even though she'd had a momentary expression of panic on her face to begin with. “I could probably take one but just one, with how they're spaced out? Sooo... who can take the others and get back in time? Or just cheat and float like me? If you wanna get complicated, if anyone's got a line I could stick us to the ceiling and we could lower ourselves down...”
She paused, before shrugging her shoulders.
“If we got a line. If not, ehhh. Open to suggestions 'n' stuff. Oh and hey, Brokk-dude. If you wanna try making my suit? Go ahead, man. I'd be pretty flattered~”
borkMara Springwood, Group 1/2
Mara rocked back on her heels, affecting a casual pose despite her acute awareness of the imminent danger. Her eyes narrowed slightly at Seez before her face relaxed once again and she shrugged broadly.
"Hey, take it easy, man," Mara said, addressing both Seez and Pollux. "Sounds like you cats have got it covered. But, uh, if you don't, and this scene goes sideways, we're roadkill, you feel me? So maybe we try it my way, and if that's a wash, then the tough guys can brute-force it. You dig?"
Though outwardly relaxed, Mara tamped down a flare of agitation. That lone wolf attitude was dangerous, and the kind of thing you only got away with if you already had power. It left a sour taste in her mouth.
Path 4
Lambert looked at Mitzi with a nod, trying to visualize the target properly.
"Hitting the three? No problem" He commented "Hitting them in any good direction is going to be the problem" But he started giving it a look.
"I have an idea" He said, "Forge Zephyr" A beautifully crafted Katana formed on his hand with a spark. The wind itself seemed to be attracted by the blade.
"I just have to aim high enough and it should be good"
"Might need help with the math, though"
Wake me up at your own risk.Rosa, Group 1/2
Rosa breathed a sigh of relief when she finally saw the monkeys, sitting at the end of the long slanted hallway. The relief didn't last long, though, as she then saw the large boulders at the end of the hallway, just waiting for their chance to flatten their group into paste.
So naturally, instead of running to grab the monkeys while there was still time, everyone decided to argue about what plan they were using.
Christ's sake.
"We don't have time for this!" Rosa yelled, frustration evident on her face and in her tone. "Look, I'll just use my vines to grab the monkeys and then we're going to run before we're all crushed into bloody smears! That sound like a plan?!"
A pause. Then she straightened, clearing her throat. "Apologies. I'm a bit impatient today, it seems."
"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."Mara Springwood
Frustration growing, Mara felt her mind begin to race, imagining the potential consequences of screwing up this challenge, trying to figure out the biggest threats and preparing to face them...and then she came up short.
Oh yeah, this doesn't matter.
Sure, Mara didn't exactly buy the song and dance Sue had performed earlier when she'd asked about punishments. Stumbling at the finish line like this wouldn't necessarily be a tiptoe through the tulips, but she was Mara goddamned Springwood and she laughed in the face of punishment, be it corporal, psychological, or existential. So this? This was a breeze.
Turning her palms outward in a conciliatory gesture, Mara began to move backwards down the tunnel.
"In that case, you cats just go to town. Show me whatcha got, superkids! I'll just be back here, getting ready to run like hell, etcetera, etcetera. Copacetic?"
She got a few more steps away before her bluster cracked a bit. Mara may have been frustrated, but she wasn't in the business of hanging people out to dry. She couldn't bail without getting her last two cents in.
"Maybe, uh, make sure you two cats are aiming at different boulders, though! Like, Seez go left, Lux go right."
Mara put a fist in the air in a halfhearted attempt at support, still moving back.
"Divide and conquer, and all that jazz!"
Lux - Jungle Challenge - Inner Sanctum 1-2
So...Pollux was going to comply with Mara's request and follow through with her plan, but things were getting tense within the group. Rosa's outburst especially startled him, but he wouldn't blame her for it. There was no way to tell when the net keeping the boulders at bay will give in...
...and yet...they were just standing there, doing nothing about it...
"A-A-Alright then!", Pollux, like Mara, also did put a fist in the air...albeit with a bit of distress. "I'll go for the right one!", he exclaimed.
With that said, Lux dashed towards the golden monkeys. With his eyes locked onto the right boulder. When he got sufficiently close to them, he then jumped with enough strength to be around the boulders' level.
"HA!!". His Opalescent Wing started to undulate in a snaking motion before extending itself towards the boulder with next to no effort. The Wing shaped itself into a huge fist. If it all went according to plan, the Wing would have destroyed the boulder upon contact.
Edited by Noussibonne on Mar 24th 2021 at 4:32:44 PM
Sweet dreams are made of this~ Who am I to disagree?

Spikes Averted
"Everyone in one piece?" Lambert called out, ripping Gloir off the wall. He took a breath, that kind of power surge always left a strange feeling over his body. Might need to do a check-up at some point. Pouring "holy" and "fallen" power into himself can have some weird consequences.
"That was quite the opening, isn't it?" He commented, with a whistle "They deserve some credit, this place really sells the idea of danger"
Taking back Deuil too, he gave a nod to the others and jumped to the stairs.
Wake me up at your own risk.