Castelia City, Bell Tower: Praise the Sun(birb)!
Thankfully for everyone, the visitors failed to realize what the Flygon's weaponry entailed. The L-shaped devices were probably mistaken for trinkets or talismans, if they were even noticed at all.
"Thou hast our thanks, fair maiden." the leader of the party nodded before ordering his followers to advance in tight formation.
They were in uncharted territory, after all; who knew what might happen to them if they strayed apart?
Though truth be told, that might have been a real possibility. The sights and sounds of this strange metropolis were more than a bit distracting, and most onlookers gawked at this flash mob of Renaissance Fair aficionados marching through the city. The eyes of strange and unfamiliar beings were everywhere, even if they weren't malicious. To an experienced knight, that alone was enough to keep one's hand near the hilt of his sheathed blade.
Upon reaching the lone many-roofed tower, the knights could not help but turn from their surroundings, and towards each other. "Meditation?" A peculiar form of prayer, but at least they understood the gist of it. This Lady Helia was supposed to be some parallel to the Princess Gwynevere; it would only be fitting for her to practice her devotion to her Father's light.
Now if only they could tell where Her Holiness was speaking from. All they saw above them was a feathered beast.
...and then SWEET GWYNEVERE'S AMAZING CHEST the beast flew down and started TALKING TO THEM IN LADY HELIA'S VOICE!!! Formation broke, gasps escaped helms, some of the more craven or paranoid knights even raised their blades against this...half-bird half-drake thing that was mere feet away from biting off one of their arms!
"Stay in formation!" the leader ordered, though that was better said than done. They had expected an audience with a woman, not a talking monster! And yet even as his heart threatened to stop in fright, the leader noticed the calm and gentle demeanor of this drake. The warmth in its smile, the benevolence in its eyes. And their guide spoke to it as if it were Lady Helia this entire time. Could...could the woman and the drake possibly be one and the same?
Lord Gwyndolin wouldst think me mad; indeed, perchance I already am!
If this were a trap, it would've sprung by now—that was the straw of rationality which the Silver Knight found himself grasping for. So as his orders turned from "stand together" to a more furious "calm down," the leader found himself facing a new obstacle:
How does one greet another god of sunlight?
To kneel seemed heretical. This was not his sun goddess, and he had no intention of suggesting otherwise. Yet she deserved the respect of one parallel to the beautiful Princess Gwynevere, who can bring the manliest men to tears with just a statue or painting in her image. She, who radiates grace and prosperity like sunlight gives warmth.
Sunlight...yes, of course!
Though its patron god was long forgotten, there were still many who became Warriors of Sunlight for the sake of the sun itself. To aspire to that glowing incandescence, and spread their own light to the world in its service. Yes, this greeting would be perfect!
So as a true leader should, the head Silver Knight made the first move to greet their host: he clicked his heels together, and gave Lady Helia the proud salute of the Warriors of Sunlight!
◊
"Hail and well met, Lady Helia!" Following their leader's example, the troupe of warriors began to strike the same amazingly awkward pose—even the royal sentinels, though they needed to set their massive weapons down to do so first.
"We come upon the behest of our fair lady, Princess Gwynevere: Daughter of Lord Gwyn and Princess of Sunlight. In Her Grace's boundless wisdom, she hath sent her humble servants to the city of Castelia, with terms and agreements to forge a true peace between the people of Anor Londo and the Poki...the Poko..."
"The Pokémon, sir." A posing knight whispered over his shoulder.
"The Pokémon! My sincerest apologies, Lady Helia. We pray that this peace agreement pleases all!"
Despite the greeting being over, the visitors maintained their epic Y-poses throughout the dialogue and the following silence. Evidently they were treating this pose as a salute, and were waiting for Lady Helia to tell them to return to parade rest.
Ordon Village, Rusl and Uli's Residence: Moving to Lighter Subjects...
"I appreciate the gratitude, but please: no honorifics are necessary." the Eliatrope tittered at Rusl's praise. "'Qilby' suits me just fine. And I'd be delighted to meet this like-minded fellow of yours, Rusl. Anyone who is fond of late nights of study is a friend of mine!"
Qilby seemed to meditate on Nia's comparison between his people and Blades. "I suppose there is some resemblance, yes." he said with a gentle smile. "Quite bittersweet, isn't it? To live forever, but lose one's memory after each incarnation? Or perhaps it's a blessing of some sort? Though our lives be very long, at some point we will see the sun rise for the first time again. Live through everything like it's the first time, and once more live those first experiences by-proxy through those 'younger' than us. I can see the value in that."
Compared to his enthusiasm during his own turn, Qilby's demeanor during Kayne and Momo's tale seemed much less lively. Not bored by any stretch, just simply...patient. Well-accustomed, like this kind of discussion was more in his element. But he never dropped his gentle smile. Like the sagely elder he was, he waited for Kayne to finish speaking before he gingerly placed his single arm at the shoulder-end of her prosthetic.
"I understand what pain the past can bring, my young friend. And while it is important to learn from it, and natural to mourn it for a time, no good comes from carrying around that pain forever. Move on at the pace you're comfortable with, but understand that one can only see the future from the present, not the past."
Qilby didn't even glance at Pyra.
"Though for the sake of turning to a lighter subject hopefully, what can you tell us of this realm, Rusl? Uli? We know the name of this village, the unwanted pests, and scarcely anything else."
Edited by TheodoreHastings on Feb 1st 2023 at 5:38:32 AM
Breath of the Sun
Eastern Ruins, Center
In an instant, Kraid grew to a larger size. A strange ability, but not a particularly useful one, against Yoriichi. It spared Kraid's head from being cut in half, but the blade still struck true, searing a deep gash into the bottom of Kraid's stomach, which would no doubt be unpleasant.
Yoriichi leaped back to avoid Kraid's stomping footsteps, readying his blade for another strike.
Rather than flee, he met Kraid's crushing foot head on.
3rd Form: Raging Sun
Leaping towards, Yoriichi unleashed two slashes, so quick as to be near simultaneous, intending to cleave the offending foot into pieces.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Ruins, Center: Falcon Goron PUNCH!
Sensing that he'd struck true by the force of the impact, the goron continued to roll forward a few yards before he uncurled his body and prepared to skid to a halt near a wall—the same wall in which the Red Zebesian found himself knocked against.
As if to answer the alien's question, the goron raised a fist mid-slide and prepared to deliver a big left hook to the mean old monster's right cheek. Should he strike true, the Red Zebesian would feel the force of...well, a multi-ton rock creature delivering a haymaker to his head. Would that be enough to knock the creature out? Would that daze him for a minute? Hard to say!
And it'd be even harder for the goron to follow up on the assault, because just like that a bigger problem emerged on the battlefield. Literally! With the noticeable shade enveloping Link's slice of the ruins, the goron hero couldn't help but look to see who dimmed the lights.
What he saw as he looked up made him gulp.
Conan - Eastern Ruins, Center
Of course, Conan knew full well that the creature's claims of divinity were but overwrought boasting, but he was never one to ignore possibilities to retort. But still the mighty warrior found himself pulled away from the monster's back, his sword leaving the gaping wound it has made only for the beast to burn itself, stopping the bleeding in an unexpectedly clever move for such a savage-looking creature. But thinking about that was the least of the Cimmerian's worries as his body was dragged across the walls, causing bruises and blood to appear on his muscular back as he grunted in pain.
But still, he didn't lose his focus or his will! With his sword clutched in his hand, Conan would put all of his strength into cutting into Ridley's arm, trying to make the monster. Tough he saw Elaine launch the bubbles that had addled him earlier, the wild-haired Hyborian warrior opted to hold on to scolding her for it, concentrating in hurting his captor.
Edited by Alecoene on Feb 2nd 2023 at 12:53:52 PM
Southern Forest, Igno
"Aight, much obliged!" Igno smiles as he relaxes and starts walking past the machine, taking a few steps before pausing and glancing towards where he came from. "I dun think you'll meet much that wants a piece of you just yet, though; it's a bit of a mess out there, and everyone I met is looking like they're just trying to figure out... Whatever the xuth is going on, really. Might see a couple big yellow birds, don't mind'em though, they're just living their lives. Anyways, I should get going, I'll get out of your hair now." He says as he resumes walking forwards.
... And stopping yet again after a few more steps.
"... Uh, I mean, wires? Skull plates? Damn, I really didn't think this through, did I? I'll... Just stop before I embarrass myself further." He sheepishly adds before moving on for good.
Vampire Hunter
Trevor, Alucard, and Grant, Hall of Ornstein, Anor Londo
Grant, the pirate thief, had a look of 'Aw shit, we've been spotted.' Thankfully, who spotted them was friendly. When she asked about if any one of them had a Dark Sign that marked them as a chosen Undead, Alucard immediately spoke up.
"None of us even know what a Dark Sign is," Alucard clarified to the armored knight. "We apologize for the intrusion, but we are on the search for one of our own... A woman in blue robes named Sypha Belnades."
"Chosen Undead?" Trevor asked. "Anor Londo has an undead problem?"
Sypha & Carmilla, Entrance to Duke's Archives, Anor Londo
Both Sypha and Carmilla looked amazed at the sheer size of the library they discovered. It was on par with the largest libraries of their whole. As they walked through this library, Carmilla stopped and pulled out one of the books to look at.
"Question," Carmilla spoke out.
"What is it?" Sypha seemed only slightly less annoyed at Carmilla since she was the one to break the lock on this place.
"What's the use of a library if the books are not in a language you understand?"
Sypha stopped. She scanned the titles of the books in the library. They really were in a language she couldn't read.
"From the pictures, the book seems to be about crystals, dragons, and... witches?" Carmilla seemed to shrug before putting the book back on the shelf."
"They could be spell books, and I can't read them," Sypha sounded annoyed. "This didn't happen on Battleworld."
"We can probably get a good look of our general location from one of the nearby balconies," Carmilla suggested.
"Fine," Sypha shrugged and followed Carmilla out onto the balcony.
The Aliorumnas following them kept her distance, but noted that written languages aren't translated on this planet, unlike Battleworld. She remained invisible due to the Cape of Invisibility.
Dracula, Foyer of Dracula's Castle
"Hmm?" Dracula looked over at Elizabeth Bartley, wanting an explanation.
"We believe Belmont might have been involved with the spy drone somehow," Bartley clarified. "We suspect he is looking for something."
"We also loaned the Aliorumnases Capes of Invisibility," she added. "I made the decision using his advice, uncle."
Dracula nodded, accepting this change of plans. When Majora and Ganondorf mentioned Link being the Hero of Time, Dracula nodded a second time.
"My right-hand man, Death itself, does not like people who mess with the flow of time," Dracula explained to Raven Beak and Ganondorf. "And he's good at identifying them."
It was then that Majora challenged Raven Beak to a fight, Dracula scoffed at the fight.
"If you are to fight amongst one another, I can either lead you to my Colosseum to fight there or you can take the fight outside," Dracula stated his terms for the fight. "Also do not kill each other... I'd rather not lose allies because they got mad and punched each other to death."
"As for Quiet Robe, I have both a laboratory and a library," Dracula replied to Raven Beak's request. "I would suggest Quiet Robe bring his own supplies if he needs them since my science may be a bit more primitive and magical than what he is used to."
"Elizabeth Bartley should be able to escort you to either location," Dracula told Quiet Robe. "The library also has a Master Librarian. Seek help from him if you need it."
Edited by GameGuruGG on Feb 4th 2023 at 4:58:50 AM
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Anor Londo, Near the Great Lift: Define "Problem"
"'Problem?'" the knight repeated. "One might say that, though it is not the sort of 'problem' you might think."
Evidently, Alucard's statement was more than enough evidence for the knight—these strangers weren't Undead stowaways from Sen's Fortress. What a shame.
"The Dark Sign is a curse mark seared into human flesh. It marks one as Undead—a being that dies, only to be revived by the bonfires found throughout this Kingdom of Lordran. For many years, our Princess has sought a chosen Undead who can brave the dangers of this land, surpass its trials, and make their way to this lost city. Once here, they would be granted audience with Princess Gwynevere, and receive a revelation.
"Alas," the knight sighed, "T'would seem we will be waiting a great deal longer. A pity, but no matter. My role as a Firekeeper remains the same. A gatekeeper, and a guide; that is my calling.
"In any case, I fear I have not seen anyone matching that description." she replied to Alucard. "The rampart which you three just descended is the 'traditional' route of entry for visitors, but these are hardly traditional times. From what I hear, Anor Londo will be opening its gates for the first time in half an Age. Perhaps your lost companion entered the city through there?"
The knight pointed past the large palace to the visitors' right, presumably to the Southernmost edge of the city; a distance of about half a dozen miles.
Duke's Archives, Courtyard Balcony: One Helluva Garden
From the balcony, Sypha and Carmilla would be able to get a clear sense of the size of this building. The grassy, tree-spotted courtyard alone spanned about thirty acres across, with their position giving them a great view of the key feature within the heart of this grand library:
A massive collection of icy blue crystals bloomed on the far edge of the courtyard. Its highest peaks rivaled the top of the walls surrounding it, as if it were threatening to reveal itself to the world. Stomping about the courtyard, the visitors would also spot a few dozen crystal golems
◊ wandering aimlessly around the area. Were they spawns of the crystal structure? Its protectors? Both?
From their vantage point, Sypha and Carmilla would be able to spot a means to descend into the courtyard, probably just a few rooms to their left. That is, unless they would prefer to simply use their abilities to safely make the 30 foot drop down to the courtyard below.
Alternatively, there were still the first floor and the floors above to explore. Apart from the crystal golems, there was still not a soul in sight; no one would guide them, or stand in their way.
Dracula's Castle, Foyer: To the Collie See 'Em!
For Ganondorf's part, the Gerudo King seemed rather amused by Majora's little fit. The smirk he'd worn when explaining his nemesis' title only grew bolder, and a small chuckle escaped him when Raven Beak quietly asked permission to put the imp in its place.
"Considering the threat of spies, perhaps my lord would be generous enough to lead us to this 'Colosseum' of yours. If it can shield us from prying eyes, then such a setting should be an ideal place for this little sparring match."
Another chuckle. This should be fun.
All the while, the other masked child remained as silent as the grave...except for a few stifled whimpers as its master decided that now was a great time to start picking fights. Out of everyone present, it seemed to eye Quiet Robe the most. Perhaps the old Chozo's face made the child wary; perhaps something in his expressions had caught some attention. But whatever the reason, Quiet Robe might find his eyes meeting with the anthropomorphic visage of Goht's mask, its timid posture almost asking the scientist if he shared the mask's overwhelming fear.
Seems they were both just pawns in this game, and they both knew it.
Edited by TheodoreHastings on Feb 4th 2023 at 5:19:55 AM
Seven - The Hill
Seven watches Link depart towards the smoking ruins to the east; They briefly debate whether to follow, but the Hylian's attitude and entourage led them to one conclusion: "Don't worry, that kid will be fine". They decide to instead take a moment to decide on their own course of action. They start leaping up the branches of the large tree they are under, making inhumanely long jumps and landing surprisingly softly on the branches above even for someone of their stature, and continuing their ascent until they run out of branches to land on without harming the tree.
From that vantage point, they take a good look around the surrounding land while thinking about the other's words about flying, and communications. And this is when the metaphorical glassy-flashy turns on. They took on that voyage with the Ark to get a better look at their world below; It wouldn't be far-fetched to believe that large towns -inhabited ones at that- have the sort of flying machines or far range communications to know more about the world they're in! They take stock of the visible urban centers: There does seem to be a town to the Southeast, along with another settlement in the sky; While technically the highest located modern-looking town in sight, the faint murmur of mercantilism emanating from the airships pouring out of it does not inspire confidence in them. Plus, Seven lacks the means to go all the way up there in the first place.
Instead, they set their sights to the urban cluster to the west. They float back down to ground level and speak up: "I reckon that tech equals knowledge; I was thinking of heading this way, anyone want to tag along?" Before adding, as they notice the floaty pink-haired psychic approach the scene "You don't happen to know about what lies ahead in this direction, do you?"
Helia, Castelia City, Bell Tower
Faye the Flygon panics when she realizes the knights don’t realize Helia and the huge phoenix are one in the same.
“Wait wait wait!” she protests. “That’s Lady Helia! I can explain!”
Thankfully, things quickly calm down once the knights realize who they’re talking to.
“...My apologies, Lady Helia. I didn’t think to tell them ahead of time…”
Helia shakes her head.
“It’s not your fault - if anything, it’s mine. In the Pokemon world, we are used to speaking with other pokemon. We are used to the various species that live together, the differing forms they can take, and their eccentricities. But this is not the case for those who aren’t from our world, and that is something I failed to remember. I’m still getting used to our new situation, as we all are, and these… bumps in the road will likely be an inevitable part of that process.”
She smiles at the knights, admittedly not really sure why they were posing, but appreciating their spirit nonetheless.
“I have no objection to a peace agreement with Anor Londo, especially given the warm reception that I, Lucia, and Zariah received during our time there. I can only see it being mutually beneficial for the both of us.”
She pauses for a moment, realizing they’re still Y-posing.
“Also, you may be at ease if you wish. I do appreciate your respect, but I want to make it clear that I do not demand displays of reverence from others. Particularly from those who are not from my world.”
The Flygon and Ho-oh both seem relieved that this odd situation ended up going fine.
Mew -> Matt, The Hill
The mysterious pink haired being smiles and nods in response to Seven.
"Indeed I do!" he affirms. "Just west of this hill is Castelia, the city I come from. It is full of Pokemon, an umbrella term for a variety of beings which have all sorts of different abilities and can switch between a human and a non-human form. Beings like... well, me for example! I'm Matthew, and I'm what's known in the Pokemon world as a 'Mew'."
Edited by HilarityEnsues on Feb 4th 2023 at 10:46:27 AM
Niiue
Castlevania
"Fully agreed. The Colosseum will do." Raven Beak said to Dracula and Ganondorf with a small bow. He didn't chuckle, at least, not yet.
He just wanted to show that pathetic thing its rightful place. Under his claws.
All the while, Quiet Robe was simply looking at the assembly, more tired than anything. He did remark the other mask child eyeing him the most, for some reason. It's body language clearly indicated fear.
At this point, Quiet Robe didn't really fear his captor, unlike Goht. Death would even be a deliverance, but he could even try to kill himself. The Thoha had rejected violence to the point they were simply incapable of it. All he could do was reluctantly obey Raven Beak.
Still, Quiet Robe discreetly smiled at the mask. He wasn't sure how yet...
But he will find someone one day. Someone to stop Raven Beak.
The Chozo soldiers guarding the Thoha elder quietly escorted him away, while Raven Beak got ready to follow Dracula to the Coliseum.
Eastern Ruins
The red Zebesian instinctively raised his claws and prepared to fire as Link got close. But still dizzy, he was too slow and he got further encased into the wall, breaking it into the process. This time, it was enough to knock the Zebesian out.
"Ksssh!" the Tallon IV pirate hissed, as he went for Amako again. That fight was clearly something only the Pirate commanders could handle.
Obviously, Kraid's feet were still slow enough for Yoriichi to try to attack it again and try to cleave it into pieces.
This time, however, the sword only left barely visible burning scratches. Becoming bigger also greatly enhanced the monster's external defenses, to the point even missiles would barely be able to hurt Kraid.
At least, from the outside.
Still, Kraid simply snarled in anger before lowering his feet again to crush, or at least injure Yoriichi. The sword strikes at least managed to slow the crushing feet a bit.
To make matters worse, Kraid then started to gurgle, and his throat started to grow slightly bigger (like a toad), before starting to spit strange rock-like projectiles in the trio's direction, though the aim was rather random.
In a normal size, this attack would be laughable. As a titan, though, the rocks were significantly larger, big enough to crush any unfortunate souls that could not dodge them.
Ridley's eyes grew wide when in an instant, Elaine dodged his massive hand, leaping just behind him. She then fired her Bubble Beam at his tail, taking him off-guard, incapable of using Conan as a meat shield again.
Unlike previous times though, the bubbles simply bounced from the tail. It seemed it was more solid than the rest of Ridley's body.
"Oooh... Looks like the dog is smarter than I thought. Nice try. Too bad you wasted this attack." Ridley cackled.
But this distracted him, allowing Conan to injure Ridley's arm. At least, unlike his giant comrade, the rest of the body was vulnerable.
"Kshhh!!! You're stubborn, aren't you?" Ridley hissed at Conan, looking at the cut on his arm with annoyance. He took one more look at the barbarian.
Unfortunately, just inflicting pain didn't seem to be enough to force the damn human down.
In that case... He'll break him in another way.
Ridley grinned and turned once more to Elaine, dwarfing her in size as he landed. Fire steamed from his mouth before he charged at her again with a loud roar.
"In this insane place, love is all that stands between us and the great beyond."
she/her friend to the hooved
Hewkii, the Hill
Before Hewkii can say much of anything else on the matter, the small green one seems to latch onto that first suggestion, charging off to intervene in whatever kerfuffle is going on in those ruins, followed in short order by the bug and the rest of their odd little team.
"I... uh, hope they've got that handled." he mutters, wondering if he should try and follow along before turning back to the Hill to further try and puzzle things out... and spotting a new arrival, this one floating some distance off the ground, investigating the assembled group with evident curiosity. Someone already living here? Because they don't seem like they fully know what's going on either if their remark about 'interdimensional mishmashes' is truthful. Of course the locals don't know anything.
"I'm not a human," Hewkii shrugs, making an educated guess as to what these 'humans' they refer to even are before indicating Seven. "and I don't think they are either? In any case, name's Hewkii. Toa of Stone, adventurer, we all just woke up here, long story."
It's not long before Seven proposes venturing toward one of those distant cityscapes and questions the new arrival about it, who provides a name for the place—'Castelia'—and confirms themselves to be from there. The rest of Matthew's explanation flies over the Toa's head, of course, but one thing becomes clear:
"Castelia City it is." the Toa announces in agreement, straightening out his gear and setting off to the west, turning around mid-stride to look back at everyone as he walks and beckon anyone else who might have had the same thought. "I don't see tracks headed there, but if any new arrivals are smart, I figure they'd have headed for civilization one way or another. Who's up for some sightseeing?"
Elaine, Eastern Ruins, Center
The beam at first seems to do disappointingly little... but it distracts Ridley enough to allow Conan to get a good jab in. "I don't waste my attacks, prick-" she jeers again, readying herself for another attack as it turns around to face her. Despite her bravado, she finds herself hoping that one of her allies can pull some miraculous move out of their asses, because there's no other way she can keep this up. "-so let's see you say the same!"
The vaporeon holds her ground again, but rather than dodging, she does a brief twirl in place, her powerful tail propelling a cloud of dust and grit—Sand Attack—directly into the beast's face to obscure its vision and, ideally, hinder its aim should it make another grab for her or take a shot with whatever beam attack it seems to be preparing.
Edited by Chortleous on Feb 13th 2023 at 1:25:06 PM
Vampire Hunter
Athena, Mai, and Yuri, The Hill
"We're human," Athena clarified to Hewkii, before turning to Matt. "It is good to meet you, Matt."
"Would you be alright with being our guide to Castelia?" Athena asked the Mew.
Dracula, Colosseum, Dracula's Castle
Dracula would lead everyone save for Quiet Robe and the ones guarding him to the Colosseum. Somehow it was actually close to the Main Hall they had been in. After telling the minotaur and werewolf training there to stop and make room, Dracula pointed both Majora and Raven Beak to the doors leading into the fighting area itself while Dracula took his nominal seat when watching matches in the Colosseum, inviting Ganondorf to join him.
"You know, Death fought Link in this very Colosseum back on Battleworld, so there is still some damage from that particular fight," Dracula smiled, remembering the enjoyable fight fondly, but switching to a frown to address the audience. "Before any of you ask, he also brought Belmont and half a dozen other heroes with him, and I did not want to risk fighting that many unknown heroes."
Speaking of Death, he finally showed up... alongside Lisa.
"Hello again," Lisa bowed to Ganondorf.
"Ah, Death... Tell me, who is it that neighbors my castle?" Dracula asked as he motioned for Lisa to sit next to him.
"There is a burning town to the west and exploring the mountains, we were able to discover both a desert to the east and... a city that seems to be under a Shroud of Sunset to the southeast."
"What?" Dracula looked over at Death at the last part.
"It has a perpetual sunset," Death clarified to Dracula.
"Hm," Dracula seemed to have actual concern on his face. "Send witches to explore the burning town, the desert, and the city of sunset."
Dracula looked over at Ganondorf, "It is about time I learn about my neighbors."
Quiet Robe, Long Library, Castlevania
"It was a long walk across the castle to the Long Library, but Elizabeth Bartley was perfectly willing to lead him there. There were a number of creatures within the area, but they all kept their distance. As Quiet Robe and his guards explored the library and its books, they would encounter a problem... namely that the books in Dracula's Castle were in ancient Earth languages. They would not be able to read them unless they knew ancient Earth languages.
"Having trouble?" This voice came from an old man?
◊ "I am the Master Librarian of these halls."
"How may I help you?" He seemed friendly enough.
"I'll leave them to you, Librarian," Bartley said as she left to head to the Colosseum again.
Trevor, Alucard, and Grant, Near the Great Lift, Anor Londo
"Thanks," Alucard bowed politely to the knight. "We shall check there, but we believe our companion likely entered from the northwest."
Unless stopped by the knight, Trevor, Alucard and Grant headed in the direction of the palace.
Sypha & Carmilla, Duke's Archives, Anor Londo
"Are those... Golems?" Carmilla looked at the crystal golems. "A few dozen of them."
Carmilla turned to Sypha, "Unless you want to fight dozens of crystal golems of unknown origin, I wouldn't recommend going that way."
"So we are stuck here?" Sypha crossed her arms.
"Unless you want to go back and climb the mountains again," Carmilla answered.
"Fine, I shall explore and hope I can find something," Sypha shrugged. "You can go climb the mountains or fight the golems."
Carmilla did not take this advice. Instead, Sypha and her just began exploring the first floor. The Aliorumnas wearing the Cape of Invisibility followed.
Edited by GameGuruGG on Feb 5th 2023 at 7:54:54 AM
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Western Frontiers
East of Bugaria, South of Manhattan, West of Earth 11945, and below the Sky Palace, a beautiful, shifting rainbow aurora stretched across the horizon, and there was a rumbling that sounded like an earthquake, though no actual shaking. When it faded, there was a new civilization sitting between the two locations in place of the previous one. This new arrival seemed almost paradisaical from afar, with a large forest on its Western edge, a colorful town closer to the center, complete with storybook-like castle, farmland - including a large orchard - and even buildings sitting atop the clouds above. All the residents of this 'Ponyville', as it was called, would suddenly awake during the late morning, as if they had been mysteriously put to sleep - unless they were already asleep, in which case they would simply awaken abruptly and for no apparent reason.
It was a strange, brave new world out there.
Meanwhile, with the disappearance of the previous locale, the visitors from the Sky Palace were teleported back to their palace home, which now instead hovered high above Ponyville... something those ponies below might find ominous - or maybe just normal, considering the abundance of airborne abodes around.
Manhattan, Police Station Roof
"Ah, so you guys are that kinda secretive outfit, huh? I getcha!" Spidey assured with a nod. "Reminds me of a certain group from my universe... not that they're very relevant right now, though, since they didn't get trapped in this place with us. Anyway, I may usually hate being kept in the dark about stuff, but don't worry, I've worked with people in your position before. But I should warn you, I don't know how sustainable it'll be to maintain that level of secrecy, given the situation we're all in."
The superhero shrugged and raised his hands in a 'what can you do?' kind of gesture. "Obviously, I know you have people higher up the chain to answer to back at your base or whatever, so you can't officially make that call yourselves. But I'm guessing that survival in this... wherever we all are is gonna mean buddying up with one group or another, and I very much doubt you're gonna be able to hide what X-Com is from whoever you ally with. 'Course, I can go without telling anyone any details beyond that you're a military of some kind. I know a thing or two about keeping secrets!" He tapped his mask for emphasis.
Manhattan, City Hall
Norman had gathered that "pokemon" was the equivalent of "human" as far as these tall women's city went, but he hadn't been briefed on just what a pokemon was, at least until Ray explained. Not for the first time in his career, he was grateful for his ability to keep a smooth poker-face. She may have provided assurances that her city was safe, and if he pressed, he was sure she would also assure him that her people were non-aggressive, but they were hollow words, as far as he was concerned.
An entire city of freaks of nature like Spider-Man, just across the water connected by the bridge to the East? It was a security disaster waiting to happen! Still, maybe he could arrange things such that the potential of an invasion by these monsters was too unpalatable to the Prime Minister's public or other foreign powers to undertake. After all, what sort of trustworthy leader would attack their own ally?
"Your people certainly sound fascinating..." he said after several long moments of concealed panic and calculation while he downed the rest of his coffee. "That said, I'm sure we'll get along just fine, as long as we're all careful not to step on one another's toes. However, given the possibility of criminal enterprises from either of our cities migrating to the other, I'd like for us to work out some basic security protocols as soon as possible, hopefully today. For example, requiring that anyone passing from Manhattan to Castelia, or vice-versa, do so via one of the existing roads or else face arrest by the authorities, so that we can each provide visitors with suitable ID at their points of entry and share that information with each other, which should hopefully help to head off any known criminal elements attempting to flee to greener pastures."
"Additionally, there is one other thing I'd like to get your input on sooner rather than later," he continued, folding his hands atop his knee. "Just before Manhattan was torn away from Battleworld, we were preparing to host a diplomatic summit in the local United Nations Headquarters building, where all the nearby political entities would be invited to dine and work out the details of trans-polity agreements. We've yet to make contact with the wider world beyond Castelia, but my hope is to still put on the summit some day soon, and I'd like to take this opportunity to formally extend my personal invitation to you, Ray. We do have limited space, so I'm afraid all visiting delegations will be limited to three people each, but then, you don't strike me as the kind of person who likes dragging around her entire diplomatic corps when she visits foreign lands, heh!"
Eastern Ruins, Northwest
"That's a good guess, but no. I arrived differently," Nel corrected simply as she resumed picking fruit after watching the orangutans eat. "I am from a different universe, like you, though. I guess if things still work the same way, it wouldn't be too unfair to tell you in advance... Just don't spread this info around too much, okay? We don't want any... bad actors catching on too soon."
She waited for affirmation from Makura, the continued, "Every so often, certain people, like those who arrive on the Hill to the West, receive the privilege of having a single wish granted. I couldn't tell you what triggers it, but when it happens, each person deemed worthy gets a tablet out of thin air, seemingly made of gemstone with instructions engraved on it. They're fragile enough that even an ordinary person could break them, but they won't break until the bearer decides on what wish they want granted. And you can't use your wish to go back to the universe you came from, but you can use it to change something about the world, obtain some kind of knowledge or power, or bring other things from throughout the multiverse to you. You understand where I'm going with this?"
Before the monkeywoman could answer, however, Nel spotted the pair of siblings on chocobos headed down the vegetation-covered side-street towards them. "Hellooooo~!" she called to Ramza and Alma, waving.
"Well, we're certainly getting a lot of visitors today!" she remarked once they got closer. "Good morning! Where might the two of you be from?"
Eastern Ruins, Central
"To fight properly would be to dispatch my enemy before he has a chance to respond," the synthetic male voice of the "flaming eye" replied to the Captain of the Seafang, unmoving. "I am giving you a chance to reconsider and retreat because you are outmatched, Wulfrik The Wanderer. That plasma blade in your hands will not save you, either. I already have a counter ready."
Meanwhile, outside, things were getting a rather dangerous for our heroes, first by the fact that the pirate with the energy scythe managed to graze Amako's side in spite of her attempts at dodging him and all his comrades, causing her to hiss in agony. And second, because the already large ugly monster was now a giant ugly monster looking to squish them all, whether underfoot or with giant rocks. Even as the supposed miko turned to flee further down the street, she doubted that she or Yoriichi or the mysterious, green-capped stranger who had joined their battle would be able to escape such a massive enemy for long.
It was fortunate, then, that with a disruption of air and an odd sound
, an exasperated-looking man with an eyepatch
suddenly appeared in her path, flipped her atop his shoulder, and vanished with the same sound. In seemingly the same instant, the two of them reappeared atop a former apartment complex behind and a bit diagonal to Kraid's right shoulder. These sounds and the disappearing and reappearing act repeated until both Yoriichi and the strange being who seemed to be made of rock were standing on the roof beside her, though the surface groaned under the goron's weight.
Although the trio were doubtless a little disoriented at first, they could at least see and hear their rescuer, which was more than could be said for their enemies. Anyone without spiritual sensitivity was effectively blind and deaf to his presence. Those who did have a strong sixth sense, however, could feel the sheer, nearly oppressive sense of power radiating off the eyepatched man in spite of his tired, practically apathetic expression.
"So, first off," he began in a low baritone, scratching at his chin, "I can tell that all of you can see and hear me, which is good, because we need to talk tactics. I'm Coyote Starrk, one of the guardians of these ruins-" he held up one of his guns, dangling it from a finger, "-and this is my partner, Lilyn-"
"GEEZ, STARRK!" a young lady's scratchy voice erupted out of the barrel, "At least point me towards them so I'm looking at them!"
"They might think that was a threat, though..." he protested weakly.
"Ugh, whatever..." the gun grumbled. "Do we even have time to be doing introductions and this tactics shit?! We gotta stop big, tall, and ugly before he wrecks stuff even more!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Starrk let out a long-suffering sigh, then pointed toward Ridley, who was in the air nearby. "Handle the purple dragon guy if you want. Side of this building has a stairway to ground level if you need it. You're free to help me with the giant, too, but I can probably take care of him myself. Not like he can even see or touch me, anyway. Buena suerte y hasta luego." And with a half-effort faux salute and a repeat of the sound from earlier, he vanished from the rooftop, reappearing to stand upon the air in front of Kraid's left shoulder. Even from a distance, those who could sense him would be able to tell he was gathering energy, and his body was enveloped in a bright blue aura as he pointed one of his pistols at the monster's joint.
"Cero Metralleta."
Rapid-fire azure beams, silent and invisible to the spiritually deaf pirates but no less deadly, began to rain upon Kraid's shoulder from the vicinity of Starrk (or perhaps his partner), each of them the same strength as the blasts that had been used to shoot red-hot holes through the pirates' landing crafts.
Orbit, The Bunker -> Earth 11945, Resistance Camp
By the time Samus and Shion and her friends had gotten back to their ships, entered the planet's atmosphere, descended to the Earth city's overgrown ruins, disembarked, and made their way over to the Resistance's base of operations
◊, the detachment from the Jellyfish Special Forces had already been introduced to the androids at the camp and briefed on the general situation. The Resistance's leader, Anemone
◊, was discussing strategy with the Jellyfish Commander, Yuri Gerneaux
◊. Meanwhile, the local weaponsmith
◊ attempted to get info out of Sea Wasp
◊ on just what sort of blade that was that she wielded, and the Resistance's rather unique Information Officer and demolitions expert, who went by the name "Jackass"
◊, chatted about battlefield data with Sea Slug
◊ - and, of course, about how fun it was to blow stuff up! That massive laser rifle was a marvel!
Awaiting the humans who'd come down from Space were also two YoRHa androids: the white-haired male
◊ who'd provided Samus with the containment tube for the baby Metroid, and one female in a rather fancy outfit
◊. Although they were standing around, respectively people-watching and looking at the bed of flowers growing in the central area, they turned as the latest newcomers approached and quickly saluted.
"Glory to mankind..." the female unit greeted Samus, Shion, KOS-MOS, and Jin with a cool alto and neutral pursing of her lips. "YoRHa Number 2 Type B, at your service, Mistresses and Master and KOS-MOS."
"Glory to mankind!" the male unit all but shouted, his salute notably more nervous and sloppy than his comrade's. "YoRHa Number 9 Type S, at your service, Mistresses and Master and KOS-MOS! I, uh, know it's unusual for a more technical Scanner Unit to be out in the field like this, but I'm in charge of 2B's maintenance, so..."
Also floating near the pair of YoRHA androids were two box-like things
◊ bobbing up and down in the air, which soon proved capable of speaking as well. "Introduction: Hello, Mistresses and Master and KOS-MOS," the light gray one greeted in a deep, synthetic and masculine voice. "This Pod is Pod 042, a Tactical Support Pod assigned to support Unit 2B. The black Pod is Pod 153, assigned to support Unit 9S. Both Pods are, by extension, also assigned to support you during the campaign against the Machine Lifeforms."
Southern Forest -> Earth 11945, Forest Kingdom - Igno
"Fare thee well, Strange Stranger!" the Machine guarding the forest's perimeter bid Igno goodbye with a wave, then returned to swiveling his head this way and that, on the lookout for intruders.
As the shapeshifter made his way down the bank of the river, he would find the rear end of a massive, ruined castle rising up from the opposite side, though it was also covered in bits of vegetation and its stones were mossy. Some collapsed bridges with arches, or perhaps aqueducts, had once connected the Western side to a crumbling tower of the castle proper, but it seemed that the nearest ones had collapsed into the water with the passage of the ages. Speaking of water, the river dropped into a sheer waterfall right at the edge of the arched structure, although thankfully the land rose far enough that Igno could stand atop the aqueduct(?) with little trouble. From there, it was a short, several-feet drop to the ground on the opposite side. To his right, a small hill sloped upward leading away from the river and castle and deeper into the forest.
What met him almost immediately was a company of four knights, one on mechanical horseback
◊, three on foot
◊ with tower shields, all with spears, marching under the arch of the next parallel aqueduct. "REMAIN VIGILANT, ROYAL KNIGHTS OF THE FOREST!" shouted the one on the horse(?) with the unmistakable voice of a drill sergeant. "WE KNOW THAT THE ENEMY IS AMONG US, AND COULD ATTACK AT ANY TIME!" It was at about this point that they noticed Igno in their path.
"COMPANY HALT!" The evident knights stomped to a solid stop.
"HAIL AND WELL MET, STRANGE CREATURE!" the leader boomed, apparently having only one volume setting, although at least his tone was friendly. "WE HAD RECEIVED WORD OF YOU FROM OUR BROTHER AT THE BORDER, AND WE WELCOME YOU TO THE FOREST KINGDOM, HOME OF HIS MAJESTY, THE GREAT FOREST KING!"
"We welcome you!" the shield grunts chorused.
"LONG LIVE THE FOREST KING!"
"Long live the Forest King!"
"NOW, STRANGER, WHAT BRINGS YOU ACROSS OUR PATH ON THIS MOST UNFORTUNATE DAY, UPON WHICH WE ARE BESET BY THE ANDROID MENACE?"
SS Ashtapadi, Mess Hall
By the time Alice finished her story, the pair of ladies were seated, and Karen was staring at her with wide eyes shining with sympathy. Evidently the fact that Alice herself had been a victim of the UAA system wasn't lost on her, even if she didn't know the details. What other reason could there be for the pinkette to have the tail and extra arms? At the closing comment about The Cure, the redhead nodded sadly. "Yeah, you're right..." she agreed, staring morosely down at her sushi. "I'm sorry to have asked you to talk about something so painful, Alice."
"Hey, wait... There's one thing I don't understand about what you just said," she added after a bit, tilting her head to look at her roommate curiously. "What's a 'nuclear weapon'? If they looked like fireworks when detonated in Space, I guess they must have been some kind of explosive or bomb?"
Ordon Village, Sera's Sundries
Sera's eyes very nearly bugged out of her head as the young lass laid not one but two silver rupees on the counter. Like her son, she was a shrewd business owner, but rather than take advantage of the obviously noble woman's ignorance, she opted to merely take one of the two rupees behind the counter, handing the other back to Zelda along with the map. What made a business thrive, especially a little podink shop in the middle of a backwoods village, were repeat customers, and there was no way this little lady would be a repeat customer if Sera swindled her out of 200 extra rupees and she found out about the price discrepancy, which she surely would sooner or later. Better to take the (already absurd) markup price while someone was willing to pay it!
"No, no, my dear!" she insisted, tittering nervously as she handed off the second silver and the chart to the princess incognito. "Don't you know? One silver is worth 200 by itself!"
Ordon Village, Rusl's House
Rusl listened to Kayne's dark tale with eyes full of sympathy, but Qilby replied before he could. "Wise words indeed, Qilby," he said with a quiet sigh. He didn't pick up on the discrepancy between what Nia had said about Blades and their memories, mainly because he didn't know that Pyra was a Blade, but either way, it was obvious the atmosphere around the table had gotten too dark for a comfortable breakfast. "I don't know if there's anything we can do to ease the pain of your life's journey, Kayne, but I find that the easiest way to pick up one's mood is a fine, hearty meal!" As he concluded, he looked up at his looming wife with a beaming smile.
"Have some soup, Kayne, dear!" Uli encouraged with a small smile of her own, giving the girl's shoulder a soft, motherly squeeze as she set a bowl of goat cheese, pumpkin, and other assorted veggies in vegetable broth with spoon in front of the lass, and then set about distributing bowls and spoons to the rest, and finally took a seat herself.
"Hrm, a good question," Rusl said in between bites of soup, in reply to the sagely man's inquiry about where they were. "This village of Ordon is part of Ordona Province, which lies to the south of the Kingdom of Hyrule, outside of its borders. To our North, across the bridge and past the spring is where Hyrule begins, specifically its Faron Province, which consists entirely of woodlands from which we Ordonans regularly forage. Ordona and Faron are enclosed on the West and East by mountains, which open up into a large field simply known as Hyrule Field, surrounded by sheer cliffs. Further North is the Hyrulean capital, Castle Town, and the provinces of Eldin and Lanayru surrounding it are part of Hyrule as well. Frankly, although we are in truth a different country, I think of Hyrule as much as my home as I do Ordon, since I often visit and have many friends there!"
"This soup is simply superb, by the way, my darling!" he added, flashing a grin at Uli.
"Oh, you charmer, you! Heehee!" she giggled, batting playfully at his arm. "But I'm glad you like it! That herb of Kayne's really completes the flavor, I think! What about the rest of you? Is it to your liking? I could fix you something else, if not..."
Edited by darksidevoid on Feb 12th 2023 at 1:21:02 PM
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Zhang nodded and tapped at his earpiece. "You have all that commander?"
There was a faint static noise and then. "Roger that, we'll get prepping our own diplomatic offices, Vigilo Confido after all."
"If you can direct us to authorities we can work with, we can work on alliances."
Clark spoke up. "We are dedicated to the safekeeping of humanity, not even meant to shoot any human."
"Barring special occasions," Zhang corrected.
Cool Dude
Domino City, Kaiba Corp HQ
After all the pleasantries and summations offered, Krillin's plain offer of simply showcasing one of the Capsule Corps' most seemingly mundane yet most revolutionary offer is taken with skepticism by everyone there...save the currently-in-charge vice president Mokuba Kaiba, who fearlessly snatches it out of Krillin's hand to inspect it himself.
...Mokuba doesn't have the kind of mean mouth to tell Krillin that frankly, with how light and empty it feels, the thing feels more like a prop than an actual container of any kind. And the company logo for this Capsule Corporation looks...rather cheap, like it was photoshopped on. Nevertheless...they're here now. So he quietly asks Roland to take this thing out back and test it out for him, which the sunglasses-clad man does with little hesitance.
While there are a few awkward minutes where they all stand there, Mokuba gets a ring on his cellphone. Flipping it open, he sees what he was looking for...Roland sending video proof that, against all scientific reasoning, this thing is exactly what the short man advertised; An actual container for an entire bike. Smiling, Mokuba texts Roland that he's seen enough and closes his phone before looking at Krillin, Ashe, and Gray.
"Okay. So say that I believe you. What are you guys coming to our company for? Cause I don't think you're in the market for trading these capsules. Something bigger than that's going on, isn't it?"
Amusement Park
The CEO known as Seto Kaiba folds her arms and gives a somewhat terse response to the gratitude "Kaiba. Don't mention it. I suppose I'm the same here, trying to figure out what this place is". Trying to get a read on this person, Raven can pretty much read Kaiba's general attitude and angular clothing like a book; Aloof, composed, prickly, wary, like a dragon sitting on top of a hoard daring someone to challenge her eminent domain at any time...not the kind of person that's easy to get used to, really. For what it's worth, this Kaiba person seems content allowing Kat to extract information from their robot greeter, silently failing to mention that she herself is a human as well to see where this goes....Naturally, she wouldn't be quite this calm and willing to take this carefully if she knew what was going on with her brother. Or more importantly, what was going on down at the docks...
Meanwhile, at the Domino City Docks...
...Because if it wasn't chaos before, with the obvious displacement of the city, now it's upgrading to full blown pandemonium as buses, taxis, food trucks, ships, immigrants, freaking glorified planes were appearing from out of the aether to force their way inside the already severely panicked Domino City. Apparently, the amount of people properly and improperly making their way into the city is starting to cause a buildup due to the implied sheer glut of foreign bodies now creating an unintentional human blockade as security and traffic personnel try to properly direct all these newcomers into the city without pushing, shoving, or driving over someone.
...Is it any wonder then, that in this sea of chaos, that the people represent Sun Shipping might be having trouble getting a place to land their yacht? Or that the lowly dock foreman they're harassing is in a state of panicked shock, like a beaver that just witnessed a rotting tree hurl itself into the river in front of it? While he pleads with them that they'll be able to dock once they have physical room to do so, the man just silently hopes that someone higher up the food chain can save him, considering that with the news now starting to pick up reports of all this, it might take some time before someone can actually push their way through to helping him out...
We Are Our Avatars Forever (Now on Discord by invitation, PM)
Domino City, Kaiba Corp HQ: Can't Have An Angry Mob Outside Your Door if You're Not Somehow Important!
Judging by the tittering and his crossed arms, it seemed clear that Mokuba's question about approaching him specifically caught the police a little off-guard.
"W-why here? Well...can't really say we came here on-purpose. You just saw that we don't know a thing about Kaiba Corp. We just followed the angry crowd of people, and here we are. They had to be trying to blame somebody for this, right? Uhhh, no offense."
Krillin gulped at the conclusion Mr. Kaiba made about their situation being...unusual.
"Yeah." he answered; strange how dry his throat felt all of a sudden. "I think something really big is going on. None of us are familiar with anything about the places we each come from, and that can't just be due to geography. I've seen my fair share of the world, and I'm sure someone with your resources have been to all sorts of places, Mr. Kaiba. You might not be in the exact same field as Capsule Corp., but you would've at least heard of it. There's not a single thing that's special about that capsule I handed to you; got a whole suitcase of 'em back at my house, and I could buy a brand new one for a few thousand zeni at the department store.
"It's not just what we don't know, either—seems we've all woken up with a brand new language in our heads! I know what my native tongue sounds like, and this sure as heck isn't it. So we find ourselves in a strange place, surrounded by strange people from strange homelands we've never even heard of, but can speak to them with a strange language we didn't go to sleep knowing...unless that last part's just a 'me' problem, in which case that's just two strikes instead of three."
Krillin sighed. Due to his many years of experience, he was pretty comfortable teetering on the edge of his world's definition of "reality." Planet-destroying aliens and multiversal travel weren't exactly subjects taught in school, but he'd had more than his fair share of both. Of course, he understood that not everyone had such a high tolerance for this kind of stuff. And here he was trying to convince a billionaire grade-schooler—as a complete stranger as well—that this craziness wasn't as crazy as it seemed. Kid was probably a few clumsy sentences away from writing Krillin off as a cook and tossing him and his companions out the back door.
...or maybe not. Heavy skepticism aside, Mr. Kaiba had been remarkably reasonable so far. Patient, too; how many corporate big wigs would've given a warrantless cop the time of day? Plus there was one detail that Krillin might be able to take advantage of: Mokuba's age. As mature as he acted, the kid was still a kid—and kids tended to be more open-minded than jaded adults. They're still trying to figure out how the world works; things that would seem impossible to someone twice Mokuba's age might be within the realm of possibility for the corporate prince.
So Krillin took a deep breath. It was now or never.
"Given what we've seen and established as fact...I'm not entirely sure we're from the same timeline. Our histories aren't matching up, and even if one of us was from the past, you'd think at least one of us would recognize something as ubiquitous as 'Reploids' or 'Duel Monsters' or 'Capsule Corp.' But I trust that you're all telling the truth, and so am I...so I can't think of any other explanation but something this nuts. Something this..."
Krillin gulped again. "B-big."
Eastern Ruins, Central: "Apartment Complex? Seems Pretty Simple to Me."
Link heard a strange drum-like vibration, then all of a sudden he wasn't near the giant's feet anymore. He wasn't even on the ground anymore! As the structure's beams creaked under the pressure of a bipedal elephant standing on them, the goron turned his startled confusion towards the guy with the eyepatch.
Said mysterious figure would find a coffee-colored rock creature blinking back at him and his talking magic-pebble-flingernote with big befuddled purple eyes. They can see and hear him, which is...not something everyone can do? How does he know they can see and hear him? What determines who can see and hear him? How is the magic-pebble-flinger talking? How'd they get up here? What was that drummy noise?! Why wasn't he explaining ANY of this?! WHAT'S A TACK TICK?!
Fortunately, the goron didn't have that "sparks coming out the ears" look of confusion for very long. Once he caught sight of that stinky lizard coming in for a landing, everything came back into focus.
There you are!" a familiar voice chimed in, and a small golden light with wings flew to the top of the building. "How'd you even get up here?!"
The goron shrugged, and pointed towards Mr. Eyepatch. Considering that her senses extended to translating the inaudible words of deities and detecting the murderous intent of the Garonote , it was safe to say that Tatl could see Coyote Starrk just fine.
"Hey, one-eye: next time, a little warning before you warp my partner somewhere! I'm trying to keep him from getting killed, and I can't do that if I don't know where he is!"
Turning from the Hollow back to her partner, Tatl continued:
"Looks like the drama queen's coming down for a landing. Alder's flower power is too slow to reach him in time, so we'll just have to work with Darmani for now. Think you can slide down from here?"
Glancing over the edge, the goron noticed the small tilt the building was at. It'd be a steep drop, but at least he could use his mighty rock-crushing grip to slow his fall. He nodded to Tatl with a confident look on his face.
"Great! Now let's go kick that stinky lizard's butt!" And with that battle cry, the fairy flew down the side of the building ahead of her partner. Not to be impolite, Link turned to his three new allies and gave them two big thumbs up, along with an even bigger grin!
Whether they chose to face Ridley or go after the big monster, the little hero was confident that they'd all make it out of this A-OK!
And with that, the goron gripped the building's edge and made the swift descent down. He landed into a roll, both to absorb the force of the slide, and to get to the "Cunning God of Death" as fast as he could!
...
Almost as soon as Elaine had turned around from her Sand Attack, something new might enter her field of vision. During her turn back to the dragon, she might've caught a grey and dark green-patterned figure approaching from her right. It was four-legged, about three feet in height, and running at a sprint. Perhaps it would take a moment for the Vaporeon to realize that the much larger quadruped wasn't just running in any random direction: it was sprinting straight for her. And just when the surprise might sink in, the beast was right on top of her—teeth bared, and aiming straight for her neck!
Should Ellie fail to move in time—and she was already busy with one predator trying to take her down—then she'd find herself yoinked off her feet, her neck in the beast's jaws, and one ear hearing nothing but the short swift breaths of an animal running at (no pun intended) break-neck speed. Should she find herself in this admittedly terrifying position, she'd probably notice that...well, she was still alive to notice things. As cumbersome as the grip was, that was all the beast was doing: holding her in its mouth, and running away from the dragon.
If her head wasn't half-covered in slobber, Ellie might even guess that this thing was trying to rescue her!
But should she avoid the beast's charge altogether, then it would slide to a halt as soon as it could, and silently make a judgement call for when to try to seize the small creature again.
Meanwhile, Conan and Ridley would hear the slow crescendo of something rumbling along the ground. Maybe they'd mistake it for Kraid's movements, but whether they spotted the approaching figure or not, the goron would uncurl from his roll as soon as he was within 10 feet of the dragon.
No sneak attacks this time.
"HEY UGLY!" a tiny light with wings would shout at the Cunning God of Death. "Remember us?!"
Probably not, considering that the Link that Ridley crossed paths with on Battleworld had blonde hair, pointy ears, and was certifiably not a giant rock monster. But the shrill lightbulb with wings was the same, so maybe that was enough to jog the dragon's memory.
"It's high-time you started picking on someone your own size!"
The goron nodded, took a defensive stance, and bared his rock-crushing teeth to his opponent in an angry growl.
Breath of the Sun
Eastern Ruins, Northwest
"Ah, so someone else brought you here." Makura nodded in understanding. Then she blinked. "Oh. That's... huh."
Before she could consider the potentially terrifying implications of that, two newcomers appeared. Makura didn't wave, like Nel did, instead opting to sniff the air, gauging the newcomer's scents while simultaneously reading their body language for ill intent.
Outwardly, she just sort of stood with one hand on her hip, her orangutan friends peeking out from behind her with interest. As they got closer, she raised a hand in greeting. Kongara and Seitaka mimicked the motion.
"Hiya."
Eastern Ruins, Center
Yoriichi's blade met the giant's foot again and again, and surprisingly managed to slow Kraid's advance despite the size disparity. But the creature's hide was too thick for even his blade to pierce.
He glanced not at Kraid, but through him, into the See-Through World, looking for weaknesses.
This was about when the ghost whisked him away to safety, along with the strange rock-person. Yoriichi bowed respectfully to the spirit warrior, noting his impressive aura.
"This humble swordsman is Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Thank you for your assistance. I should warn you that the giant's hide is seemingly unbreakable. But it is not invincible - I believe that if you aim for a weak point such as the eyes, mouth, or perhaps the holes in its belly, it will be effective."
As Starrk left, Yoriichi decided to leave Kraid to the other man - though Yoriichi was confident he could kill the beast, fighting something that big was cumbersome - and instead followed the stone man and his tiny spirit companion, to challenge the winged demon of death.
While the spirit taunted Ridley, Yoriichi silently charged, clearly intending to meet the dragon head on.
10th Form: Fire Wheel
Only to suddenly front-flip over Ridley, bringing his sword down in a sweeping crescent, aimed squarely at Ridley's wings. If it struck true, Ridley would surely find himself unable to fly.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Conan - Eastern Ruins, Center
Despite his bleeding wounds, Conan managed to get up without much trouble, as the rugged warrior had went through far worse before. The barbarian even grinned at the dragon, as much out of genuine enjoyment as to taunt his arrogant opponent. "Already thinking of giving up, beast? I have faced more tenacious rabbits than you!"
The Cimmerian warrior caught a glance of what was undoubtly a sorcerer teleporting around and talking to his strange staff, but he had far more pressing matters at hand. At least the strange creature of stone and other swordman were helping to fight the thin dragon, as strange as their appearance and blade were respectively.
But few could say that the adventurer was satisfied with coasting on the aid of others. So the mighty warrior would move to slide under the flying monster, then thrust his sword upwards to strike at the creature's belly, trying to hit a vital organ with all his strength!
Niiue
Castlevania
Raven Beak couldn't help but find it odd that somehow, both Link and Trevor got into the castle in this arena already, with the count still breathing.
Curious, but perhaps he will discuss this later.
The warlord silently bowed his head at Death and Lisa in the audience, not really reacting strongly to the grim reaper.
That was understandable. The deity representing death in Chozo religion wasn't a grim reaper. The bird-like race had a tendency to... "birdify" their deities anyway.
Raven Beak then stared at Majora, and once again silently and condescendingly folded his arms, taunting it without saying a word.
Naturally, none of the Mawkin were able to read the books in the library.
Quiet Robe didn't have that problem. Earth did exist in the Chozo universe. And the Thoha was scholarly enough to have come across ancient books from this planet.
"Make sure that this elder learns as much as possible from your technology and magic, librarian. He must be of use here." a Mawkin said to the librarian.
Eastern Ruins
In an instant, the trio of heroes disappeared right towards a nearby roof, courtesy of Coyote Starrk.
Kraid was about to destroy the building with a large slash when suddenly giant blasts materialized near his left shoulder before striking the beast.
Pirate technology may have rendered Kraid's skin nigh-invulnerable, but those powerful shots were clearly pushing that to its limit. Kraid roared as he was forced to back down, slashing his arms, trying to seize whatever was hurting him.
But Kraid noticed the trio trying to get away to get Ridley. He squinted his eyes in anger and let out a massive roar.
To be fair, Yoriichi really pissed him off, and the giant didn't intend to let them go. He even assumed they were behind the attacks rather than the invisible Starrk. Despite the assault, the giant tried to follow the other fighters to the fight with Ridley.
And he didn't need to get close to be dangerous.
Noticing this, the Tallon IV pirate grunted and withdrew his energy scythe. He ran towards the unconscious red Zebesian before retreating.
A bit later, all of the pirate mooks were reunited near their ships. Asides from the Tallon IV pirate and the purple Zebesian scientist, all of them had been injured.
"How did this happen...? Those miserable freaks..." the Urthragian hissed, his head still bleeding.
"Damn cheaters... Just like the Hunter, I swear. Without their fancy little weapons, we would have crushed them already!" the Aether one complained.
"We are clearly outmatched. Perhapsssss a retreat is in order." the Kihunter said.
"Oh absolutely!" the cowardly scientist frantically agreed.
The Tallon IV Pirate simply grunted in annoyance while the red Zebesian shook his head.
"At least whoever is battling with master Kraid is likely to be busy with him. This is our chance. We'll blast that whole place down if we have to." the Zebesian hissed, pointing at his spaceships.
"So we can give up on whatever those idiots are guarding?" the Tallon IV pirate asked.
"Maybe... But if we have to leave, we'll do so after crippling those pests, one way or the other. Capturing or killing some of them, I don't care."
"To be honest, I guess this is what Master Ridley would order us to... But it's best to not anger him." the Urtraghusian pested.
As Ridley lunged towards Elaine, she used Sand Attack on his face, filling his eyes and mouth with sand.
Getting sand into the open maw of the dragon was enough to disturb him, at least. The beast's jaw completely missed Elaine and he even let go of Conan.
"Why, you little shit!" Ridley furiously roared, shaking his eyes to get rid of the sand.
When he regained his vision, he noticed several newcomers. A big golem thing. That annoying pest that was always around the green boy, who strangely wasn't there, and some other humans.
Immediately, Conan charged again as soon as he got freed and aimed for Ridley's belly while Yoriichi, further away charged from upwards. Ridley growled as Conan hit his belly but nimbly took flight before being hit Yoriichi.
Flying above the group, the Pirate leader snarled in anger, putting a claw on his wound.
"I take it you got past my men... Idiots, I swear. I was about to bring that blue dog of yours back home since you're so deadset on not letting that poor little thing imprisoned inside those ruins." Ridley grunted, putting his blood-soaked hand near his mouth before licking it, drinking his own blood. At least Kraid and Wulfrik were still fighting.
"So that's how you want to play, heh? What's that, five, six against one? I would also count the yellow bug there but... what is she going to do? Talk me to death hiding behind that rock thing?" the dragon sarcastically asked before widening his eyes.
One way or another, they were going to pay for interfering. One way or the other.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK?? YOU ARE NOT ARAN!! YOU CAN'T STOP ME, WEAKLINGS!!" he roared as he unleashed a big Plasma Beam at the group. Not caring if the devastating attack hit them or not or not, Ridley aimed towards a large building, destroying its base, and causing the building to start falling towards the group.
Still flying, Ridley turned around looked down at Elaine and her savior, and started to chase after them from the sky, using the falling building as a distraction to escape from the others. He knew the duo was trying to get away.
And of course, the big, dirty dragon wouldn't let them. If he knew, he would have also more than gladly flown to the northwest and have his fun with the people there by taking them off-guard. Ridley didn't have any honor, as long as he had fun.
Grinning sadistically, Ridley readied his tail and tried to impale the beast. Should he fail, he would surprisingly do it again and again with great speed, his sharp tail as fast as a sword.
As for the others, they also heard Kraid's furious roar as the beast was trying to follow them... before witnessing three spikes from his stomach going toward them, whether or not they dodged the building. And unlike last time, they were much bigger, harder to avoid, and sturdier
Earth 11945, Resistance Camp
Once her ship landed, Samus put the Hatchling's capsule inside, well guarded, and had the ship fly away to safety in the air around the camp. The Bounty Hunter silently looked around as two androids greeted the group alongside support pods.
Though she largely preferred to work alone, Samus had been in a similar situation before. Defending the planet Norion from Space Pirates and Ridley, back then under the control of Dark Samus, with Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda, three other powerful bounty hunters.
Samus restrained herself from sighing, remembering how she had to put an end to her three companions.
"I see. Where do we start?" Samus asked.
"In this insane place, love is all that stands between us and the great beyond."
she/her friend to the hooved
Elaine, Eastern Ruins, Center
Occupied with her current opponent, Elaine entirely fails to notice as another individual swoops in to grab her by the neck—what from her less-than-ideal vantage point looks to be the most ripped Lycanroc she'd ever seen, and only the second worst-smelling one as she also discovers in short order.
Violently squirming and pawing at her captor and letting out a string of potent obscenities in pokéspeak, she soon collects herself and realizes she'd merely been grabbed and carried out of the fray by... well, this doesn't seem to be one of the scraggly wild wolf-pokémon inhabiting the ruins, and unless yet another group of combatants had somehow joined the fray when she wasn't looking, she deduces that this is almost certainly one of the rock-type's buddies. And this one has the gall to try and rescue her?
From her current angle, she can just barely look back in time to witness Conan cutting into the 'God of Death' as it flails in now-blinded fury from her attack. "What's your fuckin' problem, dogbreath? Let me go, I had it!" she half-lies, more to herself than the Lycanroc.
...and then the dragon catches on and begin to follow the both of them. Of course, Ellie, you pissed it off!
"I appreciate the save, but, uh, you guys got a plan, right?" she irritably questions her rescuer. "'cuz if that thing catches up, we're both dead!"
Edited by Chortleous on Feb 7th 2023 at 6:32:01 AM
Mountains (Mountain Pass)
As the party listened to the Channeler's exposition, each of them eventually reflecting that this man seemed to very much enjoy telling a good story, the female knight (who shall henceforth be referred to as Lillian) found herself just a little bit entranced and awed by the information that was conveyed to her, yet also just a bit terrified at the same time. An age where humans were banished to the depths for the crime of being human at all...that would be a nightmare. Once he'd finished, Lillian spoke up.
"The exact origins of our land of Ivalice are still debated and researched to this day, but what we do know is that our forefathers did battle with demons, both in their own flesh and in the guises of men. Whatever divine power resides in the heavens saw fit to enable them to emerge triumphant, and from there, the church was established and did its best to make sure the men of state and country ruled their people in a just fashion. But men are fickle, and our country has seen more than a few wars, both external and civil. It's only recently that things have stabilized, with our Queen Ovelia looking to guide us to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes of the past."
Eastern Ruins (Northwest)
Seeing that they'd finally run into actual living people, ones that didn't seem inclined to attack on sight, Ramza's guard lowered just a bit, yet he still looked wary of both Nel and Makura. Alma, however, looked to be a bit more trusting, and she emerged from behind Ramza to give a wave back to them.
"We're from Ivalice. The southern portion of it to be specific. Who are you two, and where are we now?"
Sky Palace -> Ponyville
Whatever exploring they'd intended to do was brought to a screeching halt as the seven-man team was abruptly teleported back home. Something that the Angel was not very pleased about, as he was currently flying about cursing up a storm that was very unbecoming of his station. This did not go unnoticed by the Champions, half of whom were appalled while the other half were laughing themselves silly at the display.
Once the cherub had gotten the worst of it out of his system, the team stood within the circle of light that they'd arrived in, and a few minutes later, each of them was descending to the ground. Once they'd landed, they noticed with no small amount of relief that the place looked much livelier than what it had been previously.
Domino City (Kaiba Corp HQ)
"Something big is right. This is making my head hurt..." Ashe grumbled, unable and unwilling to sugarcoat that fact. Though he didn't say it aloud, Grey evidently echoed her sentiments, as he was rubbing his head and looking rather worn, mentally speaking. Still, it was evidence enough that they believed what Krillin was saying and weren't dismissing him as a crazy person.
Proud member of the AGOG community.
Breath of the Sun
Eastern Ruins, Northwest
"I'm Makura. My friends here are Kongara and Seitaka. Nice to meetcha. As for where we are, well, it's uh... some ruins?"
Makura turned to Nel, clearly inviting her to explain. "...y'know, I actually don't know if this place has a name." Makura scratched her cheek, realizing the subject had never come up. "I woke up on a hill like an hour ago, so I'm just as lost as you."
Eastern Ruins, Center
Yoriichi moved to follow the dragon, but the beast from earlier began to stomp after them. Briefly, he weighed his options. Ridley was outnumbered and injured. Kraid was not.
"I will slay the giant." He told the rock-man and his little spirit. "Stop the dragon."
And Yoriichi moved. With blinding speed, he leaped towards the spikes. The first he used as a step-stone to launch himself higher, and the force of his jump threw it off course. The next two he struck with his blade to deflect away from the others, using the sheer power of his strike to send himself flying at Kraid.
His motions were flawless and inhumanly accurate, a testament to his godlike skill. As he flew, he spun to reangle himself, leveling his blade.
8th Form: Sunflower Thrust
Brilliant red focused down to a fine point, like a beam of sunlight sharpened into a lance.
The target? Kraid's central eye, and by extension the brain behind it, which Yoriichi had glimpsed in the See-Through World.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Eastern Ruins, Center: Big Risks, Big Rewards
Whether the beast carrying Ellie was incapable of speech or (for obvious reasons) just had its mouth full, it didn't answer the Vaporeon's question. Perhaps it hadn't expected the dragon to prioritize Ellie above literally everyone else in the fray.
What strange priorities!
Meanwhile, the goron found himself also surprised as the two swordsmen wasted no time trying to fight the stinky lizard before it took flight again. Why weren't they waiting for the dragon to signal he was ready? Pretty much every Bad Guy the little hero had ever fought spent the first few seconds of the fight doing some kind of flex. How else could they show off what a big Bad Guy they were? The goron frowned slightly; jumping straight into the fight seemed a little...rude?
As if detecting that her partner was losing focus, Tatl ordered the goron to curl up and roll out. "The big guy's got some kind of ranged attack, so get moving!"
No need to tell Link twice; once the Zora kitty was safe and sound, he'd turn his attention to the giant. Though as the goron rolled out to give chase—maneuvering around the incoming projectiles where he could, and using the ruins themselves as brief cover whenever he couldn't—he couldn't help but wonder why the dragon had chosen the Zora kitty as his target. There were at least five fighters
Once again: what strange priorities!
Despite what might've been expected, Tatl didn't guide her partner in a straight line after Ridley; that would've only made him an easy target for the big guy. Instead, she came up with a plan as soon as she noticed who had taken the blue water dog. Smelly mutt or not, there was something off about that wolf, a certain sharpness in its eyes that suggested there was more than fuzz between its ears. It knew that the strange creature was in danger, and it knew who was after it.
She could use that.
"Slow down for a sec. I've got an idea." she advised her partner once they were rolling almost parallel with the fleeing wolf, about twenty feet to the right of Ridley's right shoulder, and about five feet behind it. The goron complied, listening to the plan as the distance between him and the chase slowly grew.
Suddenly:
"Here boy!" Tatl shouted towards the wolf, even going so far as to whistle for him. "Good fetch, boy! Gooooood fetch! Now bring him here!"
During the retreat, the wolf had been dealt a few scratches from Ridley's tail. Maybe they were warnings; flesh wounds meant to taunt the fleeing beast as much as to wear him down. A cut on the tail, a graze near the left shoulder blade, but currently nothing that would stop the wolf from running at a sprint. After all, where was the fun in ending the little chase in one blow?
But once the wolf made a swift sharp turn towards the fairy's voice, that's when the first real blow landed: a sharp jab into the side of the beast's left leg made the wolf yelp. On instinct, it bit down a little more on Ellie's neck, though it relaxed that tightened grip almost as quickly. Changing directions like that had left the wolf vulnerable; it wouldn't be long before the adrenaline wore off. Once it did, that left leg was going to get really hard to move.
Still, he'd use whatever stamina he had left. With Ellie still safely in tow, the wolf began charging towards the fairy and the goron rolling beside her.
Perfect. Tatl smirked to herself. With Darmani's diamond-tough hide, we can keep the blue cat-thing away from this STUPID God of Death all day! Those sharp nails and teeth will break WAY before you pierce that skin! Think those flames will work? Have fun breathing fire against a creature that takes bubble baths in LAVA! And while you're busy with your weird priorities, we've got 3 guys in the wings waiting to wail on ya! Stupid stinky lizard—you're as good as beat, and you don't even KNOW it yet!
And so, as soon as the goron and wolf reached within 3 feet of each other, the former uncurled from his roll and ran a few key steps on his own feet. He reached out his hands, and with one last push...
Leapt right over the fleeing beasts and attempted to tackle the Cunning God of Death himself.
WHAT?!
That wasn't the plan. That was so NOT the plan! She thought she'd been very clear that this was a game of Keep Away. NOT a contact sport!
And yet there the goron dove—aiming to take the dragon down to the ground.
...and failing MISERABLY at it!
Perhaps Link hadn't gotten it through his thick head that a flying enemy didn't always have to fly a few feet off the ground. The goron was aiming to deck someone about four feet high, which given the dragon's harassment of the wolf, might've included Ridley's knees and lower legs. Dodging the tackle would hardly be a tough maneuver for someone with his agility, but perhaps then it'd become clear what the rock creature was really aiming to grapple:
Ridley's tail.
Tatl had described what the dragon had been doing during the roll over. If he was using his tail to take jabs at the wolf, then it never could've been more than a few feet off the ground the entire time. Even if Ridley were to fly over him, that tail would still need a moment to join the rest of the dragon's body. It was like reaching for a rope—a long, scaly, muscular, agile, very dangerous rope. But even if all he could grab was the end of it, the goron would cling onto the thing for dear life.
After all, his added weight might be their best bet for slowing this monster down.
What happened to Mr. Smallclothes had gotten the little hero thinking: if carrying a grown-up was enough to drag the annoyed dragon back to the ground, imagine what dragging a multi-ton goron would do? The wolf could make his escape, and his allies could finally catch up with this monster.
In exchange, Link was more-or-less putting himself at the mercy of the Cunning God of Death. Even if he could stop Ridley dead in his tracks (which seemed unlikely), all he could do was try to gather some footing and hold onto the tail with both hands. There was nothing to stop Ridley from turning around and claw at him, or try to stab his belly with the tip of his tail, or breathe fire on him, or maybe even guide the goron into the line of fire for Kraid's projectile spikes. Link couldn't stop him; the best he could do is hold on tight, and trust that Darmani's defense would let him take enough punishment for the others to catch up.
Should—by some miracle—this gambit play out as he'd hoped, Link would grit his teeth at the Cunning God of Death, and wait for the dragon to take his best shot.
He'd bare it. He had to.
...
With an entire building scattered across the battlefield, Ridley had managed to do the fleeing wolf a small favor: what had been used to try and evade the dragon's pursuers could now be used to hide from the dragon himself. Now that the sound of flapping wings had lessenednote , the wolf turned a corner around a particularly large hunk of debris, and gently lowered the Vaporeon back on her feet.
The wolf walked a few steps past Ellie, but she'd have to be blind to not notice that the swol Lycanroc wasn't putting as much weight on his left hind leg as he should. A blotch of stained fur was growing on it, trickling down and threatening to trail on the ground soon.
Ellie's rescuer studied the damage, then looked to the (hopefully unharmed) Pokemon. With a stare that betrayed an unusual intelligence—either too smart to belong to a wolf, or too mute to belong to a Pokemon—the wolf pointed its snout from Ellie, to the ruins away from Ridley's last known position.
He couldn't get her to safety with a wounded leg; even if the dragon couldn't catch up right away, the blood was an easy trail to follow. Whatever the wolf planned to do next, it seemed that Ellie would be on her own once again.
Edited by TheodoreHastings on Feb 7th 2023 at 6:16:06 AM
Niiue
Eastern Ruins
Not unlike Samus herself in her past battles with Kraid, Yoriichi masterfully used the big spikes to propel himself toward Kraid's head. Seeing him coming, the beast got ready and opened his jaw to crush him with his now enormous mouth. It was a matter of speed as to who would be the first to strike.
Yoriichi got first, and hit his target before Kraid could retaliate.
Once more, the sword could not pierce through the giant's skin, let alone try to pierce through the brain. Yoriichi still saw correctly through Kraid's weakness. His eyes were not as durable, and the third eye at the center was now bleeding heavily, causing the titan to let out a loud roar in pain, mouth wide open.
Ridley's vicious grin widened when after scratches after scratches, taunting the wolf, he hit the wolf's leg.
"Good boy! I've played enough!!" he roared, ready to finish him off.
And yet, the wolf instead charged at Tatl and Link, who had been chasing after Ridley and his targets.
And then the Goron grabbed the monster's tail, trying to bring him down.
Though he failed to just slam him into the ground (à la Argorok), Ridley did slow down thanks to Link's courage, allowing Elaine and the wolf to run away. And he wouldn't be able to properly chase them again with the Goron holding his tail. His plan was working.
But now, Link, though he was in a very sturdy form, was at Ridley's mercy. All he had to do was to hold on until the others would arrive.
And the cunning beast knew it.
"You know... That dog should give herself to me right away. I could brainwash her, mechanize her, turn her into something actually worth living... Why are you cretins so obsessed with getting in my way and ruining my fun? Don't you get it? That world is free-game for everybody. Wulfrik was the only one who somewhat understood it." the Space Pirate sighed.
Ridley glanced behind to look around for the others. That fast swordsman made the mistake of tackling Kraid, and the others were still far behind the Goron and himself.
Perfect. They'll have a front seat. They should never have defied him in the first place.
Still flying, Ridley eventually landed right on top of Link, using his whole size to restrain him, grabbing his face with one of his talons. At least he landed, and his tail was still in Link's hands... but for how long?
"You... You're that little elf boy. That green hat of yours and that pathetic yellow bug gave it away. Look, I think she's glowing pale now, I wonder why... I think it's because you're no longer around to be her meat shield." he softly muttered. Ridley then squinted his eyes as he stared at Link's face which he was squeezing hard.
The beast's nostrils emitted fiery smoke as he snarled in anger.
"That gaze... You remind me of her, you know? The same kind of hateful glare she would always give me, trying to "protect" people from me... Bullshit. She's just coping. I killed her human parents. Destroyed her home. And then I did the same to her Chozo homeworld. She failed to protect those useless geezers on Zebes. I even got to burn alive her "second" dad... Did you fail to protect someone too?" he said, scowling for a moment upon remembering his battle with Gray Voice, one of Samus's caretakers after she was found by the Chozo tribe on Zebes.
If he knew that Link's actions were responsible for the rise of Ganondorf back in Hyrule after obtaining the Master Sword, he would have certainly rubbed the wound.
As he spoke, Ridley's annoyed expression turned into a malicious grin.
"Let me guess, you're thinking about delaying me so that your friends get over here and try to overpower me? Do you think you can hold on until they arrive? You think you're a warrior, that you faced worse, that "justice" will prevail, blah, blah, blah... And then I start by gouging people's eyes. And they start crying, screaming like little pigs, begging for me to let them go. Think what you want, but bodily pain is a real thing... And I'm an expert on the subject"
Ridley cracked some bones as he moved his long neck around, getting ready.
"I don't know how you turned into that rock thing or if you can turn into something else, but whatever things you're using, brat... I think I'll take them!!" Ridley roared as he savagely attacked Link by savagely clawing at him like a maniac. The vicious psychopath even tried to aim for sensible spots.
He wasn't just trying to kill Link... he was trying to make him squeal. And with his Goron skin, Ridley knew that his body was sturdier and that he couldn't kill him in one single swipe... which meant he didn't have to hold back in his cruelty. He would tear that rock being, piece by piece if he had to.
Edited by Scipion3 on Feb 8th 2023 at 5:24:08 PM
"In this insane place, love is all that stands between us and the great beyond."
Wulfrik, Ruins
-A great eye, wreathed in flame, appears in the gloom, then spits something at Wulfrik. With reflexes born of a hundred thousand battles, he twists his body presenting his shield to the projectile. As it clatters away, he steps forward, replacing his sword with the hilt of his light-blade, gripping it without activating it.-
Reptiles, children and now a coward who strikes in the dark. Is there nothing in this world that can fight properly, or at least competently?
Edited by Chabal2 on Feb 1st 2023 at 3:29:43 PM