Sojaveña Wilds Silver Ravine Mystery Dungeon

[Chibi Pika]

Zapdos gazed at Steven and Koa for a long moment before turning away. "Like I said last time—you're free to use your own strength however you wish." There was a lot less force behind it than before, though.

"So you'll keep on protecting the weak, then. Do you know what will happen next? The weak will bleed you dry until you have nothing left to give, and then they'll turn on you when you fail to meet their lofty expectations. Do you think they'll care anything for you when you can no longer be of use to them?"

Fighting the demons of Blaguarro, fighting Cipher, was exactly the sort of challenge he would have relished, wasn't it? And yet, he'd resigned himself to remaining an indifferent force of nature.

But this was different. A new opportunity. A... change, as Koa had put it. This was something greater than himself. The demons could not be allowed to claim the Stormbringer's rest.

The Cyclone made eye contact with them, eyes sharp. "If you're so determined to make this your fight as well, then tell me—how would you intend to reach it, then?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven pinched the bridge of his nose and grated out an irritated sound.

"We are using our own strength this time. We're offering to lend it to you." He sighed. "I remember what you said. But this isn't about the weak or the strong. This is about stopping a malevolent force from destroying all you hold dear."

Endless storm clouds and driving rain. Kyogre's silhouette wreathed in lightning. He didn't need to be lectured about choice by someone so indifferent.

"You can be a force of nature all you want, but if Alexander wins, there won't be any nature left."

The ghost of Radiance's heat was no longer just his imagination. It prickled up to an incessant buzz beneath his steel skin. Steven let his eyes flicker over their surroundings briefly before he met Zapdos's stare with his own.

If it's a challenge the Saint wants, it's a challenge the Saint gets.

Without breaking eye contact with Zapdos, Steven dug into a pocket on his bracer and pulled out an angular, gray rock. He turned it over in his palm once before turning and offering it to Koa, a light gold color shimmering in the red of his eyes.

"Do you trust me?"

 

[Tetra]

Stubborn dummy. Koa glared back with equal intensity as Steven spoke even though his mind was absolutely blank. He still didn't know if there was a way up. None of their team could fly, and he doubted even Mhynt could teleport that high. Asking another Saint seemed like a bad idea, he got the impression that the other two didn't get along. Maybe Zapdos was right...

No. Nope. He'd never give Zapdos the satisfaction. They just had to find someone who could fly... into a storm. A dangerous, divine dungeon shadow storm. A Ranger? Who-

"Do you trust me?"

Blinking, he glanced at Steven, his eyes shining with curiosity. "I do," he said, without hesitating. Especially if it meant proving a point to Zapdos.

Steven's mental voice chimed in his thoughts. <Hold onto this tight, and hop up on that outcropping right there. I need you to charge up as much electricity as you can, the more the better. Then, once I'm in position, unleash it all on me.>

Oookaayy.... Brow furrowing, he took the stone Steven handed him, feeling the faint tug of something from it. Magnetic? He trotted towards the outcropping, still buzzing with curiosity, and took up position. I hope you know what you're doing he thought. He zipped the rock into his jacket pocket securely and placed a paw snugly over it, then turned to face the storm.

Building up a charge was easy. In the space of just a few seconds, his entire body thrummed with lightning, both his own and from absorbing it from the air. His gaze locked with Steven and he waited until the Metang gave him the nod of approval.

Just before he fired, Steven's voice rang in his head one last time.

<Oh, you're not afraid of heights, are you?>

Wait what.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Good. Koa was on board.

Steven hovered to the base of the outcropping where Koa stood and reached out with his arms, one on either side of the Electrike. He concentrated, all focus. Positive, check. Negative, check. The air crackled with electricity, snapping and curling around his skin. Radiance hummed through him in time with his own magnetism. He could already feel the resistence coming from the rock in Koa's pocket. Lodestone. Magnetically dense. He thought for a moment before sinking his claws into the rock, just in case... Sandstone. Not optimal for anchoring. But it would have to do.

Steven's gaze flicked slightly as he angled his body like a ramp-- or in this case, a slingshot-- 82.6...? .7? No, better make it a round 83. And then...

Koa's electricity hit him all at once, and at the same time Steven pushed with all his might. Sandstone crumbled beneath his claws, and he shot backward into the earth with crunching thud. Equal and opposite.

Steven used Radiant Psychic!

The psychic force combined with the supercharged magnetic field sent the lodestone in Koa's pocket rocketing skyward, and Koa along with it.

 

[Tetra]

One moment, Koa was standing with his feet on the earth.

The next, he was rocketing upward, a howl of surprise and exhilaration ripped from his jaws. He didn't even care if he reached the storm, this was sick.

In your face, Zapdos!

 

[Chibi Pika]

Zapdos had been watching their setup with some amusement, but there was no denying that he was actually curious to see where this was going...

And then Koa rocketed into the air at blistering speeds, electrical sparks trailing behind him like a beacon in the face of the inky-black curtain overhead. From the starting position of midway through the ravine's winding paths, the Electrike easily cleared the clifftop's edge and kept going, until gravity finally regained its hold and slowed his ascent.

If they'd been standing at the very top of the ravine from the start... then there just may have been a chance of reaching the storm...

With the spell finally broken, Zapdos burst into laughter.

"Unbelievable," he crowed, hanging from the willow tree with his pointed wings spread wide. "You offworlders are just full of surprises, aren't you?"

With a light kick, he leaped down from his perch to land alongside Steven, still chuckling under his breath. "Well, if your minds are made up, then I doubt anything can stop you, isn't that so?" He glanced skyward, mulling over his words.

"Tomorrow night. Prepare yourselves and gather whatever allies you will, then return here."

 

[Tetra]

Conscious thought evaporated from Koa's head. Wind whipped through his fur as he hurtled upwards. All he felt was a singular, overpowering rush. Vaguely, he realized just how very far the ground was getting, and how close he was getting to the storm. Closer than he ever thought he'd get.

Slowly, then all at once, he stopped. For one single moment, the world stood still, as he hung in the charged sky, surrounded by the open air with Steven and Zapdos nothing but dots of color below. What felt like the whole of Forlas lay before him, a tapestry of red and golds and and orange with the dark storm blanketing the sky above. His breath caught in his throat, his eyes shining. Was this how Zapdos felt all the time?

Then gravity reasserted its control.

His stomach rose into his chest as he plummeted back down to the earth. It occured very quickly to him that he hadn't rehearsed this bit of the plan with Steven. Or any of it. Hm.

...Steven, you got me right?

Steven was starting to grow much larger alarmingly quickly and the ground was no longer a distant blur. A high pitched howling noise filled the air, which he realized a few moments later was coming from him.

Um. Steven?

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven picked himself up from the ravine floor with thinly veiled glee. It worked. It worked! As he watched Koa soar, he pumped a fist in excitement, which he then tried to cover up by brushing some of the ruddy sandstone dirt from his other arm.

Of course it worked, the theory behind it was sound. He wouldn't have tried otherwise.

Gradually, the thrum of Radiance dulled to the hum of background radiation, and he allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk Zapdos's way. "We'll be there," he said.

But why did it feel like he was forgetting something...?

Um. Steven?

Steven's eyes went wide. "Koa!" Then added hastily to Zapdos, "If you'll excuse me a minute."

He was already on the move, tracking Koa's trajectory. Thankfully it was a near vertical launch, not much ground to cover even with his late start. Throwing a hand out, he caught Koa with a psychic hold, slowing the Electrike down so only a small puff of dust came up beneath his paws as he touched down.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly, scratching some invisible dirt from the side of his head. "I hope it was fun, other than the descent."

 

[Tetra]

A litany of swears swept through Koa's head as the ground rushed up, faster and faster- Zapdos better agree after this! - And then a soft cushioning sensation wrapped around him, wind slowed and his paws gently touched solid ground again.

His heart hammered in his ears so loud he barely heard Steven. All he could do was stare at him, panting and wide-eyed, looking absolutely thrilled. A wild grin stretched across his muzzle. Again! Wait no, they had a mission still, he had to focus... He hastily held back the word, clearing his throat to give himself a moment to catch his breath. "That was amazing," he said to Steven, practically vibrating with delight. A word that didn't even begin to cover it.

Brushing his fur back into place, he turned to Zapdos, hastily composing himself. Had the Saint agreed? It looked like he had. "So how's that for our own strength? Neither one of us could pull that off alone." His tone was light and assertive, not needling or annoyed. Excited. He glanced at Steven, feeling a newfound layer of respect for him, then turned to meet Zapdos' gaze. "Guess we'll be fighting alongside each other soon then."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Zapdos sprung up onto a higher ledge with an energetic leap, still crowing with amusement at such a bold display. "Indeed," he replied, meeting Steven's smirk with one of his own. The two of them had undoubtedly surprised him, and that was rare.

"We'll meet under stormy skies, then," the Cyclone said, nodding to them. Then he drew himself back and—with a mighty leap—bolted up the sheer face of the Silver Ravine to resume his training at the top of the cliffs.

So it was that this time the Wayfarers and the Roaming Cyclone would head into battle as allies.

<><><>​

 

[Chibi Pika]

The sky was an overcast gray, threatening rain in the coming hours. The air was still, and the ravine silent, save for the occasional thwack of an impact on dry wood. Virga, wings glowing, struck at the gnarled surface of a tree branch at the tail end of each dive before peeling back around for another go.

Jade stood on a flat sandstone ledge some ways away, trying to focus on her own drills but still glancing Virga's way every so often. (She wasn't entirely sure why she'd come along herself, as they weren't exactly training together so much as in the general vicinity.)

"Training would probably be faster if we were battling with someone." She'd done a bit of training herself that morning, with Koa and Anubis, but Virga had declined to join them.

"I'm aware. I have done training with others, and I have strengthened this body. But reclaiming my former power is something I must discover for myself."

In that case, why do I need to be here, is what Jade didn't say. She just sighed and went back to her moves practice. Thunderbolt had actually started to feel second nature by now. She could reach out her paw and grab at the power, feeling the static climbing up her arm like it was her own, without even needing to focus on how it'd felt to borrow it from Koa.

The wind had picked up. Jade thought she felt a droplet on her arm and wished she'd brought her poncho. Winter might've come to a close, but the springtime weather in the Soja' had proven unpredictable in just the past few days.

"I must strengthen this form's endurance," Virga announced suddenly, perched on a nearby tree branch thick with spring buds.

Jade paused. "Like, seeing how long it takes to run out of power for moves?"

Virga shook her head. "Enduring strikes." A pause, considering. "That form you inhabit now has grown strong, yes? You should attack me."

Jade did a double-take. "Huh? I don't... know if that's a good idea?" Even if some part of her would have wished for that, months ago. But that was another world away.

Virga's gaze was piercing. "You sparred with the thunder pup just this morning. Strike me."

The Rookidee took flight and dove at Jade, and it was only her reflexes that let her roll out of the way, landing deftly on all fours. Jade kept her eyes trained upward at the small bird wheeling around in midair and making another dive, wings glowing. She grit her teeth. Fine. Fine. She could let out the anger from all those months ago that she'd been swallowing ever since waking in that lost garden. Jade sprung to her feet, a cold chill pulsing at her core as she thrust her arm forward and let a rush of frigid water stream from her paw.

Chilling Water cut through the air and Virga faced it head on, the cold digging deep into her body. And with it, memories surfaced.

Icy water smoothly flowing across silver feathers. The cool embrace of the deep, paradoxically warm and inviting. Pushing further and further north, mapping the waters of the world. A young god, exploring the furthest reaches of its domain.

Virga tumbled backward, wings rapidly working to correct her flight. She paused for just a moment to regain her bearings, and then dove again. The water responded in kind.

Relentless waves smashing into the sea's breast. Facing down the Leviathan, an equal with a domain to match. Battling for dominance within the white crater of Sootopolis as land and sea tore each other apart.

It wasn't enough.

"Again!"

And again the water struck, and again the disconnect as the Rookidee instincts recoiled away and Lugia kept pushing through the pain. This is nothing. I have weathered raging storms and merciless frost and roaring dragonfire. This is nothing.

The sea could feel something deep within its core, clawing its way out, something which could not be contained. Until finally, it burst free.

Jade clenched her paw and the water ceased. She stood frozen, staring upward at the light spilling out from the Rookidee, enveloping the tiny frame. And then that tiny frame wasn't so tiny anymore, body, beak and wings all lengthening, easily doubling. And when the light faded, a silver-bodied crow was left in its place, with dark wings and hood and eyes just as striking as before.

The Corvisquire tilted a wing, angling back toward the canyon ledge and landing in front of her. They could actually stand eye-to-eye now. If anything, Virga stood taller.

"Well," Jade finally said after a long moment, "I'd say that was a success."

Virga observed her new form with mild interest, wings flexing, claws running across the sandstone. "It's a start." She spread her new wings again and took flight, circling experimentally overhead within the narrow walls of the ravine. "The assistance is... appreciated."

Jade nodded. "Yeah. No problem." That months' old anger cooled and dimmed. It could lie dormant again.

<><><>​