Sunward Atop Sunrest Mesa

[Jackie Cat]

Matthias' fighting style was as evasive as ever – maybe more so – as he dodged and weaved like a dragonfly in flight.

"You think so?" he replied, sounding oddly exhilerated to be fighting, no defensive shame in his voice. "I'm still fighting for what I believe in – what I've always believed in! I'm still fighting for you, whether you accept that or not!"

He ducked another mauve arc from Valere's arm, and kicked out at the Gallade, seeking to unsteady him.

"Can you say the same, my knight?" he goaded. "Are you still fighting for a end you believe in – that you believe is possible to achieve?"
One that hadn't been possible when the two of them fought by each other's side.

The Greninja faced the incoming barrage of sandstone and dust from the nearby Rhydon and – in a whirl of contortionist acrobatics – he leapt from one rock to another, through the hurtling projectiles, and landed a stunning blow to a pressure point at Flint's neck. The hulking 'mon folded like damp cardboard.

"Or are you resigned to fail with your principles intact?"

Matthias pointed one arm at Valere, as if reaching out for him levelling an accusation at him.

And then, starting from his fingertip, the Greninja was wreathed in the otherworldly, coruscating light of evolution. His body altered, his limbs grew blades to match Valere's, and his head sprouted a proud helm-crest not so different than a Gallade's.

Matthias gained +2 innate Atk, Mag, and Spd!
Matthias transformed--?

"This is the proof of my devotion," declared Matthias, breathlessly. "Match it with your own, if you can."

​

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Fire billowed from Sada's maw, meeting Odette's Fiery Wrath – the flames would not reach Kimiko.

Odette herself, however...

"Wh- No, what the fuck?!"

Kimiko had never felt so energized mid-battle before. And, by all rights, she shouldn't; that flamethrower should have scorched her, even from this distance. Her eyes went wide with worry when she spotted the reason they'd never reached her.

She spun in place, dashing right back into the fray with murder on the mind. Betel's message from Leaf was like a whisper, struggling to make itself heard over her fury, but for whatever part of her that did hear it, something told her that robot moth was about to become a problem. And not far away, Matthias and Valere also appeared ready to make problems of themselves, taking their fight out of the skyship and downing the rhydon that she was pretty sure was on their side.

None of them mattered to Kimiko, really... but there was no reason she couldn't turn her frustration into something proactive. Matthias was dodging pretty well; Kimiko would have to aim just right as she bounded passed, and with any luck, she'd have the element of surprise; if he didn't see her coming, or simply didn't expect her to attack as she passed, all the better.

Regardless of whether or not she cut a bitch, she continued on, finally reaching the overgrown lizard professor again. Kimiko skidded to a stop directly in front of Odette, planting herself in between her friend and any further incoming flame. Waves of tainted psychic energy rolled off her, more an effort to ward off further attack than anything else, but if she did some damage in the process, she wasn't going to lose sleep over it.

"Try that again, I dare you."

Spoiler: Kimiko Turn 4

Kimiko (228 STM, 24 TMP, +0 SPD, +0 ACC, 10 SHD, 10 RAD)
- Walk (+0 MC) to Relay Station
- STRONG Leaf Storm @ Matthias (ACTIVATE: Sure Hit) (-45 STM, +5 TMP)
- **Act:** Dash to Rift Mender (-2 TMP)
- **Act:** SHADOW Focus (+5 TMP)
- CRITICAL SHADOW Psyshock @ Mesoza (-16 STM, -18 TMP, +3 TMP, +16 SHD)
Net change: -61 STM, -9 TMP, +16 SHD, +0 RAD
Net totals: 167 STM (224 after regen), 15 TMP, 26 SHD, 10 RAD

 

[Tetra]

"Hello world,"

Aw. It was kind of cute. Some kind of cybernetic pokemon then, like a porygon? Could they get it away from Covenant, before it could be used for something dangerous? "Hello, what are you?"

And then he looked up. Saw the fire, streaming toward Kimiko. Saw Odette leap in front of it, ablaze with the fury of a saint's might. Flame met flame, and Odette was consumed.

"Odette!"

Some logical part of brain knew she would be fine physically. A single Flamethrower wouldn't kill any of them. But in his heart all he saw was a false Entei, shadowed flames, trapped, hunted fire. He threw himself across the dusty ground and to her side.

His voice trembled as he murmured, "I've got you." She was fine she was fine he had to protect her-

Scorching sun dried the air and he could feel heat radiating from the stone beneath, but he had to try. He'd worked for this. He was strong enough. Summoning every ounce of that foreign energy he could, he condensed it until a small cloud formed, just over the two of them. Cool rain drizzled down onto her smoking form.

Slowly he turned, fixing his gaze on the "professor", still grappling weakly with Gladion. Just another selfish, abandoned her child egotistical bastard trying to enslave legends steal power-

"I just wanted to explore,"

Explore my fists in your face-

And then Kimiko was there, a writhing ball of shadow, and a brief spiteful satisfaction flooded Koa. Before he could join in, shouts hurled like daggers drew his attention, just in time to see... Was... that... mega evolution?? How... Seriously? Was everyone evolving before him?

Gladion gave chase, and Koa gritted his teeth. They still had a mission here, and that Greninja was an enemy. Touching his nose briefly to Odette's forehead, he left a Sitrus berry for her, then whirled and charged for Matthias.

Spoiler: Turn 4

Koa (Aux)
- Brawler Strike (Electric) @ Matthias

 

[JFought]

Isidora checked in on the battle just in time to watch Flint crumple to a single blow from Matthias. She cursed under her breath. "Shit." She knew she shouldn't have listened to him, she was supposed to be protecting him, and he was throwing himself into a bad matchup. She barely had any time to feel sorry for herself before Matthias started glowing and... evolved?

Whatever was going on between those two before, it was a real fight now, and if Flint was down, it was up to Isidora to help pick up the slack.

As soon as she acknowledged that, there was no more room in Isidora's head to be fazed. She rushed towards the fray and looked for her opening. Betel's network was telling her the greninja was Flying-Type at the moment. Big mistake. He was quick and evasive, but the flow of battle was converging towards him and he wouldn't be able to dodge everything. Isidora bet on that, aiming the trajectory of her Ice Shards carefully as Koamaru made his charge...

Spoiler: Turn 4

Isidora (Aux)
- Brawler Strike (Ice) @ Matthias
- Interact @ Halve power of Brawler strike to hit twice.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion reflexively let out a strange noise that existed somewhere between a hiss and a screech as the rift-mender crashed against his hide and left him with a burning sensation. His first instinct was to hit back again, to keep lasing out, but at the same time...

That must leave her psychologically vulnerable. You could say anything to her right now, and it would have considerable power...

...he felt some kind of responsibility not to fuck this up. And maybe, on some level, he also understood that hunger for freedom. Sure, it sounded like Sada had designed Mesoza to be similar to her in personality, and that wasn't a personality he had a good impression of. But in way, wasn't she was another victim of Sada's? He and Arven were treated like accessories, but Mesoza'd been a machine. A literal object to be moulded in her image. Didn't she deserve a chance to be her own person?

"Do you wanna call this off, then? You don't have to work for the Coven. You can leave, cut your own path. There's a whole world to explore here without needing to pierce the multiverse, and you won't have to follow anyone else's instructions. Take some time to figure out your feelings on your own. I... don't think I want to fight you anymore." He laughed. "Is it too late for that now?"

And then he let her out of his trap. For a moment, a look crossed his face, one that was sentimental and maybe a little nostalgic. He simply had to stop deciding that he liked and had common ground with the people he was supposed to beat up. This was the second time in a row now, the other wayfarers were gonna think he'd gone fucking soft on them. (He hadn't! He was still a tough guy! Right?)

Luckily, it didn't seem likely he'd stop wanting to punch Matthias in the face anytime soon. That whole transformation was totally unexpected, at first he wondered if it was some kind of mega evolution, but it seemed to be directly incorporating parts of Valere's body into his own. Gladion honestly wondered if the right thing to do was to back off and let him finish... the phrase renewing his vows came to mind. (But not like those kinds of vows. Except maybe kinda like them? He wasn't sure if he thought they were gay, but he was at least pretty sure that Leona or maybe Laura would be willing to bet him that they were.)

"Sorry to interrupt you when you're renewing your vows," he snipped, hoping Betel could preserve the double meaning. Going there felt like a blow below the belt-line, but back at the congress it was emotional questions from him that had damaged Matthias' composure the most. Gladion wasn't above a cheap shot. "But aren't you the only one who runs around planning to fail at things? Talking a lotta shit for someone whose most heroic acts are the missions he's botched."

He shot out a feinting bite towards the spot Matthias had kept his smoke bombs last time they fought. He'd managed to steal them last time, shortly before Valere broke the skylight. Matthias wouldn't want let him pull the same trick twice, so if he had them, he'd have to confirm it by protecting them. Once he knew what was happening, Gladion could get ready to strike again. Could he just try to bite at Matthias' hand while he used his trapping move? It was worth considering.

Even if the trap didn't stick for long, he only needed to buy one moment with the Greninja bound to him in order to call on his shadow, more deliberately this time. He was pretty sure he was gonna get absolutely rolled for this stunt, but that's what reviver seeds were for. He felt the same way he had with Mesoza, only more strongly: It didn't matter if Matthias thrashed him so long as he got to punch back the way he wanted. This body was temporary, after all. If it got a little trashed once in a while for the good of Forlas, well, that was a trade he was willing to make.

"At that point, you may as well not be here at all. You're useless. No, worse than useless. You say you've got some long con, but all I've ever seen you do is make things worse. I'm not gonna cut you slack because you only mostly cooperate with fucking shit up instead of completely cooperating."

Spoiler: Gladion Turn 4 + Provisional Odette + Order

Gladion (208 STM, 9 TMP, +1 SPD, +2 ACC, 20 SHD, 10 RAD)
- Receive (Call) (+3 TMP, -10 SHD, -10 RAD)
- **Act:** Call @ Mesoza
- AGILE Thunder Fang @ Matthias (ACTIVATE: Hex Maniac) (-24 STM, +2 TMP)
- Thunder Fang @ Matthias (-16 STM, +3 TMP)
- Interact @ Smokebomb Fuckery (-3 TMP)
- Mean Look @ Matthias (-20 STM, +2 TMP)
- Activate feat (Spotter Feat) @ Matthias AI
- Umbral Resentment @ Matthias (ACTIVATE: Sure Hit) (-40 STM, -15 TMP, +4 TMP, +40 SHD)
Net change: -94 STM, -4 TMP, +30 SHD, -10 RAD
Net totals: 114 STM (176 after regen), 5 TMP, 50 SHD, 0 RAD
(TAKE COVER)

Odette (Aux)
- Call @ Gladion

Order:
- Odette
- Kimiko
- Gladion
- Isidora
- Koa

 

[Jackie Cat]

Turn 4
Player Phase​

Odette called out to Gladion!
Gladion called out to Sada!

"Do you wanna call this off, then? You don't have to work for the Coven. You can leave, cut your own path. There's a whole world to explore here without needing to pierce the multiverse, and you won't have to follow anyone else's instructions. Take some time to figure out your feelings on your own. I... don't think I want to fight you anymore." He laughed. "Is it too late for that now?"

The Koraidon collapsed to the floor, her motivation to fight leaving her by the second.

"It's not too late," she replied, still with a trace of that stilted inflection that showed through here and there. "Just... let me go."

And so he did.

AI Sada no longer has any intention of fighting!

Gladion's AGILE Thunder Fang was dodged!
Gladion's Thunder Fang dealt a grazing 7 damage to Matthias!

"Sorry to interrupt you when you're renewing your vows. But aren't you the only one who runs around planning to fail at things? Talking a lotta shit for someone whose most heroic acts are the missions he's botched."

Matthias didn't flinch – he laughed.

"I drown the self I'd rather be, and instead become what I need to. Such is what this world asks of me."

Gladion's Interact:

Gladion's teeth closed on the pellets at Matthias' hip.

Not smoke bombs – blast seeds.

Fuck.

Gladion took 40 dmg!

"At that point, you may as well not be here at all. You're useless. No, worse than useless. You say you've got some long con, but all I've ever seen you do is make things worse. I'm not gonna cut you slack because you only mostly cooperate with fucking shit up instead of completely cooperating."

Matthias's grin crept wider up his face.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he replied. "Why should you believe otherwise, right? If there was some critical moment that lay ahead, I should certainly have told a near-stranger with a loose tongue!"

Sarcasm and sincerity mixed in a kind of post-ironic haze. He at least seemed to be enjoying Gladion's righteous fury – if Valere was the benchmark, 'righteous fury' was simply the frog's type.

Gladion's Mean Look trapped Matthias!
Gladion 's Umbral Resentment bound Matthias with spite!
Gladion's Spotter Feat @ Matthias Defenses! 248, 262
Kimiko's STRONG Leaf Storm dealt 106 damage to Matthias!
Kimiko's SHADOW Psyshock dealt a CRITICAL 71 damage to Sada! It's super effective!
Isidora's Double Ice Shard dealt 30+31 damage to Matthias!
Koa's Electric Strike dealt 110 damage to Matthias!

 

[Jackie Cat]

Turn 4
Enemy Phase​

Matthias gave the briefest glimmer of a sympathetic look to Gladion, as the Silvally collapsed. He'd be back up and fighting some more in a moment, stubborn boy that he was. Just like Valere.

He lunged at the Gallade with an acrobatic slash, renewing their combat – then leapt through shadows to throw attacks at Wayfarers still standing, Kimiko in particular.

"Come, fight for your convictions!" he demanded, breathlessly. As if he were desperate for them to prove themselves stronger than himself...

Matthias's Aerial Ace dealt 25 damage to Valere! It's super effective!
Matthias dashed to Rift-Mender!
Matthias's Shadow Sneak dealt 39 damage to Kimiko!
Matthias's Gunk Shot dealt 184 damage to Kimiko! It's super effective!
Matthias dashed to Relay Station!
Matthias's Shadow Sneak dealt 20 damage to Valere! It's super effective!
Matthias's STRONG Water Shuriken dealt 14 + 14 + 15 + 15 + 16 damage to Valere!
Boss Action: Firm Protect!
Boss Attack: Matthias is preparing Mercurial Soul.
Target: Relay Station

Even as Matthias fought, the situation around was changing... Ghostly figures of the Wayfarers in the dungeon and the solar Volcarona they were battling began to show through under the skin of the world. Sun's Rest was melding with realspace, 'healing' in some sense.

When Amida reaches surface reality, her reserves of Radiance will lay waste to the land for miles around...!

The Covenant scientists (still struggling to patch up their radio relay) back away from these apparitions, dropped tools, and looked around in a state of general alarm.

Sada pushed herself to her feet.

"The vessel—!"

The robotic creature in the container crate was humming to life.

"We may need it—" shouted the Koraidon, over the noise of battle and confusion.

Iron Radiance is now online.

 

[Jackie Cat]

One of the Covenant researchers – a weathered-looking Breloom in reflective clothing – started as the radio station she'd been frantically repairing crackled back to life.

"—é̴͉̀̉͗̓ǎ̴̮̺͇̔ş̵̢̠̘͐͠e̸͓͐́̉̉̅ r̷e̴p̸o̴r̶t̶. Mesa, have you established the relays yet? Neo to Mesa, I say again: have you e̶s̵t̷a̵b̵l̸i̵s̵h̸e̷d̶ ̴t̷h̴e̴ ̷r̶e̴l̶a̸y̸s̷? Mesa, please report!"

This voice would be unfamiliar to most. Especially over so bad a connection, crackling with static. But not to every Wayfarer present.

"Control, this is Mesa! We're engaged in battle with hostile pokémon – offworlders – and the professor... Professor Mesoza is compromised!"

"Copy that, Mesa. D̶o̸ ̶w̷h̶a̸t̷ ̴y̷o̶u̵ ̵c̴a̵n̸.̸ ̷I̷f̸ ̷t̷h̵e̷ vessel can't be sent here, then bounce the aura signature off the airship's comms. M̶e̴s̴a̴,̶ ̵I̴ ̸s̶a̸y̴ ̶a̸g̷a̷in: get me that aura signature, at any cost."

It was a voice Gladion would know all too well.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Up and up and up. The climb to the top of the mesa went by swiftly, all things considered. The Wardens were well trained for such a climb and more, and Brisa, well, she loped along on longer, more powerful legs than she had mere minutes ago. As for him, he didn't really need legs, so it wasn't the fatigue that nagged at him as they neared the mesa top. No, it was something else... A heaviness to the air. A sensation not unlike the one from the Caldera's vision. Was it worry? Or foreboding? Or the sheer presence of the Sun herself?

Either way, Steven knew they should hurry, so hurry they did.

The four of them skidded to a stop atop the Mesa to a chaotic scene. Covenant equipment was scattered about, their scientists, too. Above, the Army airship floated, and despite his promises to the Colonel that he'd retrieve it, Steven had few qualms if it didn't survive the fight. They would do whatever it took to stop the Covenant from taking Amida.

Below, the Wayfarers were engaged in combat with Matthias, at least he assumed it to be Matthias though he'd never seen a Greninja look like that. And that heaviness, it had increased almost tenfold, the air wavering and warping like a sun-heated mirage. He could see more Wayfarers in battle with-- was that... her?

When Amida reaches surface reality, her reserves of Radiance will lay waste to the land for miles around...!

"Wait, what?!"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Brisa panted for breath, her eyes roaming the mesa for targets. "Don't wanna punt the wrong 'mon off the plateau," she muttered.

Aurelia and Estelle fanned out on either side, their weapons igniting with plumes of ethereal fire.

"Is every stranger here a foe?" asked Aurelia.

"It matters not," replied her midnight-armoured counterpart, her hissing voice like a gas-flame. "We may sort friend from foe when the battle is but embers."

"Thought Lanterns were all s'posed to be human-tough," muttered Brisa. "Those tinkerers over there ain't even fightin' back."

Then her eyes narrowed as she saw Matthias. She rolled her neck and shoulders with an audible crack. "Just the dandy I'm lookin' fer," she hissed.

The Luxray threw a pot-shot of lightning his way, and the Greninja sidestepped it with a twirl.

"Sheriff," he said, his smile widening. "Come to even the score? I suppose I can't complain about the uneven matchup."

"Y'ain't wrong there," growled Brisa, launching herself headlong at him.

The Breloom on the radio took a step back, stretching the handset's coiled cable connection. "Control, they have reinforcements, it doesn't look good. Permission to fire on the field?"

"Granted, Mesa."

The Breloom kicked at a handful of settings on the device, and cleared her throat. "Shepherd, this is Mesa. Fire at will. I say again: fire at will!"

"Copy that, Mesa. Cover your ears."

The dirigible overhead shifted in the air as its turbines worked to align the weaponry on its underside with the target-rich environment of the plateau. The hammer-anvil clicking and final connecting clunk of gears sounded out as cannon barrels were aimed below.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"If you could be trusted to handle the critical moment ahead, then Auriga wouldn't have broken the one at a time rule to summon Starr."

Gladion's shadow exploded out towards Matthias, the raw material force of Gladion's disdain for Matthais made material. Bolts of pure frustration seeking recompense from his flesh. But he wasn't done talking, he had more to say, more grievance to air.

"She's here because you can't be trusted to do this. We're here because you can't—"

Until he stopped speaking mid-sentence to listen closely to the voice over the radio.

"—é̴͉̀̉͗̓ǎ̴̮̺͇̔ş̵̢̠̘͐͠e̸͓͐́̉̉̅ r̷e̴p̸o̴r̶t̶. Mesa, have you established the relays yet? Neo to Mesa, I say again: have you e̶s̵t̷a̵b̵l̸i̵s̵h̸e̷d̶ ̴t̷h̴e̴ ̷r̶e̴l̶a̸y̸s̷? Mesa, please report!

Copy that, Mesa. D̶o̸ ̶w̷h̶a̸t̷ ̴y̷o̶u̵ ̵c̴a̵n̸.̸ ̷I̷f̸ ̷t̷h̵e̷ vessel can't be sent here, then bounce the aura signature off the airship's comms. M̶e̴s̴a̴,̶ ̵I̴ ̸s̶a̸y̴ ̶a̸g̷a̷in: get me that aura signature, at any cost."

A chill settled into his soul. Did he know that voice? It was hard to be sure through all the layers of distortion, but it sure sounded like it. If Odette's version of him had escaped as much later as she'd said he did, would she recognize it too? (She wouldn't...)

He stood there for a moment, processing the layers of similarity and difference. There seemed to be plenty of people keeping Matthias busty. Enough to by him a moment to take a deep breath and try to push the shadows down and out of his voice. He wanted to commandeer that radio and send Neo his fucking regards, but just as quickly the Breloom technician moved to authorize... fucking hell.

He pounced towards the radio setup and shoved aside the tech. There were a lot of ways this could go wrong, he should at least be able to buy the other Wayfarers the time it would take to reveal his deception. He raised a protect shield for the dual purposes of protecting himself from interference and adding one of the missing layers to his voice. Then he let his voice drift from his chest up towards his upper throat. (Fully speaking from his head would probably be overdoing it, but he could let it inflect up there.) Then, he hoped that radio static and the uncertainty of the moment would cover over any other differences, and spoke:

"Shepherd! Shepherd, this is Neo. What the hell is going on over there? If I hear reports of bombardment anywhere near the vessel, there will be hell to pay. We're so close to getting the aura signature! Focus on preventing hostiles commandeering the airship or damaging the comms before that happens."

He mentally called out to the other Wayfarers. Someone, try to commandeer the airship and fuck it's comms before he catches on and explodes us. Some part of him wanted Shepherd to call him right away, no matter how bad it would be for them. To get a radio back saying he didn't sound like Neo. Something that would let him write off the similarity in voices between himself and this guy as a coincidence, to realize he'd wildly lost the plot and read way too much into how this mysterious figure sounded.

But he knew not to expect that.

Spoiler: Gladion Turn 5

Gladion (208 STM, 5 TMP, +1 SPD, +1 ACC, 50 SHD, 0 RAD)
- Mean Look @ Matthias (-20 STM, +2 TMP)
- Activate feat (Spotter Feat) @ Matthias
- Umbral Resentment @ Matthias (+0 STM, +3 TMP)
- STRONG Protect (-30 STM, +4 TMP)
- Interact @ Commandeer Radio (-3 TMP)
- **Act:** Call @ Shepherd
Net change: -47 STM, +6 TMP, +0 SHD, +0 RAD
Net totals: 161 STM (208 after regen), 11 TMP, 50 SHD, 0 RAD
(TAKE COVER)

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Is every stranger here a foe?" asked Aurelia.

"It matters not," replied her midnight-armoured counterpart, her hissing voice like a gas-flame. "We may sort friend from foe when the battle is but embers."

"Now, wait a minute--" Steven called out to Estelle in an attempt to stay her blade, but faltered. It was true, the Wardens never met most of the Wayfarers before so their uncertainty was understandable, but the more he looked at the battlefield, the more he realized he didn't have a clear answer to give them himself.

It would be too much for them to remember every Wayfarer by species, but it wasn't the case that every other 'mon up here was an enemy, either, based on the way the battle appeared to be unfolding. He settled on something simpler.

"The foes are the Greninja," he pointed with a claw in the direction Brisa had sprinted, "and anyone protecting the equipment."

That much he knew, at least. The rest, well, he'd figure it out in time. For now, though, those were the easiest targets to point out. Surely the Captains knew what belonged on their mesa and what was foreign tech.

"I'll introduce you to everyone else later," he reassured them. Well, mostly Aurelia. Estelle didn't strike him as the type to be into making new friends. Goodness, the night-captain still scared him a bit.

Steven had just turned his attention back to the battle when a blast of static and radio chatter assaulted his senses. He winced, grabbing at his head. In between trying to figure out why all of a sudden he was getting hit with electromagnetic feedback, he caught snippets of what was being transmitted.

--reinforcements-- --Permission to--

--G--nted--

--re at will-- again: fire at--

--Copy tha-- Cover-- --ears."

Why did it sound like--? A sudden whirring and clacking overhead interrupted his thoughts as the radio chatter went silent. Steven looked skyward and let out a low curse. Oh, because of course the airship had guns, too!

Another burst came over the radio, this time attempting to halt the order, but as Steven watched the ship adjust its course he had a sinking feeling it might be too little too late...

Tentatively, he held out one hand towards the airship, claws splayed wide. It felt foolish. Yes, he'd seen it done before, but that was one projectile aimed at one target, not an entire battery.

'C'mon, c'mon,' he urged silently, narrowing his focus as more barrels clunked into place. Whether he was urging his fellow Wayfarers on so that it didn't come to this, or himself if somehow it did, he wasn't sure.