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 @ Sada
- Dash to Relay Station (-2 TMP)
- AGILE Thunder Fang @ Matthias (-24 STM, +3 TMP)
- Activate feat (Spotter Feat) @ Matthias Defences
- Thunder Fang @ Matthias (ACTIVATE: Sure Hit) (-16 STM, +4 TMP)
- Interact @ Smoke Bomb Fuckery (-3 TMP)
- Mean Look @ Matthias (-20 STM, +2 TMP)
- Umbral Resentment @ Matthias (-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

Odette (Aux)
- Call @ Gladion

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