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Welcome to The Cave of Dragonflies forums, where the smallest bugs live alongside the strongest dragons.
Guests are not able to post messages or even read certain areas of the forums. Now, that's boring, don't you think? Registration, on the other hand, is simple, completely free of charge, and does not require you to give out any personal information at all. As soon as you register, you can take part in some of the happy fun things at the forums such as posting messages, voting in polls, sending private messages to people and being told that this is where we drink tea and eat cod.
Of course I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to, but seriously, what have you got to lose? Five seconds of your life?
"Does it look like there are bandits running around out here?" Nova growled, doing his best to use his larger size and piecemeal appearance to try and strike some degree of fear into the little guy. All the while he concentrated to try and bolster his defenses from any sort of counterattack.
The fight was on. It was the first time so many of the heroic spirits had fought together, and even expecting a scuffle at the Gala, they'd had little chance to prepare for an actual fight like this. Doing a little combat practice and getting some useful items wasn't the same as real preparation, and the guards advancing on the crowd and been entirely unexpected. But the sense of confusion and chaos dissipated quickly, the team falling into sync in mere seconds, the presence of the Voice who'd brought them to this world now freshly in their minds...
Aige's Defender Skill! Silver was Protected!
Nova's Tackle struck Patrat O! Their Shield broke!
Arctozolt's Powder Snow struck Pawniard 1 and Watchog! Their Shields broke!
Clover's Rogue Skill! Pawniard 1 became Drowsy!
Silver's Leer dropped the enemy Defenses! -1 Def!
Silver's Spotter Feat!
Watchog isn't one for knocking out opponents – if you leave the area, that's fine by her. She's going to try to support the other security forces and stop the party taking them out, all while staying put.
The clatter of metal on cobblestone rang out as one of the Pawniard collapsed. In reply, a second Pawniard leaped through the bushes onto the main path, swishing their bladed forearms before striking.
Pawniard 2's Iron Defense! +2 Def
Pawniard 2's Metal Claw hit Silver's shield!
Pawniard 2's Assurance dealt 9 dmg to Gladion!
Watchog was still firmly planted at her station, refusing to budge. She started by raising a barrier of light around her allies before sending a wave of flickering lights dancing around the closest Graydian's head. And then there was that Sneasel that just would not get out of her face--
Watchog put up Reflect in the Entry Path!
Watchog's Confuse Ray hit Gladion!
Watchog's Retaliate dealt 19 dmg to Silver!
At some point, an imposing bladed figure had slipped into position behind the Watchog guard. She seemed content to let her subordinates handle the intruders... to a point. Her eyes kept tracing the battle, locking onto one figure in particular. Without warning, she struck!
Arctozolt had been conflicted about the gala, in more ways than one. Both sides of them hated the mayor. Ignoramus lacked all the chivalry and charm of both N and Piers.
But did that really mean they had to side with criminals?
So they were outside, fighting to protect the civilians, one thing they agreed on.
"Hey, you there!" Naylene called to the red-furred Sneasel. Silver, he was called. "Get their asses!"
The beast lumbered around the battlefield, calling to allies, and defending civilians with their own body if necessary.
"Oh, so it's 'punch first, ask questions later?'" Nova huffed. Then he heard pained cries coming from closer to the manor.
For a moment his legs locked up. He envisioned a different field. One where he was in Patrat's place. And a group of terrified watchog stood where he did instead. Where he didn't tell people to clear the area. Threats were threats. They were disposed of quickly and quietly. No speeches. No bravado.
... No. No, no, no. This was different. The roles were reversed. Snap out of it!
With a huff, Nova doubled back. "Keep your guard up!" he called out, in particular to the poisonous sneasel he saw take a nasty blow. "They know you hold their weaknesses!" Again, he smacked against a Protect shield knowing full well it would do nothing.
And, given the other null appeared to be bumbling around from some confusion, he shot the nastiest glare he could manage at the most likely source: Watchog.
Nova (30 STM, 7 TMP, 0 SPD, 0 ACC)
- Walk to Entry Path
- **Bonus Action:** Call @ Silver
- Tackle @ Pawniard 2 (-4 STM, +2 TMP)
- Scary Face @ Watchog (-18 STM, +2 TMP)
Net change: -22 STM, +4 TMP
Net totals: 8 STM (17 after regen), 11 TMP
As soon as Kimiko's barrage finished, she stared in surprise at the injured patrat. How did I do that? She hadn't even really thought about it, she'd just... attacked. Some part of her trainer's instinct, perhaps? But then, that only told her what she should do, not how to do it. Sure, she'd been training a bit, but here, now, in the heat of battle... Frankly, it was a surprise how easily it came to her.
No time to dwell on it, though, as the patrat guard got back to their feet and glared at her. Kimiko glared right back, adrenaline kicking in now. "You wanna go?" she shouted. At least if he's attacking me, he's not attacking random civilians.
It probably wasn't worth trying to talk them down from this - it was their job, after all. But that didn't mean they were going about it the right way...
"I'm no outlaw, but that line of thinking? 'Any of us could be outlaws'? That's a weak justification for attacking guests indiscriminately."
The patrat guard did not like that. It lunged at her before she could even react, sinking his teeth into her side. Kimiko cried out, first from the surprise, then from the pain. Whatever that attack was, it hurt, and she was starting to feel winded already.
But as the patrat retreated, she grinned. Another deep breath to focus her concentration. Through grit teeth she said, "I've felt worse." And then, just as before, she leapt into action.
Arctozolt called towards Gladion, saying, "Hey! Don't let up! We're getting somewhere"
"Hey, stickass!" she proceeded to yell at Watchog. "What'd Ignoramus do to get you to start attacking random citizens, huh? You two having an affair or something?"
Jade flinched when Bisharp struck Gladion from out of nowhere, clutching her own arm that was still pulsing with pain. Her eyes darted from one fighter to the next, automatically assessing who was in the most danger, who needed help, just like she’d been trained.
“Gladion, brace yourself for another hit, you’ll get an opening for a counter!” Jade called out. She wasn’t sure how he’d feel about getting orders from a trainer (Wasn’t he human? There’d only been one chimera like that in the nexus, and he was the other one, right?). But this was still their best chance to get inside without taking too much damage.
A second pawniard burst out of the bushes to bury an Assurance in his side, the first real injury he'd suffered since arrival, unless landing on Wes counted. There was no mistaking the fact it had injured him, but it really wasn't so bad. He'd hurt himself more painfully than that as a human. The sting was well worth the clean access to the pipsqueak.
What he'd realize momentarily was a confuse ray threw him off, though. All of a sudden it felt like the helmet was closing around him. Vertigo rose in his gut as the ground felt further away. And that was the moment the Bisharp attacked, of course. That hurt a lot more than the first, but what would've been incapacitating injury as a human was a manageable pain here. He couldn't get a read on the Bisharp to hit back, though.
There was still the Pawniard, though. The last one had almost gotten up afterwards, so this time he held nothing back, no fear of injuring himself, nor cracking a skull or something. Barely stung, but the volume of the impact between them suggested that Pawniard would surely disagree.
Trying to reach out over Cloud Messaging to the Sneasel to delegate keeping them down, he tuned his attention elsewhere, but felt an energy go with it too, some of his strength donated. Accidentally, but he had it to spare, it was probably better that way.
He gave himself a moment to salvage an Oran Berry off a skewer— feeling not too hurt by human standards in a Null body didn't mean being fine, here he was built to fight to the death if necessary. After that, it was Bisharp time again. There was a score to settle now.
"How long you gonna hide behind everyone else here? You're running out of people to cover for you. Scared I'm gonna drop you? If so, I can't fault your head for tactics."
An exhilarating giddiness flooded through Silver’s body at the sight of the fainted Pawniard. Oh yes, nothing made him feel more alive than triumphing over his opponents!
“Okay! Who’s next?” he shouted defiantly, far too confident to realize that his moment of glory was short-lived.
A flash of light got his attention, and when he turned to the source, his eyes widened in a panic: the Watchog was charging at him, thoroughly fed up. Too late to dodge.
“…Oh crap.”
The payback-fueled energy crashed into his fragile and light Sneasel body, making him cry out in pain and slide across the stony floor. He coughed harshly, his body an aching and shuddering mess. Slowly, with great effort and panting heavily, Silver managed to stand back up. There was no way he could have taken another hit like that.
But then, big figures ran past him, targeting the Watchog and the Pawniard. As they approached him, they shouted words of encouragement:
With a huff, Nova doubled back. "Keep your guard up!" he called out, in particular to the poisonous sneasel he saw take a nasty blow. "They know you hold their weaknesses!"
…That’s right. It wasn’t over yet. As long as he could stand on his legs, he wasn’t going to give up.
His teammates counted on him. Not only the ones fighting in the courtyard, but also the ones fighting whatever threat inside the manor.
No. He wasn’t going to let them down.
Fueled by his reservoir of remaining energy and renewed willpower, Silver rushed forward, ignoring the jolts of pain. As he dashed, he noticed the chimera who had helped him out in taking down the Pawniard.
“Hey, you!” Silver called out, running by the chimera’s side. “That full body assault you did earlier… it was really badass and powerful!” He smirked. “How about an encore?”
Silver darted toward the other Pawniard, who looked just as woozy as the previous similar-looking guard. The Reflect shimmered with reflective energy, but the former human held his focus on his target. Unyielding.
“Cool barrier you’ve got there!” exclaimed Silver, crossing his claws in front of his chest. Then he drew them outward, making them pulse with fighting energy. “Wanna see something even cooler?”
With a defiant battle cry, Silver charged at the barrier with his claws held forward, cutting near effortlessly through the translucent screen, and struck the metallic body of the Pawniard with all the power he got.
...and then another, and still another guard fell to their attacks. They were... doing well, weren't they? They were winning. Fast, too. Had it really only been a few minutes, if that? Already the battle was coming to a close...
One of the civilians gave a cheer for the heroic spirits.
Then another.
Objective: Protect the civilians (3/4 enemies KOd)
Watchog glowered at the intruders, struggling to keep a stern stature even while her eyes had gone slightly crossed from Arctozolt's belligerent rambling.
"You're not allowed through, and that's that!" she yelled, reaching into her bag and hurling something at the chimera.
Watchog's Small Blast Seed dealt 20 dmg to Arctozolt!
Watchog's Retaliate hit Silver's Protect!
Watchog was slowed by paralysis.
Watchog dealt 4 dmg to herself in confusion.
Nova winced a bit seeing Gladion get hurt. "Hang in there!" His gray eyes burned with anger. With a desire to lash out. To put these enemies in their place.
But this wasn't Nova's real body...
"He's striking you because he knows you're better than him!"
Crouching down, Nova sprang forward, smacking into Watchog. It wouldn't do much of anything. Something about this fake body... was tuned in a way that was completely at odds with the way Nova knew how to fight. It was sluggish and... defensive. A far cry from when he would fight.
Fight as himself, at least. Nova had been trying to ignore it, but the anxious bubbling in his gut churned faster and faster throughout the fight. This lack of attack ferocity and bland disruptiveness was how his body was forced to fight. Because of Him.
Nova forced the feeling of suffocating red chain links out of his mind. Stop it!
He could still try something. Still try a bluff!
"Enough of this!" Nova stepped between Watchog and the others. "There's no reason to fight. We thinned your numbers and we're not charging inside to trash the place. And you can surely tell I'm holding back. Because we're not bandits! We're not here to cause trouble." He stomped a foreleg down. "Your teammates are hurt. Let's call this off and get them some first aid, all right?"
Nova (17 STM, 11 TMP, 0 SPD, 0 ACC)
- **Bonus Action:** Call @ Gladion
- Tackle @ Watchog (-4 STM, +2 TMP)
- Interact @ Watchog: Nova suggests we stop fighting and tend to the injured guards (-3 TMP)
Net change: -4 STM, -1 TMP
Net totals: 13 STM (22 after regen), 10 TMP
Wow. Clover didn't expect to be that effective. She relaxed the other Pawniard, hoping it would forgive her in the morning. She really hoped this didn't end with them being chased out of town by an angry mob.
That Bisharp looked really mean, but Clover couldn't do anything against it. She settled with distracting the Watchog so her teammates could finish it. That had been working out well so far, and her eating didn't leave the Toxel with nothing to do.
And just like that, the patrat guard was down. Kimiko stood there for a moment, just staring at it, giddy on the adrenaline rush she was feeling. It had worn her out a bit, but she'd nearly taken that guard down on her own (of course, the initial assault from the Frankenmon was essential in allowing her to land her attacks at all, so she wouldn't forget that).
She turned back to where the Frankenmon retreated to the rest of their allies (another one of his species among them, she noted), taking stock of how they were faring. Her squadmates had also downed the two pawniard they'd been holding off, leaving the watchog on the front lines, and a bisharp hiding behind it. Good, they had a huge numbers advantage now.
Assuming the guards on the inside had their hands too full to interfere out here.
Kimiko could already feel the exhiliration and thrill of her knockout wearing off, and decided she'd better make the most of it. She darted across the path (casually snacking on a berry along the way) and leaped at the watchog, repeating her previous sequence of attacks one further time.
By the gods! That darned Watchog was still holding her ground? Even after all her teammates had been taken down? The heat of indignation flooded Silver’s mind once more, and his temper fully exploded when his teammates got targeted once more. Enough was enough!
“Okay, that’s it!” Silver shouted, crushing what was left of the Oran Berry in his paw. More enraged than a rampaging Primeape, the former human stomped toward the Watchog, his eyes glowing with a fierce red light, and he threw a right hook at the stubborn groundhog. “Quit with this nonsense already!”
Feeling better and much lighter after letting off some steam, Silver took a step back and stared intently at the Watchog, his glare softening slightly.
“Okay, listen! You’re paid to do your job and protect the manor from threats, I get it, and I might not have given the best first impression. Fair. That’s my fault.” His eyes narrowed. “But we aren’t hooligans! We aren’t here to cause any trouble, and if we started this fight it was because we had no other option!”
Silver gestured to their surroundings, pointing at various guests who were either fleeing or treating their injuries. “Seriously! Look around you! Look! Use those big eyes of yours to check this mess of a celebration! Dontcha see all those ‘mons who’ve been attacked by your fellow guards? We only fought back to protect them from your assaults, so who’s the real threat here?”
Silver crossed his arms and raised both eyebrows expectantly.
“We only want to help with whatever disaster’s happening inside, and you can’t really expect us to turn a blind eye and do nothing.” He tilted his head and shook his tail, hoping to come across as more amiable. “We’ve proved our strength through our skirmish, didn’t we? So, how about you let us through so that we can lend a helping paw to the folks inside?”
That was a reasonable thing to say— maybe it'd feel a bit 101-level outside combat, but here the reminder was useful. Sadly, the realization he'd never actually met this person in spite of their knowing his name distracted him. They pick it up from someone he'd spoken to? Did he miss it coming up on Teamspeak in the fight during his confusion?
Perhaps if he were running on a clearer head he'd have pulled off what Hazel would have in this situation: Charge head-on into the attack one the Bisharp had committed, deflect blade off the helmet and carry that momentum forward into a pin. He didn't. He ate the attack, wincing as the slice cut into him again. But he still tried to follow up, if he could catch them before they backed off he still might be able to settle the score.
Something about that Watchog run familiar. Some partners were so loyal, or so averse to showing weakness that they'd keep fighting hopeless battles for trainers who wouldn't pull them back. There were no Watchog in Alola, but Gumshoos were common to train and were both of those things. The most important thing for island challengers was to know when they were done or they just wouldn't quit 'till force-recall kicked in. Maybe that kind of instinctual logic didn't apply here, but it didn't stop the whole thing ringing familiar to him.
"Is that worth it for you?" Gladion spat, not daring to take his attention off the Bisharp but hoping it'd be clear who he was talking to anyways. "Everyone under your command is down, you're five different kinds of toast, and everyone's cheering for you to follow. 'Cause this isn't about the fucking door. Some people wanted to go in to help their friends and the little Tincan Tykes started trying to cut them up. If you really wanna be one more piece of meat between those consequences and their head of command, be my fucking guest, but why?"
"Enough of this! There's no reason to fight. We thinned your numbers and we're not charging inside to trash the place. And you can surely tell I'm holding back. Because we're not bandits! We're not here to cause trouble. Your teammates are hurt. Let's call this off and get them some first aid, all right?"
“Seriously! Look around you! Look! Use those big eyes of yours to check this mess of a celebration! Dontcha see all those ‘mons who’ve been attacked by your fellow guards? We only fought back to protect them from your assaults, so who’s the real threat here?”
"Everyone under your command is down, you're five different kinds of toast, and everyone's cheering for you to follow. 'Cause this isn't about the fucking door. Some people wanted to go in to help their friends and the little Tincan Tykes started trying to cut them up. If you really wanna be one more piece of meat between those consequences and their head of command, be my fucking guest, but why?"
The Watchog glanced about at the scene, obviously conflicted.
"I... I got my orders."
Her eyes fell on her Patrat ally, and her expression grew anxious. Then she looked to the other side, and saw Bisharp Rin, commander of the security pawns, fighting toe to toe with Gladion. She didn't look like one to cross.
"Ain't gonna keep my damn job if I desert my post," muttered Watchog. "Aw, Saints..."
Watchog's heart isn't in the fight! -2 Def! -2 Res!
Jade glanced rapidly between Watchog--obviously conflicted--and Bisharp, squaring up against Gladion. But then, if they were quick, they could probably just rush in...
"Let's go, now!" Jade called out, jumping to her feet and dashing ahead.
Jade called out to Kimiko! +3 Tempo
Aige is defending Silver
Tarahn badly poisoned Watchog
Clover made Watchog Drowsy
Arctozolt is warding the party!
Bisharp Rin glanced dispassionately at the fallen Watchog guard in between parrying the Graydian's attacks. The door was a lost cause at this point--the best thing she could do now was to remain by the mayor's side.
And so without another word, she slipped inside the manor, leaving the outside unguarded.
Objective: Protect the civilians (4/4 enemies KOd)
Phase 1 complete!
Sighing, Nova took a look around the courtyard. Namely at civilians who had stayed behind. "Everyone okay?" he called out. "If anyone has any injuries, speak up!"
Seeing the Watchog dropping her defensive stance after resisting for so long was quite the whiplash. She looked so… unmotivated and vulnerable, and that sight made Silver feel uncomfortable. In the depths of his mind there was a dark side of him mixed with new predator instincts that wished to prey on her current weakness. It felt like such an easy job!
But… no. No. He wasn’t that kind of person anymore and he was much better than that.
“Okay, look—!”
His words dissipated in his throat when a flurry of leaves and soundwaves struck the Watchog. And just like that, her unconscious form joined her comrades, raising small dust clouds once she fell down.
Silver blinked a few times, taken aback by what just happened, and turned slowly to the responsible: the Snivy. “Huh… Wasn’t that a tad too much?” he remarked, staring at the snake in dumbstruck disbelief.
Well, what was done was done. With the last obstacles out of the way, Silver took a deep breath to brace himself for whatever was inside and rushed toward the door.
