Malantau Howling Precipice

[Tetra]

The mural's face began to move, the mouth and head moving almost as if... laughing. The hall itself thrummed with a barely perceptible haunting cackle that crawled down the spine and wriggled into ones ears. Black shadows leeched and oozed from the mural, spreading to form hands. Slowly it peeled itself from the wall then abruptly began to crawl down it, spider-like, movements jerky and cracking.

All around, the flames on the walls began to dim... no, not dim, it was as if the mere presence of the Mural Beast were emenating darkness. There it hung, at the base of the wall, just yards away, staring at them. Gaze boring into them. The temperature in the room grew colder.

Koa's entire body had gone rigid. His body was in full fight mode, waiting for the first attack. Protect Dustin, be ready, he couldn't die here-

It didn't come from the Mural. Shadows opened under them and limbs burst forth, wrapping around their legs and arms and bodies, binding them tight and holding them up in the air. Koa's cry of shock was cut off as his jaws were bound tight by cold dark appendages. Dustin's arms were squeezed to his side and his jaws held shut, while another limb circled threatneingly around his neck. Not enough to choke him but enough to send a message. Mine.

Limbs yanked them forward, right up to the Mural Beast. Cackling filled the air and the single purple eye filled their vision.

A voice spoke. Emotions seeping from the appendages. Hate. Anger. Grudges.

"Y̸e̵s̸.̸.̶.̵.̵ ̶I̸ ̸t̸a̴s̴t̷e̷ ̶i̶t̴t̷t̸.̴.̴.̶"

Words in their heads, in their spirits, like a malevolent shadow scraping across their beings.

"̵C̴h̸a̷n̸g̶e̷ ̵c̶a̷n̷ ̸b̸e̴ ̴w̴r̴o̶u̷g̸h̴t̷ ̶f̴r̵o̷m̵ ̷b̴a̷t̷t̸l̵e̸s̷ ̸h̶a̸r̵d̴ ̷f̸o̸u̶g̷h̶t̷.
̴No matter
̶C̸h̵a̵i̵n̶s̵ ̷o̷f̵ ̷t̷h̷e̵ ̷p̷a̷s̷t̷ ̵c̵a̵n̶ ̵n̶e̴v̶e̴r̵ ̴b̵e̸ ̷s̶e̵v̵e̶r̸e̴d̶,
̴D̷e̷e̸p̴ ̴r̸u̶n̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̴r̸o̸o̶t̷s̵ ̸o̵f̸ ̷a̶ ̵g̵o̴o̷d̴ ̴d̵e̶e̷d̴.
̶But still
̵F̷a̶r̸ ̶r̷u̷n̷ ̵t̴h̵e̵ ̸v̷i̸n̶e̴s̴ ̶o̷f̵ ̵r̷a̴g̸e̷'̸s̴ ̵s̷e̴e̴d̷,
̵L̷i̷g̷h̵t̵ ̶a̸l̵w̴a̵y̵s̷ ̶e̴n̴d̷e̵a̶v̴o̷r̷s̶.
̶And yet
̵D̶a̶r̸k̶n̵e̵s̴s̵ ̸r̸e̶m̵a̴i̶n̵s̶ ̶f̴o̵r̴e̶v̷e̸r̷,
̶F̶a̵c̴e̵ ̷t̵h̵̶is ̸t̸r̵u̸t̵h̵.̴ ̷
̸O̴r̶ ̸
̵N̴e̴v̷e̶r̴ ̸b̶e̴ ̷f̷r̵e̸e̵̸,
̸B̴e̶a̶r̴ ̵e̶t̴e̴r̴n̸a̴l̴ ̵s̵o̸l̴i̵t̵u̵d̷e̴.
̸O̴r̶ ̸
̶B̴a̴r̸e̵ ̷y̶o̶u̶r̷ ̷d̴e̸e̴p̸e̸s̸t̵ ̴g̴r̸u̶d̸g̶e̷.̶ ̵"
̶
̴"F̵e̸e̵d̷ ̷m̵e̷.̴"

​

All around, darkness gathered and pressed in. The patterns of Mural beast shifted and moved, almost hypnotically. Images, melting together. A winged leviathan of the deep. A red-eyed beast atop a great mountain. Words again. A demand, and a grip tightened.
​

"B̶a̸r̴e̶.̶ ̴Y̶o̷u̶r̵.̸ ̶G̶r̶u̷d̷g̷e̵.̷"​

 

[Weazel]

And just like that, the whole feeling of the place changed. Inky black shadows seemed to ooze out of every surface. Dustin felt something at his back, and before he could react his arms were pinned and his jaw clamped shut. Arms made of pure darkness wrenched him off the ground, shooting pain up his side again. His attempts to squirm just earned him another black arm around his neck, just tight enough that he knew their captor meant it.

Said captor – the mural, now removed from the wall – peered at them with one malevolent purple eye. It spoke directly into his mind, in a language he could understand. Of course, the first person here he could actually talk to was hostile. It demanded to be fed, the Buizel growled back at it. The darkness pressed in from all sides, he lost sight of Koamaru. Just him and the monster.

“How many times has it been now?”

No. That voice. It couldn’t be-

Out of the darkness he materialized. Shaggy black fur, piercing red eyes. Dustin could here the clack of his claws against stone. He was big, for a Mightyena. All his life, no matter how tall he’d grown, Dustin had always had to look up at him. His father was here.

“You try, and try, and try, but you always end up back here with me.”

“You’re not real,” Dustin growled through gritted teeth, his muzzle still held shut.

The Mightyena canted his head ever so slightly to the side. The way Dustin’s father had always done whenever the Buziel had said something he found amusing. How did this monster know that?

“No,” the Mightyena conceded, “But things don’t need to be real to hurt. I thought Zacharias taught you that?”

Dustin growled again, and fought against his restraints. The monster tightened its grip on his neck until he relented again. The meaning was very clear: play along, or else.

“What’s this about, Old Man?” Dustin asked. The Mightyena chuckled, and paced around him, studying him from every angle.

“You’re much smaller than the last time we met. Seems your latest attempt at playing hero hasn’t worked,” the Mightyena said, matter-of-factly. “Your reputation caught up with you, even among the Gods.”

“You don’t know that,” he countered. “You don’t know shit.”

“Come now Dustin, I’m not real, you said as much yourself,” the Mightyena hummed, taking a seat in front of him. “I only know the things that you yourself suspect. That no matter how many times you try to run, no matter what good deeds you accomplish, no matter what corners of the earth you run to; They will never accept you.”

The Mightyena cast his gaze in Koamaru’s direction, only briefly, before adding, “Do you think your new friend recognizes me? Will he still accept you once he does?”

“Shut up. Don’t ruin this for me, it’s your fault everything goes wrong!”

The Mightyena put a paw against his heart, “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“Bullshit.”

The Mightyena laughed, “You’re lucky you’re my son. I wouldn’t let anyone else talk to me that way. But I understand, you’re mad, and you’re lashing out. It truly is unfair, isn’t it? The way they look at you. The way they judge you. The way you’re never given a chance. The way this world works.”

Then the Mightyena stood again, and paced towards him. “The name they branded you with is a badge of shame you’ll carry until you die. It marks you as dangerous, unfit for proper society. That’s why I know, no matter how many times you try to rebel, you’ll always come back to me eventually. By my side is the only place for you, Dustin. The only place you’ll ever truly belong, and be accepted. We are the only Pokemon who will ever love you. Because, the one and only truth in your life is...”

The Mightyena broke apart, dissolved into black shadows that rushed forward and smothered him, covering him entirely. They reshaped around him – reshaped him – Replaced his orange and cream fur with gray and black, merged his two tails into one, and he wasn’t looking down a Buizel’s muzzle, but a Poochyena’s. When his father’s voice spoke again, the words bounced around inside his skull.

“You will always be Torstensen. You will always be Torsten’s Son.”

 

[Tetra]

Koa writhed and thrashed, discharging surge after surge of electricity and then flaring radiance and shadow until his vision went blurry and his thoughts became nearly incoherent. The surge of foreign emotion from the beast, the energies inside him, he was draining himself dry. Weak. Pathetic and weak.

The Beast’s grip tightened. Heart hammering against his chest, Koa fought down his panic, forcing himself to stop thrashing and wasting his scraps of energy. He squirmed, trying to glimpse Dustin. It felt like the room was even darker than before. Was he okay? Straining, he could just make out the Buizel in the corner of his vision, equally restrained.

No better off but... alive- Blackness engulfed them. A voice spoke. Words, not ones Koa knew but ones he understood in some unsettling way. A vicious Mightyena, pacing about and throwing taunts, tormenting Dustin. Judging by Dustin's reaction, he knew the Mightyena. Personally. Icy familiarity gave way to anger and Koa thrashed hopelessly, trying to call for Dustin to no avail. Leave him alone!

You're lucky you're my son. He could sense the meaning. Confusion and sympathetic rage boiled in Koa and he longed to sink his jaws into the Mightyena, beat him back. He can't hear you. And you can't help him. He jerked again, but it did nothing. His muffled cries were swallowed as Dustin was consumed by the shadowy visage of a mightyena.

The shapes on the Mural Beast changed and rewrote themselves until it became a wanted poster, reflecting Dustin’s new darker appearance, with a bounty on it to rival his fathers. Reflecting his "True" name.

And then Dustin was gone.
-
Only the Mural Beast remained before Koa. Feed me. Again, the dark words echoed in his head. The dark incantation repeated. Bear your grudge. Feed me.

Rage clouded Koa's thoughts, nerves still raw from watching Dustin's past come back. What did that mean? He didn't even really have a grud- The words blared in his head, the grip tightened and a flood of sensations assaulted him. BARE IT.

No- Bonds tightened until he felt cold seeping into his limbs and a strangled whimper escaped him.

Fine. Trembling, he regained himself, fought through the haze to assemble his thoughts into something coherent. Okay. This had to be some kind of wretched test of the dungeon. Like... Whisperwind. Horrid place. Fine. He could do this. Dustin couldn’t even understand him, he just had to... tell this stupid beast some kind of grudge? And then be free?

Cyrus. The bonds around his jaws loosened. He sucked in a breath. Malignant glee shone in the Mural Beast's eye and it pulled Koa closer. “Cyrus, leader of Team Galactic. He ruined everything, I can't stand him."

Cackling, the Mural Beast’s body shifted and rearranged like a jigsaw puzzle before a hundred thousands lines began to slither across the stone like a demented etch-a-sketch. A pictograph played out before Koa, of a man with spiked hair, ascending a mountain, reaching out with chains and snaring gods.

"And I hate him for trying to take over my home and destroy the universe." There, you wretched creature. Happy now? The tendrils yanked tight and he yelped in alarm. Face the truth. The words slammed through his skull.

It was true! "He nearly rewrote my universe, just because he was delusional!" The pressure around him tightened more. What did it want?! "All he cared about was so-called perfection. I despise him. I hate my father for everything he did!" Wasn't that enough? The voice in his skull reverberated louder.

"T̵h̷e̶ ̷T̸r̷u̷t̶h̶."​

Something in Koa snapped. “For leaving me!” he snarled, shadowy anger surging up through him. “I hate him for leaving me!” Not just for everything wrong. Not only for all the harm he'd caused. But for leaving him. For leaving when Koa would have followed, back then.

The image on the mural changed, the man on the mountain vanishing into a dark portal while a child watched haplessly with an outstretched hand.

Dampness gathered in Koa’s eyes and he blinked furiously, anger seething between his clenched jaws.

“Goooood.” The Mural Beast's picture licked its lips. It looked satisfied. ​

 

[Tetra]

The Mural Beast cackled noiselessly. Its blood-red painted maw began to move and once more, it spoke. Blade like words, slicing across ones soul and yet... There was something different about these words. Familiar, closer to a warning chant or challenge than an incantation of doom, though no less unsettling.

"𝔅𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔡𝔢𝔢𝔭𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔤𝔯𝔲𝔡𝔤𝔢
𝔒𝔯
𝔅𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔢𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔫𝔞𝔩 𝔰𝔬𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔲𝔡𝔢
𝔑𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔢𝔢,
𝔒𝔯
𝔉𝔞𝔠𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥
𝔇𝔞𝔯𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯
𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔢𝔱
𝔏𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔳𝔬𝔯𝔰
𝔉𝔞𝔯 𝔯𝔲𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔢’𝔰 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔡
𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩
𝔇𝔢𝔢𝔭 𝔯𝔲𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔬𝔬𝔱𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔢𝔡
ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔱 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢 𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡
𝔑𝔬 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯
ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔞𝔩𝔴𝔞𝔶𝔰 𝔟𝔢 𝔴𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔟𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢𝔰 𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔣𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱."​

And then the beast's painted maw grinned and it let out a final soundless laugh. Without warning, the tendrils slithered away and vanished, dropping first Dustin, then Koa, none too gently onto the stone floor. A gust of cold wind scored through the hall, the braziers of flame flickered, then the darkness receeded until the Mural Beast simply... vanished.

All was quiet, and warmth returned to the hall. Warmth, and food on the tables.

 

[Weazel]

The monster twisted and reformed itself, it's snake-like pattern unraveling and becoming words, numbers, a picture. His name, a substantial bounty, and this Poochyena body. His wanted poster, marking him as the new leader of his father's gang.

"I always knew this day would come," his father's voice teased, whispered into his ear. "I'm proud of you. My son. My one and only heir."

Dustin grit teeth that felt foreign in his mouth, growled in a voice that wasn't his. He heard Koamaru screaming somewhere far away, the Electrike's voice becoming louder, distorted, wrong somehow, in a way that made his fur stand on end. The darkness squeezed tight around him... And then it was over.

"I hate him for leaving me."

The darkness cleared. Everything was bright and warm again. And he was a Buizel. The monster was satisfied. And then it dropped them. And pain shot up Dustin's leg again as he reflexively curled over on his side.

"Fuck!" He yowled.

Arceus he couldn't wait to be out of this fucking Dungeon.

 

[Tetra]

You were never good enough. Koa's thoughts swirled murkily, shifting between memories of the past and the vision he'd witnessed of Dustin. Dustin's father... That wanted poster... Cyrus, vanishing into the portal, leaving him. All he wanted at that moment was just to sleep. To not think about everything. The aching pit of loneliness that had haunted him since he came here, the one he'd felt overwhelm him when everything went wrong at the Mesa, came creeping back.

There was no warm body of a Houndoom to keep him company in the cold. No cheerful Crobat to make him smile. No voice of reason from Hazard on his shoulder. Just a stranger who was like him, who he couldn't even talk to, and a team he couldn't find.

Blindly, he reached for the tiny flicker of Radiance within, the light that had felt closer ever since the Mesa. Grasping it, he drew a deep shuddering breath. Focus. Get up. Find a way out. Dustin needs help, so stop lying around and move.

Blinking, he rubbed away the dampness around his eyes with one paw and forced down the buzz of emotions and thoughts. Awareness of the room slowly crept back in. The Beast had gone, it seemed. If this was like other dungeons, maybe the test was over? Warmth began to seep through his fur, just barely and...

Food. There was food on the table. He didn't stop to even think, just lurched upright and half-ran half-stumbled over to the table. Berries of all kinds were piled on the gold and silver platters. Dustin needed them more. He started to grab awkward pawfuls of Sitrus berries, choking down one himself as he scooped up as much as he could manage-

"Fuck!"

Koa blinked and whipped around to stare Dustin, mouth agape. Wait he'd... he'd understood that? That was Odette's favorite word!

He rushed to the Buizel's side, spilling the berries on the ground. His eyes were wide as he stared at the Buizel. "Dustin, can you understand me?"

 

[Weazel]

Dustin forced himself back up to a seated position, mentally telling himself to stop being such a wimp. Now that the phantom was gone, the room they were in was starting to feel warm and safe again. Which meant they could take some time to recuperate, and then figure out their next steps from there. The food on the table smelled tantalizing, and the Buizel’s stomach grumbled. He could really go for some premium dungeon grade Mystery Meat right about now…

But then there was Koamaru, dropping berries here and there as he rushed to Dustin’s side. The Buizel grabbed a Sitrus Berry that rolled close enough for him, and took a big bite out of it. The pain in his leg immediately started to simmer down to a dull throb. And then he nearly choked.

"Dustin, can you understand me?"

“Uh, yeah, I can. The hell?” The Buizel stared at the Electrike incredulously. Had their their language barrier been imposed by the dungeon? Was that something dungeons could do? Well that was some bullshit. At least it was over now.

 

[Tetra]

“Uh, yeah, I can. The hell?”

"Finally!" he cried, overjoyed. "I was getting so sick of that! Who are you? How did you end up out here? Do you remember hearing a voice before you got here?"

This had to mean-! Betel? Thank goodne- He blinked. Empty silence filled his skull. There was no sense of other Wayfarers, none of the mental 'messages'. Betel? Are you there? Are you okay? Silence. His gut twisted. Betel wasn't back. But how... It took a great deal of effort not to howl in frustration. Where were they? If not Betel, then how could he understand Dustin? Something with the dungeon maybe? Too many questions, no answers.

He shook his head, drawing himself out of his scattered thoughts. He had a thousand other questions, but he took a moment to cram some food into his mouth, nearly inhaling the berries. "Sorry," he mumbled, once he swallowed. "Here, lean on me, let's sit by the fire and..." Do what? He still didn't know how to get out of here. Instinct told him they might be near the dungeon's heart but that wouldn't help him find the other Wayfarers.

"Figure something out," he muttered. At least he could talk to someone. A slight grin returned to his face.

 

[Weazel]

Koamaru suddenly got a real far away look in his eyes. The hell? He’d been so excited that he and Dustin could communicate a second ago, even started barraging him with questions. He hadn’t been traveling with some kind of kook this whole time without realizing it, had he?

The Buizel took the opportunity to polish off his berry, then pushed himself to his feet while the Electrike came back to earth. The pain was gone, but his leg still wasn’t keen on holding much of his weight. The canine seemed to notice, as he was immediately right back to offering support. At least if he was nuts, he was friendly.

“I’ll be fine, just gotta take it slow,” he said, waving Koamaru off good naturedly. He limped his way over to the fire, holding himself up once he’d reached it with a paw against the mantle.

“Anyways, like my Old Man said, I’m Dustin Torstensen. You can call me Dustin,” he paused a moment to polish his claws on his chest fur, before adding haughtily, “Or Lugia if you want. As for how I got here, hell if I know. I don’t remember flying out to Blizzard Island, or anywhere further south. As for voices… I don’t know, maybe? It’s all kinda fuzzy.”

He fixed Koamaru with an inquisitive, maybe even slightly suspicious, stare, “Your turn. Who are you and what is this place? Where are we, really?”