Sojaveña Wilds Timeless Oasis

[Namohysip]

Mhynt closed her eyes, pinching her brow.

"Right. So much for peace." She glanced skyward. "Really? Couldn't condemn them to a time loop to shunt them away? ...No? Alright then." She faced the 'clowns' as they were referred to.

"Ironically, we do not have the time for this," Mhynt said flatly. She walked--intentionally walked, so they didn't know she could Teleport--over to Wes and murmured, "How easily can you strike them if I did my old trick?" She reached a claw out, glowing with charging Teleporting energy.

 

[Weazel]

He couldn’t find it in himself to look Mhynt in the eye. Still, the Grovyle’s words did bring him some small measure of relief. If he wasn’t a ticking time bomb, if he wasn’t at risk of hurting his friends, it took a great amount of stress off his shoulders. He even found it in him to shoot Wes a smile, happy to hear his friend intended to stick close no matter what. Wes was good, and loyal, once you got past the prickly exterior. He wished more people would give the Lycanroc a chance.

The Oshawott didn’t decline Steven’s help further, and even as the feeling worsened and his skin began to crawl, he didn’t complain as they approached the tree. It was almost over now, Nova had solved the riddle, the tree was shrinking, and soon the Purifying Spirit would be- Gone? They were gone? But then, how were they supposed to be cured!?

He didn’t have long to wallow in his growing despair though, before they’d been joined by a… Rather strange trio? They seemed at once both dangerous and dysfunctional, and were apparently after the Relic the spirit had left behind. Wes seemed to recognize them though, and judging by his reaction, it wasn’t a pleasant reunion. That was all Archie needed to know to slide down from Steven, doing his best to steady himself as the motion made the world swim around him. He drew his scalchop, and somewhat sloppily summoned his Sacred Sword.

“We outnumber you three to one, so maybe reconsider trying anything funny,” he said. Of course, he had no idea how much use he’d be in an actual fight in this state, but maybe with a little bravado he could trick the new arrivals into not realizing that.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Before Sybil could answer Leaf's question—"What do you mean, the Spirit's gone? Why wouldn't they be here? Why would their whole dungeon show up without them?"—something happened. It...

...it sure was something. Yep. That was definitely a something if she'd ever run into one. Well, whatever it was, screw dealing with it.

"Pretty sure I've seen this one before. How about let's all hit fast-forward here, yeah?" Leaf snorted. She stood her ground between the others, the tree, and the dance party that had just crashed them, apparently. "No, we're not gonna let you have it. Oh, you're so sorry we weren't smart enough to give it to you, and now you're gonna have to teach us a lesson. Whoops, there're way more of us than there are of you, and your 'lesson' turns into a big joke about what a bunch of clowns you are. You run off with your giant paper fan of a tail between your legs, but oh, just wait, this won't be the last we see of you! And we get back to figuring out what to do with the thing we've spent all friggin' day trying to find. That about cover it? Good? Good! Thanks for coming, I'm so glad we could have this talk, see you later, goodbye." She smiled, and very helpfully used her very sharp horn to point in the direction of go away.

 

[HelloYellow17]

"You know this circus act?" Nova said. Guess Wes' Cipher must've had similar clowns...

“I wish I didn’t. Gods.” As if having his private life completely violated and exposed for the whole team wasn’t enough, now he had to face every obnoxious face from Orre, too? At the very least, the two with Afro Asshole weren’t familiar. Given the last time Wes had seen Trudly and Folly, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t try to bite off their faces on sight.

"How easily can you strike them if I did my old trick?" She reached a claw out, glowing with charging Teleporting energy.

Wes spared her a glance and smirked at the question. He had to hand it to Mhynt, he liked how ready she was to spring into action. But…ridiculous as the guy was, Wes remembered the dangerous aura he’d briefly exuded in Phenac. Afro Asshole wasn’t one to be taken lightly.

“Don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “Can’t tell how strong he is. Not sure if picking a fight is the right call just yet.” If his first encounter with Seth had taught him anything, it was to not be so hasty in dealing the first strike. “Let’s see what they do first. But I’m ready whenever you give the signal.”

He then flicked his tail in amusement at Leaf’s brazen sass. “What the kid said. Get the hell out if you know what’s good for you.”

For a split second, he wondered if Leaf would take issue with him calling her “kid” like Koa did. Salt and sands, he hoped not, but it would be just his luck if that was the case. If Wes had a talent for anything, it was making kids instantly dislike him, apparently.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Yeah, you really ought to scram." Nova glanced between the seviper and zangoose. "We've been here long enough to totally lose track of time. You guys look famished. If I were the serpent, I'd have taken a nice big bite out of the cat ages ago. They look like they've got some decent meat under that fuzz."

 

[Inkedust]

Sybil had little time to question or explain anything that was currently happening as the caricature of a quaquaval that stood before her took centre stage.

"Fuhohohoh, what gusto for such little bodies!" laughed Miror B. as Wes would recognise him. To Kimiko her replied, "Of course I know what it is so you won't have to throw me off my rhythm with all those pesky details. Do you know, darling?"

To the others, he threw his head back in an exaggerated motion. "Now don't make me repeat myself, it gets boring after a while, our little souvenir over there seems to be a conduit for all types of energy. So what, my posse wonders, would happen if we pump it full of Shadow instead? Fuhohohoh, I couldn't resist such a plan almost as elegant as my steps!"

Neither he nor the two pokémon by his side seemed fazed by the Wayfarer's threats of being outnumbered. "That just means I need to up my groove!" was Miror B.'s reply, just as insufferably cocky as he was back on Orre.

The zangoose and seviper glared daggers at each other at Nova's following comment. "Ferma here already tried it," growled the zangoose. "How about I take a bite out of you instead?" She briefly glanced at Miror B., her eyes looking desperate for approval.

"Ugh, you really do have nothing between those ears of yours, don't you, Reath?!" shouted Ferma, outraged. "I only nicked you with my tail when trying to get past your big, furry butt! Miror. B even saw it with his own two eyes. Don't try to pretend he likes you more than me, I'll prove it, watch!"

"You stupid—"

Ferma cut Reath off with a sharp hiss before she lunged to strike Mhynt with venomous fangs. She was in half a mind to strike Leaf but Fairy-types were still confusing to her. At least she knew how poison matched up against grass.

...Grovyle were grass-types, right?

 

[Hap]

"Gone?" Ridley echoed dumbly. He'd known from the start that there was only the slightest chance that anything in this dungeon might be able to help his shadow problem. He'd been prepared to accept that the spirit might very well be unable or unwilling to help him, or that it wouldn't show itself to them at all, but learning the spirit was entirely absent... Ridley hadn't known how much that hope had been driving him forwards until it was snatched away.

Worse, this meant there'd be no help for Archie and Koa, who unlike Ridley hadn't done anything to deserve their suffering. What should have been only disappointment grew inside Ridley, gorging itself on the shadows, until a choking black mass of despair lodged itself at the back of his throat.

The trio of strangers - Cipher goons, if Wes recognised them? - felt like a secondary concern, right up until -

"So what, my posse wonders, would happen if we pump it full of Shadow instead?"

No.

The trio didn't seem tough, not compared with people Ridley had fought before, but... he couldn't do anything to help. He didn't want to risk fighting them, not when he kept using shadow moves by accident, not when he felt as mired in misery and hopelessness as he did now. All he felt able to do was stand by and watch.

Useless. Burden to the group.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt's frown was as sharp as her blade. Her reactions were even sharper--though that was mostly because she knew this was coming and these three, while strong, didn't give much in terms of stealth. It would be hard to ignore them.

Mhynt hopped back and hurled a Blast Seed in the face of the ringleader. when she'd acquired it from her bag was hard to tell--she was remarkably deft at it. And a second later, she Acrobatically kicked off of Reath's head, grazing those fangs with a wince, and landed on top of Wes.

"Now," she whispered.

And then she disappeared with him, reappearing behind all three for a surprise attack. Suddenly, the trio would be pincered.

 

[Ambyssin]

How about I take a bite out of you instead?"

"Sure thing." Nova smiled sweetly. While the clowns were bickering he focused his power to draw in their attention. He didn't know why Follow Me was tuned to his aura. Nor Bide, whose energy he also started to build.

He pivoted left to show his flank. "If you're going to tempt me with a good time, make it worth my while."

 

[Tetra]

Good. A fight then. Wes vanished from their side, reappearing behind them. Nova's form shimmered with that tantalizing aura. Perfect.

With a snarl he charged up his pelt and fired a swift Thunder Wave at each them to slow them.

 

[Weazel]

Under normal circumstances, this might be where Archie would rush in, scalchop swinging. However, at the moment, he didn't quite think he could manage that without tripping over his own feet. He needed a new strategy, one that involved letting his opponents come to him. The Oshawott glanced over towards Nova, who was clearly planning something, though the Oshawott wasn't quite sure what. Whatever it was, though, it was obvious the idea was to provoke the Zangoose and Seviper to close distance, which meant it was perfect for the Oshawott's needs too.

He slowly started to edge closer to the Graydian, as the temperature around him started to plummet. His Avalanche may not be greatly effective unless he were to get smacked first, but hopefully as a follow up to whatever Nova was attempting it would serve well enough. And, who knew, maybe he'd get caught in the crossfire and take the necessary hit, too! Regardless, he locked eyes with the Zangoose, and beckoned her to come at him with a smirk.

"Come on, are you a fighter or a backup dancer?" he taunted, "Better make this distraction worth my while."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven watched in amazement as the mighty tree walked backwards through time until it was nothing more than a sprout. And there, at its heart, was... Not a Saint, but another relic? He couldn't help but feel the pang of Sybil's sadness in his own chest. This place, this forest continued to exist all on its own, forever in its own time with nothing but a memoir at its heart.

But sadness turned to surprise as someone else made their presence known. Someone who had followed them here, trying to reach the dungeon's heart for evil means.

Even without its Saint, the dungeon sought to protect its heart from those unworthy, and they'd led these foul people right to it.

The others charged forward, leading the attack. But he stayed back, hovering as close to the sapling as he dared. Arms spread at the ready and glare fixed on their foes.

"You're not getting this relic. I won't allow it."

 

[Shadow Serenity]

"Of course I know what it is so you won't have to throw me off my rhythm with all those pesky details. Do you know, darling?"

Kimiko glared at him. No, she didn't, but that didn't matter, it didn't belong to him... and then he went ahead and explained what he thought it was, anyway. Well, no point answering that, then.

One advantage Kimiko had come to enjoy in this form was being able to fight from a distance, especially in cases like this. While Mhynt and Wes rushed in, Kimiko hung back near Steven, a makeshift barrier between the goons and the dungeon's heart. She flung barrages of magical leaf casually at the large duck; they'd almost certainly strike anyway so long as she was focused on who she wanted them to hit, dancing around her allies to do so. She figured he was probably at least part water-type, being a duck and all. Noticing Nova and Archie also hanging back, waiting for foes to come to them, Kimiko also hurled some non-magical leaves towards the zangoose and seviper pair; they didn't need to land directly, she was only trying to herd them closer, to be within range of the others' strikes.

All the while, she kept an eye on Sybil; she was a ranger, so she could probably handle herself in a fight just fine, but they'd need her to help guide them back out. They couldn't risk her getting injured.

"Sybil, what do we do?" she asked. "Do you want to take the relic and get out of here?" She assumed they'd be leaving the relic, honestly, but they couldn't do that with these three goons here. And maybe Sybil wanted to take it to study or something. Who knew. But Kimiko trusted the rangers with it more than these three, at least.

 

[Phoenixsong]

And she'd been so polite and helpful, too. Oh well. Their loss. Literally, even.

The seviper lunged for Mhynt. Mhynt wasn't there. Leaf was. "Wrong choooiiice," she sang, and she swung her horn to parry the poison-type's tail with a blade of psychic energy.

 

[Inkedust]

Ferma was left disorientated by Mhynt but remained eager to keep swinging her bladed tail for anyone foolish to come near. Reath rolled her eyes and also leapt for an attack, unaware that they had been pincered. The attacks from the Wayfarers landed true but they would quickly find that they were resilient and any strikes the two peons landed hurt, despite being the shining examples competence and coordination, they were still human and thus subject to an immense boon of power. They most likely relied on that to get their way.

Miror B. also looked like he was getting ready to hop into the fray but he stood back for now, waiting for is opening. "A bit off-key but let the music play!"

Sybil had taken a few steps back, preparing her own attacks. She looked at Kimiko and nodded. "It's an idea," she said hurriedly to the snivy. "But we may need more of a distraction before someone tries to run off with the Relic. The quaquaval, whoever he is, looks fast and may be able to catch whoever grabs it easily if we do it now." She looked between the zangoose and seviper. "Perhaps we don't even need to fight them if they decide to do the job for us, the question is how?"

 

[Ambyssin]

Ow. Okay, that strike certainly hurt. But Nova was built rather tough, especially against physical attackers. And the biters would find themselves afflicted by the same pain they'd given him.

Nova's noivern-like ears picked up on what Sybil said. His tactical days were long behind him, though. He wasn't one for improv, but if there was ever a time to try.

"Dang, that's your idea of a good time?" Nova concentrated on his aura to draw on that bizarre, taunting Follow Me essence. All the while, he kept his ears open for signs of Mhynt nearby. "A bit flat. Both of you. Y'know, I hear even this place has stuff to help with performance."

He was goading them both to attack with that weird Follow Me energy. If Nova was lucky, Mhynt would hopefully pick up on what he was doing and blip him away so they'd strike each other. Otherwise, Nova would have to wait until the right moment to leap away from them to get that to happen.

 

[Tetra]

Koa grinned as he realized what Nova's strategy was. If he timed it right then maybe...

Pressing down the feeling of sickness, he focused on the sensation of brightness around his paws, waiting for them to go for Nova. Once they did he'd be ready to jump in and blind them. Common enough strategy for anyone who knew him, and with Betel's help his own teammates would be ready.

And perhaps a well timed taunt. "Hey, you want to see some style? Look at this!"

If the team could just slow them long enough so the team could escape...

 

[Shadow Serenity]

The quaquaval, whoever he is, looks fast and may be able to catch whoever grabs it easily if we do it now."

She didn't recognize the species, so Kimiko assumed that was what the large duck was called. "We'll just need to slow them down then, don't we?"

Koa could easily zap him with some lightning, but he was currently occupied coordinating with Nova against the lackeys. Thankfully, that wasn't their only means of incapacitation.

Kimiko slipped closer - because the last thing she needed was for that absurd afro to obscure her sound - and begun to sing a wordless melody, focusing her voice in the quaquaval's direction. With any luck, and some estimated positioning, it might echo towards the seviper and zangoose too, but they were a secondary concern for the moment.

Meanwhile, on her mind was another problem; even if they took care of these three, whoever they worked for would know where the relic was now, and... while there was no guarantee they'd be able to reach it on their own, was that something they were willing to leave to chance? No, she'd have to talk to Sybil when this was over, but she realized the safest thing was, in fact, to take it from the dungeon for now, if only to return it later. That would, of course, mean they'd need to consider what taking it from the dungeon would mean, given the defenses they'd already navigated around. Would the dungeon even still exist once the relic was gone, if Celebi itself no longer remained here?

All problems for later, however, but she wanted to keep them on her mind.

 

[Weazel]

The Oshawott suddenly realized that he wasn’t likely to get another chance like this one. He just needed… A little more power. The blade extending from his scalchop took on a sickly icy blue coloration, and sputtered and flared with shadow energy. He lifted it above his head with both paws, and waited, ever so patiently, for the right moment when Nova’s plan moved the Graydian out of harms way, when the Zangoose and Seviper were about to crash into one another.

He drove the blade into the ground accompanied by the sound of the Cipher peon’s smacking together. The grass before him instantly flash froze. But that wasn’t all, the freezing extended upwards, taking in the moisture in the air, the water clinging to the Zangoose’s fur, the droplets wedged between the Seviper’s scales. All of it froze into spiked pillars of crystalline ice, entangling – and in some areas encasing – the two Pokemon in its grasp.

“If we’re gonna leave, we’d better do it now!” the Oshawott called to the others, staggering back and dismissing his scalchop’s blade. He’d have to remind himself not to call on the shadow when he was already feeling sick to his stomach. Because if he thought the world was swimming before, oh boy was he in for it now. “M-may need… A little help.”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven caught wind of Kimiko and Sybil's exchange. As much as he would rather leave the Relic in its proper resting place, now that their foes knew where it was and how to reach it, it would never be safe here.

"I can take it with me," he said. He was already the closest to the Relic, there's no way the Quaquaval would beat him to it, even if he was as fast as Sybil feared. That, and he was no slouch when it came to speedy movement, either. His gaze slid to Kimiko. "Buy me some time."

He charged a bullet punch in both claws and waited for the Wayfarers to make their move...

Archie's ice attack exploded across the clearing, and he took that as his cue.

Steven reached out to grab the Relic in one claw, and shot towards the wobbly Oshawott with a bullet punch from the other.

"Got you!"

As soon as Archie was securely tucked under one arm, he threw the other forward with his other bullet punch, trying to put as much distance between him and the Quaquaval as possible.