Group RP Pokemon: Evolution Quest (IC thread)

Void Shadows? Were they still to be found around here? For Atelier, those were not the most of his worries at the moment. Right now, it was more important to deal with the Shadow Dragon King himself, who had likely been lured out of the school already. It would be a problem if he were to rally his supporters and continue to terrorize the town.

"Alright," Atelier said. "If the coast is clear, we should start heading out."

"I don't know... You think the Void Shadows are really gone?" came Brynhildr's voice (despite it was possible that no one could hear her). "Come on... If you know the dark, you should take extra care to watch out for it. Gawds..."

Speaking of the town, a crowd control by the Expedition Society was still ongoing to bring the students to safety. Last thing anyone wanted was to engage the Dragon King's supporters, which could be found just about anywhere. But the ongoing aerial bombardment was good enough to act as a diversion.

 

@WavePearl @ChocoChicken @122 Generation

As much as Blacky hated to admit it, the one tome in his bag had a point there. Some extra caution was recommended (if not outright necessary) if one were to deal with shadowy dark power like this. However, had the Void Shadows' master still alive and kicking, the currently crumbling school would distract them from their shadowy slimes' control anyway. Why? Because said master would need to either drop the reanimation or die trying to keep their focus if that's the case.

Back to reality, Blacky spied Aine taking a moment to look around for some reason. He quickly sheathed his sword and dragged her with his free paw (his other paw was still holding Estella -- boy did he wish he had an extra paw or two) to keep up pace until everyone got out of the school. And as soon as they did, the squire passed Estella to Lemy who, along with the Typhlosion mage guy from before, took her to safety.

 

Now out of the crumbling building, the team could finally catch their breath, watching Air Slashes and Gusts buffet the stone structure behind them. The picture of the raid painted in their new surroundings were no different from the inside. Whatever remained of Shadowblight's reinforcements were no longer fighting, most unconscious and scattered around the campus or lying dazed in the city alleyways - or as the four Eeveelutions knew, trapped in the basement for what would soon be their final moments.

One by one, the guildmates around them cued to stop the attack and confirm everyone there. The aerial bombardiers landed a safe distance away, and the rest of the ground-based offense regrouped with their medics.

Xuehua, on the other hand, turned back towards the building. It was already a sorry sight. The stone walls cracked and crumbling, practically every window shattered, the scorches of elemental attacks still sizzling along the sides. No more students had been left in the building, as Lemy had said - and no more allies, either.

She took a step towards it, then widened her stance.

Justice, vengeance, fury, spite - it was hard to tell what exactly compelled her to do this. Perhaps all of them. She leveled her staff against the school that had taken so much from her. The Ice Stone glowed with power, and after only seconds of aiming, fired a last, brilliant Ice Beam right through the open front doors.

At first, the crackling was of frost and rime from the impact, spreading along the floor within. Then it grew louder, into the snapping of floorboards, until finally to the rumble of the walls crashing down. The towers above toppled through the roof, an avalanche of gray stone shattering through classrooms, dormitories, dungeons, growing in power as the battle-worn mortar gave way. Brick gave way to gravel, which in turn gave way to dust that filled the air. The echoes of their victory thundered all around, as the entirety of Shadowblight collapsed in a final roar of hatred.

(@SAF )

 

Unfortunately for Aine, the dark power leaking out from the building had other ideas. It broke free from the crumbling- nah, the destroyed school building and headed straight to the five Eeveelutions (Josson was still there, not wanting to leave his squire behind) in an attempt to possess them just like the fallen heroes' fates long ago. But much to Blacky's surprise, a bright light containing some sort of holy power emanated from both his and Aine's bags, protecting the five Eeveelutions by forcibly purifying the dark power somehow. This light actually came from the scales from the past six Dragon Kings' remains and the Sword of the Seven Stars' special jewels tucked inside Aine's and Blacky's bags respectively, though not even Blacky himself was aware of it. And no, his master didn't expect it either.

And by the time the light faded, the dark power was nowhere to be found. A glimmering jewel -- the seventh component of the Sword of the Star -- and a single scale of the same colour as the jewel (I'm leaving what that colour is up to @WavePearl) were spotted laying on the ground instead.

 

Atelier opened his eyes slowly to adjust his vision from the sudden change in brightness.

“Huh? What exactly happened?” Atelier was just as confused as Aine. All he could tell was that there was a bright light. Then suddenly a scale had appeared before them.

Amusingly, the tome inside Blacky’s bag was screaming (since apparently she had a better idea of what happened). Brynhildr, namely, had been right beside the stones the entire time when their powers emanated to purge the dark power. While Atelier had been unaware what happened, the same could not be said for the poor book who took what seemed like the equivalent of a kick to the head.

“What ‘happened’? I’ll tell you what happened! It’s so obvi. These stones or gems or whatever just stopped you from being siphoned by the dead soul of the Dragon King. You know, like the heroes from long ago who eventually broke up. Gawd this is torture when they’re right beside me. It’s like you could give in to the dark side in an instant.”

Atelier scoffed. He doubted Brynhildr’s voice could even reach Aine. “You know, when you talk like that, you’re not that evil, are you?”

“H-huh? Of course I am! It’s not like I’m trying to turn you to the dark side or anything. It’s just… you know, the dark side is cooler sometimes.”

 

@122 Generation @ChocoChicken (@WavePearl Brynhildr? Flustered? Good guess, Aine. )

Not even the knights (one full-fledged, one in-training) could comprehend what in the world had just happened and that was understandable. However, it seemed like the one book in Blacky's bag actually had a better idea of what had just happened. Her explanation was what caused Blacky to widen his eyes in disbelief. "That... was... the Dragon King?" the Umbreon voiced his disbelief, much to his master's confusion. "What are you talking about?" the Jolteon asked, to which his student responded by taking Brynhildr out of his bag and explaining what it-- she had said, "According to this book, that dark power from before was a remnant of the Dragon King trying to possess us. I think this thing also said something about... gems?" Curiosity ensued on Josson's part about when, how, or why Blacky even got that book in the first place -- as far as he knew, Blacky was not that much of a bookworm.

That said, Blacky returned the tome to Atelier. "Sorry about that, by the way," he sheepishly apologised. "Didn't want Miss Magius to drag you to the dark side, heh." This, in turn, should've answered his master's unspoken question earlier.

Josson then picked up took a quick look at the purple scale and the amethyst with a good amount of interest. Did the previously fallen dragons drop these too? And if yes, why didn't Blacky say anything about it in his past letters-- wait, did it have to do with the letters' ruse of a trip report? Oh well. Answering those questions had to wait because Aine had already picked the loots up before he could.

 

Atelier took back the tome. "I appreciate it," he replied. "You know, were it not that it had a voice, I would have thought you were into books as much as me and Xuehua."

"WHAT?! You can't possibly let him take all the credit. It's like he read and knew what was going on. 'According to this book,' he said. You're all mean... And I wanted you to fall to the dark side in the first place"

"I know, but no one can hear you. If only you could show yourself, right? At least you're the only one who knows what happened," Atelier whispered, cradling the tome in his arms. "At least you're knowledgeable. Now we know it's the Dragon King being the problem in the first place."

"Also, there's nothing wrong being dragged to the dark side. My dark side is better. I'm totally serious. Anyway, you've got another thing coming for you now that you've done it. The remains of that dark side will be lifted from those who were possessed."

"Wha-? So can you compare the dark side to having different selections of coffee? You must be tired. I'll get you some coffee. How does that sound?"

"...Fiiiiiiine."

Atelier couldn't believe he was having this conversation - worse still was that it appeared that only he and Blacky could hear her. To the Aine and Xuehua, it might appear that he was going mad. And did she seriously take up his offer of coffee? Not wanting to press the issue at the moment, he put Brynhildr in his bag and went to pick up the amethyst. It looked like another component that would fit with the Sword of the Stars.

"Anyway, I think you should attend to your friend there. She's practically full of a different kind of dark side. She might as well give in to it. She's just steaming with revenge right now. Also. You were pretty harsh to her when you privately confronted her about her name. If I were you, you should make up for it."

Brynhildr probably meant Xuehua. Now that Atelier had a good look at what happened with the collapsed school, he could see Xuehua standing proudly in front of its remains. Even though Brynhildr might have had a point, Atelier clenched his teeth. Did this tome have no end to her supply of thoughts?! Still, he went over to check on Xuehua to make sure she was okay (and in that moment, Atelier wondered if that was yielding to the dark side at all).

"Hel-loooo? The battle isn't over!" Brynhildr said, as if she were annoyed. "Prepare for chaos!"

Meanwhile, it was apparent that the town of Spikeford was thrown into a state of confusion and momentarily the fighting stopped. On one hand, less than half of the population of Spikeford were confused as if they had snapped back to their senses and wondered why they were armed. On the other hand, more than half the population - which were the Dragon King's supporters - could feel as if power had left them with a void. Then they began to rage and fight even more ferociously against the forces on the ground. It was apparent that there was civil unrest erupting within the community.

Atelier walked up to Xuehua. "Hey. You okay?"

 

@122 Generation @ChocoChicken

"Yeah, right," Blacky nodded with his arms folded at the mention of the book -- Brynhildr -- being knowledgeable. Still, he couldn't help but to smile in amusement at the whole banter between the tactician and his tome. To the other three, however, they probably might interpret that smile as Blacky wanting to laugh at Atelier but not wanting to be rude at the same time. Not that it lasted long thanks to Josson's sudden input of agreement with Atelier's first remark ("You know what, Blacky's never been that much of a bookworm either," he said). Cue Blacky's face turning beet red at that particular remark.

Only after the Eevee left did the Jolteon turn serious mode. "Explain yourself," he told the Umbreon, quiet yet stern as ever. "Ah-- that dark tome of Atelier's?" Blacky's voice went from bashful to shaky at this point. "You might not want to believe it, but--" he was about to explain about how he suddenly heard the dang book talking back when he confiscated it as soon as Magius taunted Atelier about getting to the dark side only to be cut off by a mob of civil unrest ensuing out of the blue.

"RETREAT!!! RETREAT NOW!!!"

In response to his student's sudden warning, Josson had a paw on his own Escape Orb, ready to use the thing unless someone beat him to warping everyone to safety.

@WavePearl

(Can the Song of the Wind warp everyone to Spikeford resistance's underground base? If yes, this is Aine's cue to do so. But if no, Josson's Escape Orb will do the warping instead.)

 

@WavePearl @ChocoChicken @122 Generation

Before Josson could use his Escape Orb, Aine's Song of the Wind beat him to it. The Eeveelutions were now in the underground base, right in the middle of the crowd. Awkward, yes, but seems like no one got trampled, thankfully.

(Since our friendly NPCs have already evacuated the students in the background earlier, who should this crowd be: students or allies?)

 

@SAF @WavePearl @ChocoChicken

Moments later, a force like a whirlwind swept up the entire army to the resistance base where Aine had previously visited before. It was good timing too, since Spikeford was descending into a state of civil unrest and riots were beginning to erupt. At this rate, there would be no place that would be safe unless someone had stepped in to restore order. That also led Atelier to wonder, did this town even have a governor? If the Dragon King was the only means of maintaining order then, then that wasn't good to leave the town in its current state. Would anarchy be the right way to describe it?

He pushed those thoughts aside amid Blacky's yells and Aine's singing as he was warped.

Then in the next blink of an eye, Atelier found himself in the safety of the resistance base. And it wasn't just his companions who came along with him. Everyone they had evacuated from the school had also come along with them, including Mawile, Estella, Mochi, and the rest of the Expedition Society. The rest of the invasion army - the Violet Dawn mercenaries, the Radiant Sky sect of Golden Sakura, and the minstrels - had also already rendezvoused at the base. Surprisingly, none of the base entrances had been breached, which was good since this was practically the final place of safety in Spikeford.

Mochi was more or less overjoyed to see her Morpeko friend was alive and well ("You're alive! Great! I thought we lost you!" Mochi hugged her friend). Now that was done and over with, she held Jingye's journal in her arms and walked over to greet Aine, Atelier, and the others. "Thanks so much! I owe you for getting Estella back!”

“It was nothing,” Atelier smiled.

Mochi handed the journal to Atelier. “You should take this at least. I guess you’ll find it more useful than I would.”

Atelier took the journal. Next thing he knew, Brynhildr was shouting in his mind. “Hello?! You’ve got a crisis on your hands! You should, like, do something while there’s time.”

Atelier sighed. As much as he was annoyed by the tome, she had a point. “Alright. Now that we have time to catch our breath, we should plan what to do next. First, we must evacuate. Second, something has to be done about this town when we leave.”

Not too far away, Swirlix had woken up from her state of unconsciousness, not sure what was happening or what she had missed.

 

@122 Generation

"Don't... okay, maybe worry a little about it, but we'll handle that end." The Cramorant mage from earlier spoke up. "I can't speak for the other guilds, but we at the Violet Dawn can call for more backup from other branches in Ardamore. If we're lucky, within a week of fighting, any traitorous folk should be held down and brought to justice. Ideally. If not, they'll still have to stop fighting eventually. They're just mortal Mons, after all."

"Besides, if any city deserves anarchy, it's this place," Xuehua muttered to herself underneath her breath, before raising her voice. "The students should also be relocated to other schools. Better schools."

"Aye. Will do."

 

The first thing Blacky did right after the oh-so-familiar Song of the Wind took everyone to the hidden base was catching Celine who tackle-hugged him (no one in their orphanage dared to do that on Josson due to his Jolteon features, though some kids would totally do it on his wife) as soon as she caught wind of the Eeveelutions' arrival. Blacky then turned his attention to Mochi's gratitude right after he and Celine broke the hug. "Happy to help, kiddo," he said to Mochi in response.

"Well, you have our gratitude," a Hydreigon -- the leader of Spikeford resistance -- said to the Cramorant mage from before. Standing behind him were Elio, the three Hisuian starters from earlier, and many more of the resistance members. The Hydreigon then turned to Atelier's group and asked, "I take it you still have one last dragon to deal with, yes?"

"Ah, right," Blacky awkwardly confirmed. He was not entirely sure about mentioning which dragon was the last one mainly due to the heartache both he and his master had endured courtesy of that one dragon. Then again, should one keep up with the news about Aine's group, they're surely bound to know which dragon the Hydreigon was talking about by now.

"Then don't worry about us. We'll deal with the town while you're gone," the Hydreigon assured the four Eeveelutions, all while being unaware of whatever they might have in mind. He then had Elio take the outsiders (aside from those who would help with the aftermath) away from the town to which the Braixen happily obliged.

And as for Swirlix, her guildmates promised to fill her in once they're safe to do so. Chief Ampharos, now back in his normal form, also carried her bag of munchies while he's at it.

 

Seeing that Aine had a map, Blacky tried to sneak a peek of it. But alas, all he could get was a quick glance of the layout unless she let him see more. "Is that a lair map?" Blacky asked just to be sure.