Chp. 17 - Maiden of the Lake
The wayward path was a long, winding road into the unknown, I knew of Smokey Mountain, but the surrounding lands were a mystery, unknown and full of wonder. I was zipping left and right with eyes wider than any child, the very definition of an adventure stretched out before us through the lush emerald green of the forest, wildlife dancing all around us as strange, new plants took up my attention, the soft glows and perplexing formations of some trees called to me and my curiosity.
The road followed a stream, glistening with the splash of fish. I gasped and awed every couple of minutes, jotting stuff down in my own journal while pouncing between the branches of the roof above us, sliding down a tree twisted like a spiral. My aura expanded further, sensing the essence in... everything, only clearer, more diverse than simple wildlife and plant life, it was as though everything had a layer unseen that my experience with aura could now detect.
"This is amazing...!" I gushed, skipping past Yui as she giggled softly at my antics, but I merely held up examples of my discoveries to her amused expression. "There's magic, everywhere!"
Her brow raised mirthfully. "Didn't you already assume that when we met?" Is she serious?
Shaking my head quickly I waved my arms to the vibrance of the world. "The Everfree is the closest thing to my world than anything in Equestria, and the other I nearly got my head taken off by some Huntsman with an attitude; but seeing an Equestrian forest I... really am in a fantasy world..." It was still unreal to believe, had this been a dream, I'd vow to write down the details before they vanished, the feeling that swelled in my chest. "Life here is powerful, evolving by the day instead of years, there's a layer to reality beyond what I thought was possible," I lowered my arms contentedly, my aura shimmering across my body. "I can feel the magic... the... unknown." My smile brightened. "Is this how you feel all the time?"
Yui looked to dwell on my words. then shrugged a smile. "I suppose that's one way to look at it," She pulled me along with her wing, hoof patting her chest. "As for me magic is just... a feeling, it's in everything as you say, but I've just always felt that connection, so to you it's abnormal, to me it's the opposite."
I chuckled slightly, rubbing my neck. "Yeah... guess I should have thought of that." Her hoof tapped my leg
"Save some of that excitement for when we arrive back at my home, trust me, you're gonna love it!" She baited me along, and if it were any other person I wouldn't have been so inclined to fall for it
"Can I get a hint?" I cooed, but her hoof reached up to my leaning face, then 'booped' my snout
"Nope!" She giggled cruel, skipping further ahead as I remained in a deadpan state
"Stupid... conniving... cute... bat-pony." I could sake pride in seeing her aura flare at my words, too easy. With a hum, I jogged up beside her as we pressed further along our journey with the Royal Guard either furious or on our trail, but that made it increasingly exciting
Not long after, Yui joined in on the humming, her side pressed against my leg.
"I think we're going the wrong way," I deduced from the map and the surrounding forest, the mountains finally within the horizon... I think, could be more trees
"How would you know, you've never been here before?" Yui countered, brow furrowed at the parchment laid out before our camp, the sun beginning to descend, and the world around us slowly turned to bioluminescence, I'd be gushing over the nightlife but we needed a heading for the morning, and so far we've been... conflicted on our location. I believe we're on the left side of where Smokey Mountain should be, somewhere near 'White-Tail Woods', while Yui says its the opposite, setting us at 'Unicorn Range'.
"You haven't been this way for roughly two years," I reminded her, but that look in her eyes gave my heart chills
"Are you calling me a liar?" Her voice was dangerously low but immediately wallowed in despair. "...Ugh, you're right... I don't remember, happy?"
"No comment." I turned my head the second she replied, then the two of us flopped onto our backs with a heavy sigh, looking up at the colorful sky through the trees. The atmosphere soon lightened under our combined laughter. "We are so lost!"
"I know, right!?" Yui snorted, pulling at her hood gingerly out the corner of my eye. "...It's fine though..." The rest was lost under her breath
"What was that?" Craning my body to lean on my left arm, I faced the embarrassed mare inquisitively as her eye widened under the hood, face lighting up under the last rays of sunlight spectacularly
"I... I just.. l-like you being here... with me." And of course, she says something cute to make my heart skip. We were both foreign to this, but have I regretted it? Not one second.
My response was cut short by my own aura swaying in my chest, a faint hum from the ruby against my fur was... intoxicating, like an invisible thread tugging at my legs, tickling my ears with a faint peculiarity in the whispers. The more I stared, the stronger they became, thumping in my eardrums gently.
"Zen? You alright?" Yui caught on, trotting up behind me as I allowed the world through my aura to accelerate ahead of me, through the trees a brush that lay beyond my reach. When the finally locked to the pull of the ruby, my eyes flashed back to reality, blinking with a startled gaze. Worry crossed Yui's face. "Zen..."
"Grab your bag, follow me," Without another word I ran through the forest, hearing her hooves gallop behind me while grunting at how sudden I took off, I'd apologize after I discovered why I was inexpertly drawn to the ruby's whispers to 'go further', and 'you're almost there', these faint whispers in several tones and pitches were a little disturbing, but I couldn't bear the thought of ignoring them. "Yui?"
"I-I'm here, yeesh, thanks for the freak... out..." She too realized why I wasn't moving, the two of us stood before... it couldn't be...
The forest itself had given way to a large basin in the center of it all, the river capsizing down a steeper formation of stone that traced its way down into the plunge pool, to which stretched into the lake. There was a thin lip of grass outlining the lake, while maroon ruins dotted the sloshing crystal surface. Some were broken pillars, evidence of a bridge on the adjacent side of the basin, while the tips of a large building jutted from the water, wrapped in vines and aged by time.
"Red ruins... I don't recall anyone discovering them in this forest?" Yui's questioning of the forest confirmed my own suspicions, my feet edging closer to the lip
"Because... they're the same world as all the monster manifestations," I knew the rifts could pull entities through, but entire structures of the Ancient Civilization? That thought piled atop another, more gruesome truth, one that turned my stomach, a paw clasping my muzzle. Oh God... please don't tell me we'll find... no, it wasn't found in these ruins, calm down, Zen.
"You're turning green," I felt her warm hoof against my thigh, so I knelt down and laughed shakily, but she wasn't, concern overtook any semblance of joy. "Zen, did the ruby... lead you here?" I could only nod, then, her eye hardened. "Well, we both know what that means."
With our knowing smiles we bumped fist to wing and took a step back, sucking in a breath. With a light jog, we followed our instincts without question and dived over the edge, it didn't take long for the splash and cooling temperature of the water to hit my fur. Fully submerged, I swam down with Yui right next to me, her hoof poking down into the dark depths as I caught the faint outline of the forgotten temple. With a click of my claws I summoned a small Aura Sphere as we swam deeper, using one of the pillars to push ourselves further.
The place wasn't majorly deep as we reached the bottom, an old gateway leading down into the murky darkness left forgotten by both Equestria and Monster Hunter. Swimming closer to Yui, I grabbed her and pulled her into the darkness, the glow of my aura allowed us a faint look of what lied ahead, but I felt it, there was no pull, meaning there may be a point in this temple that hasn't been submerged yet, or... it was all submerged. It was an honest gamble.
Looking to Yui for advice, she turned to me with her cheeks puffed out. "Should we try going deeper? There might not be a pocket of air though? It's a gamble..." She creased her forehead, hoof swishing through the water to pull herself closer to me, then she nodded without a second to lose
Now or never I suppose. Pivoting my feet to rest against the lip of the entrance, my body angled to dive through the darkness and hopefully through the staircase where it should level out before jutting up again. I held Yui close and pressed my lips to hers, sharing our dwindling supply of air as she held on tightly, and the darkness enveloped us. The faint sound of air bubbles dripping from between our lips.
Aura Spheres don't fail me now!
The long, red tunnel flashed before my eyes as the water pressed harder to our bodies with every achieved acceleration, the sign we were running out of air apparent as she pressed her lips tighter to mine, More, I needed more speed! The burst of cyan light contained in smaller but tighter bursts, and I finally felt the mossy ground under me as I instantly changed direction and shot us forward with all I could muster. This was a gamble, and a risky one, but Yui's sure this is the right call, and if I can't be sure myself I'll be sure in her.
We can make it, I know we can! I can see it, the tunnel has an end but the water isn't defined, I can't concentrate but atleast there was a sign something was ahead. With the last ounce of aura I could spare our bodies shot through the face of the water, both of us sucking in a lungful of stale but otherwise, breathable air as we slapped down onto the stone floor of this mysterious temple, coughing as I sat with Yui on top of me.
"Y-You know somethin'?" She hacked, whipping her mane from her face. "We're really stupid sometimes."
"Yeah... just a bit." I chuffed with a smile as I felt my eyes slant. "You know, despite the need for air you were quite passionate with that kiss, even with the racing of the water and the life-threatening situation on our backs."
Her face was priceless, with her hood down and the fact her mane stuck to her face meant she couldn't hide away the crimson on her face while stuttering incoherent nonsense. "I-I uh, w-well, it just, um, that, a -- mmfgh!"
It wasn't much as I sat upright but I did kiss her gently as I winked. "Don't worry, I certainly didn't mind the motivation." Now she was hunched over in my lap as steam rose from her face, and she continued to mutter as I let the air dry us out
To say this place was as creepy as the tower back in the Everfree would be considered an understatement. There were no bloodied messages on the walls, no traps say for how when we left the entrance via water a door slid shut, thereby trapping us less we find a new way out, 'Thank you, humans, of the Ancient Civilization' is what I yelled to the empty halls around ten minutes ago. Thankfully, there were a number of these crystals built into the walls that reacted to our presence, subsequently lighting the way before shutting down once we were a good distance away.
Cobwebs and aged walls greeted us around every turn, there were no signs of any change, rooms left in rubble or vacant with minor furniture, books, and forms of writing or text were gone, remnants turned to dust over time and nothing more. From what I recall, those that survived the end of humanity back then destroyed all of their texts, those that did were placed in temples like this, guarded by monsters or something, the history of the games is very ambiguous.
"Amazing...!" But the humans of that time never took into account the expert eyes of a spelunking Bat-Pony. I kept up my aura sense to navigate while Yui worked on deciphering old murals that remained on large walls, her eyes widened with child-like fascination, akin to mine before we ventured into this sunken temple. "This is another universe's very history before my eyes! I can't read it at all, no language I've discovered before remotely resembles this!" Her sparkling eyes turned to me. "This... this is the greatest discovery known-to-pony!"
This was too much for me not to smile at. "It's Japanese," Her eyes adjusted again as I tapped a knuckle to some of the faded writing. "The people who made Monster Hunter are from my home country, Japan, and I happen to be half Japanese so it's expected that I know how to read it, and believe me, it's ooooold."
"This is still awesome!" She flung her journal open again, sitting down but wouldn't sit still. "Translate and I'll write what I can get!"
Right, ahem... "'--Legends and myths among the captivating Elder Dragons remain one of humankind's least-known mysteries, one, in particular, has come to light'," Now that I was reading this, the murals on the wall started to tell the story, this wasn't some large hallways of artistry left behind.
It was a warning.
"'Elder Dragons are unlike any creature in recorded history, their lifespans are generations old, their powers unknown and world-changing phenomenons when displayed at the height of their power. But there are none that can come close to the raw power of the Black Dragons'," Yui continued to write, and the murals displayed only one image surrounded by text
It stood with wings that spanned all the other murals on this side of the chamber, casting a dark shadow over them from how pieces of the wall were carved to envelop this monster in a dark shade under the crystals' light. The neck long with a head that roared into the sky, the sound splitting the pictures of clouds with bolts of lightning.
"'We have never seen it, nor have those that dared to venture into the rumors of its lair come back the same, it isn't hiding for it has no reason to, it doesn't venture far and wide, watching the kingdoms and villages because they pose no threat to its survival. No, this one waits, it listens to the world and its turning, how the balance between Monster and Human as both sides create and destroy'," I moved to the final line of text, and a name, jagged and left untouched by time. "'The moment the balance of this world is upset, then it will wait no longer. The Black Dragon, Fatalis'."
"Ooo, I got goosebumps," Yui shivered with a nervous smile as I to rubbed my arms as my paw left the name, it was as though the stone was colder than the rest. "So this 'Fatalis', what's it like since, you know, a company in your world created this whole other world?" For the record, I have explained to Yui that the monsters are from a game, and let me tell you, never am I going to do that again for as long as I live, explaining all the details of how digital games work is just... too much for me
"Fatalis is in a class of monsters called 'Black Dragons', and unlike any other class in the games, they are considered the kind that our unimaginably rare and could possibly end the world if they so wanted to, which Fatalis did to the people that created these places," I gestured to the maroon temple. "They... did something and Fatalis was the one who nearly ended humanity."
Now Yui was frowning, looking to the mural she sketched with worry. "Your kind sure likes to make some crazy stories, don't they? I can see where you get your sick taste in humor," I smiled, taking the compliment though knowing her it wasn't. Then she turned her eyes to me. "You... you don't think Fatalis would be one of the manifestations down the line?"
That made me hesitate. "I..." Feel another aura present. "...Think I just found something, come on!" I waved as I ran for the end of the hall, waiting for Yui as I kept my aura locked for the target. Good, don't need to answer her for now
I can hear... singing? The two of us stepped closer to the light of a new chamber, the sound of water running and the movement of whatever lay just beyond the archway. Hunching next to the pillar we peered inside and saw a far brighter chamber. The inside was partially coated in grass and flora, and a large pond braced the back end of the massive room, water running in from a flooded tunnel above, the pillars old and having collapsed down into the body of water. What sat curled at the lip of the water was what startled me.
This monster had a long, slender body. However, it is one of the few of its kind to have fur on its body. This dark purple fur covers its chest, underbelly, legs, and tail. Its scales are light-colored and resemble those of a fish. Its head has a long snout and is beautifully adorned by many fin-like appendages. The fins are pink with yellow markings, and they can also be seen on its back and tail. But it whimpered as it sang a rather solemn tune in the form of a low howl.
"A Mizutsune..." That dream, my ruby reacting. Another wyvern was down here. My claws tensed against the stone, and Yui looked ready for a fight but I... just stepped out into the open, my expression soft and... conflicted
"Zen... what are you doing!?" She whispered sharply to me but it was too late, the monster took note of my approach and... cowered, it bared its fangs at me, bubbles beginning to pop around its fur as I slowly stepped forward. It was afraid of me. That's when I saw it, along its side was a large, bloodied gash, the scales tore and clotted, I'm surprised it hasn't gotten infected. "Zen..."
"I know," I murmured, putting my paws up. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, promise," Grabbing my knife I saw the fur ruffle, then die back down as I threw it back to Yui, holding my paws back to my chest. "You're hurt, but we can help you..." I motioned with my tail for Yui to follow slowly, the Mizutsune taking note of her approach, then it curled up tighter, head low as I came within meters of its fox-like head.
The ruby wanted me to close the rift, but this wasn't why I was called here. This monster was hurt, and it wasn't acting on the instinct of a fight yet to break out. Why would a manifestation be afraid of me? That made no sense, I haven't got it on its last legs, it can clearly still move but it didn't, it wasn't going to so long as we were here. If I had to kill it, then I guess I'm not going home any time soon, Trinity.
Finally, I could see my reflection in its bright blue eyes, all three of us were terrified in our own way. "It's okay, I won't hurt you." That looked to resound in its posture, the head lowered and the snout pressed to my open paws, and I gingerly stroked the offered nose as it let out another whimper, dammit this is alot to bear. Steadying my resolve I saw Yui approach, so I held out my paw for her hoof, and in moments hers made contact with the head as she sat down, yelping as the nose nuzzled her hooves.
"You stay with it here, I'll take a look at the injury," She nodded to me and I traced my paw down its cheek and across the mane, it felt really silky, probably the bubbles it produced, it was comforting to see them floating about as I moved over its tail and inspected the large gash
It had stopped bleeding, but it was still moist, and the cut looked to be due to a curved talon or claw, whatever it was could tear through dragon scale with ease, thankfully, the wound isn't deep, and with my fresh supplies from two days back I can treat this properly. Patting its rising stomach I winced. "Sorry, this is gonna hurt like a stick up the ass." No use sugarcoating this part
Setting my bag down, its tail moved to allow me some space to set out my supplies. rolls of bandages and tape, and several bottles of varying colors, and cloth, lots of it. This would take up the majority of my supplies but I had a neat trick that seemed perfect now. Flicking through the tome, I came to the page I needed, reading along with Trinity's words, or the Wikipedia's.
"'-The user emits a healing pulse which restores the target’s HP by up to half of its max HP, cannot affect the user' -- hrm, that sucks, but fine," Huffing, I sat the book down and closed my eyes, paws extended toward the torn flesh and skin as I kept silent, humming under my breath to allow the world to drift away from me. This isn't right... why am I here Trinity? Do I really have to kill this monster... heh, I don't know why I suddenly feel this way, maybe it was its crying that did that... or, that dream, the song that little pony was singing... I don't know...
No response, I guess reliance on a God is kind of selfish, if I always looked to Trinity for answers I'd be no different from some of those crazy religious people that demand compensation for their faith, some 'followers' they are. And from what Trinity has clearly displayed, she hates deciding the fates of those around her, so I guess aiding me so often would make her feel as though she was using me, but I honestly don't feel that way at all.
Opening my eyes, I smiled as the pink pulsating light faded, and the majority of the wound looked good as new, but now came the hard part. Popping the cork off one of the bottles my nose twitched under the strong scent as I dampened cloth in the substance, and proceeded to dab it into the fresh gash, this inevitably led to the Mizutsune howling at the pain, body twitching as I heard Yui soothe its cries, much as I hate doing this, infection would be a far worse fate than blood loss.
After giving most areas a good clean, I moved on to another medicinal liquid that wouldn't sting but would help the skin stay moist and keep water from softening new skin as it heals alongside the scales regrowth. After all of that it was just time to bandage the monster, luckily for us this one looked to be quite young so wrapping it up wasn't going to take long.
"There! Doc. Zen has done it again!" I presented the fresh bandaged monster to Yui, as the head swiveled around to lick the entirety of my right side as I shivered, Yui laughing her ass off until the Mizutsune copied the same, and I saw Yui resist the urge to gag as I chuckled too, the monster slithering across the ground using the soapy bubbles it created. This leviathan was really something. Then it threw us through another loop as it started to string like clothing in the wash.
To our bulging eyes, the body shrunk and vanished in a plume of bubbles, what came sliding out and into me was another pony. Pink in color with a long, white mane that faded into shades of pink and yellows down to the tips, a light blue bow pinned to the left side of her mane. She stopped humming to latch her hooves around my waist tightly, displaying large, blue eyes to us as I remained to gawk alongside Yui, the pony's head tilting curiously.
"Hi... thank you for helping me..." Her voice was gentle and pure to the core. "...I'm Mira..."
I'm going to have an aneurism.
"Okay-Okay, let me get this straight!" I held my arms wide, the pink pony called Mira bobbing left and right in my lap happily. "So you can turn between a deadly monster capable of bubbly destruction!?" She nodded and Yui kept laughing, hoof covering her mouth to try and hide it. "And back into a pony form since arriving here!?" She nodded again, and I felt another thread of my sanity snap like a guitar string
"So two humans from another dimension can come here and be fine! A monster comes to this world, a real one this time, and can turn from monster to pony at will! What -- Why -- How is that fair!? Does Trinity think I like sleeping like a wet dog from time-to-time or having moments when instinct takes over or something!? Like, seriously, I chased my tail before, not a good day..." I wasn't done. "And, and having a spike jutting from your chest -- Don't even get me started on how awkward that makes either sitting on your stomach, everyday life, and hugs!"
As for Mira, her story checks out, she is a legitimate monster from the Old World and a young one at that. The strange thing is, the exit is just a wall away from us. Turns out when Mira arrived she fled into the temple here as it got itself grounded in its new surroundings, the downside was, the tunnel she swam through collapsed, creating this large pond she's been living in since then, but she lacks the strength to break apart the barricade.
On the far wall, the slanted pillar lodged between two of them could be used as a battering ram to unseal the rock and debris underwater, but as I said, Mira tired but nothing worked, which means a great deal of force is needed to dislodge the concrete column.
"That was a fun day for me~" Yui giggled at my flat stare. "Oh please, you get cool superpowers, I'm a Bat with one wing, I think you got the better deal in life, dummy."
"You don't smell like a wet dog right now!" I countered, but she looked away, covering her muzzle to laugh. "Stop mocking me!"
"I-i pfft, nope, can't stop!" And she continued her laughter. What surprised me was the fact that Mira had slipped away from my lap without my notice, trotting up to one of the dark hallways with a nervous aura surrounding her
"Mira... you okay?" I called, seeing her shake her head slowly, that alone got us to calm down and notice her slight tremble at the sight of the darkness. This is strange, then again, everything so far has been and I'm trying my best to take it all in stride. I know what I said before about not relying on Trinity but I could seriously use her help in understanding this once we're out of this temple. "Do you hate the dark?"
Again she shook her head. "No... I hate what's down there," Her hoof poked into the darkness with another shiver. "A bad thing is down there." Now that was worrisome, Yui ruffled her mane as she looked to me expectantly. Another oddity was that shards of the crystal remained on the ground, but some looked to still be intact
"Did you smash the crystals or something else?" She didn't reply, but her head bowed and her aura swayed to one of guilt. "It's okay, just wondering, but... did what attack you come from here." That made it flare, rage, fear, anxiety, the whole lot that came with a fight and flight sense
She growled. "It's a jerk, always yelling and being grumpy... he said he'll 'tear me apart later' and was laughing creepily," She mumbled, then spat a small stream of bubbles from her mouth. "I hit him really hard and lost him in a hallway, he's been silent for a day now, I've been here for two." That was really helpful
"You certainly can hold your own, impressive," Yui patted her head, exciting her tail into wagging with a cute blush. She's like a kid. "Say, Zen, you think the monster that attacked her is why you're here too? Maybe it's the manifestation?"
"Maybe..." I rubbed my chin, then stepped into the hallway. "But before we can get around to breaking out of this temple or locating that monster; First things first. Mira?" She looked to me curiously. "Mind showing me what it is that's down here?"
"Luna's mercy," Yui turned green as she covered her nose at the sudden assault of what I could only describe as putrid. The hallway was long and winding, but the closer we got, the more nervous our monster-turned-pony became, she didn't say what she saw, only that it was scary and not even the crazy monster would come down here, that gave me no confidence in my stupidity. "You sure about this...?"
"Yui, I haven't been sure of anything this arriving in Equestria -- well, bar a few things," Adjusting my scarf to cover my mouth I held a thumb up, ruffling Mira's worried head. "I got this, kiddo, trust in Zen the Lucario." She looked a little at ease, and Yui held her close. "You got her covered?"
"I think we can handle anything that comes our way just fine," I knew they could. Turning around to the hallways left in darkness, say for some of the crystals flickering still, the indication of electrical wires still present, the steps I took only made the foul smell grow so I just pulled the scarf back down since it didn't do anything now, but man was this rotten
This hallway is massive, and it keeps turning, if not for my aura sense I'd not be able to tell if I was just walking in circles. Sadly everything was all details with no other color than white and blue, and grey, but thankfully, the exit was just up... up...
Oh my God...
Broken, rusted cords hung motionless from the massive ceiling, binds broken by force overtime. The very stench was almost unbearable to stand in, a looming shadow of sinew and metal draped over part of the cavern's wall to my right, turning the ground under it to a substance I'm glad my aura couldn't properly define.
"Yui... don't... don't come in here!" My voice trembled with horror unlike any I've felt in my life. The sheer magnitude of the word had no other meaning other than horror, pure, twisted, grotesque horror. There was encapsulating awe surrounding what putrid design lay motionless before my eyes, but that was faint compared the sick feeling that moved through my throat, my eyes stung with tears
"Zen! What is--" I heard her hooves and felt panic rise
"Stay back, and don't let Mira come in either!!" My voice thundered, and she slowed herself, voice soft, warm, something that graciously kept me from fainting
"O-Okay, okay... just tell me, is it bad?" I didn't answer, eyes unable to leave the nightmarish sight that if it moved even a faint millimeter I may very well have a heart attack, this was... already turning my chest icy, and a cold sweat licked my fur. "It is... isn't it?"
"...I..." Anxious to so much as gulp, I dug my heels back, finding the strength to keep moving back slowly from the acrid and still smell in the air
"Just come back, I'm right here," Yui's voice, sweet, gentle, soothing my every heartbeat, that's what kept my feet from sinking further into the ground as I craned around the wide bend, inch-by-inch my eyes lost sight of Its harrowing form, and I found Yui, hood down with both eyes clearly visible to mine as I collapsed against the wall, breathing shallowly
"W-where's... where's-" My own studdering question was answered by the sight of two bright blue eyes watching me a few feet away, worry crossing the irises. That calming notion allowed my body to do the next, most rational thing I could, exciting a squeak from Yui I wrapped her in a tight hug, burying my face against her chest as the memories etched themselves into my mind for as long as I was alive, I hope to Trinity Mira never ventured down this passage and just got scared
Her hooves gently wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me closer. "Shh, I got you, let's go back to the main chamber," I nodded without a word, sighing as I stuck close to Yui, and while it made it odd for her to walk straight, she held her hoof in my paw as we approached the ever-so-curious Mira. "Hey, ready to go back?" She eyed us carefully, then the hallway
"...You saw it too..." My heart trembled slightly, but she didn't look fearful, instead, I blinked as she jumped up to wrap her hooves around my neck, hugging me tightly as she too trembled. With only a pained smile between me and Yui, I knelt down for her to join in comforting the innocent monster who shook like a leaf in my arms. "...It was scary... very scary..."
"I know, but it's not coming back," My scarlet eyes passed a faint glance at the dark hallway. "It never will."
"And you got us here so there's nothing to be afraid of," Yui soothed, smirking. "We've taken on scary things before, haven't we?" This had Mira's eyes sway between us, and my racing heart finally found its calm rhythm again
"You know it, come on," I squeezed Mira tightly once more, but allowed her to stay wrapped around my neck as I carried her back. Despite her fierce outward appearance, she was mentally just a little girl who was lost and scared for a long time, now that we've found her, she had a reason to be clingy, we may be unorthodox, but I think myself and Yui pass as good friends to others, especially to Mira right now. "We've still got to unplug that hole, and I think I know the super-strong move we need to pull it off."
How do we go about unblocking this? We need to remove the middle pillar but both its size and angle it's wedged between the others might be a stretch far as my physical abilities, and there's no telling how much energy I may need to effectively demolish the concrete. The light tap of water droplets from above played on a loop while Yui told one of her many stories of adventure to Mira, just seeing the excitement on both their faces was enough to keep me motivated.
Running a paw down my black, head-feeler-things, I tried flicking through Trinity's tome for any moves Lucario could use that involve the removal of large objects, so far, Rock Smash and Dig were the only ones that looked capable of removing the pillar without bringing the remainder of the temple down atop us. But I needed the pillar to simultaneously break apart the blockage underwater, which meant I had to strike it at an angle to break a sizable piece. "Hmm... this is a tough one."
"Still nothing?" Yui stopped, much to the annoyed, cute pout on Mira's face
"Not out of ideas yet, you may have more experience in this field but I too can conjure some masterful ideas." I prided myself on that, then she poked her wing toward the ceiling
"Or you could use a condensed version of your Hyper Beam to cut through one of the edges of the pillar, thereby reducing the risk of shattering the pillar entirely," Yui stated as though it were so straightforward... and... it was
She had shut down any rebuttal I could conjure as I closed my mouth, then looked to her seriously, a hopeful flutter in my chest. "Has anyone ever told you how amazing you are?"
She smirked, turning back to Mira. "Not often but I've started to enjoy the compliments recently."
"I am so making out with you once we're out of this..." That private thought roused a high-pitch squeak from Yui, her face boiling as I scratched my own with my back to her, too easy. Mira just looked between us and shrugged, then her head flicked to one of the tunnels. Cracking my knuckles and giving my paw-spikes a sharpening off one another I prepared myself for the second Hyper Beam, trying to imagine a finer eruption of power from my mouth
My only issue was that amount of power it drained from me, unlike other moves, Hyper Beam, Close Combat, and Mega Kick all take an abundance of my stamina, I could probably do one of each before collapsing, or three with decreasing levels of power. But to squeeze it all into a fine point could very well use up all my stamina in one go. What's that saying Asher told me once? 'Balls deep no retreat'?
An essence of rage soon struck my soul.
"Brick Break!" My heel dislodged a maroon brick under me, and with a sharp kick of the same color, the projectile collided with the large shadow that swooped from a passageway clearly unseen in the shadows above us. The creature roared, the thin spine of the tail slicing through the wall above Yui and Mira as it slapped against a wall and adjusted its flight pattern toward me with a hasty amount of recklessness
I dived, sliding under both talons and tail as it too slid across the ground, snarling as the crystals embedded in the walls reacted to the creature's presence. "Of all monsters... why was it you?"
The striking purple coloration of its scales shone in the light, the scales producing large defensive spikes, and an extremely tough shell. Its beak was sharp and jagged with a wavy, silver mane like a goatee. Wings were small and leathery, flapping to adjust its angle. The tail was by far the toughest point of its body and reeked with a toxic mucus.
The Black Wolf Bird, Yian Garuga.
To Be Continued...
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I speed read through what Zen found, not a huge fan of grotesque. Can someone explain what he found deeper in the ruins for me?
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Here's hoping no one checks the comment before reading themselves. But it's a thing called the Equal Dragon Weapon, pretty messed up if you look up the image, just... hanging there, ugh.
10349676
Decided to look it up, don't understand how it got that strong of a reaction out of Zen
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It's basically a Frankenstein's corpse armed to the teeth with weaponry. It's where ancient humans Frankenstein stitched together the corpse parts of dozens of dragons in order to make an unholy chimera which they then grafted armor and weapons to the flesh like death wing in order to make a weapon against the elder dragons.
Basically...he's horrified because imagine if Mira saw it.
I just looked how big the EDW - acronym for what Zen saw - how big are the ruins that Zen, Yui, and Mira are at to fit that... thing?
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Given the nature of the rifts it simply 'displaces' land in favor of whatever's been pulled through. So this whole area used to be just forests and wildlife so there wasn't much of significance in the area such as towns or roads.
It is very big if it can fit something as gigantic as that Thing, but hey, atleast it's not the Sky Corridor! ^_^
Oh, so it wasn't Cadance. Interesting, that connection through the gem we suppose..