Deviation Actions
Literature Text
***
For most the Basalt Hall dungeon was an easy run, after all the deeper floors were forbidden to the teams. What did they have to fear; other than the aggravating exploits by the Barboach soliders and their attempts to impede the expedition through the dungeon? Many passed through the dungeon with little trouble, not even dreaming that there was anything within the dungeon that could truly cause them harm without some kind of foolish mistake on their part.
Normally all of this would be true, however, they do not call them Mystery Dungeons for nothing. Even the most innocent can conceal the most devious of traps. Quin was thinking such things as the ice club slammed into a wall; causing rocks to fall where he stood. Taking advantage of his speed he darted around them and used Ruca to slash at the golem's wrist. A wave of fire exploded over the beast causing it to roar in anger; lashing with its spare arm.
“Something is very wrong here,” commented Ruca
“What do you mean? It doesn't seem to fight any different than any other one,” said Quin.
“It isn't that, when have we ever encountered a Wicked that focuses on one target? Especially when there is easier and more vulnerable prey no more than a stone throw away?” said Ruca
That thought was enough to get Quin to think for a moment. These creatures seemed obsessed with eating whatever they got out of other Pokemon when they attacked. Normally they attacked what they could get their hands on, other times they would attack the most vulnerable first. Yet this golem seemed to be focusing solely on him.
“Maybe this one is more intelligent than the others? We fight them, but know next to nothing about them at all,” said Quin
Ruca couldn't deny there was logic in her partner's statement. They fought the creatures more on the instinct that Quin had to destroy them nothing more. Most of their research had been centered on the remains of her shrine and what had been stolen. Both had proved nearly fruitless in direct information and little with related information. Regardless they both understood that creatures like this; when allowed to roam free could be dangerous to anyone or anything it encountered.
To say the battle was going well was a slight understatement. Quin was landing blows chipping off the golem's armor. Each chip came at great risk; despite its size it was agile and was able to react quickly enough to keep the Quilava from pressing his attack for too long. After another slash went nowhere Quin hopped back a few steps to try and catch a breather.
"This one is much faster than the others, at this rate it will simply out last us," said Ruca
"I know I'm hurting it just that it won't let me get a decisive blow on it!" growled Quin
The Golem seemed to be aware that it was wearing the duo down as it started to approach again, stomping on the ground, raising its club in time for another attack. Quin stomped the ground causing Lava Plume to erupt from the ground. The golem used its club to absorb the brunt of the damage. It stopped moving long enough for Quin to use Wild Charge to close the gap to get in close. The Golem swiped its free claw towards him. Leaping he managed to avoid the attack, unfortunately Quin got clipped on the way up which threw off his path causing him to land painfully behind the Golem. Twisting around the monster brought his club down to crush Quin once and for all. Disorientated but not out Quin rolled out of the way to avoid being turned into a rather messy pancake. As he stood up to try again, Quin's vision was filled by the club as the Golem had been sweeping it across the ground. With no time Quin was slammed into the wall pinned between it and the club.
"GAHH!"
Struggling to escape, the golem started to close in. Its eyes glowing and opening its maw wide aiming perform the same act on Quin that it did to Belly Drum.
"N-not good...!"
The ground started to rumble, causing rocks to fall from the roof and impacting the Golem, it wasn't hurt by the meager attack although it did take its eyes off of Quin long enough for the Quilava to wiggle out of the pin and flop painfully on the ground. He felt his chest, either one of his ribs were cracked or worse broken. Either way this fight had to end soon or he was dead.
"What was that?"
Captain who had been hiding behind some rocks had revealed himself
"I'm sorry, I couldn't just sit by any longer. My attacks may not be able to help bring that thing down. I can still affect the environment around it!"
"The environment, wait I believe I think I have a way to deal with this creature and destroy it at the same time!" said Ruca. She looked to Captain, who straightened up ready for his orders.
"Would you happen to know Earthquake?"
"Aye, its standard for all of the soldiers to know Earthquake, I'm not the best at it, yet I believe my ability is adequate for this task," responded Captain.
"Alright, can you at least open a crack in the ground, large enough to get that overgrown foot stuck in?"
"I certainly can!" said Ruca
"Then we have a plan then, alright Quin let’s run around him again one more time,"
Forcing himself to his feet Quin gripped Ruca's hilt. His vision was cloudy from the pain on top it was getting difficult to breath as well. This was going to be their last chance to make this work. The beast roared and actually unleased a large Ice Beam towards them. Dodging out of the way Quin used Wild Charge again to create distance then shifted to Flame Wheel. Ruca used her normal combination of Swords Dance and Slash. The result was they crashed into the golem with a satisfying sound causing quite a few bits of its body to fly off.
Captain had pulled himself out of his wagon and was slapping the ground with his tail. He was capable of using Earthquake inside of the cart, but it was far more effective if his body was on the ground. The dungeon rumbled, knocking the golem even more off balance causing it to miss the punch it was trying to throw when Quin was in free fall. As it stumbled back its knee buckled and it tripped landing face first on the ground.
"QUIN NOW!"
Quin sheathed Ruca, his flames burning so fiercely that it was starting to scorch his lab coat. He took a step, then another running faster and faster, Ruca's blade was shining brightly bathing the entire chamber in a bright blue light. A symbol appeared before Team Cryas, Quin ran through it and rocketed towards the golem then THROUGH it appearing on the other side, Ruca pointed forward.
There was a few seconds of silence then the Golem howled, then exploded into fragments. Blue wisps of flame started to lift out of the golem seeming to wail in sadness, they seemed to speak though it wasn't clear what they were saying. One flame that seemed to be brighter than the others didn't ascend quite as quickly. Captain dragged himself forward and started trying to reach for it.
"Belly Drum?"
If it was the late barboach's spirit no one could say. It seemed to bow itself towards captain before flickering out like the others.
“Finally...that's...that's..." Quin coughed a few times then slumped to the ground. Now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off the pain, from his injury hit him like a Rhydon's Bulldoze.
"Quin!? Quin keep it together! Come on,"
Quin didn't answer, Ruca's voice feeling like it was very far as he slipped into darkness.
***
"The moon reflects in your eyes very well,"
Quin awoke, he found himself sitting on the edge of a stone wall. Behind him was a large building that seemed to be like a chapel or a small church. Pokemon roamed around on the grounds wearing smocks and habits. He turned to the voice and saw a Rattata sitting next to him. She had the most brilliant green eyes he had ever seen not dissimilar to his own.
"Huh what?" Quin fumbled over his answer, many had off handily commented that he had pretty eyes something that often left him flustered.
The Rattata seemed to be aware of this, she giggled holding up a paw to her mouth to stifle them a little. "Oh that always gets you, you should be glad a girl calls you cute,"
"I don't do cute you know that Aisha, sheesh would you come off of it already?"
The answer had flown out of his mouth before he could think about it. Quin paused not sure if he was in control of himself. Was this a memory? A memory of his own?! It had never been so clear before, he could feel the habit on his fur, the scents of the surrounding forest and even the paw of the girl next to him.
"That tough guy act isn't going to get you very far, you aren't in the slums anymore you are allowed to drop your guard every once in a while,"
Quins head bowed then he looked at Aisha "It’s hard, alright? Just not more than a month ago I was wondering where my next meal would come from. What I would have to do to get the money for it, now I mean it’s just weird knowing that I have a bed to put my head and I know where my next meal is going to come from. It’s just a little jarring is all,"
Aisha patted his back causing him to flinch a little bit, strangely he didn't try to shrug it off though every fiber in him was screaming for him to do so.
"I can't say that I can understand what you went through. The stories about the slums, just seems like an entire world away. I'm not saying that you should be happy go lucky just because you've been here for a few weeks, not at all. For your sake just know that you can relax a little around us okay?"
Quin stayed silent for a little while longer, looking at Aisha and her eyes. He started to say something, like bile coming from his throat. Something that had been sitting there for what felt like a long time. At the crucial moment it died on his tongue and he turned away from her
"I'll think about it,"
"..."
Quin looked up and turned to Aisha, she had said something. He knew it, it had to be...
"Aisha what was that you just said? C-can you say it again?
"What your name?"
"Yes!"
Aisha rolled her eyes, "Whatever, a little late to try to make jokes. Better luck at dinner okay?" She gave him a smile than slipped off the wall. Quin tried to reach for her, to get her to understand that wasn't what he met but the memory started to slip, the image melting into the black void from before.
"No! NO DAMNIT! I just needed more time just another second!"
***
"Aisha!"
Quin sat up then immediately regretted it. He held his paw over his chest which was bandaged. A Trubbish and a Spoink sprang to life not a second later.
"Oh he's awake!" shouted the Spoink
"Go get the Guild leader, I'll make sure he’s coherent," said the Trubbish
The poison typed walked over and flashed a light into Quin's eyes making him squint.
"Alright, you know where you are? Can you speak at all?"
"I think I'm in the medical tent, I don't know which one,"
"It’s the halfway point in the dungeon, you took a nasty little beating. A broken rib and at least two cracked ones, plus I don't know how many fractures. If it wasn't for that Honedge and Barboach dragging you to the tent you probably would have bitten the big one," reported the Trubbish
"Ugh, what about Ruca, C-captain too I.." Quin tried to get up, but the doctor forced him back down.
"Your friends are fine, a few nicks and bruises on them. Nothing a few Sitrus berries and a good polish can't fix. You on the other paw are going to be bed ridden for a few weeks at least,"
At that moment Captain forced his way into the tent, still wearing his banged up helmet, Ruca floating close behind.
"Master Quin, are you alright? Are all of your facilities intact?" said Captain
"Huh?"
"The Wishcash king disowned him, the idiot wouldn't listen to Captain when he tried to explain why he helped you. Just called him a traitor and ordered all the other nutcase Barboach to ignore him," said Ruca
"C-captain I'm sorry, if I..."
Captain held up a flipper as though to halt the stream of apologies "There is no reason for you to feel sorry for me Master Quin, if the king had not done so than I would have exiled myself. I know what you and the guilds think of Wussy and I agree he can be difficult to work with and he does not think his plans through. Every once in a while he can have a burst of insight and I believe that he spared me the weight of self-exile,"
"I'm glad you were there Captain, if it wasn't for you that Wicked may have killed a lot more people," said Quin.
"Yes the Wicked, Ruca here explained it a little bit to me though I fear I still do not understand the nature of the beast,"
Quin laid his head back down on the pillow staring up at the roof of the tent.
"I wish I could tell you more, but there isn't a lot I know myself,"
Rolling on his side to face Captain and Ruca, he started to explain.
"What I do know is that Wicked are created by something called a Mask of Malice. It has a parasitic nature, feeding off a Pokemon and slowly twisting them into some kind of savage mockery of themselves. It grants a great deal of ability or power I'm not sure, just that the longer a Pokemon is in possession of it the more they rely on it,"
"So the Pokemon eventually becomes addicted to the power this mask gives? What kind of mon would willing subject themselves to such a vile thing?" asked Captain
"I wish I knew, masks seem to find their way into the paws of any number of Pokemon. Mon, Womon and even children. There doesn't seem to be any pattern what so ever," said Quin.
"I see, you mentioned a mutation stage...?" Ruca tilted her body a little bit, taking over the conversation. "When the mask has bonded with its host long enough it creates a kind of cocoon and turns them into a monster similar to the one we fought. During this time the monster seems compelled to feed off other Pokemon in the same way it did your comrade. We do not know why it does so, just that it does,"
Captain stayed quiet, digesting what he had been told. He removed his ruined helmet and shook his head "A fantastic tale to be sure, if I had not born witness to it firsthand I would be loath to believe it,"
"I know, there are days that I don't want to believe it," said Quin
"It is fortunate that there is someone that is aware of these beasts. There is no telling what kind of damage they could do if allowed to roam free.
“The only thing I can really do, I woke up in the fog with no real memory of who I am. One of the few things I had to cling to was that I felt compelled to destroy Wicked with this thing," Quin dug into his pocket and pulled out the stone he had used to transform Ruca. Captain blinked then reached into his helmet and pulled out his own. Both started to shine in a kind of resonance, Quins being less intense due to its damaged form
"I believe that this is not a mere chance encounter. I believe the Creator may have conspired for us to meet," said Captain
"May I see yours? It will only take a moment," asked Ruca
"Certainly Lady Ruca,"
The former captain handed his stone to Ruca who gingerly took it in her scarf. The badge had some similarities to Quins, but it was more plain in comparison. While Quin's had a black and red outline on the outer edges, yellow-orange center with a small design in the center, Captain's was gray on the outer edges, a simple brown on the inside and a different design. The Honedge quietly pondered what this could mean.
"Alright where is he?"
The study was cut short when they heard the voice of Gavina walking in followed by Kali. Quin gulped a little bit trying to sink into his covers as the Hawlucha looked all sorts of pissed.
"I've already had a lot of teams being thick headed today. I'm going to be very calm about this, what in the world happened that nearly caved in part of the dungeon and you and your team was found in the epicenter of it all?"
"I...well...you see..."
Thankfully Captain stepped forward and gave a low dip of his head,"
"That would be my fault ma'am. I am formerly of King Wussy's knights and Master Quin here engaged me and a comrade in battle. We attacked first and he was forced to defend himself. He proved to be the decisive winner and did not wish for anymore fighting. My comrade, however, made the poor decision to try to attack him again. I tried to stop him, but he would not listen and caused that earthquake. At great risk to himself Master Quin saved my life before I could be crushed in the aftermath. I owe him my life ma'am it was my lack of control over my own men that caused the disaster not the actions of Master Quin and Lady Ruca,"
Gavina made a quiet whistle, she folded her arms and seemed to think about it a little.
"Well it’s a lot better than what I feared happened. We already had an explosion or two because of Bustershoots and Pokemon not minding their surroundings," She turned to Captain
"I heard there was a little dust up with Wussy about one of his knights and insubordination, I'm going to take a shot and the dark and guess it was about you?"
"That it was,"
"I guess it can't be helped, it’s unfortunate that you lost your own comrade in that fiasco. We found a body, he wasn't responsive though. I'm sorry for your lost,"
A pained looked crossed Captain's face when Gavina mentioned the fallen Belly Drum "He was a brave child, unfortunately too much of one. It would have been better if, things didn't go the way they did,"
Gavina raised a brow, now sensing there was a little more to the story than the group was telling. Feeling the mood wasn't one to allow them her to pry she decided to let it go.
"What are you going to do now? You can't go back home and considering how people feel about the Barboach,"
"My place is with Master Quin and Lady Ruca, they showed me mercy when they owed me none. Thus I would like to join them in their guild endeavors," said Captain.
Gavina turned to Kali "Is that possible?"
"I don't see why not, I mean it would be pretty sad to just leave him. He doesn't have anywhere to go. If he wants to join the Guild than I'm sure we can arrange it, it may take a little while. After the mass recruitment after the issue with Atlas, we're kind of short on guild applications,"
"Then I guess I'm done here, I'm going to head back in, to check on the trap progress there seem to be a few we missed the first sweep,"
Gavina made her way out as the tent Kali stepped forward.
"Glad you are alright, I was worried that they had found some Pokemon half buried in rubble, we've had a lot of Pokemon getting caught in traps or hurt when those Barboach attacked them," she reached into her bag and pulled out the krabby like machine that Quin had found and started to repair.
"This was with you when they found you, it is honestly pretty interesting. Did you make this yourself?"
"Oh no, I found it in the dungeon before all the trouble went down. It seems to be a trap-buster of some kind. It needs a better power source though. I can use a single charge stone to power it, still it isn't enough. The poor thing burns out after a single use, if I can figure out a way to power it consistently than I'm hoping it can be of some use to the explorers at some point,"
Kali nodded, looking over the Krabby machine. "I have to tell you it is an impressive little machine. The thing is without the right parts I don't know what we can do," She winks and hands the relic back to its owner "Still you got it to work in the first place so that is something! This may be something only you can do after all!"
Quin decided to smile a little bit "Thanks Kali, you take care of yourself okay?"
The dragon gave a wave and she took her leave as well," Quin rolled himself on his back. "What a day, wait what a minute," Jay looked over to Captain "Gavina said that there was a cave-in of some kind, did you do that?"
"Nay, not long after you passed out, the stones began to self-destruct. It was all we could do to get you out in time," Quin furrowed his brow. "There was something unnatural about that Wicked, I've never seen one that seemed to be a combination of different Pokemon like that,"
"I have a small guess as to what we encountered, I believe that the Wicked was manufactured somehow,"
"You can't be serious, how could anyone make one of those things?" cried Quin
"It didn't leave behind the mask when it perished, also we've never seen spirits leave the body like that either. Last is that when you arrived it ignored Captain almost completely and focused on you entirely. I think we were maliciously targeted,"
"Targeted...by whom?"
"That is the question we need to figure out and soon..."
***
The Ninetails tails were dancing like mad behind her, she wasn't angry that the Golem had been defeated, she had accounted for that as unlikely as she thought that it would lose. No, she was angry with the fact that she may have triggered a second ARM by mistake. The fact that she failed to account for something like that was causing her to gnash her teeth and smolder the grass she was sitting on.
“I see that overconfidence of yours has finally nipped you in the tail,” came a mocking tone
The spot where the voice came from immediately burst into flame. It was a waste of energy as the owner of the voice, a Drilbur landed neatly on a stump in front of her. The ground type's head was wrapped up in a scarf, only their hazel colored eyes visible. His digging claws clacked against each other as he folded his arms.
“That was very reckless of you Nova, even if that Golem killed the Quilava it wasn't a natural Wicked. There would be no telling what I could have done if left alone,”
“So what, it kills a few Andalusst guilds, that wouldn't be a particularly bad thing. We need the Mystery Dungeons to conduct my research in peace. The less outsiders I have to deal with the better,” replied Nova.
“We need those outsiders to spread Masks too, there are too many viable targets in Andalusst to risk them getting killed. Superior TOLD you to keep a low profile and this is directly against those orders,” said Drilbur
Nova held a fan over her face, her tails starting to curl around her body “Is the lapdog going to tell on me?”
All she got was a stony glare in response, she sighed and seemed to relax. She growls a little bit as she turns her head to the side “Honestly, you are no fun to tease at all, girls don't like men that are all duty you know,”
“I have my orders and they are to observe the Quilava, not to engage him. If he figured out how that Wicked was created than all that we are doing will be undone,”
“You worry far too much for your own good, while you were so busy 'observing' I bothered to do a little digging, the boy is fog-touched. Other than his name he remembers nothing of his past life,” said Nova
“Yet at the same time he feels a compulsion to fight and destroy Wicked with that ARM. Even if he doesn't know why it is too risky to engage him directly. If he remembers what that ARM he possess can really do than our operations will get much harder,” reminded Drilbur
“It will not come to that what I saw through my Golem he only seems to be able to augment that Honedge he is with nothing more. All he can do is shatter the barrier around that keeps a Wicked from convential harm,” said Nova
“See to it that he doesn't remember, kill him if you absolutely need to. I will abstain from making a report on this just this once. See to it that it doesn't happen again,” warned Drilbur.
“Scouts honor captain!”
Nova gave a mock salute with all nine tails, Drilbur rolled his eyes at this before vanishing into the mist
“Like you're a fucking scout...”
To Be Continued
