BlazingBark
Snowdrops
BrokenPromise
rabidbacon
Tlaloc
Chronic
Lildear18
Lugubrious
Mae
Shin Ghost Note
Level: 3
Experience: 11/30
Currently In: Frozen Highlands, Dragonspine
Word Count: 3,350 (+4 Exp)
Collab with @Lugubrious
For a moment, Frisk breathed a sigh of relief. The snow broke her fall. Now she just had to hurry and get Albedo off her back first and foremost. But she didn't hear prisoner landing anywhere near her. Don't tell me! As Frisk booked it away from the now-destroyed camp, she looked behind her to see Prisoner making a careless effort to attack the Alchemist. And for what? His restored body torn asunder. Frisk was on her own now.
She visibly tensed up as Albedo landed near her, tearing the arrows in his chest out with cruel intentions. Damn it all, did she miss his heart?! Adjusting her pouch to rest on her hip, she aimed her bow at him once more. "I trusted you..." Was all the cold words she could muster, but her scowl said enough.
Frisk could hear her smaller charge begin to growl. This wasn't the time to be afraid, even the Spheal knew they had to work together to survive this. Once she fired another arrow at their opponent's head, the Pokemon took aim itself and followed suit with Water Gun.
At this range an arrow flew fast enough that a well-aimed shot couldn't be avoided, but in these conditions it took only a little effort from Frisk's foe to make a well-aimed shot impossible. He ran not in a straight line toward her but in an arc, which in conjunction with Frisk's shivering prevented the amateur archer from leading her shot, and when her arrow missed he closed in. Before he got close enough to slash at her, however, her Spheal's surprise water gun struck him in the shoulder. It both knocked him off-balance and flash-froze a moment later thanks to the Starglow Cavern's subzero temperature, provoking an annoyed grunt. The unexpected assistance bought Frisk an extra second to nock another arrow, but with such unsteady hands it would take a miracle not to fumble it.
To make matters worse, her enemy went straight for her this time, his ice-shrouded arm held up to protect his head and neck as he charged. Even if Frisk did let fly her final shot in time, one arrow might not be enough to put her attacker down, and then she would be defenseless in melee range.
Not quite.
"Tch!" With Albedo closing in, Frisk had no choice but to change tactics. She tossed her ranged weapon aside and grabbed Vorpan. She waited to time her next move right, and once he was close enough to strike?
Her soul remained red. The alchemist had probably expected otherwise by now. Instead of relying on her defensive magic, she went in to deflect his sword with Vorpan. If she managed to stagger him even a little, she'd go in for an onslaught of hits. Her Spheal, growing more confident, followed up with Powder Snow. If they can just freeze him down, they could go in for a critical hit!
The weight behind her blunt-force strike not only deflected the ice sword, but actually managed to snap off about a third of its length. Emboldened with a flicker of hope by her small victory, she pressed her advantage to make the most of the opportunity, but her adversary was fast. Cryo power flowed through his weapon, reforming it in a mere moment, and then it was his speed and reach versus the stubby Vorpan's unwieldy top-heaviess. The two clashed in a flurry of attacks, giving Spheal a chance to spray Powder Snow, but its enemy scarcely even noticed. No matter how intense, the cold did not seem to affect him one bit beyond a mutual reduction in visibility, rendering ice-type moves nigh-useless against him.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Frisk. As if not numbed and shivering enough already, the slashes that her enemy cut into her clothes broke down her meager defenses against the cold, and when he drew blood the chill seeped into her very being. Her opponent had every conceivable advantage, from greater natural ability to a favorable environment. Things were not looking good.
So much for that idea! The duo was getting overwhelmed already. With every cut and every slash, it was getting harder and harder for Frisk to ignore the numbing chill threatening to envelop her whole. But she couldn't give up. She couldn't! Prisoner could only watch, but Linkle, Joel and Teba were waiting for them to come back alive with Joserf in tow. If Albedo killed her here, who knows what would happen afterwards! And her pokemon, she had to know if they were alright!
"Fionn! Gordon!! Anyone!! If you're still alive, n-now would be a good time to help!!"
Frisk called out for help. Left unaware that Spheal had climbed out of it's pouch and rolled a distance away with a Defense Curl.
Her only reply was a haymaker punch from her enemy's ice-encrusted arm, right to the ear. Frisk went down in the snow, almost all the fight sapped from her body by the pain and the cold. The man she trusted smiled, relaxing somewhat, and stepped in, ready to finish things off with a quick thrust to the heart. But when he raised his blade to do the deed, the Spheal rammed directly into his legs with Rollout, knocking him to the ground. With its defense-boosting preparations complete the rotund creature would make its stand alongside its new trainer, and fight with all the strength it had to keep her safe.
Visibly angry, the enemy rose and extended his hand. From his palm shot an icicle of pure Cryo power, piercing straight into the poor Spheal's belly. Not being physical, it ignored the defense boost, and though the Pokemon resisted ice damage, its attacker had no shortage of spears. As Frisk tried to recover the icicles blasted forth, again and again, until her new companion was dead.
No...NO!
It was like her eyes were frozen wide. For a moment, she couldn't move, petrified at the sight of the poor pokemon butchered like nothing. Why? Why did she keep screwing up? First Melony, and now...
Driven to avenge, Frisk's body began to move again. With Albedo distracted, she hurried back to her discarded weapon and fired whatever arrows remained at him. As long as she was still breathing and her soul remained intact, she won't stop fighting. The Spheal's death made it clear enough. Albedo can't walk out of here alive.
While her foe anticipated some sort of action on Frisk's part, he'd been more expecting her to flail in despair than to seize her bow with her faltering fingers and start firing. One arrow grazed his arm, while another lodged in his hip. While this took him a little by surprise, Frisk wasn't by any means moving with mechanical precision, and after that just a little movement on her adversary's part allowed him to ride out the remainder of her ammunition.
He held up his hand, manifesting a snowflake glyph above his palm, and poured in power. The glyph grew larger as it rose higher, increasing in intensity as flurries of snow began to circle around him. If his most basic projectiles had been enough to take out the Spheal, then whatever this was would be Frisk's doom--no bones about it. A maniacal grin overtook him as he readied the injured woman's death sentence, so assured of his own victory that he did not suspect a thing as a steel swordblade sprouted from his ribcage.
"Ah." He jolted suddenly as the snowflake faded, looking down at the weapon that penetrated him. Wide-eyed, he craned his neck behind him at the individual who'd stabbed him in the back, where he found a visage very much like his own. Not one but two Albedos stood there in the snowy dark, perfectly identical except for two details. The one behind Frisk's attacker wore a winter coat, heavy, fur-lined, and crusted with snow. And on his neck he bore a star-shaped mark, where the murderer of Pokemon had none.
The second Albedo said nothing, but yanked out the blade, and with a groan the starless alchemist staggered. With the last of his strength he hefted his ice sword, turning around to inflict whatever parting gifts he could, but the new arrival stepped aside to reveal a familiar figure charging forth. "HYAH!" Linkle screamed, emptying her hollow lungs as she delivered an electric dropkick that sent her target flying over Frisk's head to smash into the cave wall behind her. Skull-eyes burning blood-red, Linkle unleashed two bomb bolts to seal the deal with a tremor-inducing double explosion. Only then did she relax, releasing a long and angry sigh that gave no puff of breath.
"Are you okay?" she asked Frisk, jogging over with the real Albedo in tow. "I can't believe that thing did this, it makes me so mad!"
"Here." Albedo offered two drinks to Frisk, one green and one red. The potion offered an herbal aroma, while the red one smelled of spice. "These will help."
Frisk's eyes had widened in disbelief. Two Albedos and Linkle followed after her. Had she been fighting a clone? Or was the Albedo that saved her the clone? A mix of emotions brewed in her; confusion, regret, fatigue, nonetheless she nodded in response to Linkle checking up on her and downed the two health items.
"...I've been following a fake, haven't I?" She spoke up with a regretful frown, but her tone bore no remorse for their wounded adversary.
Linkle nodded, her expression still one of rage both at the impersonator and at herself for not noticing sooner. "We all were. The minute that doppelganger appeared from the avalanche we all just wandered off without thinking about it. Without even noticing the difference! And all the while the real Albedo was trapped under all that snow, alone."
"Don't blame yourselves," Albedo told the girls quietly. "It was a cunning strategy. And the differences must have been minute to escape your notice."
"Still..." Linkle trailed off as she noticed the frozen tears that had sprung unbidden and frosted over on Frisk's cheeks, then the spirit of the ill-fated Spheal floating nearby. "Oh, no. That little one...we were too late?" The woman hestiantly nodded.
She took a deep breath. "Don't worry. I can fix this."
She held out her hand, and there came a sound like a single beat of a heart, albeit massive, and from everywhere at once. The Pokemon's spirit changed, turning from all the colors of the rainbow to a ghostly blue before sinking into the ground. Then, from the spot arose a handful of bones. They moved of their own accord, bound together like a classroom model, wriggling free of the snow until the whole skeleton had emerged. Its skull turned its empty eye sockets on Frisk, and it wagged its fleshless tail.
Linkle gave a reassuring smile. In her eyes, the halves of the Skull Heart seemed crystal clear. "There," she said softly. "Good as new."
"This isn't over," Albedo said suddenly. A crackling sound rang out from the cavern wall, and the others turned to see the impostor surround himself in a cocoon of ice. Fissures of cryo power spread out from the location, forcing the onlookers to dodge the rows of icy spikes. Then, in a burst of frozen shards, a monstrosity arose. Its bulbous head towered above the three travelers atop of a stalk of blue fronds and snow-white fiber, while petals spread out around it like a crown. The Fellflower turned its malefic gaze upon its enemies as its light illuminated the area, and it howled its rage at its denial.
By Asgore's name, how was Frisk supposed to fight this thing?! She used up all her arrows on it's first phase, and like hell she could do much to it with a weaponized frying pan of all things. As the woman found herself stepping backwards from the monster's majesty, she felt the newly resurrected Spheal bump into her boot. Looking down, it smiled back at her, putting it's faith in it's new trainer. Right. She wasn't alone anymore. They can do this!
The heart shaped object hovering over her chest turned green. Her shield was at the ready.
Linkle started off with an abundance of crossbow bolts filling the air with her bony spikes to turn this monster into a pincushion. Right away, however, her plan hit an obstacle in the form of an icy shield. All of her bolts bounced harmlessly off a barrier that encircled the Fellflower, and when she upped the ante with explosive bolts Linkle found no more success. In cold anger she stowed her crossbows and zoomed forward in an eletrifying charge to slam into and kick off the creature with her boots, but even that failed. If looks could kill, at least, the Fellflower would already be dead. "Hm. I've never met something that's just immune to damage."
She dodged backward as something crashed down on her position, narrowly missing. The offending object seemed to be a strange mix between plant flesh and gemstone, almost like a lantern, and it floated back up into the air to hover alongside two more just like it.
"It's protecting itself," Albedo advised the other two. "Target the Arcane Fruits instead."
With how much they moved it was tough to get a clear shot, but by standing still as a tantalizing target Frisk was able to draw one in and block it when it tried to crush her, giving Linkle a chance to shoot it down. It exploded into three arcane essences that scattered around her. One down, two to go.
Interesting. So the fruits were acting like a form of weak points. "Come on, come on..." Seeing a gamble pay off, Frisk grabbed the three essences for herself and continued to bait the Fellflower's attacks.
The second fruit, however, did not come down. It floated around the Fellflower as it hurled snowballs at its attackers. This time Linkle tried to draw its attention away, while Albedo created a Solar Isotoma. "Here, use this to get high enough," he advised Frisk.
With a quick nod, she sprinted for the newly made platform and readied her weapon to take a swing at the stubborn fruit. As she began to rise, however, a flurry of snowballs flew her way to smack her back off the impromptu lift and into the snow. Frisk turned her shield to block the attack, being forced to wait for an opening. This thing was slowly breaking her defense. She'll have to be careful. Still, as furious as it was, the attack was one-dimensional, and when Linkle and Albedo worked to draw the Fellflower's ire below the storm stopped long enough for Frisk to reach her target--but she would have to jump for it.
One.
Two.
Three!
She had to take a second to hype herself up, but the woman lept towards the Arcane Fruit and swung Vorpan at it in a downward strike. The mighty swat splattered the elaborate thingamabob and spilled out another three Arcane Essence, which rained down alongside Frisk to the snow.
The Fellflower jerked suddenly, stunned, and the final fruit fell to the ground. Upon impact, however, it summoned four golem-like ice elementals to protect the fruit with their lives. Crackling like icicles in thaw, the creatures went on the offensive, swinging their frozen blades with reckless abandon. Albedo engaged one with his sword in an effort to draw it away, while Linkle went in for some long-overdue lightning kicks, which left just one formidable elemental between Frisk and the final fruit.
Spurred forward by her unyielding determination, she charged forward at the only elemental in the way of their true target. Frisk juggled between offense and defense, raising her barrier up to block her opponent's reckless blows for one moment, then retailiating by attacking the ice that made up it's limbs the next. Her blows left cracks in her attacker's body, but being nothing more than shards of ice suspended by magic it weathered her onslaught. As long as it kept Frisk from her objective the elemental was just fine, and with two blades versus her one vorpan, it would steadily gain momentum unless more decisive action was taken.
"Well aren't you stubborn? Very well then!" The increase in momentum didn't go unnoticed. She'd have to make this next move count. It would force her to go back to her normal soul trait, but if she could just find another opening, she'll resort to using that buckler of her's if she had to!
*Crack!*
Like shattered glass, the elemental managed to break through her main means of defense. But this time Frisk wasn't caught by surprise. As her soul returned to it's shade of red, she viciously swung for the head.
While the ice elemental's head lacked the weak spots that made headshots such a big deal for the average combatant, the sheer force delivered there managed to send the whole entity off-kilter, pulling the rest of its magically-anchored body after the head and giving Frisk the shot at the Arcane Fruit she needed. The woman took it with no remorse. She marched up to the last target and crushed it under the flat end of her weapon.
Or she would have, if the second Arcane Fruit hadn't reformed from the essences Frisk did not collect. The Fellflower's shield, nearly depleted, surged back up to two-thirds full, and as two Arcane Fruits orbited around it a new barrage of snowballs flew free.
So that's what those things were for!
Linkle wasn't having any of it. Shrugging off the snowballs, she team-jumped off Albedo up to drop a lightning-infused heel on the second fruit. The Fellflower reeled once more, and the Skullgirl bopped its shield once in the nose for good measure. Once again the third fruit descended, but this time the elementals it called out looked far fiercer.
Albedo hurried to collect the essence, now aware of what would happen if he did not, then stepped forward toward the frigid mob. "Witness my great undertaking!" The power of his Geo catalyst surged, and from the earth burst great petals of crystal amber beneath the arcane fruit. Linkle unleashed her frozen power while they tumbled, spearing into the elementals' armor from beneath to lift them into the air, leaving the fruit undefended. "Now."
"Right!" Frisk ran over to the hopefully actual last fruit they needed to destroy, and smashed it apart once again. This time, making sure to collect the essence left in it's wake.
With that, the Fellflower's shield shattered, blowing away like flakes in a snowstorm. Unprotected and dazed, the monster could do little but flail weakly as Linkle, Albedo, and Frisk laid into it with everything they had, piling on the damage before it could find a chance to recover.
Frisk amended her thoughts at that moment. The Fellflower, it couldn't walk out of here alive. And it wouldn't. Even if she was weaker compared to Linkle and the real Albedo, she couldn't help venting out all her frustrations on the weakened monster. Relentlessly. Mercilessly. Of course, her assault paled in comparison to Linkle's, who leveraged three elements and seemingly limitless crossbow bolts to destroy the Fellflower with style. With no strength left it collapsed under its own weight and sank into the snow.
Before they could celebrate victory, however, the ground began to shake. Ice, snow, and stone began fell from the ceiling, first in shards and then in chunks. With the enemy gone, Linkle's rage subsided, and she waved to the others as she began to pick up speed. "C'mon, let's get out of here! Back to camp, quick as we can!"
"But what about-!"
Whether or not she was going to mention Joserf or the Fellflower's spirit, Frisk was interrupted by a chunk of ice narrowly missing her. She quickly grabbed the Buckler shield out of her inventory and held it over her head like a makeshift umbrella. "Forget it, let's go!" She scooped up the undead Spheal back into her free arm.
