PlatinumSkink

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@Phonic@Ariamis

‘Alright, thank you! Let’s go, Valkyrie!’ Ronin grinned and thanked the guards, moving right ahead like she was the one who knew where to go for some reason. When they came in, she had to take a moment to look around in amazement and just go, like, ‘Woah. I knew this place was grand, but woah. I need to get out more often. I want a griffon,’ she randomly commented, and then turned to grin at Valkyrie.

‘Come on! Let’s get to Magical Services and find Jill already, then! Not a moment to waste!’ so she said, then turned and dashed headlong into the Overcity with no trace of fear at the unknown, arms spread as she embraced the child inside her for now, excitedly starting to explore the city and see what it had to offer, making her way eventually towards the Magical Services under the assumption that Valkyrie ensured she wasn’t getting lost. Then again, if she did, she’d just ask the next passerby for directions, regardless of what this passerby might be~

---

&

Mariette quickly bent out of the way as her tentacles managed to free her from Billy, a portal swiftly opening to allow her to land in an adjacent building onto her stomach. She breathed heavily as she swiftly closed what she’d come through and opened a new one to watch what was going on from a distance. … That was some transformation…

Meanwhile, Eli watched as the shell of the firetruck came off and it dispatched the rest of the minions like, lolwut minions. It definitely has larger than mid-range range on that tail. Then Eli’s Third Eye told her where all the bad guy’s power was coming for that was possibly the key to this entire encounter. Oh, and Amaryllis was binding up Billy in an attempt to deliver the final blow, something they likely couldn’t do without the knowledge Eli held.

Well. No time like the present, Eli figured.

Eli leapt from the skyscraper, molding her hands into her wings again to make her slimy wings larger as she glode down closer towards the site of the battle, but not close enough to get into combat. Time to shout all she knew.

‘HIS POWERS COME FROM THE HOOD ORNAMENT AT THE HILT OF HIS CLUB!’ Eli shouted, and then dove out of the way just in case some form of attack came her way. ‘AND DON’T LET THAT MONSTER JOIN UP WITH HIM!’ she then shouted, mostly to Hilaria but also to anyone who’d hear, pointing towards the monster that had come out of the firetruck.

Mariette, at this time, had heard Amaryllis request and seen how the chains started to fire around Billy in an attempt to restrain him.

‘Hmpf,’ Mariette made a discontent noise, but it seemed it was needed. Very well. Time to try out her light-and-portal combo against her first real opponent.

Mariette shot straight forward inside the room she’d found herself in. She shot multiple times, each time she did two portals appeared and caught the blast. She waved her hand-mirror magical weapon conducting a symphony as more and more shining blasts of light was caught in a loop of portals illuminating the room, more and more magical power gathering, a rave of magical destructive light as more and more blasts of power joined the mix. Then, she brought all the portals together, decreasing the distance between them, creating a globe of her portals surrounding the mass of light that was being concentrated further and further, the might of the blast she was creating scaling upwards. She heard Eli’s scream through the portal. Very well, then.

Mariette stepped through her own portal, arriving above the scene looking at it with her bare eyes. She wanted it to be known who was commanding the barrage that was coming. Now, barrage wasn’t one of her powers, but with some given time, she could arrange something similar. She pointed her hand-mirror forward, and an array of portals spread open behind her, and along with an additional blast of light from her hand-mirror came a single, enormous burst of all her concentrated lights firing down upon Billy. A single instant blast of light-magic, more than a few of which aimed for that hood ornament mentioned, but a lot was also aimed just to blast Billy basically everywhere. For the message.

This did take a decent portion of Mariette’s magical font reserves. Well, it wasn’t like she was intending on taking on many more opponents today. This one would do.

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@ERode

Pokémon: Start

@Typical

And so, Kylie came out into the battle, and Jeremy excitedly started his challenge. Kylie successfully bit down on the Rattata, causing MAJOR damage to the crying little rat… but it didn’t faint. The Focus Sash tightened and held Rattata conscious, and then… Endeavour struck Kylie, and she was reduced to the same state as Rattata, barely holding on… and then Quick Attack quickly slammed into Kylie and she fainted. Rattata leveled up a bunch, probably. Jeremy laughed as he went forth and pulled a Super Potion for his rat.

‘It was good, indeed! Focus Sash lets you survive any one move while barely holding on! Endeavor reduces your enemy to the same amount of health you have! Then Quick Attack lets you strike out the last bit of health before the opponent! It’s the Focus Endeavour Attack Rattata! A.k.a, F.E.A.R!’ Jeremy told, excitedly, grinning happily. He took a step back and his Rattata was ready for the next battle. ‘Do you feel it!? The strategy of the invincible Rattata! I bet you have no way to combat the enemy before you! Quiver in fear as my Rattata wipes out your whole team! Hahahahaha…!’ Jeremy laughed, excited to show off his broken combo…

And that’s when Eri came into the field, visually a Lunatone still.

‘Oh, you got a Lunatone of your own? That’s cool. I don’t think it can overcome F.E.A.R, however…!’ Jeremy boasted, Rattata ready to take another beating… when the transformed Eri performed Fury Swipes. As far as the Rattata saw, a Lunatone floated up to it and started swiping with non-existing claws. First hit blew into the Rattata, doing considerable damage, but with Focus Sash, it held on and-

And then came the second claw.

Rattata was sliced back, the weaker Pokémon rolling back to its trainer, Jeremy’s eyes widening in sudden realization of what happened. ‘Nooo! Rattata!? What happened!?’

Obviously, far too little experience from this Rattata to level.

Eryn was victorious! Eryn gained 456 P for winning!

‘Ouch, it seems that I have been beaten! Rules are rules, so I guess I have to give you your reward!’ Jeremy told with a sigh, as he took a deep breath, and then…

‘THE TRIAL MASTER IS GLORIOUS!’ Jeremy shouted, loud and clear… … … … …

‘… What are you still around for? The exit’s that way! Go back, turn left, and keep maneuvering the maze!’ Jeremy now asked, pointing behind Eryn with a smirk.

Assuming she did so, she’d find that the maze was still as it was… except for one crucial difference. There were Houndooms prowling the maze, alongside the Lunatones. There were less Lunatones, but there were now also the dogs that someone had let out, not following any particular route but simply wandering, searching for their target, far less predictable than the Lunatones had been.

And there sat Umbreon, waiting for her to return into the maze. Assuming Eryn didn’t immediately try to chase the Pokémon away, it followed her, way closer now, not exactly making a secret of the fact it was following her.

So, with the Houndooms around the maze, would Eryn’s strategy for finding the exit and travelling about the maze change any?

If we just continue and move on

Eryn went back on the road and continued with Umbreon following close. She somehow managed to maneuver past all the Houndooms and eventually found that there was a secret entrance BEHIND the Clefairy tower that she’d seen earlier. However, it was locked behind a password. Fortunately, she managed to figure out the password was, in fact, the statement that the Youngster had called out earlier. “The Trial Master is Glorious”. With that, the door clicked open, and Eryn was able to descend down to a secret room, where…

It’s a cozy little hole in a cave. There were mattresses all over the floor, there was a TV standing on a little desk over there, there was a fridge and judging by the contents of the nearby trash can it was shock-full of candy and soda. On a desk over there sat three Pokéballs, meanwhile the Trial Master sat wrapped in a warm blanket on a couch directed towards the TV… except he had turned in alarm towards the opening as Eryn came in.

Trial Master

‘What the… you got through already!?’ he asked out loud as he emerged from his blanket. ‘Gah… it took me so long to find and train all those fear-related Pokémon… But I still don’t know if you achieved the hidden objective! Umbreon! How did she do!?’ he asked, and Umbreon leapt out from behind Eryn, and gave a little happy cry of some sort.

‘The idea of the hidden objective is that all which you fear is not necessarily hostile… and… you did fine, apparently. GAH!’ Trial Master recoiled, and then gasped out, looking like he’d suffered a physical blow. He stood with his muscles all loose for a bit… then he smiled widely, spreading his arms.

‘Fine! Very well! I have been defeated!’ he said, as if proud, and then gestured to the three Pokéballs on the table. ‘As a reward, let me offer you one of these three Pokémon! Choose wisely!’ he told, and Eryn was allowed to go examine…

The Pokéballs contain

Pokédex Entry #387 – Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokémon. It lives alongside lakes. The shell on its back is made of soil. It’s body undertakes photosynthesis like a leaf, making oxygen. The leaf on its head wilts if it is thirsty, and the shell should feel moist on a healthy Turtwig.

Pokédex Entry #390 – Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon. A gas burns in its stomach that fuels the flame behind it, which is extremely difficult to put out except for when it puts out its own flames to protect its surroundings while asleep. It lives on craggy mountains, using its agility and grip to scale sheer cliffs and walls.

Pokédex Entry #393 – Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon. It lives on shores in cold areas. It is a skilled swimmer and can remain for 10 minutes underwater. It is very proud and does not like being taken cared off, despite that its poor footing often makes it fall over on land.

If she, indeed, doesn’t want any of them

‘Huuuuuuh!? You’re a Pokémon Trainer that don’t want any of the rare Pokémon I went through the effort to collect!?’ the Trial Master asks, totally stunned.

‘… Eh! Guess that spares the expenses on the future rewards. Okay, want some stones? I got a few for the purposes of evolving Pokémon that I use for my trials. And, well, have one of these, and some of that,’

Eryn obtained Dusk Stone!
Eryn obtained Dawn Stone!
Eryn obtained Shiny Stone!
Eryn obtained Moon Stone!
Eryn obtained Focus Sash!
Eryn obtained 2,000P!

‘I welcome you to come and try again sometime later. Watch me! I'll come up with an even more challenging and adventurous trial, next time!’ He boosted, returning to his high spirits in moments. ‘With that! TRIAL MASTER, SIGNING OUT!’ And then, unless Eryn did something to stop him, the Trial Master threw another Escape Rope into the air, and it pulled him into nothingness and away from the cave.

And then there was a tunnel and a stair that led back to the entrance and Eryn could exit back out to Route 5 again.

Route 5

Route 5

Just as Stillwood Village is the least visited settlement in Isson, Route 5 is among the least travelled routes on Isson main landmass. The route is a steady incline from Lakewatch Town to Stillwood Village, with some elements of the base of Mt. Chill nearby, the waters of Dragon Lake next to it too, sporadic forest from that surrounding Stillwood Village and some of the plain elements from route 6 as well, along with a very traveller-friendly road makes Route 5 perhaps one of the most naturally stunning routes of Isson. There are no roads for asphalt here, only travellers are explorers seeking or exiting Lakewatch Town for some reason, as well as Pokémon trainers on their journeys.

A peaceful route without any real dangers, it still offers a lot of variation. Walk on the west side by the waters of Dragon Lake to potentially encounter some Pokémon of the lake. Walk by the mountains on the east and perhaps feel some of the radiating cold of the range of Mt. Chill to perhaps see some more mountainous Pokémon or maybe an ice Pokémon that stumbled out of their caves. The route is a bit cold, attributed perhaps best to the proximity to the Frozen Cavern, and it gets colder the closer the mountain you go. Multiple rivers run down from the mountains, part of Mt. Chill that melts, but efficient wooden bridges help passage over. And of course, patches of forest here and there.

The south of Route 5 opens up towards what people call the Vast Plains, or simply Route 6. There parts of the Endless Forest spread out to make things a bit more covered in trees, but as soon as you leave this forest, all you’ll see is plains as far as you can see, and that’d be Route 6. On the other side of the route is the forest that covers Stillwood Village, you need to enter the forest to get to the village. At the middle by the lake is Lakewatch Town, resting a bit above Dragon Lake. And, of course, the passage up to the Frozen Cavern lies up that hill, for those who want to brave the range that leads towards the enclosed and frozen Route 9 on the other side.

There we go. What now?

Suggestions to actions

1. Find Pokémon. Can be specified what kind of Pokémon is being searched for, and how you search.
2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding.
3. Seek trainers. While not many, there are still trainers and explorers in the area, mostly trying to get to the next.
4. Talk. You could seek someone out to talk to them, if you want to.
5. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally.
6. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination.
7. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.
8. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.
9. Area Specific: Random House. Uh. There’s an excessively out-of-place red house in the middle of the route, the door standing wide-open. … Want to visit?

Connected areas:
Lakewatch Town. On the south-west of the route, Lakewatch Town lies adjacent to the lake on the road to the Wet Caverns.
Stillwood Village. In the north lies the forest which hides the village, Mt. Strength lying behind it..
Route 6. Vast plains start in the south-east, this route leads towards Raremine Town.
Frozen Cavern. After an incline up to the ridge of Mt. Chill, a cavern of ice could guide the way to Route 9 and Cooldome City.
Endless Forest. To the south, a dark forest looms. There are no indications as to why you’d ever want to go there.

Route 5, known Pokémon

Common:
#10 Caterpie
#43 Oddish
#163 Hoothoot (During night, rumored)
#585 Deerling
#664 Scatterbug

Uncommon:
#25 Pikachu
#586 Sawsbuck
#587 Emolga

Rare:
#172 Pichu

__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii

Johannes gave the slightest of a pained smirk at the mention of Cresselia, and one of his hands wandered to one of his pockets, lifting up a shiny feather… a Lunar Wing.

‘I… got that covered,’ he said, some regret in his voice. ‘It does indeed help me sleep, but it isn’t helping me during daytime…’ he says, and then sighs, losing the smirk again, going back to his usual expression and putting the Lunar Wing back. He nodded to her words about raising a Duskull. ‘I’ll trust you to it. Good luck, young trainer,’ Johannes said, and then departed eventually. And then, Amelia could turn back to Misdreavus…

‘Misdreavus?’ Misdreavus looked in and looked around, making sure Johannes had departed before greeting Amelia once again, and Sneasel plus Kecleon showing up from the bookshelves and out of nowhere respectively as well. The Shuppets were torn between some drifting in to inspecting Amelia for now because she’s interesting, and others following Johannes again, because, Johannes.

What does Amelia do now?

Trainers’ School image

Suggestions to actions

1. Pokémon School Park. There’s a small park of grass in here. What kind of Pokémon might be in it?
2. Talk. Plenty of students and teachers. This is a wellspring of knowledge, someone must know something.
3. Challenge. Work your way up the leaderboard! Specify the level of opponent.
4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.
5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.
6. Study. You want to know something? Feel free to learn about it here!
6.1. Pokémon Habitats. Learn where you might find a specific kind of Pokémon!
6.2. Isson Geography. Learn more about the different places in Isson!
6.3. Names to Remember. Learn about Gym Leaders, Elite Four, or the like!
6.4. Local Legends. Learn about different tales from around Isson!
6.5. Pokémon Breeding. That’s also a subject.
6.6. Battling Basics. You likely know them already.
6.7. Specify. Tell what you want to learn and we’ll see if we have a course!
7. Amelia Specific: Investigate the any of the seven mysteries…?

Seven Mysteries of the Trainers’ School!

• 1. A chilling hunter that attacks students who wanders the school at night! The temperature will decrease before the strikes! Students have reported being poked and startled and sometimes frozen by some invisible being, be careful!
• 2. An eerie cry sometimes fills the halls at night. It’s usually from the science room. It’s a shivering cry that echoes down your very bones… and those who goes to examine it are found knocked out on the floor the day after! Spooky!
• 3. The basement is occasionally spontaneously filled with smoke! People just go down there to grab something, when all of a sudden it’s all smokey and they have to run and fire alarms ring! Extremely suspicious!
• 4. A beautiful figure has occasionally been sighted in the window of the teacher’s lounge! No, not THAT beautiful figure, an unknown one! They say it has dark hair, white clothing and an indiscernible face… but upon examining the room, it’s empty!? Is this… a ghost!?
• 5. They say on certain nights, and only on certain nights, something comes out to play on the school roof. What could it be? What is the requirements for their appearance? What are they? All those who have seen them are entranced. What could it mean?
• 6. Someone reported that they opened the D-classroom door at night, and there was a dark hole in reality, just hanging there. Scared, he ran. Ever since then, that classroom has been locked at night. Why is that? Is something going on…?
• 7.

8. Familiar Faces: Daisy. She’s still around somewhere.
???. This guy’s still here.

Connected areas:
Pureplain City. All around, of course.

Trainers’ School, known Pokémon

Common:
Varies~

Uncommon:
Varies~

Rare:

Pokémon: Start

@Typical

Escaping from the forest they’d apparently set on fire, Eryn and co got to the maze before them. Choosing to brave the maze full of Lunatones instead of confronting the Houndoom, she sent out Eri disguised as a Lunatone…

Eri passed into the view of a Lunatone… and got promptly ignored. Bet he had super good reason to be way out here. Didn’t matter to the Lunatones, that stuck to their personal patrolling routes. With other words, Eryn had a scout which would not trigger the Lunatones to map out her route for her!

It still wasn’t easy. Even with Eri scouting ahead, it could still be hard to predict where a Lunatone would come next and stealthily maneuvering the maze it happened more than a couple of times that they had to make a hasty retreat because the patterns of the Lunatones closed together a little too fast for safe passing.

However, slowly but surely, she made progress. But…

Umbreon was still following her. Not doing anything, just following. The Lunatones wasn’t bothering to notice the Umbreon, who wasn’t one of the Pokémon they were to hunt. Yet, Umbreon was not, so far, calling attention to the infiltrators of the maze. Just following at a set distance, watching calmly while following with graceful steps.

Still, assuming Eryn just tried to ignore Umbreon for now, she endured a long and hard piece of stealth mission, but it was looking like it was working, and finally, she turned a left to-

???

A kid stood before her, grinning excitedly, making a salute to her as she approached him, and the Rattata that stood ready for battle in front of him. The Rattata is wearing a small red sash…

‘You’ve done well to get this far!’ the youngster told her. ‘You’ve shown that you can think fast in a pinch and that your reasoning won’t be affected. That you can be clever in the face of adversary. But you’re not done with this trial yet…’ the kid grins so widely at her.

Youngster Jeremy would like to battle!

‘The battle is 1-on-1, but my Rattata will take on your whole team, one by one! But, you can’t switch Pokémon mid-battle, and I get to heal my Rattata each time he faints an opponent! Got it!?’ Assuming Eryn got it…

‘Now, let’s see if you can pass… the TRIAL OF F.E.A.R!’

… The enemy is a Level 1 Rattata. It’s wearing a Focus Sash. It knows Tackle, Quick Attack and Endeavor. What’s Eryn’s move?

__________________________

_{Gym battle in progress}

@Gardevoiran

Skylar called back Celebrity in order to send out JoJo, who immediately commenced to Double Team. Lorette looked down at her no-sign-of-waking up Beedrill, and…

‘Ah, no. That just won’t do,’ Lorette said, a little smile on her lips as she brought out a Pokéball and called back her Pokémon. ‘Alright, sorry, Beedrill, you’re not the right bug for the job.’ So she said, as she put down the Pokéball into a pocket somewhere and then took out another Pokéball.

‘So, for your next challenge… how about you take on one of my two aces?’ Lorette smirked, as she threw the Pokéball and a new shape took form in front of the multiple JoJos. A small and red rock with a bunch of little limbs sticking out of it, looking forward at the JoJos with a confused looking expression…

Pokédex Entry #213 – Shuckle, the Mold Pokémon. It stores berries inside its shell. It is naturally shy and typically hide under rocks, keeping its body concealed inside its exceedingly hard shell while eating stored berries. The berries mix with its body fluids to become a delicious juice that it secretes through various holes.

Now, switching Pokémon is a move, so Skylar’s allowed to make an action here. But, if JoJo’s still the Pokémon on the field, Lorette will start the next round by announcing…

‘Shuckle! Rock Slide!’

‘Shuuuuu…!’ Shuckle called out loudly, and, for some reason, a large amount of rocks suddenly came falling from the skies! … Really, utterly tiny rocks on account of Shuckle’s pathetic attack power that will do middling damage at best, but they’d make it really hard for all of JoJo’s clones to get out of the way unscathed, hence the real one becoming easier to hit and notice…!

Skylar’s next move? Now, two turns of Lorette’s were described here, so Skylar can also do two moves in a row next turn if he so wishes.

And, Smiley won’t wake up when he’s not on the field, because Pokémon battle rules. Same goes with Lorette’s Beedrill now.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@Phonic@Ariamis

… Honestly, Valkyrie’s reactions were pretty cute. Deni would have to consider teasing her more in the future. After all, she still had one of her tools, she could feel it. Probably because the power that provided it wasn’t based on Asengav’s power. She could do a lot of things with that. But not now. Now, they bolted!

‘Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee~!’ Deni called out happily. Travelling with Mariette’s portals probably was faster, but it sure wasn’t as thrilling as this~! _{(assuming she has sensations at all while travelling lightning-style)}

Finally, they arrived to Crystal Curtain. So there was a great wall blocking their way… another one of those things you never had to worry about as a servant of Mariette. Huh, and it was guarded. Better be on our best behavior. They wanted them to tell their names, huh. And business! Passing through, does that work? Deni considered it, and…

… Oh, right, to make ‘Ronin’ pass the lie-test, I better start referring to myself as Ronin in my mind, don’t I? … Deni thought. Ronin thought, for now! But not changing the banner!

Now, lesse…

Not happening

‘Hiiiiiiiii, I’m Ronin! I’m was actually lost, ended up in the Overcity completely without intending to, but Valkyrie here saved me! Isn’t she awesome~? So, like, I’m sort of new to the whole actual “city” part of the Overcity, do you guys have, like, super-tough criteria for letting people enter? Because that’d be a big problem! I just want to get back to Penrose! Honest!’

… Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaah, Ronin grinned. Better leave this to Valkyrie~

Oh, but.

‘Hello, I’m Ronin! Pleased to meet you~!’ Ronin grinned as she happily waved to the Magical Girl guards. ‘What she said~!’ Concerning what their business was, Ronin added without properly thinking about it.

---

&

The police-car was hit by the combined firepower of Eli and all the shadow minions and, to Eli’s great relief, it was enough to bring it down, at least momentarily. Then… fire truck with a water hose. She’d assume it was more powerful than the regular.

‘Surround it! Destroy the hose!’ Eli called to the shadows that immediately leapt off the building Eli was on to surround the firetruck and start aiming to bring down the hose and truck with their super-stretchy arms with claws and strikes, something that felt like a tougher challenge that the police car… Eli, herself, quickly dodged aside to try to avoid the water hose, while also forming her rifle into a very pointy umbrella…!

‘Reinforce!’ Eli called, perhaps unnecessarily, as she poured her Reinforcement magic into her slime-umbrella to attempt to resist the fire truck’s water hose while the shadows did damage to the entity from the sides. The umbrella was pointy so that water hitting it would be directed sideways rather than the umbrella trying to block it directly. This was all totally a working strategy.

Eli’s Third Eye confirmed the nature of the magic of the monsters. It was tied to Billy. They were like extensions of his being, so he could probably absorb them or make them from his flesh or the flesh of others. How many had he killed to make cars? Still, it was something to tell the others…

… Eh?

Eli looked over to be distracted by the sight of Billy having caught her mistress…

A couple seconds earlier.

Now, obviously, Mariette had prepared for the possibility of Billy heading for her. She’d been constantly keeping track of his location. But, it seems she may have failed to take in account just how fast he’d be.

The first movement upon realizing that Billy was heading for Mariette was to immediately attempt to drop herself through the portal she was standing on. That was her standard evacuative maneuver, after all. She also started opening a portal between them towards directly into the ground, that he’d hopefully hit and be promptly stopped, because he couldn’t break through the whole planet. However, one can assume he hit the edge of the portal which was far more frail than the contents of the portal itself and the portal crackled and vanished, but if Mariette didn’t have time to fall through the portal then she hardly had time to open that portal to any agreeable size anyway.

So she was grabbed. Billy shattered the portal Mariette was trying to fall through part-way through (I assume), so her existence defaulted to the side which the most of her was on, which unfortunately was the side where she’d been grabbed. The hand with the hand-mirror had been instinctively raised to protect her and got caught under the arm, while the one squeezing Bunny had been instinctively pulled away from Billy, meaning when she was grabbed it lost the grip on the bunny from the sheer force of impact. Once again, through sheer traumatic instinct, a small portal opened and Bunny dropped through right in front of Amaryllis, hopefully to catch.
_{Eli was too far away, and Mariette was in a state of distress. Amaryllis was the only other individual here she remotely trusted. You have been entrusted with the highest of honours, don’t fail her.}

There was a moment of disorientation as Billy took Mariette on a journey and slammed into the ground, informing her of his intentions of what to do with her to her face while pressing her chest harder than her non-existent vitality could handle. Her expression twisted in pain.

Yeah, no. There was no way Mariette could risk being a hostage. It didn’t matter if she was disoriented if the target was the arm that was holding her.

Mariette turned the hand-mirror caught under Billy’s arm a little and shot. A blast of white magical power promptly shot out of her and through the mirror, with as much power as she could muster with her full magical power though with very little time to spare. The purpose of the shot was to disintegrate the arm holding her with sheer firepower. Mariette took some of her own vitality with Blood Magic, since it was faster than using the Mana Font at this point. Didn’t matter if she was exhausted after if the option was being dead. What resulted, assuming Billy hadn’t reacted first and crushed her ribcage, was a sudden and immediate burst of shining magic firepower enhanced by her weapon originating from the Light-specialization smashing straight into Billy’s arm.

That is, she used the power she gained when she used the Platinum Coin. Because screw trying to hide your new abilities when you’re about to get killed. _{Was hidden only because PlatinumSkink was Co-GM at the time and thought it’d be a fun surprise when fighting player characters in the future.}

Regardless of how successful her blast was, Mariette would then immediately unleash all her dark tentacles. Their purpose was to separate her and Billy. They’d slam, they’d rip, they’d push, they’d pull, a burst of them trying to free her after the light-blast. If she was still caught, she’d continue shooting Light-blasts until she was freed or dead. Should she ever be successful in separating the herself and Billy, she’d open a portal into a neighboring building for herself to recover and, much more importantly, see if she could open a portal to look and make sure Bunny was safe.

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@ERode

Pokémon: Start

@hatakekuro ... And I just noticed that this question here's the last you did on this site for the last six months, hah. Well, um. I did want to ask if you were still interested? Because, unless I am completely forgetting someone, you'd be next on the waiting list.

The reason there's barely been any comments since is because it's been all on Discord for a while, now.

Pokémon: Start

@Typical

Eryn sent out Peri at Umbreon. Umbreon, the moderately agile piece of thing that it was and at a higher level, managed to decently easily jump back and even sling a Confuse Ray into Peri’s face as she came crashing down. Peri was confused! … But that didn’t stop her as she kept on rolling, and Umbreon had to note that the size-difference made this pretty difficult and it had to focus on dodging aside Peri’s roll. The way ahead was cleared.

Fairy Wind, however, did NOT particularly hold back Arbok. Fairy-type was Not Very Effective against the Poison-type. Arbok was about to reach them, then Dei blew out a cloud of smoke, hiding them from the predator’s glare. That is, it tried to Glare, the move, but Smokescreen was the perfect cover. Arbok still then attempted to catch them, specifically Eryn. The tail of an Arbok snatched through the smoke at Eryn’s position and almost gripped her, but Dei had prepared to Ember at the tail before it caught her and she was free to run on while Arbok trashed in the smoke from the burned tail. Now, Dei would have been as likely to miss as Arbok in this cloud of smoke, but Kylie’s Sweet Scent had lowered Arbok’s evasion and allowed them to pull off this stunt.

Now, Dei probably could have set the forest ablaze, but the Arbok coming after them probably would have priority, given “Ember anything and everything that comes close”.

With that, and assuming she handled having a confused Onix in some kind of way, Eryn was still able to run on while Arbok was too busy dealing with a burned tail and trying to navigate out of the smoke to pursue. As such, she was able to proceed through the forest… and see it open up at the end of it.

The forest abruptly ended. Suddenly, she was in a cave again, or perhaps it was a valley. It was a maze, with multiple rocky options of where to go, different ways Eryn could go. However, she couldn’t go however she wanted. The numerous valleys ahead that were being patrolled by floating, moon-shaped rocks that were floating about in this landscape with the moon yet still shining down from the skies…

Pokédex Entry #337 – Lunatone, the Meteorite Pokémon. Originating from where meteors crashed, it’s believed to come from space. Its health ebbs and flows with the lunar cycle. When exposed to the full moon, it brims with power and becomes far more active. Its red eyes have the power to cause those who look into them to be transfixed in fear.

… And, in the middle of these rocks creating a maze before her was a single plateau, on top of which stood numerous small fairies with their tiny hands raised up, calling to the full celestial body floating overhead inside the cave.

Pokédex Entry #35 – Clefairy, the Fairy Pokémon. It’s adorable nature and magical appeal has made this Pokémon highly popular. However, thought to live only on quiet mountains, it is extremely rare. However, come the night of the full moon, the Clefairy come out and play, before returning home at dawn to rest. When charged with moonlight, this Pokémon can fly.

… That is to say, there were a group of Clefairies repeatedly using Moonlight make the full moon shine within the trial, in order to awaken the powers of Lunatone and Umbreon.

And… resting right in front of said plateau, like a good little doombringer guard-dog…

… stood the Houndoom she’d heard earlier, guarding the Clefairies. It wasn’t just going to move because she told it to.

Now, the Lunatones weren’t so common that sneaking through the maze wouldn’t possibly work. They had a set pattern, that could potentially be predicted. It would be harder the deeper she got, however, and could go awry based on pure misfortune unless she came up with a brilliant idea to passing. Getting just to the Clefairy plateau would be much easier and much more doable, but… Houndoom. A Houndoom just stood there, looking far too powerful.

And if that wasn’t enough… Umbreon was walking along with her, far to her left. After Peri’s attack Umbreon had kept its distance, but it was following, not about to let Eryn get away quite that easily. There was no telling what Umbreon might do, depending on what Eryn did next. Another element of uncertainty in the mix.

What would Eryn do here?

Pokémon: Start

@Eklispe

Dawkin threw his Pokéball at Feebas, which was easily absorbed into the Pokéball and dropped down to float in the water.

It spun around in the water once!

It spun around in the water twice!

It spun around in the water thrice…!

result

click

Dawkin caught Feebas!

Gender: ♂
Type: Water
Personality: (Up to player.)
Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: (Up to player.)
Level: 10
Moves: Splash, Dive
Ability: Adaptability. Powers up moves of same type as the Pokémon.
Held Item: None.

New Pokémon caught! Dawkin earned 500 P!

Would you like to give a nickname to Feebas?

With that, Milotic nodded, looking content about what just had happened. She didn’t head off anywhere, though, she just remained watching for now. Just in case.

‘… Oh. That one… looks cute…’ Florrie was watching, but after a while she was distracted by a Spritzee, and she eventually made up her mind, and… ‘C’mon, Zei!’ Florrie sent out the Zygarde dog, and after a minor battle of Zygarde VS Spritzee Florrie would succeed with capturing herself a Spritzee, unless Dawkin decided to interfere for whatever reason.

Meanwhile, the Espurr Alec hugged decided to adopt him. The cat adopted him, that is. Alec just came walking back with Espurr sitting on his head without ever actually having been captured or anything. Alec seems to be pretty done with this place, now.

So, what would Dawkin wish to do, now?

Mythic Oasis

Mythic Oasis

As the sandstorm stills, you find the eye of the storm to be eerily calm. Before you, the sands splits open and leads down to the calmest spring of water imaginable. Luscious plants grow freely around the spring, water flows freely out of cracks in the rocks surrounding it, and live Pokémon stir in the waters as well as on top of it. There’s some unnatural effect going on, with water Pokémon able to swim deep under the surface, yet humans and ground-based Pokémon can walk in the spring like it was merely ankle-deep. Fairies and water-Pokémon and not-desert Pokémon inhabit these springs freely, frolicing and enjoying their time in the water. This truly is what one would imagine when the words that present the place is “Mythic Oasis”. Such a peaceful place.

Suggestions to actions

1. Find Pokémon. Can be specified what kind of Pokémon is being searched for, and how you search.
2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding.
3. Seek trainers. … There really are none, but you can still look.
4. Talk. People can be chatted with.
5. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally.
6. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination.
7. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.
8. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.
9. Dive into the oasis. Requires a Pokémon that can dive. There’s a shadow down there, what can it be?

Connected areas:
Route 7. Right back into the sandstorm is the only way back.

Mythic Oasis, known Pokémon

Common:
#329 Wailmer
#370 Luvdisc
#682 Spritzee
#684 Swirlix

Uncommon:
#35 Clefairy
#572 Minccino
#594 Alomomola
#677 Espurr

Rare:
#349 Feebas
#350 Milotic

__________________________

@Joshua Tamashii

The man looked at her with tired yet attentive eyes, politely waiting for her to finish with his hands together. After she had finished, he took a couple of moments to consider something, looking even more tired.

He ultimately shook his head.

‘It is kind of you to look out for me, but my state is not one that can be solved with a conversation,’ he said. ‘I… am Johannes, formerly an Admin of Team Virtue. I partook in the Team Wars, one of the vanguard in the battles against Team Amethyst. During those wars, I saw the uglier side of what happens when people try to use Pokémon for profit. Not only from those I faced, but also from those who I would have called my allies…’ he said, and then shook his head again, looking down into the table.

‘This is not a matter which I should share with a child. I feel… unsightly emotions towards the people I worked with at the time. Things would have gotten worse if I tried to confront them, so I came to Pureplain City and became a teacher in order to get better. To distance myself from the events of my past. It’s… tolerable, now. In a way, I’ve now actually found myself thankful for the Shuppets feeding on my emotions. I had a Pokémon Trainer chase them away once, because I had thought of them as a bother, but it grew worse in their absence. A couple new ones showed up, and I figured it was just as well.’ So he said. He now looked to Amelia.

‘Thank you for caring, but it’s not something you need to worry about. I’m glad you’re no longer in a dark place, that implies there’s some hope for me, as well,’ he said, lifting a hand to give her a small pat on her head, if she didn’t shy away from it or anything. ‘All you need to know is that the battles are over, and it should once again safe for Pokémon Trainers like you to journey Isson…’ … So he looked like he wanted to convince himself but he wasn’t entirely sure.

‘Does that answer your question?’ Johannes asked, retrieving his hand and looking softly at Amelia.

All the ghosts, including Misdreavus, are still in the vicinity, around the room. They’re avoiding being in the same room as Johannes, apparently.

In case she feels she is done asking him questions

‘… Ah, right. You’re raising Ghost-type Pokémon, aren’t you…?’ he said, and then reached into his pockets. Now, logically, he probably wouldn’t have this on him, but the GM knows for a fact he does have them and having him go to his office to get one would be a pain, so, he for some reason has them in his pockets. He brings out something, a long, dark piece of fabric, which she somehow felt was filled with spiritual power, which he then handed over to Amelia.

‘This… may one day come in handy to you. Consider it my thanks for your concern.’

Amelia obtained Reaper Cloth!

‘Alright, I guess I should head off, now. You watch yourself,’ and with that said he could walk off on his own, and Amelia could be heading off on her next adventure, or just talk to Misdreavus, who’ll totally appear behind her the moment Johannes is out of the room.

This was typed 100% to potentially save you a post of just replying to Johannes if you didn’t have much to say. If you do have a bunch to say to him but it’s just “before he leaves” stuff, then you can still type it and I’ll respond to it next post.

Trainers’ School image

Suggestions to actions

1. Pokémon School Park. There’s a small park of grass in here. What kind of Pokémon might be in it?
2. Talk. Plenty of students and teachers. This is a wellspring of knowledge, someone must know something.
3. Challenge. Work your way up the leaderboard! Specify the level of opponent.
4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.
5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.
6. Study. You want to know something? Feel free to learn about it here!
6.1. Pokémon Habitats. Learn where you might find a specific kind of Pokémon!
6.2. Isson Geography. Learn more about the different places in Isson!
6.3. Names to Remember. Learn about Gym Leaders, Elite Four, or the like!
6.4. Local Legends. Learn about different tales from around Isson!
6.5. Pokémon Breeding. That’s also a subject.
6.6. Battling Basics. You likely know them already.
6.7. Specify. Tell what you want to learn and we’ll see if we have a course!
7. Amelia Specific: Investigate the any of the seven mysteries…?

Seven Mysteries of the Trainers’ School!

• 1. A chilling hunter that attacks students who wanders the school at night! The temperature will decrease before the strikes! Students have reported being poked and startled and sometimes frozen by some invisible being, be careful!
• 2. An eerie cry sometimes fills the halls at night. It’s usually from the science room. It’s a shivering cry that echoes down your very bones… and those who goes to examine it are found knocked out on the floor the day after! Spooky!
• 3. The basement is occasionally spontaneously filled with smoke! People just go down there to grab something, when all of a sudden it’s all smokey and they have to run and fire alarms ring! Extremely suspicious!
• 4. A beautiful figure has occasionally been sighted in the window of the teacher’s lounge! No, not THAT beautiful figure, an unknown one! They say it has dark hair, white clothing and an indiscernible face… but upon examining the room, it’s empty!? Is this… a ghost!?
• 5. They say on certain nights, and only on certain nights, something comes out to play on the school roof. What could it be? What is the requirements for their appearance? What are they? All those who have seen them are entranced. What could it mean?
• 6. Someone reported that they opened the D-classroom door at night, and there was a dark hole in reality, just hanging there. Scared, he ran. Ever since then, that classroom has been locked at night. Why is that? Is something going on…?
• 7.

8. Familiar Faces: Daisy. She’s still around somewhere.
???. This guy’s still here.

Connected areas:
Pureplain City. All around, of course.

Trainers’ School, known Pokémon

Common:
Varies~

Uncommon:
Varies~

Rare:

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@Phonic

‘… I think that might actually attract more passerbyers than it will dissuade. Like me. I totally feel like exploring that now. But that’ll have to wait,’ Deni said about the signs, chuckling a bit. Still, no putting herself in danger until Eli’s safe. Then Valkyrie commented her name. Deni grinned.

‘Right!? I’m really proud of it!’ Deni called happily, putting her hands on her hips and beaming. That is, proud of it because it’d probably slip right past a lie-detector without her needing to use her real name. Probably.

‘Hahahaha. That’s putting it mildly…’ Deni chuckled a bit about “mingled with the wrong crowd”. In her defense, though, she hadn’t known it was an abyssal horror of some kind. Still, her eyes got all attentive when Valkyrie swore to allow her no harm.

‘Woah. You’re making an oath for little old me?’ Deni asked, amazement in her voice, putting her hands together and beaming with the mildest of a blush. ‘That is so awesome of you! Yes, don’t worry! I’ve seen more than my fair share of combat! Though, I’m Reinforcement specialized, so don’t expect too much in terms of ranged combat capability, heh. I’m pretty good with my sword, though~!’

Then Valkyrie reacted like that to the mention of a date, and Deni had to stare at her mildly awkwardly. She continued with scratching her cheek a bit with a smile, blushing a little too.

‘Weeeeeeeeeeeell… I don’t know if I actually love the individual in question. Like, when I think of people to date, I usually think of handsome boys. … But she took me by surprise with her question, and she and looked so desperate and cute I just couldn’t help but give her a shot~!’ Deni said and then grinned. She’s also older than she looks, but she wasn’t about to remove that fun little reaction from Valkyrie with such a boring fact. A hand was extended to her, and Deni grinned.

‘Alright, let’s-’ then Deni just stopped short. Her eyes gazed out over the field. Somehow, she felt it. Eli was in danger. … Not, like, in mortal danger, but danger nonetheless. Deni had heard of girls with this ability. Big Damn Heroes, it was affectionately called, wasn’t it? So she had that ability now, and her token… was with her sister. Why, of course it was. She turned to Valkyrie, her look a bit more serious.

‘A dramatic battle is currently being fought in Penrose,’ Deni said, and then grinned, taking Valkyrie’s hand. ‘Let’s hurry!’

---

&

So, the front of the car slammed into solid ground, but it didn’t take all that much damage. After all, it was a monster and not an actual car, as it would be revealed! Eli, who’d been intending on running and jumping onto the car, made a sudden stop.

‘Oh,’ Eli made a simple comment as it turned out the enemy above was just a TAD more dangerous than she’d been initially thinking. ‘More power it is…!’

The ghouls in the car dispatched, Eli no longer needed to worry about bullets, but becoming monster-car food was significantly scarier. She was transforming her gun into something more powerful, as she dashed in one direction to lure the car as she shouted to one of the shadows. ‘ARM!’

The shadow obediently threw out an arm to her, and when it hit her with a little slam Eli let it mold into her slimy body, making it a tight leash. She ran to position herself so the car would absolutely be slamming into any extrusions in the building, stairs up or towers or so, but moments later the car was already upon her, and-

‘PULL!’ Eli shouted, and timed a dodging jump of her own. With the combined speed of her own jumping capabilities combined with the pulling power of one of Asengav’s shadows, Eli leapt out of the way. And, if the monster car was as intelligent as it looked, it’d be crashing into what was behind her.

‘... AND ATTACK!’ If she got this far, Eli’d spin around to aim a more powerful one-shot rifle as large as she could make it, and fire a shot as powerful as a 7 across the board stat girl could fire, joining that with a collected volley of Shadow strikes from all the collected minions at the police car, hopefully doing significant damage…!

Meanwhile, Mariette was utterly unimpressed by the very obvious attempt to direct that water hose in her direction. She predicted it ahead of time and had a portal open way ahead of time to turn the blast of water and direct it back at the ghouls, tilting the portal a bit to move the beam and ensure she blasted as many as possible of the remaining ghouls with the assumingly mildly fatal beam given they were using it as a weapon. After that, she also opened portals to spread the reach of her tentacles in order to dispatch the rest, including those firing the hose.

Now, if it was the same case as the police car, then this fire truck was also a monster.

Mariette REALLY didn’t have any high-power attacks in her normal arsenal to actually deal with huge monsters with. Portal specialization gave decently limited offensive options.

As such, deciding the ghouls to be sufficiently decimated that Eli can handle the rest, Mariette dropped through a portal, and arrived…

Way closer to the battle with Billy, falling from one portal to land and stay standing in midair on another portal. … Given the description of killing ghouls taking time, probably too late to react to actions this time around.

‘I’ll support you now,’ Mariette said as she opened her portals, attempting to multitask. Some miniscule ones opened over her head going to her hidden eye looking all around so she’d keep perfect check of the whole battlefield in all directions.

The ghouls with rocket launchers. She opened portals to ensure the only thing they hit was their own car and allied ghouls, and sent one of those rockets back towards the fire truck. She opened another portal beside her that was just a shield herself against bullets from any surviving ghouls. But, above all she tried to keep her wits about looking at Billy and her other allies.

She was in position to open portals to interfere with his next move. If Billy was about to hit a fatal blow, then Mariette was going to be ready to open a portal to block him. If Amaryllis or any of her allies missed, she’d be ready to attempt opening a portal to redirect them so they’d hit again. Due to killing ghouls she’d be late for the current clash, Amaryllis launch was a bit too fast for Mariette to react to anyway due to just arriving to the scene, but the next exchange. Hand-mirror in one hand, squeezing her bunny in the other, she stood. Next exchange, the Reflective Witch would stand ready.

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@ERode

Pokémon: Start

@Eklispe

Florrie was listening intently to what Dawkin was saying, until she too was distracted by what was stirring underneath. ‘Iiih!’ Florrie made a bit of noise as Milotic emerged from the water, holding her hands up in cover, before getting to gaze on it properly. Her eyes widened as she got to inspect it clearly... ‘It's beautiful...’ was her one comment, and then Dawkin went and requested the mighty serpent to come with him. Florrie blinked at him with a bit of surprise, that was not the first thought that had occurred to her, but she looked to Milotic to see what she thought of it.

Milotic, the grand water serpent with the scales that reflected all manner of colours... pulled up a moment and then relaxed, in a movement that looked very much like a sigh. Then, her tail moved. It flashed at an incredibly fast speed, swiping through the water with a massive power, and underwater Dawkin could see Aqua Tail coming with a phenomenal speed-!

And the tail splashed out of the water on a distance in front of him, too far away to actually hit him with anything but a considerable splash of water. One thing for sure, though. That Aqua Tail was not on a level comparable to any of his current Pokémon...!

Aqua Tail had done one more thing, however. It had caught a fish in its current, and more or less launched the fish towards Dawkin underwater. The fish periodically slowed down, the current having launched it a bit upwards so that it reached the surface, stopping more or less right in front of the young Pokémon trainer. The decently ugly fish blinked up at Dawkin for a second or so, and asked the first question that occurred to it. ‘... Feebas?’

Milotic let her tail settle back into the water, relaxing once again and staring down Dawkin with an analyzing look. She looked like she'd judge him decently harshly depending on his next decision.

One thing for sure, though. If he wanted this Milotic, he'd have to come back when he and his team was stronger...!

On the side, Alec is currently embracing the Espurr he was playing with, having panicked by the appearance of giant water serpent and it's follow-up attack. Espurr did not look bothered. It didn't look pleased, either, but that's another matter.

What would Dawkin do?

Mythic Oasis

Mythic Oasis

As the sandstorm stills, you find the eye of the storm to be eerily calm. Before you, the sands splits open and leads down to the calmest spring of water imaginable. Luscious plants grow freely around the spring, water flows freely out of cracks in the rocks surrounding it, and live Pokémon stir in the waters as well as on top of it. There’s some unnatural effect going on, with water Pokémon able to swim deep under the surface, yet humans and ground-based Pokémon can walk in the spring like it was merely ankle-deep. Fairies and water-Pokémon and not-desert Pokémon inhabit these springs freely, frolicing and enjoying their time in the water. This truly is what one would imagine when the words that present the place is “Mythic Oasis”. Such a peaceful place.

Suggestions to actions

1. Find Pokémon. Can be specified what kind of Pokémon is being searched for, and how you search.
2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding.
3. Seek trainers. … There really are none, but you can still look.
4. Talk. People can be chatted with.
5. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally.
6. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination.
7. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result.
8. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you.
9. Dive into the oasis. Requires a Pokémon that can dive. There’s a shadow down there, what can it be?

Connected areas:
Route 7. Right back into the sandstorm is the only way back.

Mythic Oasis, known Pokémon

Common:
#329 Wailmer
#370 Luvdisc
#682 Spritzee
#684 Swirlix

Uncommon:
#35 Clefairy
#572 Minccino
#594 Alomomola
#677 Espurr

Rare:
#349 Feebas
#350 Milotic

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

@Phonic

‘Ooooh, signs! What do the signs say? And who’d be wandering here? … Well, clearly me. I thank you for your consideration! Haha!’ Deni laughed a little as she skipped forward to check the sign, because, honestly, that was curious to her. She sort of knew where this was, after all, and judging by the state of it she sort of knew what had unfolded, too.

And, turns out Valkyrie truly did know of Penrose. Deni grinned. She was being uncharacteristically lucky today. Clearly, everything had changed since she now had parted ways with Asengav. However, that Deni had some answers to give to this Magical Girl, it turned out. And Deni could not tell the truth. Because if the truth reached Mariette, Deni’s life of freedom would surely end. Hence, she had to lie…

That’s when something else struck Deni. Light-specialization girls can tell truth from lies. And this girl looked a lot like she might be Light-specialized. Detecting a lie in Deni right now would be a serious black mark on any chance of them getting along and going to Penrose together. … But it was fine to tell mostly the truth, right? Deni could tell this girl was no Horror-girl. Then Deni had her ways. What mattered the most, though, was that this girl had introduced herself. Which meant Deni had to introduce herself, too. Deni could not introduce herself as Deni, for then Mariette would find her by her name, but she could also not lie. So, what to tell Valkyrie…

… Wait. Valkyrie. Valkyrie, really?

Clearly, that was not her real name. She was using a moniker based on her appearance. But, Deni swore she’d surely not be triggering any lie-sensors by calling herself “Valkyrie”. Very well, then. Deni grinned.

What did Deni appear like? When she looked into the waters, the reflection had been one of a tiny samurai of sorts. … No, that’s not true. She was a masterless samurai. There was a shorter, and much sweeter term for that!

A ronin! Deni was a tiny ronin!

Deni put all her mental strength to persuade herself of this fact. I am Ronin! I am Tiny Ronin! I will name myself tinyRonin on the internet! My moniker is Tiny Ronin, Ronin for short, and as such, when I introduce myself as Ronin, it will not be a lie! I AM TINY RONIN!

‘Anyways! Well met, Valkyrie! I am Ronin!’ Deni said, oozing with confidence and continuing to grin, hoping to lord she was not triggering any Light-specialization lie-detectors Valkyrie or anyone Deni talked to in the future might have.

‘Penrose is this nexus of all magical forces or something equally dramatic, right? Well!’ Remember, no lies, Deni. ‘I’m looking for someone. I have reason to believe I will find her in Penrose. She’s gotten herself in a load of trouble, and I just can’t just not try to help her. I’m sorry to be vague, but there’s also someone who would immediately end me if they learned of me and my quest, and I’d rather not talk too much before I’ve been able to scout the scenery in the city. Sorry!’ Deni grinned apologetically and held her hands together in a “sorry” gesture. She then got a bit of a serious expression. Why she was here. Still without lying.

‘I’m here right now, because a monster brought me here. I fought a monster, lost, they brought me home, that home happened to be in the Overcity, and I was stuck here for a god awful lot of time, but I just got out! Unfortunately, I lack the means to get home, so I’ve just walked the Overcity,’ for a couple seconds ‘but now I’ve walked into you! And if you’d guide me there, that’d be really swell of you! I really don’t know what I’d do otherwise!’ Deni grinned again, no shortage of that, looking hopefully towards Valkyrie. She wouldn’t just leave a lost little girl in the Overcity, would she!? She can’t possibly be so heartless~!

The girl she’d been talking about was Eli, of course. She had to save her. Both her and Mariette, really. Who knows what sort of trouble they got into without Deni around! … She’s so sad she missed it! Who knows how many shenanigans she’d missed while stuck for an unknown amount of time in the Overcity… … … Wait. Deni’s eyes suddenly widened in stunned realization.

‘Aaaaah! And I had a date! I had a date, and I missed it! O-or, maybe not a date, but at least we were going to meet again! Oooh, darn it, how could I…!?’ Deni said and raised a fist with sincere regret in her eyes…!

---

&

Protectors of Penrose, huh? Had Mariette ever actually considered herself a protector of this city? … Eh. The idea with this was that it’d be easier to move around if a couple people in town liked her, wasn’t it?

Very well. For today, Mariette would be one of the champions of Penrose.

First Billy charged at her. No hesitation whatsoever, huh. Intimidation strategy failed. Not that she’d figured it’d work on someone flying through on a flying car. A failed attempt to counter-attack later and Mariette as well as Eli were standing on a rooftop, glancing down at the villain and his car.

There were four cars. Billy’s car, police car, fire truck and army wagon. Billy and army took off towards Amaryllis, police charged Mariette, and the firetruck went for a building. And… a huge pirate ship descended from the skies, and for a moment… for a moment Mariette thought of someone else, but that wasn’t it. It also wasn’t a foe, as Sophia fired at Billy and the army wagon. Then Hilaria backed up Amaryllis, and there were three Magical Girls focused on the front lines.

Suppose it was up to her to clean up the backline, then.

Mariette grabbed her mystical weapon, her hand mirror, with one hand and waved it. She manifested a big portal, which led directly into the solid foundation of the building she stood on, widened it considerably wider than a car to block any bullets heading for her… and then sent it careering at the police car coming flying towards her. They’d crash into solid ground at top speed if they kept going. This hopefully bought enough time for the rest of the scene.

‘Clean this up for me, Eli. I’m giving you some backup,’ Mariette told, and black shadows manifested around Eli, a dozen or more powered shadows coming up through the ground, her minions coming to play for this fight. They had the shapes of men, but their cores were filled with the darkness of Asengav, and they surely would be of aid in a battle against mere ghouls.

And with those summoned, Mariette dropped through a portal of her own and the wall-portal she’d sent at the police car vanished. Behind there, Eli gave a confident little smile, backed up by Mariette’s shadows.

‘It would be my pleasure, mistress,’ Eli said. The slime-harpy let her wings retreat to behind her back, becoming proper wings instead of arm-wings. Two new limbs were coming out, making Eli’s overall size a bit smaller because she was sprouting out more of it…

‘Hey, ghoulies!’ she shouted at the ghouls. ‘You didn’t think you’d be the only ones with guns, did you!?’ … Eli shouted as her arms shaped into a slimy assault rifle and, by the power of Eli’s “magical weapon”, it started to fire magical bullets at the incoming enemies. With her, the numerous shadows also struck with clawed hands, their arms stretching as if the length of their arms was a suggestion rather than a rule directly for the police, surely doing damage wherever it hit car or ghoul. The shadows were intelligent enough to dodge if they knew they were aimed for, as well, so while albeit not a match for regular magical girls, they surely would do at least okay against ghouls.

Eli dashed forward, firing at the cop-car trying to take out those that would hit her first, and then leapt so that she may land on the car and start commandeering it, dodging fire while clearing ghouls. Besides, she was made of slime. What did it matter if a couple bullets hit her? Sure, her overall vitality was low, but a bullet going straight through her body without hitting anything within her wouldn’t do any damage to that vitality!

Meanwhile, Mariette appeared before the firetruck crew, falling from one portal to stand on another newly formed portal next to them, glaring at them while squeezing her stuffed bunny.

‘I don’t know what you’re planning on doing…’ she started, before she’d probably have a number of guns directed at her… which were immediately met by an explosion of dark tentacles spewing out of everywhere around Mariette.

‘… but it won’t matter. Return to death, misguided souls,’ she told, as her tentacles took to disarming, restraining and tearing apart ghouls while she stood, glaring darkly as she watched what took place before her. If her Awareness caught a ghoul outside her tentacle range about to fire at her she’d simply open a portal to severely shorten that range and let her many limbs have at it, intending on tearing them apart before they’d have any chance to attack her. Besides, her tentacles could probably block gunfire if she was fired upon. In the unlikely event she’d end up in danger, she could once again drop through her portal to end up on another rooftop.

She had to make sure the other Magical Girls had their backs free.

@BrokenPromise@Crusader Lord@FamishedPants@ERode