[ti]story[/ti]SIDE QUEST: Escort the Prince

The prince rises from his would-be grave. He’s more reserved than what Kazuki had been expecting. There isn’t a hint of emotion in his eyes.

Kazuki tenses, glaring at him, the grip he has on the book tightening. It feels like the hairs on his arms are standing on ends, as if he were facing off something formidable instead of someone who couldn’t balance on their own two feet, with only busted chains and underwear for weapons. And even better, someone who didn’t exist.

No matter how it contradicts sense, and even what he knows of himself, he feels on edge.

Interesting.

The book is snapped shut. “All you need is to heat up the steel and break off a chunk of it,” he says as Verai tries to rally the team. “We’ll find out if any of the firepower we got is enough when we get there.” While he’s used to seeing the spires, he’s never actually tried messing with them. The resource gathering, crafting, and the obligatory poetry reading all seem like wastes of time for him in truth, but his interest's piqued, and he wants to see what this prince can do.

“As for breaking off the chunk—” he tosses out a ball, releasing a stocky 3-foot tall donkey who stares at the team with lidded eyes. “This one can smack molten steel with her hooves and not burn them,” Kazuki shrugs. “Probably.” Mudbray's eyes narrow, just a bit, though she makes no sound to correct him.

“She can also lift grown adults.” He cracks a grin. He turns to the prince, green eyes shining with amusement. “Do you want to ride the pony or be carried? Pick your poison, your highness.”

Verai frowned, listening to the others speak as he helped the Prince up onto the.... donkey. He wasn't sure the little donkey could break ore off anything, especially while carrying a person, and he wasn't confident the little stuffed animal shaped thing could... melt impure ore. But they both seemed... mostly confident. He sighed, somewhat resigned. Whatever. They would try this nonsense and see if any of it worked.

He rubbed at his face, heading with the others towards one of the big spires, staring up at it. Lightning flickered and flashed, static hanging thickly in the air. It got worse as they stopped, ears twitching with every passing ion, hair starting to raise. It looked... incredibly solid. "Are you sure we can do something with this?" He asked, reproachful as he glanced back at Kazuki.

<I can do it!!!> Kitten squeaked- yelping further as Verai, in a flash, scooped her up, preventing her from running headlong into the electrified pylon. He was unable, though, to stop Sphinx from stepping forward, studying the tower. <... come along.> He said simply, casting a critical glance at the Mudbray. The air surged with power, his eyes gleaming for a moment before he closed them. <We don't quite have all day, do we?>

SPHINX used HELPING HAND!

As they walked, Aero couldn't help but stare at the prince riding on the Mudbray. She wished she has a Pokemon like that, but maybe she might have a chance if some of her Pokemon evolved someday. Oh well, she might as well enjoy her Fuecoco's company and the kind man and the rude idiot. Well, if she ignored their bickering during the trip, she would be fine at least.

Speaking of which, she smiled as she and Fuecoco took their positions. Aero knew Ember wasn't the only Fire-type move Coco has in his moveset. She already upgraded her subclass to Tier 3 for this and she would not waste this chance.

"You heard him, Coco? On his signal, burn that ore down like you're melting ice!"

"Craw!"

That was not a great encouragement from her, but at least Coco was all pumped up for his attack. She was the same as fire created below her feet harmlessly burn up as pumped herself up in excitement. All that was left was the signal itself...

Coco the Fuecoco readies Incinerate

Fuecoco starts the process, heating the metal into something malleable, and with Mudbray’s hooves smashing chunks out of the spire, it all goes surprisingly well. Kazuki watches with some interest as the harvested ore drops into whole ingots, as if shaped automatically.

He takes out the crafting UI, checking the recipe. Reaching down and picking up an ingot causes it to appear in his inventory, the words ‘Surging Steel Ingot x1’ under the Armor’s label lighting up as it’s completed.

The armor forms slowly. When Kitten spits out a glob of fire, the ‘a Fire-Type Move x2’ requirement is somehow completed. Kazuki looks around, spotting his own cat sniffing curiously at one of the half-formed gauntlets.

“Want to bite it?” Kazuki asks, since babies love to put dangerous things in their mouths.

<Would I!> Sprigatito lunges, only to wince and yelp as his teeth clang against the metal, spitting it out immediately.

The ‘a Physical Move x2’ requirement lights up.

Verai’s already making quick work of the tanka—because of course he is—and then the crafting process is complete, Kazuki standing by comfortably, having done next to nothing.

At least until an arrow appears under his feet.

And a prompt in his face:

CRAFT CRAFT EVOLUTION!

Dance while stepping on the guide arrows to finish the crafting process! The accuracy of your steps will determine the quality of the final product. Failing to complete the dance will result in a crafting failure.

“Of course,” he grumbles. There is no time to foist the task onto someone else: the first arrow blinks thrice to signal the start of the dance, and music begins to play out of nowhere.

He takes a few steps, mentally blowing dust off lessons decades out of date—

—before grabbing Verai and yanking him into the crossfire.

The man is jarred, the tanka shattered, but Kazuki only grins, pulling them into position: hands clasped and outstretched to the side, his other hand on Verai’s back in a grip less as if cradling a lover and more as if trying to grip a cat by the scruff.

Verai asks what he’s doing and he answers:
Armor's tempered in flames, right?

The music adjusts, the arrows blinking in and out of existence at intervals impossible for a solo dancer. Kazuki leads the salsa like a man leading a horse through a china shop: knowing full well what he’s doing and making it worse.

The final product takes shape; by step and stanza, by power and poetry. White-hot metal burns bright as the flames from Aero’s Fuecoco reach a peak in time with the rhythm.

COMPLETE: ARMOR OF SKY

It cools, the light fading from the finished plate like a Pokemon’s evolution.

The result is… well, as far as body coverage goes, we could say ‘minimal.’ Some might even say ‘skimpy’.

“Ahh,” The Prince rasps from Mudbray’s back, delivering a pre-scripted line that bears little relevance to the current situation, “At last. Something worth wearing.”

The wings appear when he puts it on– a cascade of storm-black feathers on either side of his spine. Shedding the blanket from his shoulders, the man slides off Mudbray and pats her on the back, looking her in the eye. “I know the way. I’ll lead from here.”

The rest of the journey across the Steppes is surprisingly quiet. There is not a wild Pokemon to be found, though thunderheads gather ominously in the skies above the Giant Shrine. As you draw near, however, it becomes clear something is wrong.

There is a low hum in the air as you approach the enormous steel spire, which floats a hundred feet off the ground. Ringing it like asteroids around a celestial body are ground-type Pokemon like Drilbur, Nidoqueen, and Nidoking, who float helplessly in zero gravity.

Prowling on foot below the shrine are grounded Rufflet, Doduo and Yanma. They move slowly, laboriously, as if weighed down by invisible chains.

FLYING-TYPE POKEMON have been grounded.
GROUND-TYPE POKEMON are now flying.

The sparsely-clad Prince forges on determinedly down the rise towards the shrine, yellow eyes fixed on its steel exterior. As he does, the gravity field seems to subtly shift. In a sudden wave, the Wild Pokemon are drawn towards the red-haired man, turning their claws, jaws, and talons on their new assailant.

Too bad he doesn’t have a weapon to defend himself. Those wings are pretty great, though.

INSTRUCTIONS

We have one round of Mechanical Battling. Don't be scared! Check out the Tank and Sweeper pages for what to roll, then use our shiny new Battle Calculator to finish calculating.

There are 10 Wild Pokemon (5 Ground and 5 Flying), each with 50 HP. At the start of next cycle, all remaining enemies will deal 20 DMG each to the Prince (87/?? HP).

Because you chose Armor of Sky, the Prince takes only half damage from Ground-Type Pokemon.

• You may send out up to 3 Pokemon.
• You may post multiple times, but each of your 3 Pokemon may only take one action (attack or heal) this cycle.
• You may make Skill Tree Upgrades if you wish, but this is not considered necessary.
• This is the last cycle. The Conclusion will be in one week unless everyone finishes their actions early!

Copy+Paste this code in the bottom of your post and update the running total as you go:
[h3]GROUND-TYPE PKMN REMAINING: [b]5/5[/b] (250 HP)
FLYING-TYPE PKMN REMAINING: [b]5/5[/b] (250 HP)[/h3]

Verai Kazuki Aero

When the dance ends and they part, Kazuki can’t even find it in himself to care for the violation of child labor laws or his dance partner’s contempt. He sees the armor that manifests and the Prince’s scripted response, and when the man actually puts it on, Kazuki can only double over and laugh as he smacks his knee.

“So worth it,” he wheezes, wiping away a tear. At last, the years of enduring his mother’s ridiculous extracurriculars has paid off. Salsa has been redeemed.

The victory is short-lived. Mudbray blinks as the Prince takes over the trip, her concern palpable as the atmosphere shifts. She sniffs the air and finds it saturated with petrichor and rust.

When they do reach the spire after an ominously peaceful walk, the earth shifts. The humming has increased, the slight tingle of electric current causes the hair on Mudbray’s body to stand. The Prince leads the charge, and when she moves to follow him, she finds her hooves off the ground.

“Oi!” Kazuki hisses, moving to grab her and trying to pull her back down. “The horse is flying?!” His feet dig into the dirt, but the pull of anti-gravity is stronger.

Mudbray sighs, staring at him with a deadpan. <I am not a horse,> she drawls primly, knowing her trainer wouldn’t understand her. <I am a donkey.>

And then she floats out of his arms to the heavens above. “What the fuck!”

<Mudbray! I’mma comin’!> A brave little cry sounds, as Sprigatito scrambles to save his teammate, using his trainer as a ladder and springing off the man’s head to latch onto Mudbray’s leg as it moves out of reach.

Now two of his pokemon were airborne when they weren’t supposed to be. Kazuki doesn’t know what is happening anymore, but he does spot the herd that’s hurtling towards the Prince. He sees Verai order his pokemon to defend, two cats wailing on a multi-headed bird and one cat buffing the Prince with psychic energy.

Kazuki shoves two fingers in his mouth and whistles, catching his pokemon’s attention. He takes out a pokeball, having returned Pansear earlier and needing another, heavier pokemon to act as a healer.

He tosses it and Buizel pops out, landing precariously on Mudbray’s back and pinwheeling her arms. Sprigatito grabs her by a paw and pulls her to sit with him as Kazuki calls out the order: “Defend the royal pain in the metal bikini!”

<Metal bikini?!> Buizel asks, mortified.

<The Prince.> Mudbray clarifies, nudging her snout to the Prince getting frighteningly close to the jaws of a Nidoking and Nidoqueen. <Hold on to me. Tightly.>

It’s a bit tricky, but she finds a way to move. A lot of it has to do with air current and adjusting her weight. She kicks at the air, galloping in an unusual rhythm to launch herself towards the two threats. She throws not only her body weight, but the full power of her hooves, slamming down on hard armor plating with a shattering force.

She may be fluttering and emitting glitter like a pixie, but she was born to fight.

Sprigatito cheers. <For the Prince!> He cries, launching a barrage of hard-shelled seeds at the remaining Nidoqueen, the pokemon being sent down with its partner.

<For… the Prince?> Buizel says reluctantly, holding her paws together and forming a little water balloon of blue healing energy. She then chucks it at the Prince, hoping it’ll help, though is doubtful it’ll fix the state of his wardrobe.

MUDBRAY used BULLDOZE (ATTACK)
SPRIGATITO used SEED BOMB (ATTACK)
BUIZEL used SOAK (HEAL)

GROUND-TYPE PKMN REMAINING: 3/5 (135 HP)
FLYING-TYPE PKMN REMAINING: 4/5 (198 HP)
THE PRINCE: 153/??

With a life of their own, the Prince's "wings" raise up to shield his head from the rain of aerial debris. At the same time he is harried mercilessly on the ground, beaks and talons sliding unhindered past his skimpy armor. He fights on; teeth bared, fingers curled into claws. He swings his chains like brutal bludgeons, Drilbur and Nidothings careening and crashing from the sky in his wake.

He does not see how hard everyone is fighting for his sake, from Psybeam to Seed Bomb to Air Cutter. He does not see the flying Mudbray, or the squad of cats, or seem to feel the shower of healing water that soaks his form from head to toe. He has eyes for only one thing.

The Prince reaches the Giant Shrine.

As he does, a bolt of lightning simultaneously crashes down from the heavens, flashing a brilliant, deadly white.

ZZZZZAP!

The result is electric.

Red hair burns gold, then blonde. Storm clouds boil across his half-naked body, transforming the Prince in an instant. The dark feathers of his armor are overlaid with a second set of jagged wings, yellow as the harvest moon.

ZAPDOS HAS RETURNED

With a clang, the immense bird rises, manacled legs still trailing giant chains. There are no words to describe his sheer size, except for the fact he seizes the so-called Giant Shrine like a spear in one clawed foot and raises it towards the sky in triumph, piercing the cloud cover in a burst of static.

"THUNDERFALL, TO ME!"

"What in the name of-"

System Admin:ProfessorAsh pushes out of her field tent and stops dumb, shocked and awed by the scene outside her research site.

A crackling bolt of lightning strikes the upheld Giant Shrine once more, and with a crash like a thousand hammers at the forge, Zapdos is gone.

All that remains of the wounded Prince is his book, bloody as the day you picked it up.

YOU HAVE UNLOCKED [tangent=

Armorers are masters of the craft, building weapons and armor with which to outfit their team and/or themselves in combat. An Armorer always appears in full plate armor, regardless of what clothes they are actually wearing. Armorer is the only class permitted to wield a functional weapon in combat. As they progress through their career, Armorers learn to forge protective armor for their weaker teammates and steel weapons for those on the front lines.

At Tier 1, the player can equip themselves in either the Tank or Sweeper skill tree.

Tier 2 - sweeper armor +50 HP
Tier 3 - support armor +50 HP
Tier 4 - sweeper weapons +5
Tier 5 - tank weapons +20

]TRAINER SUBCLASS: ARMORER[/tangent]

The fallout is less than satisfying. No thanks, no goodbye, no impromptu fashion show. Even Professor Ash is perplexed by the circumstances of what occurred here. And yet, the blinking quest marker on your minimap displays a simple, five-word solace.

ESCORT THE PRINCE: QUEST COMPLETE

...And perhaps the Prince is not so ungrateful after all.

YOU HAVE RECEIVED A BOON:
BOON OF SURGING

The player may SURGE once per battle, releasing a burst of thunder or lightning from their body. While surging, the player's rolls all do max damage. The Surge lasts for one post.

Verai Kazuki Aero