[ti]worldevent[/ti]HEARTEATER PT. 2 (RAID)

ZONE 1 > MOVING TO ZONE 2

Morpheus gasped at what he saw inside the first zone of the raid location. While it's not like the Harbor and Nexus, it was much worse with several colorless Pokemon attacking other players when they tried to restore their colors. From what the Poison-type alien gathered, it seemed like the raid boss had most of the Pokemon here under their control through the red mist and the colors it stole. He couldn't get all of the details since it was hard for him to understand the strange language it was speaking. But bit by bit, he and his Pokemon were able to understand most of it through its gestures and charades.

<<Morpheus, if what that Pokemon said is true, then we're facing something big enough to abduct and control all of these Pokemon!>> Malum commented.

"I'm aware of that. If we don't deal with them before reaching the boss, who knows what will happen to them after the raid is done." Morpheus turned to the Poipole and asked, "Tell me, what kind of Pokemon is Hearteater?" The Poipole was about to open its mouth. But then, it flinched and began crying in a strange language, this time with a horrific aura enough for Morpheus's earrings to shake. "What's the matter? Hey! What's with you all of the sudden?!"

The Snubbull took one glance at the Ultra Beast and gasped. <<Morph, something's wrong! It's as if the Pokemon is acting like the controlled Pokemon around here!>>

"What?!" Morpheus grabbed Poipole's shoulders and shook its body. "Hey! Whoever you are, you can't get away from this!" He called out. "Poipole, you can't let this Hearteater win! Do you hear me?! We barely know each other and I know you're not the type to let this Pokemon invade your head like this!"

It seemed like his voice managed to reach through his new friend as it shook its head and screeched loudly. [tangent=“No, no, no! I don't want to abandon Morphy! He's interesting and funny! I'm not letting you invade my head, you big doo-doo brain!”]<<⋏⍜, ⋏⍜, ⋏⍜! ⟟ ⎅⍜⋏'⏁ ⍙⏃⋏⏁ ⏁⍜ ⏃⏚⏃⋏⎅⍜⋏ ⋔⍜⍀⌿⊑⊬! ⊑⟒'⌇ ⟟⋏⏁⟒⍀⟒⌇⏁⟟⋏☌ ⏃⋏⎅ ⎎⎍⋏⋏⊬! ⟟'⋔ ⋏⍜⏁ ⌰⟒⏁⏁⟟⋏☌ ⊬⍜⎍ ⟟⋏⎐⏃⎅⟒ ⋔⊬ ⊑⟒⏃⎅, ⊬⍜⎍ ⏚⟟☌ ⎅⍜⍜-⎅⍜⍜ ⏚⍀⏃⟟⋏!>>[/tangent]

Whatever Poipole said was enough to let Morpheus sigh in relief. Yet he couldn't rest now since the threat was much more dire than he imagined. "Glad to have you back. Now let's..."

<<Morpheus, look out!>>

At Malum and Genki's cry, both Morpheus and Poipole ducked just as another strange white humanoid Pokemon kicked the trainer. When they looked closely at their attacker, the Poipole gasped. [tangent=“Meanie, meanie! Why are you hurting Morphy?!”]<<⋔⟒⏃⋏⟟⟒, ⋔⟒⏃⋏⟟⟒! ⍙⊑⊬ ⏃⍀⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ⊑⎍⍀⏁⟟⋏☌ ⋔⍜⍀⌿⊑⊬?!>>[/tangent]

Morpheus could tell from the Pokemon that it was very similar to Poipole, yet had no colors similar to the brainwashed ones. "Looks like it's not like you and that tentacle Pokemon. Which means we might be able to save it. Genki, you're up!"

<<I'm already on it, Morpheus!>> His Snubbull shouted just as it used her Charm at the passing paper origami-like Pokemon owned by a player named Alkaid. She then jumped in front of the strange humanoid and let out a Scary Face before Tackling it down.

Poipole screeched sadly when it witnessed everything, something Morpheus noticed. "Are you worried about that Pokemon, right?" He calmly asked. "Don't worry, she's only using her attacks to restore their colors enough to break them out. I promise it will be okay. Look." They watched most of the pure white returning on the humanoid insect's body. Just seeing this made their pink eyes glimmer in curiosity. This was enough to break out of Morpheus's arms and attack the Phermosa with its stinger on its head. "H-Hey! Don't go off on your own!"

But the Poipole didn't listen as it watched more white restored on its fellow Ultra Beast. It laughed triumphantly before the Ultra Beast punted the little Pokemon to the Golisopod next. Genki gasped at this sight before it Tackled the humanoid Pokemon before it could hurt Poipole. Despite this, it didn't bother them as spewed out purple goo onto its head, restoring some of its purple coloring. However, the Golisopod didn't seem to appreciate its meddling as it punched the Poison-type away. Regardless, it went to the Dodrio next and winked at it with its Charm like Genki's, restoring some of the color in their eyes. Just like the other colorless, it then pecked the poor Poipole away before Morpheus caught them in his arms.

"Seriously, Poipole! Try to think before you go around attacking them. It doesn't seem like they don't appreciate restoring their colors." Morpheus glared at the other colorless Pokemon and retaliated against the players' attempts. "Looks like it might take us a while to save them."

However, he noticed something shocking behind them. Several more strange Pokemon with balloon-like heads were heading towards them. Looking closely, their heads began to expand, which was enough for the Poipole to screech in panic. [tangent="Trouble! Trouble! Those guys are bad news!"]<<⏁⍀⍜⎍⏚⌰⟒! ⏁⍀⍜⎍⏚⌰⟒! ⏁⊑⍜⌇⟒ ☌⎍⊬⌇ ⏃⍀⟒ ⏚⏃⎅ ⋏⟒⍙⌇!>>[/tangent]

Whatever his new friend was saying was enough to show concern for those Pokemon. Since he managed to befriend them, he wondered if he could do the same with those Pokemon. Just as he thought of this, he noticed a young girl in purple armor named Aero was kicked away from one of them, causing Morpheus to rush towards one of the Ultra Beast and put his hand on their waist.  "Hey! You heard the young girl! Whatever it is you're doing, don't do it!"

He tried to think up a memory to reach out to the balloon-headed Pokemon, namely the time he bonded with his Snivy in one of his Refresh sessions. But just like Aero, he ended up being kicked away from the Pokemon as Poipole cried in horror. Luckily, Morpheus managed to get back up, albeit feeling the pain in his gut. "That didn't go well..."

[tangent=“Maybe you could try hurting the big meanie below.”]<<⋔⏃⊬⏚⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ☊⍜⎍⌰⎅ ⏁⍀⊬ ⊑⎍⍀⏁⟟⋏☌ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏚⟟☌ ⋔⟒⏃⋏⟟⟒ ⏚⟒⌰⍜⍙.>>[/tangent] The Poipole cried as it pointed to the tunnel to the next zone. [tangent=“We might save them if the big meanie is gone!”]<<⍙⟒ ⋔⟟☌⊑⏁ ⌇⏃⎐⟒ ⏁⊑⟒⋔ ⟟⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏚⟟☌ ⋔⟒⏃⋏⟟⟒ ⟟⌇ ☌⍜⋏⟒!>>[/tangent]

Morpheus stared at the tunnel as he hummed. "I don't know. There are still some Pokemon in here..." He turned around and took a few seconds to watch the other players struggle to wake them up. "But there's no benefit if we stay here for long, huh?" He then turned towards the tunnel once more with a determined look on his face. "Alright, then let's get that bastard. Genki, Malum we're leaving!"

His Pokemon quickly followed his order before they trekked down deep within the tunnel where the source of the mist awaited.

Snubbull - Support - 90/250 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: Buff to Alkaid's Kartana (+10 rolls)
Action: Heal to Shalin's Phermosa with 2 Scary Face moves and Alkaid's Kartana with 2 Charms
Battle Log:
- Took 120 DMG from Strain/Energy Drain
- Morpheus attempts to befriend the Blacephalon to no avail

Flapple - Sweeper - 250/250 HP

No roll
Core Ability: None
Action: None
Battle Log:
- No action

Poipole - Sweeper - 180/250 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: None
Action: Fury Attack on Shalin's Phermosa (19 damage), Venom Drench on Orion's Golisopod (9 damage), and Charm on Respiro's Dodrio (9 damage)
Battle Log:
- Took 140 DMG from Strain
- Poipole successfully shakes off Hearteater's control
- +5 for Poipole calling Hearteater a doo-doo head.
- UPDATE: Thanks to Big Bee's Nihilego's Wide Guard, Poipole only took 70 DMG from Strain

{COLORLESS POKEMON}Please delete Pokemon and move types from the list as they are completed!

Copy+paste the updated list from the person above you.

✔ Buzzster's Surskit - (100/100 HP)
Buzzster's Varoom - Steel (68/100 HP)
✔ Buzzster's Shuckle - (85/100 HP)
✔ Shalin's Galarian Ponyta - (27/150 HP)
Laguna's Squirtle - Ground (100/100 HP)

ZONE 1 EVOLVED/SINGLE-STAGE PLAYER POKEMON
Torino's H. Liligant - Fairy Bug Grass Electric (250/250 HP)
Bergamot's Probopass - Water Flying (58/100 HP)
Josh's Mudsdale - Fire Fighting Ground Dark (300/300 HP)
Alicia's Coalossal - Dark Fire (269/300 HP)
Alicia's Hydrapple - Fire Bug Electric (275/300 HP)
Orion's Golisopod - Steel Dark (481/500 HP)
Shalin's Pheromosa - Ground (300/300 HP)
Respiro's Dodrio - Rock Ground Psychic (193/200 HP)

ZONE ONE to ZONE TWO

Just as the group was about to escape from the surface chaos, a strange eerie voice called out in a language Wolf was unfamiliar with. Wolf ears perked forward, rotating on their pivot point in an attempt to figure out which direction the voice was coming from. However, the voice seemed to be emulating from everywhere and nowhere all at once. This made her skin crawl.

Her newly befriended poipole seemed to understand whatever it was. It stopped for a moment, glaze fell upon the player and her creatures as they paused to see what it was going to do. And for what felt like the longest time, the group stood there motionless waiting to see what the ultra beast would do. “It’s bad isn’t it,” the player asked the ultra beast in a low tone, fearing what the answer will be. And after a moment or two later, the creature finally spoke back to the voice in the same language. “I won’t let you! We will defeat you!” Wolf’s pale golden orbs followed to the purple beast as it floated to her, unsure what it said but hoped it was a good thing. Maybe?

Players continued to flee all around her, Wolf suddenly feeling like something big was about to happen if they didn’t move now. “Let’s keep going,” the player mumbled in a low almost hushed tone, casting her braxien and type null a concerned look, “We can’t linger for long.” The group pressed forward in a made dash, emerging onto the next level that seemed to have even more chaos than the last. Great.

A full on battle royale has already started by the time she escaped to zone one, taking it all in as fast as she could while keeping on the move. Another prompt popped up in her UI, giving her a clear direction and the player too focused on the objective to do much else. As the red mist hazes the ground, more pokemon funnel towards them and seem just as aggressive as the last. “Over there,” the player calls out, spotting the varoom that struggle to control itself, “Come on.”

The mini engine roared with semi anguish life, Wolf praying that none of her pokemon have been stolen from her. She doesn’t think her heart could take it. Despite being merely a game, they meant a lot to her. “Ziryan. Metal sound.” The chimera took in a deep breath, chest expanded. And when ready, the type null let out a loud METAL SOUND at the VAROOM. Though the sound was painful for most others, it seemed that the creature almost enjoyed it as it zoomed off to find its owner.

With that next, Wolf moved to the next. A pile of red hot coals was her next target, using her bolter speed boost to get to the COLOSSAL in a blink of an eye. “Again Ziryan. Tackle it to life with some heat.” The chimera, still trying to catch up with his speedy handler, lowered his head. At first, a white glow encased his helmet. But soon after, ignited with fire. His FIREY TACKLE hit the creature, bring color back to the once partial fire type. Unfortunately, there was nothing more she could do. “This one needs more help!” The player didn’t wait for a response from another, simply sprinting off to the next.

She wasn’t sure why this pokemon caught her eye next. It could’ve been because its an OG pokemon, most OG pokemon holding a special place her in heart. The reason didn’t really matter to her. If anything, she was happy to have seen the three headed bird struggling and in need of help. “This way,” she called out, activating her bolted boost to be at the pokemon in no time flat, “Ziryan. IMPRISON the DODRIO so it doesn’t hurt itself anymore.” The type null did without hesitation, fulling trusting his handler as the psychic energy reached out and encased the birds frame to allow it to calm down some before he released it from its hold. Again, Wolf couldn’t do much else so shouted out in the almost chaotic scene for someone else to finish the job.

Running, the player noted that some players were healing others. And not wanting to be a waste of space, she felt the need to do the same. Her pale golden orbs fell upon another player named Alkaid who looked like they needed help. She ran towards him, calling for him to stop for a moment. “Hey! I can heal you if you need.” Whether they wanted it or not, she didn’t give them a choice. She turned to her braxien, nodding to her. “Heal the ultra beast.”

Izumi nodded, eyes wide in mild fear of this beast. She plucked the stick from her tail, waving it like a wand at it. A spark ignited a flame, the flames soon forming a stream and wrapped around the Alkaid KARTANA. The FLAMEs circled the beast for a moment, only to HEAL the creature in a CHARGE before sizzling out into nothing. “I know it’s not much, but your strength is needed more than mine. Good luck.” A farewell nod to him, the hybrid was off again to see what else she could do.

It was at this time that the loud explosion shook the earth, a swarm of blacephalon flooding the zone. “We need to get out of here NOW!” Wolf looked to the poipole, wondering if she could used it to make their grand escape. “Poipole, escape us.” But just as she requested it, the ultra beast let out a shrill. Its crumbled with agony, body pulsed with a strange energy before it looked at her with dark red eyes. “YOU CAN”T ESCAPE!!” “That’s probably not good,” the player almost squeaked, eyes wide. Still, she was unable to understand what it said.

A blacephalon came up to her out of no where, causing the same prompted from before to appear. Much like before, Wolf did as it said. She placed a hand on its round head, eyes closed to share a memory with it. However, this memory wasn’t the one she wanted to share. It was a different one, one that she wasn’t really proud of. It flashed into the day when she order Ziryan to attack, the type null nearly killing for the poor pokemon. For at least, that was it looked like. And as such, a connection had failed.

“YOU ARE CORRUPTED!!”

“No. It’s not what it looks like,” the player shouted back, still unable to understand but fearing that there was a misunderstanding. Her ears flattened against her skull as she turned to flee. “We need to go now. Ziryan, Izumi, and Poipole. Come on!” The sound of her voice snapped the poipole out of its strange behavior, pain filled its eyes. She waved at it to follow, concerned about it but unable to focus on that right now. Right now, they needed to run for the lives towards the next zone or face being KOed by an angry ultra beast.

Type Null - Sweeper - 235/250 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: Dodge
Action: Metal Sound on Varoom, Fire Tackle on Colossal, and Imprision on Dodrio
Battle Log:
- Varoom : 10 + 15 (rarity) = 25 hp | -10 strain /2 = -5 strain
- Colossal : 15 + 15 (rarity) = 30 hp | -10 strain / 2 = -5 strain
- Dodrio : 9 + 2 + 15 (rarity) = 26 hp | - 10 strain / 2 = -5 strainX

Greninja - Sweeper - 235/250 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: n/a
Action: n/a
Battle Log:
- n/a

Braxien - Support - 160/200 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: Escape
Action: healing Alkaid KARTANA
Battle Log:
- Braxien Heal : 20 + 10 (rarity) + 30 (Kindler) = 60 hp heal to kartana | - 20 strain

Poipole - Sweeper - 250/250 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: n/a
Action: n/a
Battle Log:
- didnt listen

{COLORLESS POKEMON} Please delete Pokemon and move types from the list as they are completed!

Copy+paste the updated list from the person above you.

✔ Buzzster's Surskit - (100/100 HP)
Buzzster's Varoom - (68/100 HP)
✔ Buzzster's Shuckle - (85/100 HP)
✔ Shalin's Galarian Ponyta - (27/150 HP)
Laguna's Squirtle - (90/100 HP)

ZONE 1 EVOLVED/SINGLE-STAGE PLAYER POKEMON
Torino's H. Liligant - Fairy Bug Grass Electric (250/250 HP)
Bergamot's Probopass - (39/100 HP)
Josh's Mudsdale - Fire Fighting Ground Dark (300/300 HP)
Alicia's Coalossal - Dark (269/300 HP)
Alicia's Hydrapple - Fire Bug Electric (275/300 HP)
Orion's Golisopod - Steel Dark (481/500 HP)
Shalin's Pheromosa - (283/300 HP)
Respiro's Dodrio - Ground (171/200 HP)

ZONE 1: HIBERNACULUM >>ESCAPING>> ZONE 2: THE MIST >>>>> ZONE 3: HEARTEATER

Her team was getting patched up at least. There was an unfortunate misunderstanding between Tikani and the Type: Null sadly. And the other… she decided not to pay too much thought to Bergamot. They were going to butt heads again and again later, weren’t they? Not the time to think about that. As much as she needed healing still, she wanted to push onward. The part of her that yearned to be more screamed ‘find them! Heal them! Make your team whole again!’

’Hah… as if you’re able.’

Alicia’s eyes widened, and she kneeled down, trying to cover the horror and panic racing across her expression. No no no! Not now! WHY NOW!? She couldn’t afford those accursed little doubts chiming in now!

’You’ve burnt yourself out. You didn’t stop to realize Fumar and Yggdril are going to fight back as well. So drunk on the glory of saving so many that you’ve fallen prey to your own might. Now you can’t save the ones you actually came here for. Not that you could anyways. You see the signs...’

‘You really don’t have any thorns at all. Not when it matters…’

”Shut up…” the pinkette whimpered out in a whisper. Fortunately she seemed to be granted a reprieve. It let her wipe the tears she’d noticed building in the corners of her eyes. Let her shake her head free of the cobwebs and get back into the game.

Oh how she was wrong about being prepared. Instead of forcing her deeper to find her friends, Hearteater had sent them, along with all the other reserves, directly to the Hibernaculum. Spotting them among the crowd was easy. She knew them like the back of her hand, she felt.

Rage and hate bloomed. Embers fell despite a lack of the Kindler class. She wanted to scream. She wanted to charge. To bring them back by any means necessary.

> Required Type Damage: Fire

She had no choice but to stop in her tracks immediately. She had no access to Fire. She hadn’t brought Rath because of the Three Pokemon Limit. She couldn’t do anything

’What a pathetic hero you make. All you can do is sit there and hope someone repays your kindness. But you know what it’s like. No one will. You’ll be forgotten again in the chaos…’

”Shut up…” the girl behind the hero begged. Alicia could handle this… but Helen couldn’t. It was getting to be too much. Her heart bled at her impotence.

There were explosions behind her. Alicia jolted to her feet and looked back. Blacephalon were swarming in. Weren’t they Fire typed? If she could break one of them free of Hearteater, perhaps she could establish a truce! She was moving before she even considered she might fail.

’You can’t reach anyone like this.’

”Shut up…”

She had to try. Tikani cried out for her, the voice falling on deaf ears. If she could just reach one of them-

And a ball of flame fell into her path, detonating. She looked to the source… and found Fumar’s dead eyes just staring back at her. Her heart sank. That had been a warning shot. A wordless declaration that if she tried again she was going to be fried for real. How could she overcome this…?

She needed to stop Fumar and Yggdril. The Fire requirement meant she had to gain the aid of one of the Blacephalon. But Fumar was going to shell her with fire for trying. This… this was an impossible impasse. Each problem gated the answer to the other. No matter which way she went, she needed something she didn’t have!

An explosion from one of the nearby clown beasts forced the issue. She had to retreat and abandon the chance. There was no getting close enough for long enough on her own terms. There was going to be no salvation here…

… It reminded her so much of the time Before. Before she had UNOVR to try and live out her fantasies.

”Momma! Momma look, the carnival’s in town!” a ten-year-old Helen cried out as she came charging out of her room.

”Oh?” the older brunette chimed curiously. Helen wasn’t sure how she did it. Whenever she was actually home she was always… so tired. But she always mustered the energy to hear her out. ”You’re not planning on slacking off, are you?”

”Mooooooom!” Helen wailed at the joking accusation. ”I’ve got it! I pushed ahead in my textbooks and talked to the teacher about it already! He’ll let me go early that Friday so I can make it!”

As the girl chattered, her mother took the sheet. She nodded along, infinitely proud of Helen’s integrity. Until she read the date. The older woman’s shoulders slumped, and her smile faded away like the last rays of light before dusk. A few tears gleamed in her eyes.

”So all I need is a ride there, and it’ll be a great time! We’ll finally have… a… day…” Helen slowly trailed off as she looked at her mother again. She was no fool. She was young, but smart. She understood the concept of a job already, having wanted to know why Mom was always away. And she knew the signs of her hopes being dashed. ”… Job meeting…?”

The mother Rose cringed with regret at the question, looking away and nodding. ”I’m so sorry sweetie… I can’t get out of it… I can talk with the sitter to make sure you can go still though…”

A meaningless gesture. They both knew it. Helen slouched, looking down and shaking her head. ”It’s… it’s okay…”

It wasn’t okay. It was another little dream killed in the name of maintaining the otherwise comfy life the mother Rose gave her precious daughter. Another disappointment. Another failure. Another emotional pain that made her unconsciously close her shell down. Anything to escape the small cruelties of the world.

”Sorry to bother you…” the girl finished, taking a chair to sit down for a quiet dinner that was so much more miserable than either of them wanted.

Was it so wrong to want to connect to someone…?

An insistent vine wrapped around her wrist and yanked her along. Dragging her from her recollections. Further taking the choice out of her hands in the process. It was welcome though, she needed to get her head out of that mental space…

”What were you thinking!?” Tikani screamed once she brought Alicia back. ”One of those beasts could’ve blown you up into pieces!”

”We need Fire, and I didn’t bring any…” Alicia replied quietly. ”I can’t just abandon Yggdril and Fumar… not after getting this close…”

”Not… Alone. Look.” Venex chimed, pointing. Alicia glanced over… and her eyes widened as a Kartana whipped in like a shuriken, delivering a pair of Night Slashes. The weight slowly crumbled away as Fumar’s bleached white body began to tar over with black once more. She hadn’t even so much as said a word… but people were taking efforts to try and restore her own Pokemon as well. Just… just because they were there and needed as much help as any other…

She shed a few tears, this time of relief. But she needed to do something real quick for the sake of the people who dug deeper looking for their more advanced friends.

RAID CHAT> EVO’D MONS EMERGED IN ZONE 1!

Hopefully everyone that went down to Zone 2 would see that in time and come back for the remaining friends that had been taken. And then the ground below her became a massive power spot for… some reason!? She looked around and spotted Big Bee and his Groudon. Her eyes widened in shock at that.

”Th-Thanks for the pick me up!” Alicia chimed, watching her friends. She… didn’t think she could afford to hit any more colors now. She had to save the rest of her strength to tear Hearteater a new one…

The more she watched, the more her heart leaped for joy. More attacks came in. Fumar’s color was fully restored. The Grookey everyone worked together to recover turned around and hit Yggdril, coloring them in a bit.

Putting the thought of her Hydrapple out for the moment, she charged like a bullet. One at a time. With others piling in to help every Pokemon, she could… she could trust that someone would save Yggdril’s remaining colors. So she had to be ready. She raced towards the recolored Fumar, weaving between the gouts of flame and wild swings.

”Fumar! Wake up!” she cried, hopping towards the Coalossal’s back and scrambling up to his shoulder. The old titan roared and thrashed, forcing her to grip on to whatever she could reach. On instinct, she tapped into a bit of her changed abilities as a Specter, and her hand turned transparent.

She was between life and death in this raid. That’s what it meant to be a Specter, to her. She took a step over the veil, and that gave her new options. She reached her hand out, grasping Hearteater’s threads of control directly. ”Come back to me…” she whispered, even as she heard the sounds of Yggdril attacking another pokemon. Orion’s Type: Null if she wasn’t mistaken…?

”I need my titans…”

Fumar’s eyes gleamed with heated light at last, and Alicia let out a cry as she pulled. The red mists puppeting them, tangible to her thanks to her class, tore and snapped in her grip as they fled the Coalossal’s body. Fumar groaned and dropped to one knee.

”Ugh… A… Alicia? What happened…?” Fumar gasped out. ”Why is your body so cold…?”

”It’s a long story. I need you up and at ‘em as soon as possible. We’ve got a monster to strike down. Tikani, can you catch him up on the important parts? Yggdril still needs help!” Alicia spoke quickly. Both addressed Pokemon nodded, and Alicia back flipped off of Fumar’s body in order to race towards the hydra.

”Thank you so much! I’ll never be able to repay this!” She cried out to Morpheus, a pang of sympathy going through her eyes as she saw the sorry state Yggdril and others had put the Type: Null in. Then she raced to take over so that Yggdril couldn’t finish him off for good.

The syrpents hissed, striking like snakes. She jumped over the head of the first one. The second she pushed to the side, deflecting its strike. Where? Where was the core of Hearteater’s control!? All of the heads were trailing red mist from their maws. Did that mean…?

Alicia jumped again, “standing” on the core of the apple that housed the syrpents. Yggdril let out a roar, and all five heads rushed to strike her at once. But Alicia was planning on this. At the last second she jumped, letting them all slam their heads together. Ripping a trick out of a Decidueye’s handbook, she formed spectral chains to tie them together. Phasing through like a ghost again, she sought out all of Hearteater’s chains. She wasn’t going to let a single one of them continue to plague her friends!

”Fight it, Yggdril!” She called. ”Listen to my voice! Remember our times together! COME BACK!” And the hero tore at the chains binding them.

”Ack! Pthah!”
“Oh heavens what happened!?”
“WHERE ARE WE!?”
“ALICIA!”
“WHERE!? OH MY ARCEUS!”

She was never more happy to have her ears assaulted by a medley of voices. Releasing her bindings, she wrapped them up in her arms and cried tears of joy. But teary reunions could be properly celebrated later. ”Suit up everyone! We’ve got a bat to stake! We’re going to make it pay for tearing our chosen families apart!”

”Suit up with what?” Fumar asked as the rest of her Pokemon joined her and Yggdril. ”Tikani and Venex have… interesting new garb… but how would you have made-“

He was promptly cut off as Alicia yanked out a spare set of armor, cracked it open, and chucked it at the Coalossal. Fumar, understandably, sputtered in surprise as the front piece his chest and the back piece clacked down beside him before snapping into place. The greaves that followed were tipped with blades of steel and crystal together, giving sweeps and spins a nasty additional bite to them.

Yggdril stared flabbergasted, unaware as Alicia wrapped them up in chain mail and hooked free hanging plates to that chain mail. And then stuffed brace-like false fangs into each of their mouths.

”No time for questions!” Alicia chimed. ”We’re going to all stuff it to that bat. Make it hurt for all the hurt it caused us… Stake it through the heart like it’s a proper vampire even. It certainly acts like one!”

Trusting everyone else to have things up here and to be following shortly, Alicia took off. Her four Pokemon gasped and cried out for her, before charging off after the pinkette. Things were getting real.

ZONE 2: THE MIST

Alicia’s blood chilled again as they delved deeper with all haste. Her eyes flicked about as she ran at top speed. This… this wicked chamber was chock full of Corruption and she could feel the darkness with in her roil eagerly at the presence of so much of it. Her eyes were swallowed in black. Ink spread through some of her veins. This place was both unsettling and, ironically enough, almost calming…

Had she already fallen so far…?

”Look out!” Tikani screamed, grabbing Alicia and yanking. The pinkette let out a shriek as she stumbled to catch herself, only to hear her Bayleef scream in turn. The Charge stalled again as fear and concern overrode anger and vengeance.

Tikani’s vines had been hit by a splash of the wicked power in her attempt to spare Alicia the same fate, and it seeped in deep. Green foliage turned tarry as the starless sky. A black darker than any other, threads of endless void…

”Tikani…!” Alicia gasped out, horrified. It was one thing when it was just her. It was her choice so of course she should face the consequences. But Tikani… Tikani didn’t deserve this…

”I’ll.. be fine! We push on!” the Bayleef declared, flashing a grin to reassure her trainer even as her skin crawled as she retracted her vines. There was going to be so much to unpack after this…

Nodding, Alicia turned and raced onward, noticing other Ultra Beasts and the fact they seemed to be dumping things down a pit. Offerings…? Maybe they could use something! ”Venex! Grab something from that pile!”

”Grab… what?” the Naganadel asked.

”Whatever catches your eye first!” the answer came back quickly as she veered off towards another Ultra Beast. She didn’t know if they were going to help Hearteater once the players reached it, but if they were going to… if she could convince it to not fight…!

She raced towards the Guzzlord, which roared in shock as she jumped onto and ran along its tentacle jaw. Near its terminus, she jumped on top of its head and sat herself down. It was time to see if she knew as much of their language as she thought she did…

[tangent=“Hush… I’m… friend…”]”⊑⎍⌇⊑... ⟟'⋔ ... ⎎⍀⟟⟒⋏⎅...”[/tangent] she began, her uncertainty slowing her words. But the shock of it all caused the dragon beast to still. [tangent=“Feel… my soul…”]⎎⟒⟒⌰... ⋔⊬ ⌇⍜⎍⌰...[/tangent]

Her hand phased through black scaled flesh. And she pushed a thought through the spectral bridge.

A room un/familiar. A morsel/girl glaring at us. A Naganadel/Venex lunging at us, attacking!?

Why attack your fellow Beast?/I failed you once… ignored you…

We should be on the same side!/Please… let me fix this… let me Connect to you…

You want to know us?/If you’ll let me in…

You know our tongue…/I’ve been learning as much as I’ve been teaching.

Why try to reach me?/We can be greater together.

What do you want from me?/Hope. Joining against a common foe. You’ve been starved. Help me fight your tormenter.

And after?/We’ll work something out then.

I’ll be free to leave later?/If you decide to go your own way.

…

We Stand As One.

Guzzlord roared and Alicia smiled, pointing towards the route to Zone 3. ”Lets go.”

The alien dragon began to lumber forward. Tikani, Fumar, and Yggdril joined up with it, flanking at either side. The three stared up at Alicia on her new perch in awe. And Venex returned, grasping… what seemed to be ancient tree sap? Alicia smiled, patting his head. ”Venex? Guzzlord? Can you two help me send a message?”

”To… the Bright One?” Venex replied in question. Alicia nodded. ”I think… yes…”

”Alright… here it goes… Venex, please correct my pronunciation if I get it wrong…” Alicia mused. The dragon bee nodded.

[tangent=“Hearteater... your days are numbered.

You've wounded us, but we have made ourselves whole.

You tore our friends from us, but we have reclaimed them.

The Dragon Storm comes for you.

By the stroke of midnight shall your wicked light burn out.

Disappear in the wake of a new dawn”]”⊑⟒⏃⍀⏁⟒⏃⏁⟒⍀... ⊬⍜⎍⍀ ⎅⏃⊬⌇ ⏃⍀⟒ ⋏⎍⋔⏚⟒⍀⟒⎅.

⊬⍜⎍'⎐⟒ ⍙⍜⎍⋏⎅⟒⎅ ⎍⌇, ⏚⎍⏁ ⍙⟒ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⋔⏃⎅⟒ ⍜⎍⍀⌇⟒⌰⎐⟒⌇ ⍙⊑⍜⌰⟒.

⊬⍜⎍ ⏁⍜⍀⟒ ⍜⎍⍀ ⎎⍀⟟⟒⋏⎅⌇ ⎎⍀⍜⋔ ⎍⌇, ⏚⎍⏁ ⍙⟒ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⍀⟒☊⌰⏃⟟⋔⟒⎅ ⏁⊑⟒⋔.

⏁⊑⟒ ⎅⍀⏃☌⍜⋏ ⌇⏁⍜⍀⋔ ☊⍜⋔⟒⌇ ⎎⍜⍀ ⊬⍜⎍.

⏚⊬ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌇⏁⍀⍜☍⟒ ⍜⎎ ⋔⟟⎅⋏⟟☌⊑⏁ ⌇⊑⏃⌰⌰ ⊬⍜⎍⍀ ⍙⟟☊☍⟒⎅ ⌰⟟☌⊑⏁ ⏚⎍⍀⋏ ⍜⎍⏁.

⎅⟟⌇⏃⌿⌿⟒⏃⍀ ⟟⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍙⏃☍⟒ ⍜⎎ ⏃ ⋏⟒⍙ ⎅⏃⍙⋏”[/tangent]

Message sent in the voices of both Venex and Guzzlord, Alicia gestured with her hand as if she were an army commander. At her wordless decree, her squad charged into the Belly Of The Beast.

Alicia Attempted to bond to a Blacephalon and failed
Alicia Attempted to bond to a Guzzlord and succeeds!
Alicia Regains Fumar the Coalossal
Alicia Regains Yggdril the Hydrapple

Bayleef - Sweeper - 312/350 HP

Link to Roll = N/A
Core Ability: Escape
Action: CORRUPTION! Vine Whip becomes !
Battle Log:
- Received 45 HP of healing from Big Bee’s Groudon
- Received 28 HP of healing from Big Bee’s Guzzlord

Naganadel – Sweeper - 287/350 HP

Link to Roll = N/A
Core Ability: None
Action: Grabbed the ancient chunk of tree sap
Battle Log:
- Received 96 HP of healing from Big Bee’s Groudon
- Received 36 HP of healing from Big Bee’s Guzzlord
- SPECIAL: Sent A Message To Hearteater

Hydrapple - Sweeper - 350/350 HP

Link to Roll = N/A
Core Ability: N/A
Action: N/A
Battle Log: N/A

Coalossal - Sweeper - 350/350 HP

Link to Roll = N/A
Core Ability: N/A
Action: N/A
Battle Log: N/A

Guzzlord - - 100/100 HP

Link to Roll = N/A
Core Ability: N/A
Action: N/A
Battle Log: N/A
- SPECIAL: Sent A Message To Hearteater

Zone 2 > MOVING TO Zone 1

The pit trickled away in front of Torino, swirling down like a crunching whirlpool and leading down to what was definitely the boss room. Torino blanched. She looked at her Pokemon to either side. Xurkitree, Nuvola the Swirlix, and Ciambella the Donphan. "We are ready!"

A Guzzlord stomped over to the pit edge and looked at her.

"Hello!" she called, waving to it. "We are here to free you!" she said, nodding fervently. "Soon all of the beasts will travel together outside!" A memory flowed between them. Torino frolicking in a sunny meadow. Wildflowers brushed at his knees, and the gorgeous sunlight overhead warmed her skin and soul.

[tangent=gross]The Guzzlord threw up.[/tangent]

Usually unseen parts of its body turned inside out and sparking items bounced down the sand. "Oh! This is where all the precious items go for after the raid!" she said, watching something golden slip beneath the sands.

Red mist licked up from inside the pit.

The other side of the hourglass was calling.

"We should take something nice!" Torino said, nodding to herself. There was always time to get a nice treat. Especially in a place like this. She picked up Swirlix with one hand and, holding onto Donphan with the other, leaned out over the pit. "I will catch the next thing!" she called.

And there it was, dropping from the sky like an untethered sun.

A gorgeous drop of sky fire, falling end-over-end straight into Nuvola.

The Swirlix opened its mouth and the flaming gem dropped straight into it.

"Ah! Spit it out! No no no!"

HIBERNACULUM > MOVING TO ZONE 2

With Reynir out of control, Shalin had little choice but to defend herself against the hooved onslaught to come. She badly wanted to save her Liepard for Hearteater, but Rumble was not fast enough to intercept the attack. Quickly withdrawing him for Balan, the Liepard stood in front of Shalin. "No, fight it! You're stronger than it is!"

The Galarian equine stayed in a reared position, his hind legs buckling as he whinnied loudly. At the sight of a Liepard ready to pounce, the psychic-type calmed down and stopped, slowly clopping toward his trainer. "Where... where am I?" the Ponyta spoke for the first time.

"Reynir!!" Shalin squealed, unsteadily getting to her feet before embracing her horse. "You fought Hearteater off!" Taking the heartwarming moment to check the raid log, the girl had noticed Nero and Morpheus had found her Pheromosa. "There's little time! We've got to catch up to the others!"

There was little catching up to do, as the colorless bug-type was nearby, largely subdued by her allies' actions. Approaching the giant bug on foot, Shalin touched his still wing. "We may not have won the Asper Cup, Nymris. But we conquered Midas Corp," she cheered on the struggling Ultra Beast, figuring he, too, was wrestling mentally with the master of the mist below. "And we're going to conquer Hearteater. We may be misfits, but that's okay! There's room for misfits like us in this world!"

What little color there was in the spindly insect returned to her. As soon as he was back to his normal self, Nymris' camouflaged saddle re-appeared on his wing. [tangent="Get on, and steel yourself for the fastest buzzing you've ever seen. My only partner is you."]"☌⟒⏁ ⍜⋏, ⏃⋏⎅ ⌇⏁⟒⟒⌰ ⊬⍜⎍⍀⌇⟒⌰⎎ ⎎⍜⍀ ⏁⊑⟒ ⎎⏃⌇⏁⟒⌇⏁ ⏚⎍⋉⋉⟟⋏☌ ⊬⍜⎍'⎐⟒ ⟒⎐⟒⍀ ⌇⟒⟒⋏. ⋔⊬ ⍜⋏⌰⊬ ⌿⏃⍀⏁⋏⟒⍀ ⟟⌇ ⊬⍜⎍."[/tangent]

Though she couldn't understand Nymris' words, the time she spent learning how he moved, fought, and felt let her understand the gist of what he was trying to communicate. With her mastery of the Beta Tester class, she bent the rules of physics to sit on the Pheromosa's wing. With a piercing buzz, the duo sprinted off to ZONE 2, Shalin's low-resolution model flickering back and forth among several positions and giving the illusion that there were multiples of her. On the way there, her trailing Liepard lunged toward Torino 's Hisuian Lilligant with a passing PLAY ROUGH attack. Though his intent was to merely graze the fighting-type with a single nail, his trajectory tragically caught them with two of his full claws: one front and one rear.

Olivia the Buzzwole - Sweeper - 265/300 HP

NO ACTION

Balan the Liepard - Sweeper - 180/300 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: None
Action:
- Used Play Rough targeting Torino's Hisuian Lilligant
Battle Log:
- Dealt 54 damage (14 base + 40 effective) to Hisuian Lilligant
- Received 20 damage from strain
- Received 100 damage from retaliation

Rumble the Onix - Sweeper - 187/300 HP

Core Ability: Escape
Action:
- Withdrawn for Balan the Liepard
Battle Log:
- Recovered 97 HP from Groudon

Reynir the Ponyta - Classless - 27/100 HP

NO ACTION

Nymris the Pheromosa - Supprt - 27/150 HP

NO ACTION

ZONE TWO MOVING TO ZONE THREE

It was familiar, descending down into these same tunnels. Before, she had been rushing through this chamber, eager to find Hearteater itself and what laid beyond. But now, from a different perspective in the body of an Ultra Beast, everything seemed different.

The corruption room was intense, this insidious horror, that corrupted and distorted what it meant to exist, and yet somehow, it was the lesser of two evils right now. She and her Celesteela pushed through, only for more words to spill through her new friends mouth.

It was horrific, a beast confident in its own power, believing it to be unstoppable.

After a lifetime of abusing Ostelia for its own gains, no wonder it became so gluttonous and prideful. But they had never seen the full might of the Dreamers come to bear. Of the bond they had with their Pokemon. True Strength.

Ruby would turn back to speak, twisting her long neck around to glance back at the Celesteela. It continued to struggle to move under its own control, the intense presence of the Hearteater so dominating. And yet, she finally heard words whisper from it.
[tangent="To be of the new,
One of the dreamers chosen,
That is a blessing."]"⏁⍜ ⏚⟒ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⋏⟒⍙,
⍜⋏⟒ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔⟒⍀⌇ ☊⊑⍜⌇⟒⋏,
⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⟟⌇ ⏃ ⏚⌰⟒⌇⌇⟟⋏☌."[/tangent]

[tangent="Understanding waits
not for those who obey blind.
But for those who dream."]"⎍⋏⎅⟒⍀⌇⏁⏃⋏⎅⟟⋏☌ ⍙⏃⟟⏁⌇
⋏⍜⏁ ⎎⍜⍀ ⏁⊑⍜⌇⟒ ⍙⊑⍜ ⍜⏚⟒⊬ ⏚⌰⟟⋏⎅.
⏚⎍⏁ ⎎⍜⍀ ⏁⊑⍜⌇⟒ ⍙⊑⍜ ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔."[/tangent]

[tangent="This one is this one.
Not one of thy endless drones.
Voice be silenced, now."]"⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⍜⋏⟒ ⟟⌇ ⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⍜⋏⟒.
⋏⍜⏁ ⍜⋏⟒ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⊬ ⟒⋏⎅⌰⟒⌇⌇ ⎅⍀⍜⋏⟒⌇.
⎐⍜⟟☊⟒ ⏚⟒ ⌇⟟⌰⟒⋏☊⟒⎅, ⋏⍜⍙."[/tangent]

Ruby would smile softly, seeing them admirably fight, as she led them further down into the misty haze. Solgaleo awaited, Sarah awaited. There would be no time to delay.

And yet, as they traveled, Ruby once again noticed more Ultra Beasts from above, dropping loot down from above. Even now, they were gathering things for the Hearteater to consume. She'd turn to glance at her Celesteela, smiling. "We shall go down in a moment. Steel yourself. I'm going to try and convince one to help."

The Celesteela nodded, and Ruby suddenly took off like a Rocket. Her thruster arms carrying her up and over, moving up towards one of the Celesteela up above. "We are more alike than we seem. The Dreamers do not come from this world," She'd whisper quietly, reaching one of her arms over to try and touch them. "And yet, it is home. We should fight for it-"

The sun had just set across the horizon, beautiful colors danced in the sky overhead like a painter creating its masterpiece, even as the buildings of the city in the distance obscured the setting sun, it could not detract from its immediate beauty. And yet, she had kind of hoped for something different.

She almost wished that, instead, it was the forest view that she grew up with. That her last couple of moments could have been running through the woods and hearing the call of the local wildlife, climbing trees and falling out of them as the wind rushed past her ears, and swimming through the creeks and coming home freezing cold, but smiling with such intense happiness that it didn't matter if she got sick the next day. It had all been worth it.

She hadn't done any of that since she was a child, and yet now it was all she could think about.

With a long, tired sigh, Ruby glanced back towards the door of the office building. She could tell that the rest of the doctors inside were eager to get started after the celebration, but it seemed like there was some unwritten rule going on. Nobody was going to rush her. Nobody would interrupt her last few moments.

Ruby took one last long look at the setting sun, catching a glimpse of the moon starting to shine across the heavens like a friend coming to wave her goodbye. With a faint smile, she waved back before finally standing up. Brushing off her medical gown, Ruby finally moved back inside.

It was time.

"Ahh," Spoke a familiar voice, Dr. Bishop. A kind hearted man in his late thirties, but with soft cheeks that made him look so much younger than he truly was. "I suppose this means you're ready to begin?"

"As ready as I will ever be," Ruby responded, giving them a soft smile. "It was you who put together the party for me, wasn't it?"

He suddenly looked a bit sheepish, turning his head to the side. "Heh, you caught me. Me and the boys figured it would be wrong to send you off without at least some small celebration. I hope the cake was okay, I'm not a baker, you know." Dr. Bishop laughed, his eyes filled with light as he smiled.

He always was a good soul.

"It was lovely, I promise." Ruby spoke softly, moving to walk with him down the hall towards the testing chambers. She was oddly quiet after that, only to eventually speak up with an obvious nervous tone to her voice. "I don't know know how long I shall be remaining in virtual space, likely until I can take it no longer. So-"

"Don't worry. We're all prepared. Crane is fully prepared to be hyper vigilant about your vitals, and everyone is abuzz with excitement." Bishop replied, holding the door open to the room. "Go get them, Ruby. We're all rooting for you."

She stepped into the room, for some reason she couldn't help but smile. It was still a clinical trial chamber, sanitized and always smelt like cleaning products, but it's clear that some of them had tried to make it seem more comfortable. A few soft plushies sat on her bed, various different Pokemon she didn't recognize, but certainly seemed cute. Fake plants filled the room, and Ruby couldn't help but just laugh.

It was a small thing, but it made her smile all the same.

"So-" A voice suddenly spoke, a black-haired woman stood up from her seat on a stool in the corner of the room. She smelled like cigarettes and her voice was rough, but they smiled at her all the same. "You ready for this then?"

"Well enough. I presume they'll be hooking me up to all the life-support machines once I am in?"

"Ayup," The Nurse chewed on some gum, spitting it out into the nearby trash can before speaking further. "Crane said this thing is better than fucking anesthetics, once adjusted. You won't even notice a god damn thing." Sure enough, through the window in the room to the monitoring station, Ruby could witness a whole team of people waiting, cheering her on.

"Thanks Joyce," Ruby gave them a soft smile, slowly crawling onto the bed and laying down. She closed her eyes right away, sighing softly. "I'm ready."

"Hah, you know, kinda jealous." The Nurse spoke up again, moving to place the modified Worldscreen helmm over Ruby's head, the fairly normal system attached to so many different machines and computers, lights blinking on and off as a multitude of sensors were added to the system, to keep her brainwaves under constant surveillance. "You're getting paid to play a video game for years. And on your Doctor's salary?" She whistles, laughing quietly. "Lucky."

"You know? I am kind of lucky." Ruby responds softly, her grin widening. "I get to explore a new world, try and make some new friends, live free from stress for a while. What's not to love about that?"

And suddenly, with a flick of multiple switches, power was granted to the modified machine, and Ruby's awareness of the world slowly began to fade further, and further away.

Ruby blinks, the memory coming back shocks both her and the Celesteela across from her. It didn't seem to understand, no emotion on her face, only pacing back slowly away as if confused, and put off by the strange thoughts. And Ruby... hadn't thought about the real world in months. It hadn't even crossed her mind.

Was she forgetting? Or was she just adjusting to her new situation?

Regardless, the shock knocked her straight out of her transformation, looking just as she always did. A normal, teenage girl with pink hair. Only, she could no longer float with rocket powered arms. She began to fall, right into the pit along with all the loot raining down around her. In a panic, she clutched her hands out for anything to grab, wrapping her fingers around a strange mysterious Key, but that didn't help her now.

She closed her eyes, attempting to focus on summoning back her avian wings, only to find herself slamming into something. Her Celesteela had flown upwards to catch her, landing on their chest. She grabbed onto their torso with as much force as she can, glancing upwards. "I tried I- They did not understand."

The Celesteela did not respond, but it did continue to smile.

Looking around, Ruby watched everyone rushing their way down here, after restoring more and more of their Pokemon. And she immediately knew what to do. She'd stretch out her arm, pointing down into the pit, and the Celesteela understood. The two of them suddenly dropped down, descending down into the belly of the beast as they passed through the neck of the hourglass.

They'd be ready. Together. No matter what came.

"Sarah! Solgaleo! We're coming, hold on!"

Therian Player - Support - 300/300 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: N/A
Action: None
Battle Log:
- Failed Bonding Roll
- Claimed Loot, Key

Celesteela - Support - 240/300 HP

Link to Roll
Core Ability: None
Action: None
Battle Log:
- Failed Obedience Roll.
- Buffed +10.

ZONE 2 > MOVING TO ZONE 3

God damnit Orion.

That was so totally like him, to just run off like that. Admittedly based on the pickle bucket smoke breaks he was really bent up about this Gilgamesh pokemon being MIA, but like, Orion was always broken up about one thing or another in this game. Tapping his foot, Eddie turned his gaze to examine the pool a little more than not at all, the swirling shiny bits and bobs that seemed to be going...somewhere or another. It was unnerving, before at the surface he'd managed to overcome his own inadequacies by helping with the rescue effort but now...now it felt like he was just dead weight mucking about somewhere he ought not to be. He was new, after all, and this felt very much like trying to drag a fresh toon through the Lich King raid in WoW. Sure, it was "possible" but everyone involved was going to be pissy about it and you were definitely going to be owing some hella favors.

It stung.

Everyone else from the pre raid party had been having a killer time, popping off and doing something cool with their mon, but he hardly knew the actual mechanics of fighting, the meta of the game, or even what sort of trainer he wanted to be. Everyone else made it look so easy, so fun, and he...

Well he wasn't quite so sure.

But there was no point in moping over it, he would just need to make do with some of his Cayge courage and figure something out. He'd seen a couple people trying to commune with these ultrabeasts, hell Orion had one of those big ass muscle bugs, maybe he could befriend one of them and have another sick ass helper bug to help save the day. He could see it now, charging into the belly of the beast barking orders all dramatically like Orion was likely doing up top right now. A smirk spread across his lips.

This was going to be a piece of cake!

A deep breath would fill his lungs and he strode up to the one of the beastly beefcakes, arm outstretched. He'd seen some of the tooltips, watched it happen, this was doable. He mustered up a memory, from way back in the day during his brief career playing highschool football...

—

He'd never been athletic like other members of the family, he was short like mom, and inherited his fathers ability to pack away the pounds onto his frame. Short and chubby was not good for most sports, in basketball he was always picked for the shirts team, and last unless by some miracle Alex or Rion had managed to be "team captain". In track he wasn't burning down any records at all, and he was most certainly dragging the team down with cross country. But football? The coach took one look at him and had placed him as a center. His low center of gravity and bulk made for being a great wall, and with a bit of training he'd learned to stance the fuck up and crash into motherfuckers with the best of them. Today was his first time hitting the gym outside of practice, the first time he felt excited to work out. Hovering above and behind him was Orion, all grins as his hand tapped the bar before him lightly.

"Light weight baby!" His cousin cheered. With a grunt Eddie placed both hands on the bar and pushed up, lifting the weight from its rest and letting it tense and push on his muscles. Gritting his teeth he sucked in a breath and let the weight lower to his chest, bouncing on the jiggly fat that had accumlated around his pectorals. With an exhale he grunted out a word.

"One."
"Attaboy!" Orion cheered.
Again he lowered the bar to his chest, and raised it.
"Two."

Again and again he repeated the process, his arms slow and shaky, but resolute. By rep five he was starting to feel the burn, rep seven had him questioning his life decisions, and by nine he was unsure if he dropped the weight to his chest if he'd even be able to get it back up again.

"One more." Orion's hands hovered slightly beneath the bar, a safety net for any failure, a reassurance that Eddie wasn't going to pin himself to the bench if he fucked up. "LIGHT WEIGHT BABY."



"LIGHT." Eddie grunted, dropping the bar to his chest."WEIGHT." His arms struggled to raise the bar, his feet straining against the ground and his body contorting as if by transmuting himself into a pretzel he would find an ounce more strength to finish out the set. "BAYBEE!" Locking his arms out, he slammed the weight back onto the catch and sprung to his feet, arm turned to Orion for a highfive.
---

THWAP.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"


Apparently the buzzswole was not amused by his weightlifting, and had instead opted to sock him in the jaw and send him flying, he bounced off the stone, and over the edge into the pit below, deeper into the belly of the beast.

Whoops.