Vision

The barren landscape and toxic air of the Grape Ocean were, to say the least, not much of a tourist attraction.  The very ground and air were hostile to outsiders, and the pokemon dwelling in the area weren't much different.  Home to to a variety of primitive savages and dangerous criminals, it wasn't the most pleasant area, even for those who would benefit from its nature as a place without law.  Despite this, there was one well-known attraction that always proved itself enigmatic and interesting enough to draw in explorers an treasure hunters alike: the Ruined Chateau.  While it provided shelter from the poison in the air, this was canceled out by the particularly aggressive pokemon that lived within.  Not only were some of them quite formidable, but they were also one of the worst kinds of pests, that being ghosts.  Many of them could slip easily through the walls of the building, making it difficult to deal with them.  Despite this, travelers still sought it out, but not for any form of solace from the outside world.  The main pull of the chateau was its unique situation as a building that had somehow decayed into a state of disrepair transcending even the boundaries of space.

"Mystery dungeons," as they were called, had unique properties to them that effectively put them outside the jurisdiction of basic logic.  With most, the effects weren't too prominent, thanks mostly to them being wide sections of terrain in which sudden... changes generally didn't cause too much trouble.  With a large building, however, the shifting of space was not only noticeable, but highly dangerous.  This danger also made it highly attractive to adventurers, and thanks to how difficult it was to thoroughly explore, it was shrouded in rumors and myths, some of which drew in pokemon in search of treasure and grandeur.  It was unique and mysterious enough that outsiders would gladly ignore the dangers of the outside area and even the house itself, all just to get a peek inside.  Alas, it wasn't too common for those who entered to become lost within, some never returning from its depths.  To one who had experienced it first hand, it could perhaps have been described as... bigger on the inside.  Much bigger.

The front door to the mansion was as tall and foreboding as ever, split down the middle with a circular handle on either side.  Mere feet away stood a dark figure adorned with vibrant, blue rings, staring idly at the entrance almost as if she could see through it.  She couldn't, but she knew what to expect, as she had been to the area before.  Truthfully, her memories of the Ruined Chateau weren't all bad, but they were certainly unappealing enough to make her think twice before coming back.  Despite this, there she stood, about to enter the deathly trap for the second time.  She knew from personal experience how difficult it was to navigate and how dangerous the ghosts within were, but she now had her own coordinated group, and she was far stronger than she had been during her first visit.  While she wasn't interested in admitting to any fear, this demented place concerned even someone so warped as herself.  She had "friends" with her, and she even had an innate advantage over those who called the building home, but she knew it could provide far worse things than a hostile pokemon or two.  The chateau itself was genuinely dangerous, and no amount of planning could change that.

A part of Krikka didn't want to enter, but her allies had come to expect the summoning of a god out of her, and she now had to deliver.  Or... perhaps they didn't expect anything, but that was all the more reason to prove that she was true to her word.  Besides, she still wanted to spite Arceus if only because it would indirectly spite her sister as well.  Ignoring her desire to simply turn around and call it a day, she stepped forward, not wanting to stay in place too long and make the two with her start wondering if she was fearful on top of being insane.  Yes, she knew she had shown herself to be a bit... psychotic as of late, and while she wasn't doing much to try and mitigate this, she still understood that it was in her best interest to be cautious with her behavior.  She was strong, which she figured was the reason the croagunk had stuck around with her, so she needed to make sure to continue making herself look as such.  Neither the new recruit nor the more acquainted buizel seemed too concerned with her aggressive behavior, but she wasn't sure how they would react to cowardice.  Besides, she still had something to prove to herself if not to them.

As she slowly approached the door, she felt tempted to call the others and direct them in front of her to open it.  She had the perfect excuse in mind: they had hands, which meant they could open the door with much more ease than she could.  The true motive behind this thought, however, was that she wanted someone else to enter first.  She saw an easy opportunity to make Solus and Goro take all the risk on her behalf, but she was hesitant to let her worries get the better of her.  Then, as if to make her decision for her, the doorway slowly opened, creating an eerie creaking noise that went on for far too long for her comfort.  Of course the doors would open on their own, because why the fuck not?  As if this place wasn't already disturbing and dangerous enough, it was clear already that it wanted to look spooky.  It really seemed like the place had a mind of its own at times, but even if it didn't, she intended to pretend it did if only so she could blame it for its own actions.

The umbreon absentmindedly paused her stride at this sudden development, an instinctual sense of avoidance getting the better of her in the moment.  "Oh, great, I guess it remembers me," she remarked in sarcastic joy before continuing onward, struggling not to hesitate any further.  It seemed the building wanted to embarrass her in front of her companions, but she would have no such thing.  Strutting through the open doorway like a queen to her castle that had just opened itself up to her, the first thing she noticed was the distinctly dim lighting.  Barely a few feet in, she stopped to take in her surroundings and was thoroughly underwhelmed at what she saw.  The room was large, but empty save for another door at the far end and a few candles adorning the walls.  However, what she found interesting was the fact that there were windows on the outside of the house, yet there appeared to be none within.  Sure, it wasn't very bright outside with the smog and dark clouds, but she was certain she would still have seen some light shining through the windows.  She wondered why she was even surprised that the windows on the outside seemed completely absent within the house.

This trip had only just begun, but already, it was shaping up to be unpleasant.

From Grassveil to Grima, from Grima to the marshes outside of Rainfront Town, and now back to the Southeast; past Grima to a large house nearby. Solus was finally getting around to travelling farther than just outside of Grassveil. All it took was a sociopathic, very likely insane umbreon maiming his friend. And dragging him through the death trap that is Venen Gulch in a twisted form of gambling game that went very wrong very quickly and resulted in his literal enslavement. But, admittedly, that last part wasn’t entirely on Krikka alone. Solus wasn’t too pleased with being so close to Venen Gulch again so soon. It was a place full of bad experiences—and one not absolutely terrible one, but that wasn’t enough to justify going anywhere near the place again. Seeing the purple smog brought back all to vivid memories of an ekans, an arbok, and a skuntank and it’s Venoshock attack. He shivered at that last thought. If Solus didn’t have a high pain tolerance Krikka was surely helping build one, but nothing she had done matched what that skuntank had done. Fortunately, that wouldn’t—or shouldn’t—be an issue this time around. They weren’t going into the Gulch. They were heading to a place called “the Ruined Chateau” which, apparently, was home to a bunch of ghosts. Solus had already decided he didn’t like them.

Now in front of the big house, Solus decided he didn’t like the ghosts’ house either. It was inherently eerie and the surrounding environment only aided in adding to that quality. The place was huge, even the front doors were big. Too big. What kind of Pokemon lived here that needed such a big door? And such a big house? And what exactly happened to this place? Too many questions with no answers. The mysteriousness of the house was irritating. Another question came to Solus’s mind. Why this place? Why can’t we summon an evil god somewhere nice? It was the setting, not the act which he was apparently about to partake in, that he questioned. That was why they were here. Krikka had some plan involving an evil god of some sort “or something.” Solus figured there was no harm in aiding Krikka in this; it was either the crazy goal of a very insane umbreon of which nothing would come of it, or they actually would succeed in summoning something to do something. He did not immediately dismiss the idea that Krikka might actually be doing something here; he was open minded. More so, he was optimistic in thinking that if they did actually summon some evil, powerful thing, that it wouldn’t try to kill the ones who brought it here.

Solus didn’t know the first thing about gods except that they were probably powerful. Surely something you had to summon would be powerful. He’d have to ask Krikka more about all this stuff at some point. On the journey here, Solus had kept his distance from the newest member of the group and stayed closer his leader. The irony of such behaviour did not go unnoticed by him. Despite said irony, he trusted Krikka far more than Goro. Even if she was prone to beating him, she also saved him a couple of times in the Gulch, which is more than he’d expect the croagunk to do. After their little fight in the marshes, the only thing Solus expected Goro to do was to attack him when he least expected it. Staying in close proximity to Krikka was a safe guard—and a risk. She was a double-edged sword. And here she was, standing in front of the massive doors of the Chateau as they opened on their own. Solus opened his mouth to say something, then closed it before any words could escape. After a pause, he tried again. “The question is; does it remember you in a good light, or a bad one? I’d hate to have a house as my enemy.” He met and matched the umbreon’s pace, not wanting to fall behind and potentially get separated—apparently, the rooms of the house shifted around and the last thing he wanted was to end up separated from the one person in the group that could actually deal with the native inhabitants in any significant matter.

In contrast to Solus, who walked as close to Krikka as he reasonably could, Goro hung back from the group, content to trail after them and observe his new companions. It didn't escape his notice that the Buizel made it a point to stay away from him, close to the only blanket of protection that was there for him; the dark, slender vixen who had put Goro down herself not too long ago. As much as the thought amused him, it was equally bewildering; it wasn't as if he'd made an enemy out of the Sea Weasel Pokémon. All he'd done was fight him, and that was hardly anything to get upset over. If anything, it was Goro who should have been pouting about - it was Solus that forfeited at the first sign of danger. He'd been practically robbed of a fight, and on his own territory, no less!

When the group happened upon their destination, the Ruined Chateau, Goro felt himself release a breath that he wasn't aware of holding. Immediately, he was reminded of his visit to Pricklemist Hill all those days ago, and the inherent sense of wrongness that was permeated through the misty air. It had been a dark, foreboding place as if some great tragedy had occurred, and the land didn't want itself to forget. The Chateau had a similar atmosphere - surrounded by the toxic air of the Southeast, the ruin of the once-great manse was all that needed to be seen. Just looking at it, one could tell that the manor had once been grand and splendid, but it seemed another great tragedy had happened here, and now it was just as home to the criminal Southeast wastelands as Grima Outpost, or the Venen Gulch. Dark, foreboding, and altogether a very spooky place.

Still, there was obviously something that Krikka wanted to do here. Or, something that she wanted from this place. He'd heard rumors of the ruined manor in the Southeast before, about how it had slowly turned into a haunted mansion of a Mystery Dungeon, home to wonders, but also treacherous rooms and formidable Pokémon. Perhaps the dark fox was searching for some great treasure within the Chateau. Or maybe she was serious when she mentioned she wanted to summon an evil god - he knew practically nothing about the mysterious vixen, at this point. If she was some sort of evil priestess, seeking to sacrifice innocent souls or some shit to revive her fallen master - well, Goro wouldn't know any better. Honestly, he was coming along because... well, because she was stronger than him, and she bid him to come. There was, of course, the offer of grandeur and battles and "great things" in her future. He wasn't sure what to think of her offer, at this point. There was a part of the lost Croagunk that dared to hope for someone to fight for - a reason to swing his fists other than sadistic pleasure or a means to survive, but a larger part of him wanted to turn tail and fucking run from this crazy woman.

She was ruthless, powerful, and not exactly sane. For what reason she wanted him to come with her, he didn't know... and that was the reason he was here. Goro wanted to know what exactly this vixen wanted with him - surely she didn't need someone to fight her battles. She was strong enough as she was. Stronger than him, at any rate. But if that was indeed the case, then he'd have to know if she would be good for her promise. If she truly could provide for him, then he'd serve her. He knew that, in his heart, but he had to have proof first. And the only way to get that proof was to go with her. Learn about her, serve her, to see if she truly was the visionary she promised herself to be.

The Croagunk snapped out of his musings as the doors to the Chateau slowly opened, the ominous creaking of the doors ringing clear through the toxic air. One sarcastic remark from Krikka, and she moved forward again, her boot licking toady never too far from her, of course. Goro's lip curled at the sight of Solus sticking to his mistress so obviously, more out of disgust than anything else. Was he truly so afraid of the Croagunk that this was necessary? Or was it the dark atmosphere of their destination that sent shivers down the Buizel's spine? Either way, it was a shameful act of cowardice.

Dutifully, Goro followed the pair of Pokémon into the manse, his head rising to take in the interior of the ruined mansion. It was decidedly underwhelming, only a large, narrow room leading to another doorway, candles adorning the walls to provide some measure of light in the suddenly window-less room. A Mystery Dungeon, indeed. The Croagunk stayed silent as he meandered in, five or six paces to the side of Krikka and Solus, but not so far that he couldn't rush to their aid in case the Dungeon decided to send in a welcoming party. He placed his hands on his hips as he observed their surroundings, his gaze traveling from the doorway at the end of the room, up to the high walls of the manse. It was perhaps the nicest home that Goro had ever seen, despite the circumstances - before this, he'd lived in seedy backwater towns and went on to make his home in a swamp.

In the middle of his introspection, the high creaking of the doors moving again caused the Croagunk to spin on his heel, his gaze snapping up to take in the sight before him. Just as ominously as the Chateau had welcomed them in, by opening its doors to them, the great tall doors suddenly slammed shut, the loud noise echoing throughout the suddenly closed and stifling room. Goro felt the first tidings of worry form in his gut - he didn't think this place any different than any other Mystery Dungeons, until now. The Croagunk's eyes were narrowed in surprise, his fists suddenly curling painfully tight at this newest revelation. A low croak escaped from his gullet, the sound clear through the suddenly silent room, his poison sacs inflating and deflating with the noise.

A smirk absently crept onto Krikka's face at the idea that the very house itself was welcoming her back.  She was self-centered enough to believe this was, perhaps, the case... and the alternatives really didn't appeal much to her.  She chose to focus on the one possibility she liked with the hope of distracting herself from less appealing possibilities.  She wasn't delusional, but she wished she was at times; while she wanted nothing more than to believe the chateau was welcoming her with open... doors, she still remembered how miserable her last visit had been.  Even if it did somehow like her, she doubted this trip would be particularly pleasant for anyone.  She wasn't easily spooked, but the place was downright unpleasant if not scary.  She still vividly remembered her last visit and all the little details, some of which were admittedly appealing, though most left her with a bitter opinion of the place.  She had been injured, nearly trapped in a fire, and treated to some very unnerving sights in her last trip through this hellhole, but she didn't intend for any of that to discourage her.

Of the positive things that had come out of her last little adventure in the eldritch building, one was a good relationship with a noteworthy figure.  She had encountered a tyrunt of supposed royal lineage, one who seemed at least okay with her, and she liked that.  Gaining friends in high places was one of the things on her immediate to-do list, after all.  Aside from that, she had also gained a companion of sorts in the form of a plush toy that resembled her, or at least, how she had been as an eevee.  Namely, it was colored just like her lesser form, the same silvery hue she had been so proud of.  She actually happened to have it with her, which wasn't very surprising since she took it everywhere, save for marshes that would threaten to tarnish it.  She knew it wasn't alive or anything of the sort, but she was still more fond of it than any living thing she had come across, and it was something she would gladly have traded a life for.  In fact, she almost had; the same tyrunt she'd encountered had nearly been trapped in a fire because Krikka had chosen to save the plush eevee instead of her "ally."

Again, this should have come as no surprise, since she was mostly uncaring for the well-being of others.  It wasn't as if she made much effort to hide this fact, either.  In fact, she embraced her lack of compassion and care for others, even going so far as to actively try to worsen her condition of insensitivity.  Even in coming back to this place, her sole aim was to satisfy herself, uncaring for all else.  She wanted mostly to spite her sister and sate her own hateful nature, and at the same time, she figured this would be a good opportunity to show that she was true to her word and could deliver on the things she promised.  She wanted to demonstrate to her two followers, especially the more recent one, that she wasn't all talk.  Surely, summoning some all-powerful entity of evil would be demonstration enough that she was serious and capable.  Perhaps not the best show of sanity or morality, but neither Solus nor Goro seemed to care much for either of those.

The umbreon took a few steps forward, her stride calm and confident with the goal of further emphasizing her superiority and lack of fear.  "It-" she began, only to have the doors suddenly slam shut, the sound causing her to jump away.  She held her tongue to prevent a shriek from escaping her lungs, trying oh-so-hard to avoid making a fool of herself.  She spun toward the doorway as she backed away, heart beating rapidly in panic she was struggling to quell.  She had been entirely unprepared for such a startling event, and she was not taking the sudden addition to the eerie atmosphere too well.  Upon seeing it was just the doors closing, perhaps she should have been relieved, but it just made her think the house wasn't too fond of her, trying to lock her in.  "I doubt anything remembers me in a good light," she spoke partly in response to Solus' question and partly in reference to what she felt was a clear indicator that the house didn't like them.  Wanting to waste as little time as possible wondering what the apparently sentient mansion would try to do to her, she turned away from the large doors and set her sights back on the way forward.

Her heart sank at the sight, and for a moment, she was speechless.  She couldn't believe what she was seeing, or more specifically, what she wasn't seeing.  Her despair and bewilderment faded almost immediately, however, and agitation filled the empty space in her soul.  What was bringing on this emotional turmoil?  Simple: the door at the other end of the room was gone.  "This place is more sadistic than I am," she huffed, making no effort to hide her displeasure from the others.  She didn't like the confusing nature of the chateau, mostly because trying to navigate it made her feel like a blind toddler, but she knew it was no different for anyone else.  Still, she had no idea how she was supposed to lead her small group forward when "forward" didn't even exist!  Her immediate thought was to just start hitting a wall until it broke; if the house didn't want to give them a way forward, then they would just have to make one themselves.  However, for once, she was open to suggestions from someone other than herself.  She really had no good ideas for how to deal with the only path forward suddenly not existing.

She knew the house liked to shift itself around, so if they couldn't break through a wall, there was always the option of just waiting for another door to appear.  Alternatively, they could simply walk back out the front door and look for another way in.  Either way, this trip was shaping up to be nothing less than her first experience here: namely, terrible.

Solus observed his surroundings now that he was inside the large entrance hall. The place was dimly lit even with the large door still wide open. The internal light provided by the candles set on fixtures adorning the walls hardly differed from the the light from outside in terms of brightness, thanks to the ever-present dark and clouded skies. The only real difference was the hue of the light—the candle light provided a soft orange glow that might have been comforting if it were not for the fact that they were in what was supposed to be an abandoned building. Perhaps—hopefully—the Ghost-type Pokemon that apparently lived here had lit them. Did Ghost Pokemon need even need light? Probably not. Were the candles just to lure unwanted visitors into thinking they had some sense of security, just to rip it away from them later? Probably.

Krikka began to speak as she started walking again. Solus didn’t hesitate to follow. Neither of them made it very far before the large, heavy front doors slammed shut; with force and speed only the largest and strongest of Pokemon could achieve. Krikka jumped, spun around, and retreated away from the door several steps. Solus, on the other hand, simply froze in place, tails straightening, body stiff, eyes squeezed shut. The silence that followed was briefly interrupted by a low sound that was still very alien to the buizel; it took several moments for him to realise it was Goro. In the time it took him to analyse and identify the sound, he had come to his senses and concluded that the door had simply closed—it had closed seemingly on its own, but they weren’t in any immediate danger. He also realised that he was shaking slightly.

 Krikka finished her thought. She then turned away from the apparently possessed doors and brought her attention back to the way forward. Solus followed her gaze as she spoke again, and he had a feeling that they were both in agreement on their feelings towards the situation that was currently developing. “Man, I don’t want to fight a house—I don’t even know how you’d fight a house! And now we’re trapped, not even ten steps into the place! Why is the house alive? Why can it just get rid of doors?” He stopped, realising he was beginning to sound panicked. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Okay. Goro,” he looked in the direction of the croagunk and nodded his head toward the remaining doorway. “Try to open that door.” Would the croagunk take orders from him? Probably not. But seeing as his command would likely be matched by Krikka anyhow, since it was the only real option outside trying to knock down a wall, Goro would have to try it eventually. Besides that, Solus should be above Goro in a sort of unspoken hierarchy, shouldn’t he? Krikka was the leader, Goro was the muscle, and he was… Well regardless of what his role was he had seniority, which meant he was above Goro.

The buizel continued to examine the room, trying to find alternative means of escaping the room and trying not to find anything that would spook him in his already somewhat frightened state. It was at this point that Solus realised that the room lacked the windows it should have had. “Oh. This place was breaking the rules the moment we got here,” he mumbled, more admitting a realisation to himself than he was trying to inform either of his companions. “If there doesn’t have to be windows on the inside to match the placement of the ones outside, and doors can just disappear the moment no one is looking at them,” he started, “can it change where doors go?” He pointed to the doors that had just slammed shut, the doors he had told Goro to open. “If the house can just move things around, why bother locking the one set of doors out of the place when it could just make the exit stop being an exit and lead farther into the place instead? I’d figure it wanted us to leave rather tan trap us, but then it wouldn’t have opened the doors for us in the first place, would it?”

((Eyy ya boi forgot the dungeon entry cost. 16 energy - 22 energy = 6 energy))

Goro cocked his head and listened as Krikka spoke, silent as the two Pokémon conversed. Apparently, the vixen had been here once before. The Croagunk didn't put too much thought into this tidbit - perhaps this was where she had gotten so strong. Rumor had it that the manor was ridden with Ghost-types, and Krikka had a natural advantage over such foes. Training against those Pokémon would be a very efficient way to train her Dark Pulse technique. Was that how it got so powerful and versatile? It only took Krikka a few moments to put him down, and she'd showcased several different variations of the move. Hell, even if that wasn't the case, she had the opportunity now; no doubt that she would be putting down ghost after ghost while they traversed the Chateau.

Still. Surprisingly, he had something to offer, here. Before his fight with Krikka, he'd been relatively defenseless against any kind of Ghost-type Pokémon, only possessing weak Poison and Ground-type attacks to pepper them with until they were felled by toxins. After his encounter with the Umbreon, however, he went searching for something that would have helped him during the pivotal moment in which he lost the fight. He'd left Rainfront Town with a powerful pair of attacks tailored to fix the weaknesses that Krikka brutally exposed in their battle. And as much as he was coming to dislike the Umbreon in charge here, she was in charge. It wouldn't hurt to make a good impression, and this was turning into an excellent opportunity to do so.

Goro scrunched his face up at the thought, not at all eager to get into a scrap with these specific enemies, for a change. What with the way the two Pokémon to the side of him were carrying on, this Dungeon was apparently intelligent and sadistic. As much as he doubted the thought, giant doors like that didn't open and shut by themselves, and he'd heard of stranger things. Maybe the Chateau was a big bitch of a house. Or perhaps it was just a particularly deadly and treacherous Mystery Dungeon, and these two were getting ahead of themselves. Either way, Goro found himself feeling particularly gloomy and unenthused about this trip. Why couldn't they have summoned an evil god someplace less creepy? There was probably a cult or two that'd help in Grima Outpost. Probably.

"Eat shit, weasel," Goro's reply was dry and succinct, making very clear his thoughts toward Solus and his order. Instead of starting forward to cross the entry hall to get the fucking door for His Highness Solus the little Shit the Third, Goro crossed his arms and stared balefully at the Buizel, looking very unimpressed. Out of churlish spite, he remained standing long enough for the silence to grow awkward, giving Solus the stink eye long enough to hopefully drive in the point that he really didn't like the Sea Weasel Pokémon. Truly, he didn't think much of the Buizel, and would have liked nothing more than to teach the little shit a lesson in manners at this point. Him, ordering Goro around? Still, the doorway in question was the only way forward. As much as it rankled the Croagunk to take such a command, it'd be decidedly childish of him to refuse out of principle.

With a disdainful snort, Goro turned on his heel and strode back toward the door they entered through, paying no mind to the vixen and her toady. The door in question was wide and towering, possessing two circular metal handles, though it wasn't so tall that Goro couldn't reach up and clasp one himself. The metal handle was particularly cold to the touch, sending a shiver down Goro's spine that he wasn't sure was entirely to do with the cold. A single tug didn't budge the great door, eliciting a frown from the Croagunk. He gave another pull, this time with a significant amount of strength, and was rewarded with only a short, heavy creak of the whining hinges. Still, he was met with resistance, and it clicked shut just as fast as he'd barely pulled it open.

A determined frown formed on the fighter's face. Fuck you, door. Reaching up with both hands, Goro clasped the freezing cold handle with a sense of hateful resolution, bending back and pulling with all his weight. Slowly, but surely, the tall right door was pulled open, swinging into the room behind Goro's heaving pull. He was still met with a heavy resistance, the door pulling back against his strength, and it seemed immediately clear to all that was watching that Goro would have to physically hold the door open for the two coming through.

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While she still had her doubts about the idea of the house being alive, Krikka couldn't deny that something seemed to want them to enter.  Perhaps it had been one of the chateau's ghostly residents who had opened the door, but regardless of reason, it had obviously opened to invite them in.  That didn't mean the house wouldn't immediately evacuate them, however, and in fact, part of her was almost hoping it would.  If there was no way to continue forward, then she could call it a day without having to actually go any deeper into the hellhole.  Unfortunately, her goals aligned with going forward rather than retreating back, and she had to make every effort to achieve these goals.  She made no effort to intervene as the others seemingly began to understand the situation, instead standing idly by to observe their behavior.  Solus was already beginning to grasp just what this house was, which showed yet again that he wasn't quite as dumb and useless as he seemed at a glance.

Goro, meanwhile, was doing what was expected of him, that being pretty much anything that required physical labor.  He seemed to understand the situation as well, since it seemed doubtful that he would actually listen to anything from the buizel he so clearly hated if he didn't know it was the best option.  That said, was turning back through the entrance the best course of action?  She had plenty of time to ponder this while she watched her "muscle" struggle to open the doorway, but when his efforts finally paid off, it became clear that it was, indeed, the right choice.  What should have led out into the gloomy atmosphere of the Grape Ocean instead revealed a void of darkness that the dim candlelight struggled to light.  The warm glow decayed mere inches past the door, completely obscuring the room from view.  While it would surely be difficult to navigate in the dark, this was actually good news, as it meant they had an immediate way to proceed.  Besides, given a bit of time, she knew her own eyes would adjust to the darkness.

"Well, that's not ominous and confusing at all," she voiced both her concern and total bewilderment at the situation.  She didn't like going somewhere so dark that her allies wouldn't be able to see; in fact, she had her doubts that even her own vision would suffice.  Aside from that, "I mean, that's the same door we just came through.  HOW is it suddenly leading somewhere else?" she continued, pointing out how illogical it was that the entrance was no longer the entrance.  She could at least somewhat comprehend the idea of rooms and doors moving, but this was the same exact door they'd just come through!  It really should have been no surprise to her with some of the things she had experienced in the house during her first visit, and yet, it was baffling all the same.  She decided not to think too hard on something she knew wouldn't make sense no matter how hard she tried to understand it, and instead, focused on the new path forward.  She approached the doorway being held open by one of her little helpers, choosing to ignore the clear tension in the room due to really not giving a fuck if her underlings hated each other.

Upon stepping through the doorway, the first thing she registered was... not exactly a draft, but the feeling of a more open atmosphere.  It felt less stuffy, which she assumed meant this room was much larger.  While she was technically right, she didn't realize just how right she was until it was just a bit too late.  Almost the instant she stepped out of the light of the candles, she put a paw forward only to find nothing to step on.  Losing her balance, she began to fall into what she realized was a hole where the floor should have been.  She spun around and tried to pull herself away, only to have one of her hind legs slip over the ledge.  She gasped in panic as the other leg followed suit, and as she fell toward the floor with only her front legs to keep her from falling, she pushed her body and reached her neck forward as much as she could, opening her mouth to bite onto one of Solus' wrists.  She wasn't able to gain much ground, certainly not enough to pull herself back up, and she could feel herself slipping back down.

She was unsure of her ability to pull herself up unassisted, and in the moment, she had decided that it was a good idea to use weak little Solus to drag her body back to stable ground.  Her actions were on impulse, a stark contrast to the usual calculation and consideration that went into her every move.  Her maw was poised to shut like a trap around the buizel's arm with no time for her to think to use restraint to avoid hurting him.  She didn't particularly care about injuring him in the first place, and in fact, she often did so very willingly, but this time was different.  She just wanted to bite onto the nearest thing as hard as she could and not let go, and that thing happened to be Solus.  She wasn't a fan of biting others in the first place since that required putting her mouth on them, which, frankly, disgusted her.  Even in fights, she tried to avoid biting if at all possible, as it was disgusting and barbaric.  However, in this particular situation, she didn't have much room to be so picky, since it was about not falling into a hole of unknown depth.  If she had to choose between her own petty, shallow nature and survival, she would pick survival every time.

And Solus would just have to deal with whatever marks she left.

At first, Solus thought he had failed in his efforts to command the new member of the group. The croagunk stared at him and he returned the stare with matching disdain.  He was annoyed more than anything else, in part because Goro insulted him and in part because by ignoring him Goro was prolonging the time they all would have to spend in this building. He was pretty sure none of them wanted to be there—even Krikka didn’t seem thrilled to be there, and it was her idea. Additionally, ignoring him wouldn’t really do anything for Goro other than make an already unfriendly Solus even more unfriendly. Krikka would inevitably order the same command if the croagunk didn’t comply so it was only a matter of time. To Solus’ belated pleasure, Goro did eventually break the stare and made his way to the doors. Solus didn’t bother to hide the smug smile that followed. Regardless of what anyone else thought, to Solus this was a victory.


As he watched Goro struggle to open the large, heavy door, Solus was glad that he had ordered the croagunk to do the job before Krikka had ordered them both to. Granted, she still could have, but eventually Goro managed to keep the door open wide enough to pass through on his own. The room on the other side of the doorway was nonexistent as far as Solus’ senses were concerned. Krikka spoke up, voicing confusion and concern which Solus shared. “There’s no logic in the place. I’ve already decided I’m not going to bother questioning why anything in this place happens.” The buizel followed Krikka closely to the doorway, not wanting to be separated from her for numerous reasons. One being the fact that she was the best defence they had against Ghost-type Pokemon. Another was that he didn’t want to be left alone with Goro.


The room beyond the door was entirely devoid of light, leaving Krikka’s faintly glowing rings as Solus’ only means of establishing spacial awareness. The sudden movements of these rings were the buizel’s first indication that something had gone wrong immediately. A gasp and brightening of the blue light from the umbreon’s rings confirmed that something was happening. With the exception of the blue rings, Solus was effectively blind, making him unsure of what exactly was going on. Still, he tried to help by extending an arm toward the umbreon. “What’s wr—” He interrupted himself with a pained sound as he felt the vixen’s teeth clamp down on his arm. Following this, he felt the full weight of the umbreon pull his arm downward; it was at this point that he realise that there was no floor supporting her. Relative to what he was capable of supporting, Krikka was quite heavy. Solus found himself being pulled toward where he know the edge of the floor would have to be due to the newly added weight that had painfully attached itself to his arm.

Goro—who was supposed to be the muscle—was inaccessible, as he was on the other side of the open door and the only thing keeping said door from closing and throwing both Solus and Krikka over the ledge. Not wanting to fall an unknown distance possibly to his death and not willing or able to remove his master from his arm, Solus did the only thing he could think of. He threw himself backwards to land on his back as far from the edge of the abyss as possible, hoping to use his own weight and momentum to counter gravity’s pull on Krikka and, by extension, him. At the same time, he used every ounce of his strength to attempt to pull Krikka up and back. He wasn’t strong enough to simply lift her and definitely wasn’t strong enough to throw her clear. However, with his own weight, momentum, and what strength he did possess, he could pull her atop himself. As awkward a position it would be, it surely had to beat falling into a bottomless pit. “Please let go of my arm, please…”

Badger carried out 9 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

, , , , , , , ,

((Eyy ya boi is out of energy. 6 energy - 17 energy (rolls) = 0 energy))

The door was heavy. Very heavy. It pulled against his weight, the cold handles of the door straining against his leathery hands, his hold shaking under the almost supernatural resistance. If he didn't think that the Chateau had a mind of its own before, he definitely did now. That, or there was some ghost dickhead floating around invisible and fucking with them. Some ghosts were inherently mischevious - it wouldn't surprise him if he ever learned that the result of the Chateau's bizarre mannerisms and tendency to switch its layout was the result of a particularly powerful Ghost-type utilizing Trick Room, or something of that nature. The Croagunk's lip curled as he pulled back the door far enough for both Solus and Krikka to fit through, stepping back with all his body weight and pulling the door with him.

Seeing Solus stride onward behind Krikka with that smug smile made Goro want to immediately abandon the pressing weight and break the Buizel's face, but he knew this was not the time or the place. He couldn't very well justify hurting him to Krikka over such a small matter, could he?  No, he'd be reasonable. But if the Sea Weasel Pokémon slipped up and went a little too far in his disrespect, he'd pounce. One or two transgressions would probably merit a reprimand from Krikka, but something more than that and he'd have something to work with. And if the Water-type challenged him - directly - along the way, well, then he'd get to skip the bullshit. As the Buizel passed him, of course nearly right up Krikka's ass, Goro let that thought comfort him. A long exhale and a content croak crept from the Croagunk, Goro shifting his weight as he strained under the considerable weight, one leg crossing behind the other as the two slender Pokémon passed by him.

Still, apparently the Chateau really was out to get the group. Suddenly after their entering the room, the chatter between the two was interrupted by a sharp inhalation of air and the sounds of a desperate scramble, followed by the rather pleasing sound of Solus in pain. Something had happened, he knew immediately, and under the great weight of the door, he was unable to help. Furthermore, he realized that if he rushed in after his companions, they could very well be locked in this mystery room, and that was the last thing they needed at the moment. Instead of abandoning his post, Goro shifted around it. With both hands on the handle, he slowly veered to the side, intent on bracing himself to press against the inside of the door rather than pull on the outside of it. With the careful, surgical movement, he released the door handles and darted past the narrow space he'd pulled open, immediately throwing his back against the weight of the door. Despite the swiftness of his movements, the Croagunk felt himself give way, but only enough to scare the fighter. He'd succeeded - the door was still open, and he was on the inside.  

That awkward task completed, Goro raised his gaze to take in the sight before him. Which was, to put accurately, nothing. The room was completely dark on the inside, the only light inside being the glow of Krikka's rings. They illuminated a fair bit, and Goro figured something had probably blindsided the two of them. Solus lay flat on his back, looking decidedly shocked and awkward, the only tell of an attack being the telltale sheen of copper liquid running down his wrist. Something had gotten him good, but there was no foe in the room - or if there was, they were concealed in darkness. The fighter's eyes narrowed in suspicion and excitement, the thought honestly more exciting than it was scary.  But perhaps more scary was the position Krikka was in - the slender vixen was actually deposited on the Buizel's lap, of all places. Despite the glow of her rings, her inky black fur made it hard to discern her exact position, but if he wasn't mistaken, there was a slight shiver about her. Was the darkling afraid of ghosts?

"What?" Goro's eyes only flickered to his two companions, having deemed them shocked but probably not all that hurt. Still, his voice was loud and urgent, the excitement of the moment overtaking him. He was stuck on the damn door while something had happened to them, and the only way to figure out what was to ask what happened. Perhaps, if he was lucky, there was indeed a foe cloaked in the darkness, and Solus would switch with him so he could fight it.

Latched onto the soft arm of the buizel with an amount of pressure that was perhaps unnecessary, Krikka dangled over the ledge, trying in vain to pull herself up with her front legs while her hind legs kicked and scratched below.  She heard the sound of pain indicating that she was hurting Solus, but at the moment, she really couldn't have cared less.  The situation was unpleasant on both ends, but it fortunately didn't last long before she was pulled to safety and away from the danger.  She felt Solus suddenly pull back and fall to the ground, dragging her back up onto the ground.  She never would have thought the cold, hard floor of the chateau would ever be something she was thankful to feel.  It took her a moment of laying in a comatose, shivering state with eyes shut tight before she finally realized that she wasn't actually on the floor; rather, she was on something soft, warm and furry.  She opened her eyes to see she was laying on top of Solus in what she would have described as an... unflattering position, and upon having it pointed out to her, she also realized her teeth were still latched onto his arm.

The first thing the umbreon did was unlatch her jaws from the soft flesh of the buizel, only then becoming aware of the taste of blood in her mouth.  She heard Goro question them, obviously seeking to know what was wrong, to which she gave no response.  Instead, she simply stared down at the orange figure below her.  "Tha-" she began, quiet and hesitant, her voice quivering.  She had to stop herself short as she realized she was about to thank someone, which was just unacceptable.  It was taking time for the fact that she was laying on top of him to really sink in, but when it finally hit her, a glare crossed her face, teeth gritting and ears flattening in agitation as she stared at his dumb face.  She lifted her head off of his chest, then pressed a paw into his face as she stood up and spoke up once more, "Get off me."  Her tone suddenly fell flat and cold, her composure having been restored.  She knew she was the one laying on him, and she also knew that he had just helped her, but none of that was going to stop her from blaming him.  She stepped away from the buizel and took a moment to steady her breathing and clear her mind.

Then, quickly growing sick of the taste of the pathetic whelp's blood in her mouth, she turned her head away from him and spat on the ground.  "You taste terrible," she continued, trying to find some way to insult Solus so as to make herself feel better.  In truth, she hadn't even registered what his fur tasted like, and his blood just tasted like blood.  However, despite not even realizing the flavor of his fur due to the situation being stressful and short-lived, she felt it was safe to assume he didn't exactly taste like pecha berry ice cream.  Not that she was into pecha berry ice cream or anything, because that would have been weak and typical, both of which she refused to be.  Nope, no love of sweets at all, and she would say otherwise for no one.  She glanced at the buizel's bloody arm, though she tried not to stare; she didn't want to make it look like she cared or anything.  Her allies were tools to serve her, and in this situation, "serving" just happened to mean getting mauled a little bit.  Just a little bit.

Trying to distract herself from the fact that Solus had come to her rescue - albeit not exactly willingly - and avoid further conscious recognition of the wound on his arm, she looked over to Goro.  The croagunk was still holding the door open, though his position had shifted, probably so he could get a better view of the show.  As she realized the croagunk had seen the position she had just been in, laying on top of her underling after being saved by him, the glow of her rings suddenly grew brighter in a blush of sorts.  Her eyes widened a bit and a slight, nervous frown crept onto her face; her cheeks would have visibly reddened if not for her fur.  She didn't like anything about the scenario in the first place, but having someone else bear witness to the whole thing made it that much worse.  She wanted to hit something, but she couldn't bring herself to beat on Solus since she had already decimated his arm and he hadn't actually done anything wrong.  Goro, on the other hand, was doing nothing more than watching and holding the door like a good minion.  Even if the fact that he was doing his job and nothing else wasn't good enough for her, she still didn't want to hit him and make him let go of the door.  There was nothing in reach to punish for what the world was doing to her.

[Energy: 25-16 (Entry) = 9 - some big-ass number even after the +10 trap = 0]

Unlike his superior, Solus was too concerned about his wounded arm to be embarrassed by the awkward position he and Krikka were in. He didn’t, however, fail to notice the beginnings of a thank you from Krikka. Instead of finishing said thanks, she apparently realised where she was, grew agitated, and proceeded to remove herself from atop the buizel; intentionally stepping on his face as she did so and making an illogical order that he literally couldn’t follow. She proceeded to distance herself from him, making some comment that he guessed was supposed to be an insult. If what she said was true, maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about getting eaten by a snake after all. Taking a moment to gather his surroundings, Solus noticed Goro had switched sides of the door. Realising he was on the same side—and the same side as the apparent pit or hole or whatever—Solus quickly stood with the assistance of his good arm and retreated to the relative safety of the entrance-sans-entranceway.

Adrenaline now fading, Solus became painfully aware of how much damage Krikka had done to his arm. It happened to be the underside of his arm, meaning the fin was left unharmed. The area that was bitten, however, was pierced and torn and bleeding. The rest of his arm arched also, thanks to the strain of carrying such a heavy weight in a less than ideal manner. The bleeding wasn’t unmanageable—although in this place an open wound was probably as dangerous as the thing that caused it—and he was rapidly learning to tolerate pain after spending so much time with Krikka. She hadn’t broken a bone either so, all in all, he wasn’t too worse for wear. He wouldn’t be doing a lot with the arm for a while, and he definitely wouldn’t be lifting an umbreon with it again, but he wasn’t going to pass out from blood loss or pain at the moment. Although if he did he wouldn’t have to deal with the Chateau’s tricks, so maybe it wasn’t that great that he was still conscious.

Now that he was away from the doorway that lead to what was almost certainly a death trap, Solus had to wonder if the Mystery Dungeon itself was trying to murder Krikka or the entire group. Did the place remember Krikka and want some kind of revenge? And if so, what did Krikka do? Or was it somehow aware of what they were doing, and trying to stop them? Or was it just a really evil house? Or maybe it wasn’t the Mystery Dungeon, but perhaps its inhabitants that were influencing everything that was happening for one of the aforementioned reasons? Regardless, Solus didn’t care why what was happening was happening, he just wanted to be done with this ploy of Krikka’s as soon as possible. Which, now that he was back in this room, he realised would not be particularly easy. The one remaining doorway—which was the way in and therefore the only available way out—was now the door to death.

“What’s that word you guys use when you’re angry or upset? Fuck? Fuck this house. And that room in particular. ...I used that right, right?”

When Krikka laid on Solus' lap immediately after their little mishap, she'd been angled in such a way that the inky black fur coating the slender vixen masked most of the light emanating from her rings, leaving Goro unable to see specifically what was going on. All he could tell at first was that these two Pokémon were piled atop one another, one of them shaking faintly and the other flat on his back with a telltale sheen of copper running down the length of his arm. At a first moment's glance, it seemed that something in the room had gotten the jump on the two of them, attacking Solus and somehow frightening Krikka, before vanishing back into the darkness.

But as the two realized what happened and began picking themselves up, Goro realized that perhaps that wasn't the case. Krikka stared down at her lackey for a moment, picking up her head to release his arm - she'd been the one to attack him. Why on earth would she have bitten him, though? The beginnings of what presumably would have been a thank-you crept out of the Umbreon, her voice faltering and soft before she realized what she was about to say and cut herself off. Instead, she elected to place a foot directly on Solus' face and pick herself up, uttering an impossible demand and foisting the blame for whatever happened on him. Her tone was more imperial, more herself, and Goro had to wonder what could have spooked her so bad that she'd almost been a decent person for a second.

What was even more amusing was when the dusky fox realized he had switched positions on the door, and that he'd witnessed their exchange. She'd tensed up, her eyes widening ever so slightly, the glowing hue of her rings brightening as if imitation of a blush. However disturbingly cute the reaction was, it did serve to light the room up a little more, casting a soft blue lighting a ways into the mysterious room and illuminating the darkness somewhat. A glance down at Krikka's footpad let him see that the Buizel's bite wound was perhaps a little more severe than it seemed at first, but what intrigued him more was the sudden absence of anything else in the room. The carpeted flooring cut off almost directly in front of where Solus lay, revealing a pit as wide as the room itself. The lighting from Krikka's embarrassed glowing hue faded as the pit grew longer and longer, revealing a missing floor. Some sort of pitfall trap, then.

Putting the pieces together wasn't so difficult after he witnessed such a thing. Either Solus had almost fallen and Krikka had to grab the dumb fuck the only way she could and keep him from killing himself, or Krikka had almost fallen and had taken a chunk out of Solus' arm to heave herself back to safety. Of the two, Goro wasn't sure which he'd prefer more. Still, it served to amuse him that the Buizel had ended up flat on his back with a bleeding arm and a paw on his face. Perhaps Krikka didn't value him as much as Solus liked to let on. The only thing that would have made it better was if Solus had somehow fallen into the trap, ridding Goro of having to tolerate the smug toady.

Either way, what he gleaned from the incident caused Goro to let loose an amused snort, a crooked grin pulling at his mouth. The way Solus shot back up when he realized the Croagunk witnessed what happened elicited an amused croak from the frog Pokémon, his poison sacs inflating and deflating with the noise. Though, it died once Solus started speaking, and Goro found himself irritated at the sound of the Buizel's voice. He took a moment to shift himself against the door again, bracing his back against the heavy weight again. As scary as it might have been, almost falling to their deaths, it'd be nice if they could hurry the fuck up and get back into the entry hall, so he could stop wrestling this obnoxiously tall door.

"If yer about done..." The Croagunk's countenance was impatient and sour. His tone was bland and dry, his frustration at the resistance of the door coloring his tone a bit. Wouldn't it have been smarter for Solus to do this kind of shit? Even if his arm was still usable, he couldn't imagine the Buizel being more useful than himself in a scrap, when it came down to it. And it would be nice not have to fight while physically exhausted at the same time when the time came. "This fuckin' door is heavy."

Goro seemed to think something was funny, and Krikka chose to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was just entertained by Solus' pain. The fact that such a thing was the best case said a lot. The umbreon slowly regained her composure after having a moment to breathe without either of her companions making any questionable comments, and almost immediately, she gained a sense of direction. She didn't care how heavy the door was to keep open, and while she admittedly held more interest in Solus finally learning to speak properly, she had something more important on her mind. Now that she had been given a moment to think over the all-encompassing darkness of this room, and with the knowledge that there were currently no other paths they could take, she could see only one option. "Shut up and close your eyes," she demanded, though she didn't care too much if either of her underlings listened. If they decided not to heed her words, they would only be hurting themselves.

With a deep breath, her eyes fell shut as her body spun around to face the pit of despair that had brought her such woes. She didn't want to wait on the house to give her another option, which meant she needed to see if there was any way forward in the current room. Perhaps there was a way over the gap somewhere, but to check for such a thing, she needed to be able to see. She could have simply waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but since she wasn't in a very patient mood, she decided instead to take the easy way out. The blue rings adorning her body lit up once more with their soft glow, this time backed by conscious intent. The light quickly overtook what she had previously displayed, shining bright in blinding radiance. "And yes. To both of you," she spoke once more to answer the two, though she still cared more about addressing Solus' successful cursing, as she felt it was a big step for him toward becoming tolerable.

Restraining herself to an uncharacteristically calm state, she opened her eyes, focusing her attention first on the walls of the room. It wasn't too large for her glow to envelop it, and while she could make out a few candles here and there, none of them were lit. At a glance, there seemed to be no way forward; no door or any other way out of the room, save for the way they had entered. It was then that she looked down to the gap in the floor, and with her light shining down into it, her entire being froze; mind, body, and soul. She could see the bottom, and it wasn't very far down. Had she fallen, it wouldn't have been anywhere near life-threatening, warranting a few bruises at most. It was barely ten feet deep. "Son of a bitch!" she blurted out, the blue glow around her body suddenly growing so harsh that it made it hard to see, even for her. She struggled to calm herself down enough to keep control of the light; it was still a relatively new skill to her, and she had trouble managing it even while calm. Making herself shine as brightly as possible was easy, relatively speaking, but glowing with a more controlled light was difficult.

With a huff, the leapt over the ledge, not bothering to wait for her allies. She allowed her light to dim only enough that it wouldn't blind them, but beyond that, she didn't intend to offer them any help. Upon further inspection, the room seemed to have no reason for being the way it was. She could only assume that the house had lowered the floor of what was once a perfectly normal, empty room. It made no sense, but neither did anything else about the Ruined Chateau. All that mattered to her was getting to her destination, and sitting around questioning what the hell was going on wouldn't bring her any closer to this goal. There was a door at the other end of the room, this one being on the same level as the lowered floor. This was enough to relieve her a bit, at the very least, but she still found herself feeling bitter toward the house for its tricks. She had made a complete fool of herself for absolutely no reason, and despite what all logic told her, she had half a mind to assume it was intentional. The nightmare mansion seemed to have a way of making things miserable for any inhabitants, or at the very least, for outsiders. It didn't seem to give the ghosts that called the area home any trouble, as they all stayed and defended the building against invaders, which they surely wouldn't have wanted to do if it treated them how it was treating her.

Solus no longer had any interest in taunting or rivalling with Goro at the moment. The croagunk was slightly irritating at all times, but Solus was quickly coming to the conclusion that Goro would probably be significantly more useful—especially in their current situation—if they weren’t at each other’s throats the whole time. Also, Solus might end up needing the extra hands as much as Krikka did if things continued to go the way they had gone so far. Speaking of Krikka, she had apparently decided to try something else, ordering that her subordinates close their eyes. Solus complied without question, having no reason not to trust the umbreon. She hadn’t steered him wrong yet. Or maybe she had, but that was a matter of perspective. Solus worked out, based on the blue-coloured light that replaced the blackness one normally experienced with eyes closed in darkness, that Krikka was doing something with her bioluminescent rings.

He heard the umbreon answer his question about whether or not he used his new word properly—he was surprised that she bothered to give him a response at all. And he had indeed used it correctly, which he was pleased to hear. He was not pleased, however, to hear what the umbreon exclaimed next. Admittedly, he didn’t fully understand the phrase, but he could imagine the reason why she had said it. There’s a floor and it’s a just a minor drop. She was scared for no reason. She tore up my arm for no reason. I could have let her drop and she would have been fine. When the light dulled and Solus sensed it’s source drop out of direct line of sight, Solus opened his eyes and moved back into the doorway to see what his leader had reacted to.

“Fuck.”

The room was, in fact, a room. There was a floor. Granted, the floor was about a story-high drop for the doorway—because of course it would be. It was hard to make out the details of the room in the low, unnatural blue light, but from where Solus stood and with the perception he had it appeared to be a more-or-less empty room. Solus glanced at his wounded arm. For a moment, he thought his effort in saving Krikka from what they both thought was certain doom was pointless and wasted. Then he considered the fact that, in the moment, she had certainly thought she was in real trouble, and he had seemingly saved her. Nah, I still saved her.

Despite the fact that the drop was only about ten feet, Solus was just four inches over two feet, so it was a somewhat more substantial distance for him. He might not have hesitated if he had all four of his limbs ready to catch himself with, but one of them was of course out of commission and he would not want to fall back on if he lost his balance on the landing. Solus placed the paw of his good arm and the shoulder of his bad arm against the door Goro was holding open. He looked to the croagunk. “I get the feeling that you don’t like me and considering the circumstances of our first interaction your opinion is probably not unfounded, but I’m more keen on working with you despite our opinions of each other than I am dying in this stupid house. So as a sign of good faith I’ll hold this door open and let you go first.”Assuming Goro wasn’t so bull headed as to refuse his offer just out of spite, Solus would have to manage with virtually no platform to jump from, since the closing door would rapidly cut off the floor space available to him. Worst case scenario he’d try to break his fall by landing on the croagunk ahead of him.

Goro felt his lip curl in a mixture of frustration and disgust as his comment only wrought a terse pair of commands from Krikka, the Umbreon apparently feeling extra churlish after almost apologizing to someone. Legendaries forbid. Still, Goro did as he was bid and closed his mouth, wary of any confusing bullshit or bright lights, aware that she'd showcased both of those abilities, both in combat and not. It was obvious that the darkling intended to flare her rings somehow and shed some light on the room. Shifting his legs and body against the heavy weight of the door, Goro let his gaze drop and his eyelids close, pointedly only keeping the flashing fox in his peripheral vision. Even through the dark cover of his eyes, he registered the dim flash of Krikka brightening, and he understood why she took the precaution to warn them.

The Croagunk let his eyes blink open once that light dulled, and was granted his first clear view of the room they were in. There seemed to be no way forward, only a ledge in front of the trio of Pokémon, but apparently, Krikka saw something that offended her. The Umbreon cursed heatedly before dropping down the gap, her gaze ever trained forward. At least there was a way forward. And a reason for him not to be stuck holding this fucking door. There was the issue of space, of course, seeing as how once he let it shut, he'd be left with hardly any room to drop down comfortably, but as long as he was quick about his business then all would be well.

The fighter was about to do just that when he caught sight of Solus leaning against the door he was holding open, bracing himself against it with the paw of his good arm and the shoulder of his bad one. Immediately, Goro's brow creased in a frown and he felt his expression turn annoyed, the Poison-type easing himself against the weight of the still resisting door. He was eager to let Solus help shoulder the burden, but still able to intervene if it proved too much for the scrawny weasel. With Solus' words, an offer of truce and a "sign of good faith", the Buizel had offered to hold the door and let Goro brave the unknown before Solus got to. Just hearing the smarmy voice of the little shit made Goro want to drop the Water-type, but it was an opportunity to get off the fucking door and that's all he cared about.

A loose shrug of the shoulders and an indifferent croak was his answer to Solus, Goro pausing a moment to give the Buizel the stink-eye before letting him shoulder all of his burden. Even now, Goro wasn't sure what the point of... well. Him. Goro wasn't sure what the point of Solus was, on a trip like this. He hadn't seemed particularly strong during their little fight back home, and unless he'd learned any Water-type moves on the trip here, Goro knew Sonic-Booms weren't going to come in handy against the locals. Perhaps a little spitefully, he took a few moments to stretch the tension out of himself, placing one hand on his shoulder and rotating his arms, stretching this way and that. As much as he wanted to let Solus hold it for him longer, though, there was a Dungeon to traverse and a potential-boss to catch up with. Lacking any fanfare, the Croagunk approached the treacherous ledge quickly, his eyes squinted and untrusting. The drop wasn't huge, but he could see why Solus wasn't in any hurry to attempt it. He was confident in his own ability to drop down without any troubles, but either way, Goro had taken worst falls. The Croagunk took a step off of the ledge, allowing himself to drop down and land hard on the ground, crouching deeply, his hands touching the floor and his legs bending under the weight of his fall.

One glance in front of him had caught the light of Krikka's glow, dimmer than before but still bright and difficult to directly look at. The Croagunk let loose a soft utterance and quickly raised a hand to cover his vision as he shuffled around the Umbreon. He took a post in front of her, arm falling limply at his side and his eyes squinting into the darkness in front of the group. He didn't much care to watch Solus attempt the drop. It'd certainly be amusing if he tripped and took a bad fall, but at that point, he'd be more of a liability than a help. More importantly, if the Chateau really was fucking with their group, then the possibility of actual, physical opponents was growing by the second. And when that happened, Goro wanted to be the first one in line. Unbeknownst to him, an eerie little smile parted Goro's lips, revealing his wide, flat teeth. He'd never fought against Ghost-types before, and he was particularly excited to test a few new tricks against real opponents.