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The Ruined Chateau.... Given Sova had been here once already and explored the interior, it now looked smaller from the outside, all except for the massive double-doors. Then again, given the things he'd witnessed inside, it probably WAS somehow smaller on the outside. Still, this wasn't going to deter or scare him. The only thing he was worried for was anyone else aiming to go there. Today, the one who happened to want to go with him was Varda. This was odd, since the two usually only did missions together, but today.... there was no mission here. Actually, the guild had sort of made it a mission to explore the things happening and this seemed like the place to go, so maybe it was a mission. Just, without the rewards.

He looked up to the sky and stared at the gloomy dark clouds for a moment, as if just making sure the sky wasn't changing before he set his attention back on the Chateau. "Remember, Varda, stay close to me in here. This place will literally change with you in it, so if we get separated, we could have a lot of trouble finding each other. There's also a lot of really dangerous and hostile pokemon in here and since most of the rooms aren't exactly huge, I won't be able to go all out with you here," he explained, relaying his past experience in this horrible house to the swablu.

He wanted his ally to be ready for everything in here, after all. Especially since there was a good chance he was going to need some help.... if not with fighting, then with finding his way around. He would have brought some of his other new allies along, but oddly enough.... the little fluff-ball was still the one he trusted most alongside him. At that, Varda was the only one he trusted to manage to capably and safely navigate this place, and more importantly, to LISTEN to him. Sure, Dusk knew the area given she'd come with him before, but she had mostly just been a hindrance in fights and never listened.

Varda looked quite concerned as he looked at Sova, his eyes full of worries and uncertainty. He didn't want to believe that others would call them liars, and... Maybe it would be a better idea to tell others, even if his friend seemed to disagree. Could one Pokémon even hope to defeat something that had the power to do... Well, all those bad things? The effects of this were felt all over the land, no normal Pokémon could do that. If Sova was indeed right, the bird was having a hard time believing that this was the best course of action...

"But! The Guild has many strong and understanding Pokémon! I'm sure they would listen to you if you just told them of your worries," the Swablu cooed, seeing teamwork as the better option in this case. But right now, because they left without telling anyone... Would they have the time to go back and warn others? Probably not, other teams would come to the house to finish the job and if things truly did turn ugly when the task was completed, the others might be taken off-guard!
"...Do we even have time to go back anymore..."

Bird carried out 1 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

Sova sighed at the swablu's continued naive persistence.  Why would anyone believe them over the Xatu who was essentially the official forewarner of.... well, everywhere?  They had no proof of anything, even he himself didn't know if he was right and if they were to leave and actually succeed in getting help, there was a good chance things would get so bad it wouldn't even be worth it.  He considered just not responding to the swablu at this point, figuring this was going to end like all of their other conversations, with the bird's naive view being impossible to enlighten, but he finally decided to try one more time.

"Even if we went back, who's to say anyone would listen?  That xatu's never lied before, EVERYONE trusts him.  And even if someone believed us, there's a very real chance it things would get so much worse in that time that the help wouldn't even be worth it.  On top of that, we'd be putting others at risk," he paused to turn around and face the little bird.
"I don't know about you, but I don't want to put anyone else at risk....  Especially when none of them are nearly strong enough for something this dangerous," he finished.
To be completely honest, he probably wasn't even strong enough for this, so there was no way most of the other Guild members would stand even the slightest chance of doing anything.

Honestly, most everyone would probably end up knocked out or worse before even making it to the throne room.  He'd seen some fairly competent fighters struggle to keep up against this place.

(Energy - 2)

Varda frowned a bit, becoming a bit less certain. The other bird Pokémon might have been strange, but he always was honestly. And in the past, he had helped, his words being true. It was quite difficult trying to go against that indeed.
"But the Guildmaster... She listens if you have something to say," the Swablu chirped quietly, certain that at least someone would listen. It was a different thing if Faye actually felt the same way about these things, but at least she would listen and take them seriously, right?

"And... There are many strong Pokémon in this world! I've seen them in the Guild... And then there's those that aren't a part of the Guild! You shouldn't think that you have to be alone," the bird continued, though it was difficult to say if his tone had more worry or hope in it. At this point it seemed rather useless to talk about it, as this was something they should have talked about back at the Guild before they even left. Right now they couldn't even tell about their worries to others!
"Working together makes us strong... That's why we have teams and the Guild. Something could happen to you if you go there alone, too..."

Sova pondered the swablu's words for a moment, then merely shrugged, turned around and continued walking.  "I'm not putting anyone else's safety at risk unless I can't do it on my own.  Besides, it's too late, so it doesn't matter anymore," he replied after a bit of delay.
Maybe he had made the wrong choice, but at least he wasn't thinking about himself.... for once.  Apparently, that wasn't something that could be acknowledged, though.  Because what would the world be if he was not always wrong in what he did?

"Now, if you wanna debate about something, lets debate what we're gonna do once we get there.  We're gonna have to make a plan so we don't get in each other's way.  Maybe we can figure out an easy way to beat it.  Oooor maybe there's no "it" and I just made up some random theory.  Honestly, I'm okay with the latter, but we should probably still plan for the worst," he suggested, figuring their time could be better spent in many ways other than debating right and wrong.
Especially since their views of right and wrong were clearly very different.  Honestly, it was a mystery how the two even managed to get along, considering they were pretty much polar opposites.  The only thing they even had in common at all was wanting to help others, and they had very different ideas of how to do it.

Sh*tty Glaceon

Lord E V carried out 2 launched of one Ruined Chateau :

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"But!" Varda chirped as he started to waddle behind his friend, though he didn't sound like he was trying to challenge Sova's views,
"If something happens... To you too, then... Then others would have to come here. Not having you around to help would be a pretty bad thing," the bird cooed, uncertain if one – or two – Pokémon could truly handle something like this on their own. He still thought that a full group of strong Pokémon would do better, but there was something Sova was right about.
"...But it doesn't matter now. What's done is done! But I just... Hope that you would keep that in mind in the future..."

The Swablu spread his wings and took off, rather flying right next to the Glaceon than try to waddle after him. It was easier, the two could look at each other and he wouldn't be in the way, it was a good idea all around! The bird let out a quiet hmm as he listened, getting to the planning stage.
"If that thing truly is behind everything that has happened... It wants us to do this, right? Are you sure we should? Maybe it's weaker if we don't, um... Whatever happens when we do the thing."

Sova wanted to make his friend happy and try to keep this whole "teamwork" concept in mind in the future, but he just couldn't. Why? Because he'd promised himself to never have to rely on others. If he couldn't do something on his own, then he would die trying to, that was all there was to it. Of course, that wasn't his entire vow, but none of it was in line with accepting help from others and admitting to weakness at the same time, so he simply couldn't comply. No.... he could, but he wouldn't.

He nodded in agreement as Varda suggested that the thing wanted them to do this. "Yes, I don't think it would send someone to tell everyone how to stop it, so it's gotta be something it wants to happen. But honestly, our only other option at the moment is letting the situation worsen on its own.... because we have no other leads on how to stop it," he replied, stating his view.
Sure, this was dangerous and they were doing exactly what their enemy wanted - under the assumption he was right - but honestly, the only other option was worse. At least this way they could try to do something about it.

(I can always count on BlueKat to save me when I forget to roll. And call my character shitty. D: )

Varda kept flying on the side, his eyes occasionally glancing in the Glaceon's direction, but his eyes wandered their surroundings the most. Everything was dark around them, so it was impossible to see where the floor was – if there even was one. At least the stairs were easy to follow thanks to the candles, but he had to wonder... Was there anything else in this room, but just hidden by the darkness? He could have flown off to explore, but then another question popped into his mind: could he truly? Would the house let him? It certainly seemed like it had a mind of its own...

"Oh," the Swablu cooed, not entirely sure if he liked the sound of the reply he got. It seemed like they were playing right into someone's trap by doing what it wanted to do even if they tried to stop something bad from happening. If they couldn't contain it, then...
"It could be that it's running out of time! Maybe if we waited, it would grow weaker because no one wakes it up," Varda chirped, but then sighed,
"But just waiting doesn't feel... Good. Things could get worse if we don't do anything, too. I wish there was some Pokémon who knew these kinds of things..."


((Better not stand under Varda.))

"Well, normally it'd be that xatu telling everyone something like this, but since he's not available, I'll have to do. We'll win, because we have me.... so don't worry, alright?," Sova responded, despite having doubts himself.
He wanted to make Varda worry less, though, not more, so he neglected to show his worry. Hopefully, a show of overconfidence would spread confidence to the swablu as well. If not, well.... he wasn't really sure what else to do about the situation. He was good at making others hurt, not making them happy, after all. Speaking of making others hurt, they hadn't had to deal with any enemies in a while.... not that he was complaining, but.... the calmness of the house was eerie. On top of that, the things they had dealt with already honestly weren't anything threatening to him. Nothing like the things he'd fought here before, at least. Maybe the powerful pokemon stayed specifically to the innermost areas of the chateau?

As he walked down the stairway, he couldn't help but notice there were less and less candles as he continued onward. Not enough to put out the light, but it was making it a bit more difficult to see, prompting him to move more slowly and carefully. He looked down and could see the floor getting closer, though he only saw the area around the stairs and even then, only barely. Varda would probably need to pick up a candle when they reached the bottom in order to find the door.

"Ah, you're right," Varda cooed, remembering that the odd bird Pokémon talking nonsense often was the only thing that helped them. Despite the strange words, the Pokémon did seem to know what was happening before anyone else noticed anything wrong... That made this situation very difficult. Maybe it was Sova who was wrong and the Xatu was right as he had usually been, but if not... Then they were completely out of helpful old Pokémon. Maybe.
"I'm sure there are other Pokémon like him somewhere, but... I don't think I know any," the bird let out a small, chirpy giggle.

"I guess," he cooed quietly, indeed hoping that they would win if something happened. He didn't know if he believed that completely as he didn't know what kind of surprises this house had, but maybe... Maybe they could do it because they knew they had to expect something!
"It sure is getting dark!" Varda chirped as the pair continued to descend, getting less and less candles on the stairs the further down they went. And if the floor was hidden by the darkness... Then did that mean this room wasn't going to have any other light?

How surprising, that the two of polar-opposite mindsets had actually managed to come to an agreement on something. Sova wasn't going to complain about this, but it was a relief to think that they were on the same page.... at least to an extent. With the burden of the previous topic no longer on his mind, he put his full attention on what was around them, which for the most part seemed to be nothing. As Varda stated, it was dark.... and getting darker. However, he could see a small portion of the floor, so he at least knew they weren't walking towards an abyss and it wasn't too much farther to the bottom. Actually, he probably could have jumped from the height he was at and been relatively unharmed, but it didn't seem worth risking.

"Yep, you may need to pick up another candle," he suggested as he continued his descent of the stairs.
It was very convenient, the amount of candles there were in this house. Honestly, it was surprising that they all stayed lit.... or maybe they didn't. Maybe that was why there were occasional dark rooms, because of candles going out. He assumed some of the Ghost pokemon with fire moves went around lighting them back up if they went out, since.... even ghosts needed to see, right? As far as he knew, everything except sometimes Dark-types needed to see. Even Dark-types couldn't see in an utter void of light, right? Then again, he didn't know too much about the smaller benefits to each type, other than some of the more obvious ones like Water-types breathing under water, Fire-types and Ice-types withstanding extreme temperatures, just the more common knowledge.

Varda nodded when Sova mentioned the candle, landing on the stairs again as he started to gently nudge a candle off the stairs. The wax that had fallen from it as it melted had pooled to the bottom, creating quite the effective wax seal that had to be broken before the candle was freed. The bird handled the candle carefully seeing that it was lit and he didn't want to burn himself, spinning it into a nice position in his talons before he hopped back into the air. He had done so much flying and running around that he was finally starting to feel it, his wings seeming to get tired already...

The pair descended further down the stairs until the glow of the candle actually hit another surface. It seemed like they finally managed to hit the floor. The dull reflection suggested an old wooden floor, one that was smooth but still having seen quite the bit of wear and tear. The dark color seemed to explain why it had been so difficult to see, not much brighter even when the light actually hit it. But there was something else the light managed to hit as well, multiple small orbs glinting as they reflected the small amount of light like tiny beacons in the darkness. It seemed almost as if someone had thrown them around willy nilly on the floor, but as far the Swablu could see, it didn't seem like any were broken...

With the floor revealed, Sova couldn't help but admire the wit of whoever or whatever set these rooms up. Honestly, most of them were truly genius confusion-traps, or just deathtraps. Who would think to make a floor so dark so no one could see it from high up, then reduce the light in the area to make it appear as if they were in a void? It seemed too.... purposeful to be just coincidence, and too smart to be from some random feral. Maybe he'd have to look into the history of this place, see what he could figure out; Maybe he could even discover who made it? But for now, he needed to focus on first completing what he and his friend had come here to do, which, for now, was getting to the Throne room.

His attention fell to the orbs on the floor as it was confirmed that the floor did indeed extend further than just the surrounding area of the stairs. Knowing it was safe to walk on, he wasted no time in beginning to collect the items, figuring they would be useful. He figured Varda would move to pick some up too, so he didn't bother pointlessly suggesting it. "I guess the house decided to not hate us for a while," he joked, giving the swablu a slight smile in an attempt to further raise morale.
Really, though, for a joke.... it was pretty true. They'd suddenly stopped seeing hostiles, the rooms had been fairly straightforward and easy to get through, and they'd even come across random useful stuff with little effort! However, since it was too good to be true, this probably meant things were eventually going to change and become absolutely horrible for them, which was what this place was usually like.

As he still carried the candle, Varda couldn't land right away. There didn't seem to be any other kind of light source on the floor, so they were going in completely blind. He didn't even see any candles he could have lit, not even the used up waxy piles that might have suggested that there used to be candles on the floor. Perhaps the walls were a different story, but honestly... He had no idea where those were supposed to be! The candle he carried was their only way of seeing things, so the bird stayed close to Sova, letting the Pokémon test the floor and walk over to the orbs. The Swablu hadn't even thought of picking up any himself, but when it started looking like the Glaceon was leaving some behind on purpose, Varda got curious and had to check them himself. He wasn't told to not take them, so he just took a couple of the orb-things with him. They could be useful...

"Maybe!" The bird Pokémon chirped cheerfully as Sova suggested that the house had decided not to hate them, of course enjoying the idea of not being hated,
"Do you think it's the house leaving these items around... Or the Pokémon?" He still asked however, tilting his head slightly as he flapped his wings. Could the house create items out of thin air? It seemed to be able to create rooms and rearrange itself, but did that also mean it could leave the items in the room?

Varda's eyes wandered in the dark room, unable to really see anything. But then an odd red dot appeared in the distant darkness, like a little floating, glowing ball. It didn't seem to light up the surroundings very well, so it did not aid them. The Swablu also had no idea what it was!
"A fairy...?"

"Hmm," Sova wondered at the swablu's question.
He didn't really know all too much about the house, so he couldn't really say for sure whether or not it could make items. Honestly, it was a very mysterious and confusing place, so it seemed possible at the very least. "Dunno," he admitted.
As much as he disliked admitting to not knowing something, it wasn't too much of a bother, especially when he was pretty sure no one else knew either. The thing about the Ruined Chateau was that it was just a big mystery, no one really seemed to know much about it. He would really need to do some research on it when he got some spare time to, maybe he'd find some useful information on it.

His attention was immediately taken off the orbs, all of which had already been picked up, as Varda randomly started talking about an unspecified fairy. He looked where the swablu was looking in confusion to see.... a light? Well, a red light to be specific, but it didn't really seem menacing. However, he knew this place was dangerous and more importantly, he knew not to underestimate the possible dangers within. At least, not until he could put a face on said dangers. "Careful, Varda. We don't know what that is," he stated, worrying his friend would immediately go try to greet the light with a hug or something if he didn't say something.

He slowly moved to approach the glow in the darkness, being cautious of it as he did so. It was fairly evident that it was probably a pokemon, but due to the lack of light, he couldn't really tell what exactly it was. It would certainly be helpful if it decided to come close enough for Varda's candle to shine on it....

Varda glanced behind him as he heard Sova's voice telling him to be careful, stopping and flying in place. He had been curious, so of course he had wanted to go check the thing out right away... They found a lot of orbs that would help them, so this one could have been something useful as well! Or another Pokémon, which indeed could have been hostile. But he hadn't thought about that at all! It was good that he had the Glaceon with him reminding him of the dangers or the house, it was quite easy to forget it at times...

The bird nodded, deciding that it would be safer to approach slowly and together with Sova. He flew closer to his friend, staying by his side as the pair approached. The odd red glow seemed to stay still, occasionally looking as if it was some kind of little light fixed on the wall... But it did have a slight movement to it before, looking like it was some kind of thing floating in the air on its own. But perhaps he was just wrong. Right now it wasn't moving at all...

As they got close enough, Varda moved the candle closer as he tried to direct the light in the direction of the red ball to see what it was – if anything. But he certainly hadn't expected what he saw. The light hit the contours of something that looked quite a lot like a floating skull of some creature, white with large, hollow holes for eyes. There were no eyes, of course – except that red light that seemed to be staring at them through the holes. And just like that, the dimly lit skull just disappeared into nothing as the Swablu gasped.