House of Hallways

First topic message reminder :

Varda was quite exhausted! The trip through the odd house had been very taxing already, but when he had to make a quick trip back to the little town with a Glaceon on his back... Well, it certainly had been something, alright! Luckily he didn't have to carry his friend back, as they had been lucky and there was a Pokémon who could deal with their injuries for a small compensation, so they could just rush to the spooky weird house as soon as their legs – and wings – allowed them to! They had lost some valuable time doing this, but the bird believed he had done the right decision on his own, without Sova's help...

The house felt strange this time. They had been through such strange rooms on their first visit, but now the door they took sent them to an odd, extremely long hallway. It was rather narrow compared to many rooms they had seen before, but the hallway was wide enough to let a couple of Pokémon to walk side by side. There were no doors the bird could see, there hadn't been any doors for a while since the last one they took. As usual, there were various candles on the walls lighting up the gloomy house, some dark spots left behind by the dim lighting. The floorboards creaked under the pair of Pokémon and the old wallpaper was ripped in many places, revealing old wooden panels.


Current Energy: 38 (57 -19 from entering)

Varda smiled, anticipating the apologies and how everyone would be friendly with each other, and, and… Stuff! He wanted it all to happen faster, but he knew he couldn't force things to go faster. No, that would have been wrong. Things like these had to move with their own speed, or else they wouldn't feel, well, proper! And everyone should have good memories about this, so they would overwrite the bad memories. Who even liked to fight when they could be making friends instead?

But instead, it was Sova who spoke up, and… It wasn't an apology. If it was, it was the weirdest apology the bird had ever heard! His eyes were full of confusion as he looked at the Glaceon, tilting his head and causing his long feathers to flop over with the motion. He tilted his head so much in fact, that it was almost upside down by the time he stopped. The Altaria's eyes flicked from Sova to the unnamed ghost Pokémon while the two seemed to be having some kind of a conversation he couldn't quite understand. Waking up…

Oh, right. The whole thing with the music box. It was supposed to wake something up, something that might have not been a good thing. But Sova had seemed to be pretty positive that it would be what they should do, that was why they were still gathering for the music box pieces, after all! Varda couldn't help but have doubt well up inside him, his resolve wavering as he listened to the ghost. She was so sure that it was a bad thing, that they definitely shouldn't do it, but… What else was there to do? What was happening to the world wouldn't just stop if they didn't do anything, right…?

It was Jak who asked a good question, causing the Altaria to quickly flick his head to get his mind going in the right direction again. However, no answer came, even though that was probably the most important question!
"Umm," Varda chirped after a moment of silence that had seemed to drag on for a little too long as he waited for the answer, looking at the ghost-like Pokémon,
"Soo, um, what… Should we do? It's the only lead we have, using the music box..."


((I hope you don't enjoy having all that energy because it will be gone soon.))

Bird carried out 5 launched of one Ruined Passageway :

54 , , , ,

Sova's apparent joy only outwardly increased as he heard the froslass' panic. Good, this meant he was right and they were most certainly going to be waking something up. But more important, it didn't seem that this thing was going to be friendly, which was great! Something that could cause all this trouble would actually be threatening, it could actually give him a hard time! Really, he was just asking for trouble with this mindset, but it was just something that came with being him. However, there was one thing that wasn't quite contributing to his excitement. He didn't want to do something so dangerous and put the lives of his allies at risk if that didn't need to happen.

Sure, he was looking forward to it if it was necessary, but what if waking this thing up - and probably having to go through a very dangerous fight with it - wasn't going to fix the problem? Outside of the risk of losing, what if winning were to do nothing? Jak certainly made a good point in asking about this, but it seemed the froslass either didn't want to answer or didn't know the answer. Well, this meant he'd have to be the one to figure it out, since it didn't look like anyone else was going to.

The glaceon thought for a moment; he knew whatever they were waking up had to be involved in what was happening to the world. Xatu had made that much very evident. However, whether the xatu had been trying to lead them toward a solution or more problems was.... up for debate. Worst case scenario? The sleeping creature would attempt to make things even worse once stirred. Best case? It would fix the problem and this froslass was putting a little too much emphasis on "ass."

"Well, we don't have any other leads, and things are just gonna keep getting worse on their own if we don't stop this. So it's either we take the risk of making things worse faster, or we let them get worse on their own," Sova finally spoke up, pausing for a moment as he carefully thought over what to say next.
The others needed hope that this could work, or else it would bring down morale. Luckily, he was pretty sure he had something to give a little hope! "Besides, it's got a connection to what's happening, so waking it up is bound to give us answers at the very least. The worst case scenario: whatever it is happens to be the cause of all the darkness and spontaneous insanity, and it decides to try and make things worse rather than better."

He then began to walk off in the opposite direction of "forward," since the way forward was blocked by snow. "I don't know about you all, but all that means to me is that if it's not willing to fix things.... we can change that."

Nevi listened to the conversation and couldn't help but feel a bit confused. She lived here and didn't know anything about this! Then again, she actively tried to avoid most of the other residents, so news didn't really get around to her as well as others. Still, was there really something just sleeping here that could cause such severe damage to the world? And from the sounds of it, waking it up was a bad thing, so was she really on the right side here!? Well, apparently, there were no other known leads on how to fix the problem so far, so.... she couldn't really complain. Take a chance at fixing the problem, or let it get worse. When put like that, it made sense to take such a risk.

(Nooo that's already happened like 15 times pls no more.)

Lord E V carried out 5 launched of one Ruined Passageway :

, , , ,

Jak looked towards Sova as he spoke up, stating that they didn’t have any leads and should just take the risk at making something better. However, the way he had said it was a little concerning to Jak. With anything… there is always a risk at making something worse, and this was included. Sova just managed to say it in a way were he pointed out the negative more than the positive.

Eventually though, the group had to start moving somewhere. They couldn’t quite go through the snow blocked path, so Sova had started heading the opposite way instead. He felt he had enough energy to melt a decent portion of the snow, but he wasn’t sure how much snow was there. Knowing that a full blown avalanche had occurred from the ghost type’s attack, there had to be a lot.

Jak looked towards the ghost type for a moment and then at the snow. The ghost type seemed to have noticed his change in attention and attempted to avoid eye contact. Jak however decided to walk next to the Pokémon and remained there for a moment. ”Hey… I know you don’t want us to wake your uhh… friend, but can you please clear the snow. If you are afraid of it, we can help.” Jak offered as he requested the Pokémon to move the snow somehow.

The ghost type continued to look away from Jak. ”Please, we are just trying to do some good.” he asked once more. The ghost type then looked at him straight in his eyes. ”If you help… I may try.” the ghost type responded before slowly getting up. It looked towards the others to see if they were going to leave, or stay. However, the ghost type preferred if the others stayed.

As the ghost type got up, Jak watched it cautiously as he hasn’t seen it move since it had been paralyzed. However, it continued to show no further threat as it started to slowly make its way towards the large pile of snow. Jak watched as it approached the snow, eventually coming up from behind the Pokémon. He went to check to see if the others were willing to stay for a moment as they got rid of the snow. If the group decided not to wait, he would be forced to go along with them, as he didn’t think it was smart to be running around this place without a friend or partner.

Varda opened his beak as if to object when Sova brought up the fact that yes, they could make everything worse this way. That… That wasn't what he wanted at all! That wasn't what any of them wanted, he was sure. He didn't even want to think of such a possibility, but he supposed it was there. Was it worth the risk? Could they live on even if nothing was done, or were they just stuck between a rock and a hard place? Ending the world slowly or quickly, but the latter option at least had some hope attached to it? What a nightmare…

Their path had been blocked, so they were forced to take another way. Sova turned around and started to head the way they had come from, but the bird didn't know if that would make them go forward or backwards. This house was confusing enough that both options were likely. Varda took a few steps after the Glaceon as well, though he stopped to look at Jak and Nevi, wanting to see what the two of them were planning to do.

Apparently, Jak did seem to have a plan that might have allowed them to go through the wall of snow. The bird perked up visibly, smiling as the hope lifted his spirits. While the ghostly Pokémon seemed a little apprehensive about it, it seemed like she was finally convinced as she started to make her way to the snow, slowly.
"Um, that's right! We'll do everything we can do set things right again. I'm sure that… We can stop it together! Somehow," the Altaria chirped, adding his two cents as an attempt to encourage the Pokémon and maybe help her trust them. They could do a lot if they worked as a team, he knew that. He had no idea what they were up against, but… Well, they'd figure things out once they got there.



((It happened again Sova.))

They'd find a door or a change in the hallway eventually that would lead them to the throne, Sova wasn't worried about this. He just continued to walk as Jak tried to get the froslass to help them; if the charmeleon wanted to be left behind trying in vain to get someone to change their stance, so be it. However, he stopped when the froslass actually agreed to try, perking his ears up and turning around. It.... it was actually going to help? This was a bit of a surprise to the glaceon, to say the least, but he wasn't going to complain about it. Rather, he began to wonder if the ghost could actually move its own snow.

Sova made his way back over to the previously hostile froslass and stared at the snow blocking their path for a moment. It would melt eventually, but they didn't have time to wait for that. He doubted Jak would be able to melt all of it, but could the froslass do any better? It didn't seem too sure of itself, though it had managed to stir up the snow blockade in the first place. Maybe he could help in the case that the froslass couldn't do it alone? But did he really want to offer to do such a thing? Well, it seemed the specter was no longer hostile, and getting through the snow rather than having to go around it, so he figured it wasn't a bad idea.

Approaching the froslass, Sova spoke, "Want some help with that? I can move snow with Blizzard."
He wasn't sure if it would accept his offer, but hey, at least now he could say he tried. Besides, even if it didn't, that just meant less work for him. Sure, there would be more walking, but walking was pretty easy in comparison to moving mountains of snow. He stared at the snow, unsure as to whether or not he could even help move it. He'd only stopped it before and even then it was difficult, but he'd been exhausted. The Reviver seed was already making him feel energized, so perhaps now he could do something more significant to the large pile of snow.

Nevi was relieved to see the situation continuing to calm down, with no one trying to kill each other. In fact, arguments had stopped as well. The other froslass was even agreeing to help, and Sova was offering to do the same! She had to admit, both of these things were extremely surprising.

As Varda added his two cents to their attempt at getting aid from the ghost type, it seemed to have helped the ghost type make its decision in accepting their request. As this had occurred, Jak glanced towards Sova’s direction as the Pokémon accepted his request to aid him. He noticed that he had stopped and was turning around. The fire type only smiled lightly as he returned his view to the ghost type.

Jak followed the ghost type to the snow, eventually waiting to see what its plans were. As he did so, Sova approached the froslass asking if it needed help with the snow. The froslass looked at him for a moment as he stated that he could move the snow with his blizzard. Thinking for a moment, it eventually deciding to agree to his offer. ”I was going to have your lizard friend melt a hole… However, if you can dig it. That would be better.” it stated as it looked towards the snow.

As the ghost type had mentioned melting a hole, Jak couldn’t help but glance between her and the wall of snow. He was about to interject with some “common” knowledge but was quickly beat to it as the ghost type added onto its comments. ”Before you even say that it would just fall… I was going to freeze it further to create a wall.” the ghost type quickly stated as it noticed Jak’s uneasiness about the idea. Her answer seemed to settle his own question and thoughts about the plan.

Varda waited with bated breath as the ghostly Pokémon floated closer to the great wall of snow, preparing to get rid of it… Somehow. He had no idea what the plan was, as just digging through snow that thick by normal means would just take ages! To him, at least. All he had were his little birdie feet. But this Pokémon might have had another idea in her mind, right? She was the one agreeing to do it so the rest of them didn't have to! She was the one that had created it in the first place, too!

Sova's voice caused the bird to glance in his friend's direction however, coming over to give his help with getting rid of the snow. That was nice, and the Altaria couldn't help but smile his big goofy smile as he glanced from one Pokémon to another. Everyone working together always warmed his heart. He had no idea if more ice and snow could fix an issue with ice and snow, but he wasn't going to doubt the plan until it had been put into motion.

Taking a couple of steps backwards, Varda gave some room for the others to try. In this case… Well, he doubted he could do much to help. He couldn't melt ice and snow, he didn't have the power of fire. But he didn't have the power to cause strong winds or control the snow either, so he couldn't do much there either. He was going to, however, keep an eye on what was happening and be mental support, at least.
"You can do it!" The bird chirped.

So, the plan was to move as little of the snow as possible and minimize the work that had to be done? It seemed to Sova like he was getting the easier part of it, too. He nodded to show he could do it before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. On the outside, he was agreeing to this like he could do it with no problems, but in all honesty, he was terrible at using Blizzard in focused manners. He could create a blizzard large enough to hit everything around him without fail, but he had trouble when it came to focusing the attack on certain points. Well, now seemed like as good a time to learn as any!

At the okay of the froslass, Sova opened his eyes and focused on the center of the snow pile blocking the way. A funnel of wind began to whip up, focused on the snow. It tore through the blockade and left a hole which the froslass froze over to keep open, without difficulties. However, it took a bit longer than he'd hoped to break all the way through, and he began to slow down a bit toward the end due to the energy loss from keeping such tight control on his blizzard.

As soon as he could cease the blizzard, the glaceon wanted to drop to the ground and just lay there for a while. The seed had certainly helped boost his energy back up, but the act of using Blizzard in the first place was exhausting. Still, this was nothing compared to how he'd felt before eating the seed. "That good?" he questioned, hoping not to have to do that again and trying to look like he was okay as he spoke.
After today, perhaps he would look into that whole "relaxing" thing he'd done a lot in his younger days. This was proving to be a bit more work than he'd expected.

Nevi just stayed out of the way and watched as the others handled the snow blocking the way. She figured she wouldn't be much help considering her lack of ability to control or melt the snow, so there was no use even offering to help. She merely floated idly, choosing not to shout encouragement like a certain altaria for fear of distracting someone. Besides, the three who were capable of moving the snow all seemed like the type to.... not care much about such encouragement.

Jak looked at Sova and the ghost type, wondering exactly how the ghost type would freeze the snow fast enough. His thoughts were quickly put to rest as the two ice types started their plan. Taking a step back, he watched the hole slowly form, his view slowly becoming obstructed by a heavy fog from the sudden chill that formed in the air.

-------------------------
Jak started to move forward once the air’s motion slowed down. The fog slowly lifted as the tunnel within the snow became clear. The walls of the tunnel were covered in a thick icy glaze. The fire type was a bit amazed by the handy work of the two ice types. “Wow.” Despite being amazed by the work that was performed, he was a bit disappointed in the fact he didn’t get to help.

The ghost type that had just spent its energy on freezing the walls of the artificial tunnel, just floated there as it stared down the tunnel. “Hey! Are… you… alri—“ the voice cut off as it collapsed to the ground. Everything going silent to it as it happened.

-------------------------
Jak noticed the ghost type staring into space, noticing it starting to drift downward slowly. “Hey! Are you alright!” he exclaimed as he rushed towards the Pokémon. Just as he reached it, it started to fall at full speed. Jak quickly caught the Pokémon before it landed on the ground.

Varda waited, barely able to contain his anticipation as he watched, his head bopping up and down as he tried to keep both Sova and the other ghostly Pokémon in his view. He didn't want to miss a thing! He could feel the tension in the air, and… It just excited him more, pushing him closer and closer to the edge where he would just start cheering and hollering without any way to stop. The bird managed to keep it inside him just about, his beak forced to stay shut, but the excited smile on his face didn't go anywhere.

The Altaria couldn't even breathe when he felt the air start growing colder, few wisps of wind blowing his long floppy feathers around, but soon it all was concentrated on just a small area in front of the Glaceon. He could still feel the coldness radiating from the windy funnel, but it was nothing compared to being stuck in an actual blizzard! A breathy gasp escaped the bird's beak as he was finally forced to take in some air, watching in awe as the wind started to carve a tunnel through the snow, the edges freezing instantly around the hole…

It might have taken a while, but Varda didn't notice the passage of time as he stared in awe. Finally, the other side was visible, causing the bird to cheer out loud and jump up! ...And he stopped immediately when he noticed that one of the Pokémon involved in the task to collapse, the ghost being caught by Jak just in time before she hit the floor.
"O-Oh no! What happened?!" The Altaria called out, rushing over to see if everyone was alright.

While Sova merely wanted to collapse, it seemed the froslass was going a bit further than him. She'd used the last of her energy to help them, it seemed. Huh. This certainly wasn't something he'd expected, but it was a pleasant surprise to have a prior enemy be suddenly willing to go so far to help their cause. Still, there was now the distinct issue of someone he had to call an "ally" having collapsed. He merely glanced at the froslass, showing no outward care for the ghost, before looking back to the hole.

Would the others agree to go through the tunnel if he suggested to just go on ahead, and more importantly, was it right? It seemed bad to stay behind for an extended period of time when the froslass had just pushed herself so far to help right what she'd wronged. Wouldn't the "right" thing to do be to honor her sacrifice and continue forward immediately.... or something? Either way, he doubted anyone in the group other than himself would fancy that idea, and even he was having doubts about such a move.

It seemed Varda was confused as to what had just happened. "Looks like she pushed herself a bit too far," the glaceon explained in a matter-of-fact manner.
Perhaps he seemed a bit cold-hearted, but to be fair, he was usually like that with everyone. Besides, there was always the chance he could have managed to blow the snow out of the way entirely on his own.... but he wasn't particularly interested in testing whether or not he could do such a thing. Even if he managed to, it would surely be a massive drain on his energy that he really needed to conserve. He was running low on Reviver seeds.

"If she doesn't get up soon, we should probably get going. It'd be pretty rude not to take the path she drained all her energy to help make, and we don't have time to sit around," he continued, figuring if he didn't say it, it was likely that no one would.
Someone had to be the bad guy.

Nevi gasped in worry as the other froslass collapsed to the ground. Oh no, what had happened!? Before she could think of anything to say, the others got to speaking, and the glaceon implied that the other froslass had probably just pushed herself too far and fainted. Nevi found this to be a bit relieving, but she was still worried. When the suggestion of leaving the other froslass behind came up, she only got even more worried. Well, she supposed the reasoning made sense, but still, she didn't like the idea of someone who wasn't all that bad being left alone in this place! If the others left, she would just have to stay behind.

Jak held onto the ghost type as it laid motionlessly in his arms. He looked towards Varda as the bird rushed over to the trio’s general location, clearly displayed its worry over the fallen ghost type. When he was about to respond, it seemed Sova had him beat, stating that she pushed herself too far.

After Sova stated that they should get going soon as to not waste their efforts. Jak looked towards Sova as he responded “I would agree with you Sova, but I am not leaving someone behind in this shape.” If the others were just going to leave, he was going to bring the ghost type. He was feeling more confident about her actions, believing they were safe if they brought the ghost with them. “So… what are we doing.” Jak asked as he looked between the three Pokémon. He was curious to what their plans were with the fallen Pokémon as he wasn’t going to allow it to be left without some form of assistance.

Varda didn't seem to be completely happy with Sova's explanation of why the ghost had passed out, still looking concerned. Well, he didn't doubt the Glaceon's words, but… That didn't make it okay somehow, even though they knew the reason! It wasn't good to just faint like that. It was serious! But… Even though he was concerned, he didn't exactly know what to do to help…

The bird probably would have listened to Sova and be willing to leave even if he felt bad about leaving someone injured behind, but now with Jak around, he was given another opinion and his own no longer felt like the wrong one. Agreeing, Varda nodded a couple of times. The house was dangerous! Of course, this ghost seemed like she had it pretty well and wasn't completely alone like Nevi had seemed to be, so maybe she would be protected even without them. Still, it would have been pretty mean to just leave.

"Oh, well," the Altaria cooed when he was asked what they would do next. Well, alright, they all were asked that question, but he was the one who decided to chime in first without much thinking.
"We do have to keep moving so we can find the music box pieces," he continued, tilting his head,
"But, um… We can't leave her behind like that either. Unless we find a bed," Varda nodded as if agreeing with himself. A bed would clearly make everything better.

Well, this was expected. Complete denial of the suggestion to just leave the now-unconscious froslass behind. Sova knew he would be met with disagreement, but he still felt that where he stood was right, even if it was morally gray. If they stayed with the froslass until she woke up, they'd lose time. If they went out of their way to take her with them or find a safe place for her, they'd lose time. Yes, just leaving someone unconscious and alone - especially after she'd helped the group - was mean, but there were more important things at stake than the well-being of a single individual. Besides, it seemed unlikely anyone living in this house would just turn on one of their own for no reason; Nevi was the closest case to this that he'd seen so far and there was a significant reason for that behavior.

Sure, this all made sense to him, but how was he supposed to get anyone else to understand? Well, specifically, how was he supposed to get Varda to understand? The fluffy bird was so filled with innocence and kindness, the idea of anything "not nice" seemed foreign. Still, he felt he needed to at least try. If he couldn't convince the others, then allowing Jak to carry the froslass seemed like the next-fastest option.... Okay, maybe not Jak. A Fire-type carrying an Ice-type seemed like a very bad idea, especially in the case of someone with such a short temper.

"Keep in mind what situation we're in, what's going on in the world. We don't have the luxury of choosing to make detours from the objective. Staying here would slow us down, and so would carrying her. Besides, it's not like anyone here would attack-" he started up listing all of the reasons why they should leave the unconscious ghost here and just continue forward, but stopped as the still-conscious counterpart ghost spoke up.
Perhaps he'd imagined it, but it seemed like she'd purposely cut him off....

Nevi continued to listen idly to see if the others would perhaps come to some kind of solution other than ditching someone to continue forward faster. It seemed like it was going well, until the glaceon spoke again. He was seriously being a problem, what with actually making halfway-decent points about why to leave someone behind. She couldn't approve of such an action when the other froslass had just pretty much changed allegiance and helped them, but it seemed like the others weren't going to come to a conclusion any time soon with Sova speaking.

So, with this in mind, she decided to just.... cut the glaceon off mid-sentence. "I doubt anyone would attack her, that's not really how those who live here usually act, but.... there's still a chance something bad could happen. I'll stay with her if you all need to go ahead," she offered.
Then she fell silent once more, waiting to see if the others would accept her offer. She already knew Sova would, but she was particularly interested in what the other two said. It seemed the glaceon was about as curious, as he was holding back on his own answer despite it being obvious what he preferred.

As Jak waited for a response on what they should do. He kept an eye out for any movement in the area ahead of the tunnel. As the others spoke, he glanced back towards them a few times to acknowledge he was listening. However, when Sova started to speak about what was truly important in the current situation. Jak stopped watching for movement ahead and gave a mild glare towards the ice type. Despite understanding his reasoning, he didn’t like how he threw such a valid point into play when it felt wrong to leave the Pokémon here. It just helped them for crying out loud!

Jak thought about how he would respond to the statement as the ice type continued. However, before he would get his chance to respond, the other ghost in the group interrupted Sova. It stated that she would stay there with the other Froslass if they had to go. Jak looked towards Nevi and then Sova, wondering what was going through the ice fox’s mind at the moment. Did he really mean to leave this Pokémon behind, even if it was safe for them there?

“You are sure she will be safe?” Jak asked, directing the question towards the Froslass. The fire type didn’t mean any harm in the question, but more of concern for both of them. He knew they both lived here and was used to the environment. However, he couldn’t just leave someone without knowing for sure that they will be fine. Others may see that Jak has a short fuse on his temper at times. However, this fuse can be hard to ignite when he isn’t already upset with something. Jak was the kind of Pokémon to forgive others, and if a Pokémon was doing what they thought was right. He would eventually understand them. There were very few Pokémon that he truly couldn’t forgive in his past… ones that he wished he had never encountered.