the temple itself is fairly large. the good news is that the purple fog seems to have dissipated entirely - the monster made of shadow seems to have been the source of it. cavernous stone walls and rickety bridges cover a lot of ground, and the sound of water flowing can be heard somewhere within the temple. there's an upper floor and a lower floor. the altar where nimona found herself landing with the bow is to the left.
to the right, there is a cave painting. there's also a treasure chest! in the distance, there is a soft, pained noise that sounds like a whine, though its hard to tell if it's animal or human, somewhere down that path.
once again my octopaths, you will have to pick a...path.
kogi. actually, i lied. your leg really fucking hurts. and nimona? the bow on your back feels heavy, but not in weight. you actually feel pretty great - as light as a feather, like you could run a mile or twelve despite any injuries you have.
occasionally, your lanterns flicker - regular light, then blue. feel free to chat as you make your way through the dungeon. it's quiet, but you can hear crickets chirping, so it's less oppressive than it was before. ]
[ he watches ponta take his first few steps with a wince, then stops him before they actually set off. ]
Oof, buddy. C'mon, get on, you're taking the Datz Express 'til we get those legs fixed up.
[ squats down so he can climb onto his shoulders!! if he doesn't he's getting scooped up and bridal carried. no escape. (unfortunately he can't carry him and kogi at the same time, though, probably, so please let's stop with the leg pain.)
anyway. now they're in here, looking at the path options. hm. ]
Might be worth checking out that painting on the wall over there, ya think?
[ maybe it'll have the secret to the final boss fight or whatever's about to happen in here. ]
...Probably oughtta just leave that chest alone, though.
[ that thing's got mimic vibes. also he already has 185 gold leaves that he has no idea what he's gonna do with. ]
[she's probably still bleeding, but it's fine, it doesn't look like it bothers her at all as she makes her way down the path. she pauses, when they come to the fork in the road. she glances at datz, when they hear the pained noise.]
Yeah. And maybe check out the noise.
[she will take the bow off her back and just hold it.]
Let's do that first, and then the altar.
[and because she's not holding someone or horribly injured, she bounces off towards the right. she wants to see what the whining sound is...]
[ Ponta hesitates before actually taking the offer. Being carried on someone's back is... well, it's really uncool. His whole performance here was uncool. But as he tries to put a little more weight on his injured leg, he is forced to realize that if he has to walk for more than 20 steps, he might literally pass out from the pain. And that's... not ideal.
So onto Datz's back he goes. Which means he's strapped in to also go look at the painting. ]
[ as you approach the cave painting, datz and ponta, you'll notice it looks like this! neat.
the treasure chest is left alone :(
once you've regarded the painting, it feels like something reverberates in the temple. the world around you feels like it shifts, a little - your lanterns flare blue, one more time, and out of the blue fire come figures. familiar figures, based around one important person in your life, one scene that you so clearly remember.
these memories play in snippets. small pieces, reenacted by the sacred flame, like reminders. they are characterized by loss, and regret: they are ghosts of things that you've already lived. one by one, these short memories play out as you make your way through the dungeon, towards those whimpering, whining noises.
each of you can see each other's - they play out unstoppably, warding off the darkness of the temple through the sacred flame's guidance.
kogitsunemaru: what was a time you sought companionship? who gave it to you? who walks beside you, in your search for your way back to the city?
ponta: what was a time you sought a heartbeat? what moment or person in your life made you seek it? who walks beside you, in your search for your way back to the city?
datz: who led you to seek justice and freedom? what is your cause, your internal creed? who walks beside you, in your search for your way back to the city?
the only person who doesn't get a memory is nimona. for some reason, the blue flame in her lantern stays put, and it seems to flicker - blue, then purple. blue, then purple.
nimona - as you walk, you can see the others memories, these moments in their lives of bitterness or joy, sweetness or pain. something in you roils unhappily, and you have this sense of pressure that echoes in the back of your mind. let go. be free. let go. be free. let go. be free. chaos is all we seek. let go. be free. ]
[ datz's memory shows the figure of a man with long hair and an eyepatch on the witness stand in a courtroom, with an intimidating presence but a kind smile, his voice firm and commanding: ]
A dragon never yields. Even when wounded, a dragon bites down hard, and never lets go till its dying breath. It glares, it roars, and it latches its jaws firmly onto its prey till the bitter end. That's what lawyers do to get to the truth!
[ then the scene shifts slightly to show that same man seated on a worn-out old sofa in the dark, speaking out to the kingdom with conviction as datz stands at his side.
"at his side" is where he was always meant to be — dhurke's closest friend and right-hand man. and he's going to make it back to his side to help him see the revolution through.
a dragon never yields, nor will he rest until his revolution is complete. ]
[ (please look at the url youtube assigned that video btw i'm losing my shit) ]
[ Ponta's memory begins with just himself, standing, speaking.
"But then I met Cota. And something started to move in me again. Thanks to him I got another chance to bottle battle in a way that made my heart beat. And I think it's possible when I'm with Cota."
While the Ponta made of blue flame speaks, he stops being lonely. Behind him, various scenes take shape and melt into each other. Ponta, still in his hapless act, with a preteen boy who has the brightest smile.
"Cota isn't like other bottle battlers. He sincerely enjoys bottle battling, nothing more. Because of that he's filled with infinite possibilities. Just like I thought..."
The Ponta of memories raises his head and a gentle smile plays at his lips.
"I have to see him."
And where the Ponta of reality is confined to Datz' back, unable to move on his own, the Ponta made of flame can go and run, towards the person he has designated his personal saviour.
In the memory, this will end in disaster. But this time, this time... This time Ponta has more than one person to run to, and he doesn't want to give up. ]
[ to little surprise, kogitsunemaru's memory is a simple one, nothing more than the gentle calmness of practice in the morning. there's a presence, of course, one that takes its time to settle behind him, yet still, he continues under its gaze.
"I don't agree with your methods." he says, fondly because after the end of the day, they are the closest of friends "but I can't say you were wrong"
Companionship isn't easy for a sword, especially one who has seen the centuries come and go. But the Sanjous are the closest of the eldest for a reason and even despite it all, they have each other's back.
Even if Mikazuki thinks he can use it as a get out of chores card. ]
[she watches the memories with a sort of uneasiness that she can't figure out. it feels like last week, a little, when she was missing her ability, when she couldn't shift. something in her feels wrong, and she's having a hard time with it, pausing where she stands. she's ahead of them a little, eager to get to the noise, to find out what it is, to... try and help, despite herself. she's always tried to help.
let go. just let go.
she holds her lantern to her chest, hugging it. and she watches the memories of everybody else, watches their reasons for living, the people closest to them holding their hands out, and feels... lonely.
[ for three of you, the light of the sacred flame shines true and bright as it takes the shapes of your memories. it inspires. it brightens - it casts light through the dim dungeon in brilliance. your steps ahead are assured. the truth lies in the flame - the undeniable feeling of the fact that you’re almost there. you’ve nearly found your way back to the city, back to your friends, back to the life you want to have. you just have to hope a little longer, and move forward further in the dark.
all four of you press through the shrine towards the sound of the whimpering. and, as the ghosts of your inspiration and lights melt away, back into your lanterns, you find something curled up in a deep, dark corner of the shrine, at the very, very back. at first, it’s hard to see. but as you approach, you realize what’s facing you is... a monster.
it is huge - the creature’s protruding vertebrae nearly touch the ceiling of the temple, but unlike in the sprite, the monster is collapsed in a heap on the ground, breathing heavily. it looks badly wounded - arrows stick out of its torso, in the space between its protruding ribcage bones, and the fabric of whatever torn asunder thing it wore at some point is dirtied and bloodied, though it’s hard to tell if its human blood or something else. black shadow pours off of its figure, and it stares at you with its eerily glowing, pinkish purple eyes, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. its head is flat on the ground, and each breath it takes comes on a wheeze.
all of you, just by looking, can tell whatever this thing is - it’s miserable. dust sprinkles off of it in pieces, as if it is very slowly disintegrating, but it is so, so slow.
the creature lolls its head to stare at the group when they arrive, but it doesn’t attack. its voice is garbled, but its definitely male, and speaks the common language that you all do. ]
No longer…. trust… cannot be allowed… to exist… no longer…
[ for a moment, you swear you hear it say something else. you swear you hear its voices whisper in your ears, now more familiar, garbled, known. ]
Well done… Citrus…
Such a… pure… Kogitsunemaru…
Dragon… never yields…
[ and then, finally. the monster shudders, a full body motion that rattles the temple, shakes the ground. ]
Kill… me…
–
[ nimona. though you started ahead of the rest of the group, by the time you all reach the monster, you are a few steps behind, still holding the black bow. your injuries aren’t bothering you. your body doesn’t hurt. but something is wrong.
and you see the monster, at first, too. you hear its first phrase - you hear it beg for death - and nothing else. you hear no special voices. no friend or home guides your way. you are lost, nimona. and something whispers in the back of your mind:
what could you possibly do to help? he’s already dead.
unbeknownst to the other three, a black shadow is beginning to curl off of nimona’s body.
[ ah... well, that kind of puts a damper on the positive feelings that were burning here a moment ago, doesn't it?
datz isn't going to object to putting it out of its misery if that's what it wants. maybe it brought them here to do just that. not that he could easily raise a weapon right now with ponta on his shoulders.
to the others, quietly, though he's still facing forward: ]
...Don't see that there's much of an alternative, do you?
[ And... once again, the situation sucks. Even with the words he misses the most still ringing in his ears, Ponta immediately feels melancholy again. Slaying a beast that is this miserable... it doesn't feel very heroic.
Not that he can easily contribute right now either, more piece of luggage than party member. ]
... I'm afraid not. There's no healing item for these, I expect.
well, as their current available sword wielding member, it probably falls on him to do the deed. kogitsunemaru will step forward, sword already unsheathed. let him be the weapon that he is, protecting the humans from having to make the choice for themselves. ]
It may be kinder, to free their suffering instead.
[ he will reach forward to send the dragon as peacefully on its way as he can. if their last member has no objections to it.....? ]
[well. she wouldn't normally have any objections, but.
something is wrong. something is wrong. the little light in her arms has been something she's been guarding so preciously the entire time she's been here, and now is no different. she holds it tightly to her chest, trying to shake off the dark. let go, it whispers. she ignores it. she has her flame. it's trying so hard to stay lit, she's doing her best to stop it from going out.
but she can see this monster. she can see how much in pain it's in, she can see the shadows curling off of it. her heart aches before she even realizes who it is. it's too familiar. it's a little like looking in a mirror, and she can't help but look closer. she takes a step forward.
who's already dead, nimona?
she sees it in front of her. him, in front of her, tall and grinning, freckles splashed across his nose and cheeks. his eye's a little worse for wear this last week, but it's fine. he tells her that he can see just fine, and that he'd have to be some kind of weakling to get taken out here. he grabs his hat and puts it down on her head, and for a second, everything is okay.
and then she sees him as he is here. she sees the monster, and the way it whines. and for a second she sees portgas d. ace struggling to breathe, taking his last, staring up at her and asking her to kill him, and.
shadows whip out wildly from her spine, from her chest, almost like tentacles. she rips apart, and grows in size, the scream warbling as she becomes something else.chaos, the shadows whisper. destroy those who have what you never have had, and never will.]
the monster - the creature, with the sad eyes, lifts its head. it looks between the three travelers who stand before it, and it scoots forward when nimona begins to transform. it can't get far.
it drops its head near datz and ponta, with an almost cacophonus thud, and it closes its eyes and it takes a pained breath. in, out. in, out. ]
Te... [ ... ] Aelfric... prayer... plenty....
Sorry...
[ and then there's a warm, bright light, brief, that wraps around ponta's legs.
with the last of its strength, the creature heals ponta enough that he should be able to stand on his own.
and just like that, it disintegrates into thin air and dust, leaving nothing behind but scraps of fabric. bloodied, teal, white, and gold. ]
[ datz can still hear her voice in that scream, and he can hear the agony in it just as plainly. it jolts him out of whatever thoughts he may have been having about the monster in front of them, and he whirls around to face the— no, he's not going to think that. to face nimona behind them.
he just barely sees the dust flying away out of the corner of his eye after it gives the last of what it has to heal ponta, and even as he feels the weight leave his shoulders, it doesn't quite register with him what just happened. ]
[ It's hard to feel any euphoria about being able to stand on his own when Nimona's scream is still echoing in his head. There's a loneliness in that which not only matches but likely surpasses his own experience.
Nimona...
Despite all the sympathy he has for her in this moment, his hand goes to his dagger. If the Nimonster makes any move to get closer in attack, he will cast a gust of wind to push her back, but otherwise he is waiting. Hoping she's still herself in there. ]
[ the remnants of the dragon get tucked into the back of his memory when it's not an all hands on deck emergency situation of life or death.
because, right now? this is bad. good thing kogitsunemaru (sword) is already at the ready. however, given he's now on the opposite side of where he needs to be, there's gonna be a moment while he sprits towards nimona to keep her focused on him.
did she hear what he did as well? did the voice that so desperately wanted him to give in sink its claws into her?
either way, it doesn't matter because he needs to make sure she isn't about to bring the entire temple down around their ears. ]
[she's not really all there, at the moment - which is pretty clear the instant that ponta sends a gust of wind at her. it hits, and it makes her stumble back a couple of steps with a snarl. those tentacles whip out wildly, snapping around and cracking into the walls.
she sees the sword. she sees something trying to hurt her, again, and there's something in her that wants to let him do it. but the shadows whisper otherwise - hurt them, hurt them.
and so she does - she starts to move forward, swiping her claw out at all three of them furiously. her aim is to shred through them, to toss them into the wall, break bones. and as she does that, a separate shadow tentacle whams into kogi's chest, trying to get him away from her.]
[ oof, he gets a good swipe across the chest out of that, but... it's fine. no big deal. can hardly even see the blood in these dark thief clothes.
seems like that wind magic's the best thing they've got right now, and he really doesn't want to draw a weapon on her when she's in a state like this, so for the moment he's just going to focus on covering ponta while he does his thing. ]
[ So much for his poor arm that was healed up after the first shadow hand encounter. There's a new bleeding gash on it now, but the muscle isn't impacted so heavily that it would stop Ponta from casting. ]
I'm going to try holding her down!! Please get through to her!!
[ He doesn't feel like anything he says would hold particular meaning to Nimona right now, but hopefully one of the others has a firmer bond to rely on...?
His wind casting strategy changes, from gusts to blow her away to a torrent of wind from above, intended to pin her to the ground. Is it strong enough for that? Probably not. But he's trying. ]
[ me: i'm gonna roll for funsies dice maiden: Rolling 2d20: 2 + 1
WELL I GUESS KOGI'S GOING THROUGH IT. the foot he's been pretending isn't injured doesn't hold his weight enough and Nimona's slash strikes true, raking down his sword arm. with the second tentacle coming at him at the same moment, there's not enough time or strength to block and off he goes, flying into the wall.
the cracking sound echoes throughout the temple. the noise he makes sounds horrific. and best of all, the fact he doesn't get back up immediately is probably the worst ]
[she lets out a little shriek, when she feels the wind again - she doesn't want that anywhere near her, with the way it blows the shadows aside. the rest of this ragtag little team can probably see flashes of pink whenever the shadow is blown too far away. it's strong, strong enough to make her stagger, held under the gust of wind momentarily. she hits the ground, but it isn't going to stop her entirely.
those shadow tentacles grow, expanding from every part of her body, and sharpen and blunt as necessary. one goes for ponta, aiming to stab through his shoulder, trying to get him to stop casting. another sharpens, whirling through the air to slice at datz's face before turning to something a little like a hammer, trying to get him to drop his weapon - however it works out, she's trying to break bones.
but when kogi slams into the wall, she stops, looking at him. and when he doesn't get up immediately, she wails.]
[ oof. the shadow just misses his eye, but his vision gets blurred by the blood flowing down from the gash above it anyway; he can barely see the shadow reshaping itself into a crushing weapon before it swings at him and he feels a sharp pain in his arm.
the pain behind that wail seems worse than this, though, so... he'll deal. while she's having her moment looking at kogi's fallen form, he'll try to peel off to the side and run around to see if he can find that bow she had on her before. is it still on her? on the ground nearby? they were supposed to destroy that thing, right? so maybe— ]
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no subject
into the temple we go. did you want more mood music? you can have it.
the temple itself is fairly large. the good news is that the purple fog seems to have dissipated entirely - the monster made of shadow seems to have been the source of it. cavernous stone walls and rickety bridges cover a lot of ground, and the sound of water flowing can be heard somewhere within the temple. there's an upper floor and a lower floor. the altar where nimona found herself landing with the bow is to the left.
to the right, there is a cave painting. there's also a treasure chest! in the distance, there is a soft, pained noise that sounds like a whine, though its hard to tell if it's animal or human, somewhere down that path.
once again my octopaths, you will have to pick a...path.
kogi. actually, i lied. your leg really fucking hurts. and nimona? the bow on your back feels heavy, but not in weight. you actually feel pretty great - as light as a feather, like you could run a mile or twelve despite any injuries you have.
occasionally, your lanterns flicker - regular light, then blue. feel free to chat as you make your way through the dungeon. it's quiet, but you can hear crickets chirping, so it's less oppressive than it was before. ]
no subject
Oof, buddy. C'mon, get on, you're taking the Datz Express 'til we get those legs fixed up.
[ squats down so he can climb onto his shoulders!! if he doesn't he's getting scooped up and bridal carried. no escape. (unfortunately he can't carry him and kogi at the same time, though, probably, so please let's stop with the leg pain.)
anyway. now they're in here, looking at the path options. hm. ]
Might be worth checking out that painting on the wall over there, ya think?
[ maybe it'll have the secret to the final boss fight or whatever's about to happen in here. ]
...Probably oughtta just leave that chest alone, though.
[ that thing's got mimic vibes. also he already has 185 gold leaves that he has no idea what he's gonna do with. ]
no subject
Yeah. And maybe check out the noise.
[she will take the bow off her back and just hold it.]
Let's do that first, and then the altar.
[and because she's not holding someone or horribly injured, she bounces off towards the right. she wants to see what the whining sound is...]
no subject
[ Ponta hesitates before actually taking the offer. Being carried on someone's back is... well, it's really uncool. His whole performance here was uncool. But as he tries to put a little more weight on his injured leg, he is forced to realize that if he has to walk for more than 20 steps, he might literally pass out from the pain. And that's... not ideal.
So onto Datz's back he goes. Which means he's strapped in to also go look at the painting. ]
no subject
he follows after the others rather quietly, because lbr he's probably mentally tired from verbally sparring not-jiji. ]
Painting and then the noise. After you all.
no subject
the treasure chest is left alone :(
once you've regarded the painting, it feels like something reverberates in the temple. the world around you feels like it shifts, a little - your lanterns flare blue, one more time, and out of the blue fire come figures. familiar figures, based around one important person in your life, one scene that you so clearly remember.
these memories play in snippets. small pieces, reenacted by the sacred flame, like reminders. they are characterized by loss, and regret: they are ghosts of things that you've already lived. one by one, these short memories play out as you make your way through the dungeon, towards those whimpering, whining noises.
each of you can see each other's - they play out unstoppably, warding off the darkness of the temple through the sacred flame's guidance.
the only person who doesn't get a memory is nimona. for some reason, the blue flame in her lantern stays put, and it seems to flicker - blue, then purple. blue, then purple.
nimona - as you walk, you can see the others memories, these moments in their lives of bitterness or joy, sweetness or pain. something in you roils unhappily, and you have this sense of pressure that echoes in the back of your mind. let go. be free. let go. be free. let go. be free. chaos is all we seek. let go. be free. ]
no subject
A dragon never yields. Even when wounded, a dragon bites down hard, and never lets go till its dying breath. It glares, it roars, and it latches its jaws firmly onto its prey till the bitter end. That's what lawyers do to get to the truth!
[ then the scene shifts slightly to show that same man seated on a worn-out old sofa in the dark, speaking out to the kingdom with conviction as datz stands at his side.
"at his side" is where he was always meant to be — dhurke's closest friend and right-hand man. and he's going to make it back to his side to help him see the revolution through.
a dragon never yields, nor will he rest until his revolution is complete. ]
[ (please look at the url youtube assigned that video btw i'm losing my shit) ]
no subject
"But then I met Cota. And something started to move in me again. Thanks to him I got another chance to bottle battle in a way that made my heart beat. And I think it's possible when I'm with Cota."
While the Ponta made of blue flame speaks, he stops being lonely. Behind him, various scenes take shape and melt into each other. Ponta, still in his hapless act, with a preteen boy who has the brightest smile.
"Cota isn't like other bottle battlers. He sincerely enjoys bottle battling, nothing more. Because of that he's filled with infinite possibilities. Just like I thought..."
The Ponta of memories raises his head and a gentle smile plays at his lips.
"I have to see him."
And where the Ponta of reality is confined to Datz' back, unable to move on his own, the Ponta made of flame can go and run, towards the person he has designated his personal saviour.
In the memory, this will end in disaster. But this time, this time... This time Ponta has more than one person to run to, and he doesn't want to give up. ]
no subject
"I don't agree with your methods." he says, fondly because after the end of the day, they are the closest of friends "but I can't say you were wrong"
Companionship isn't easy for a sword, especially one who has seen the centuries come and go. But the Sanjous are the closest of the eldest for a reason and even despite it all, they have each other's back.
Even if Mikazuki thinks he can use it as a get out of chores card. ]
no subject
let go. just let go.
she holds her lantern to her chest, hugging it. and she watches the memories of everybody else, watches their reasons for living, the people closest to them holding their hands out, and feels... lonely.
... she keeps moving.]
no subject
all four of you press through the shrine towards the sound of the whimpering. and, as the ghosts of your inspiration and lights melt away, back into your lanterns, you find something curled up in a deep, dark corner of the shrine, at the very, very back. at first, it’s hard to see. but as you approach, you realize what’s facing you is... a monster.
it is huge - the creature’s protruding vertebrae nearly touch the ceiling of the temple, but unlike in the sprite, the monster is collapsed in a heap on the ground, breathing heavily. it looks badly wounded - arrows stick out of its torso, in the space between its protruding ribcage bones, and the fabric of whatever torn asunder thing it wore at some point is dirtied and bloodied, though it’s hard to tell if its human blood or something else. black shadow pours off of its figure, and it stares at you with its eerily glowing, pinkish purple eyes, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. its head is flat on the ground, and each breath it takes comes on a wheeze.
all of you, just by looking, can tell whatever this thing is - it’s miserable. dust sprinkles off of it in pieces, as if it is very slowly disintegrating, but it is so, so slow.
the creature lolls its head to stare at the group when they arrive, but it doesn’t attack. its voice is garbled, but its definitely male, and speaks the common language that you all do. ]
No longer…. trust… cannot be allowed… to exist… no longer…
[ for a moment, you swear you hear it say something else. you swear you hear its voices whisper in your ears, now more familiar, garbled, known. ]
Well done… Citrus…
Such a… pure… Kogitsunemaru…
Dragon… never yields…
[ and then, finally. the monster shudders, a full body motion that rattles the temple, shakes the ground. ]
Kill… me…
–
[ nimona. though you started ahead of the rest of the group, by the time you all reach the monster, you are a few steps behind, still holding the black bow. your injuries aren’t bothering you. your body doesn’t hurt. but something is wrong.
and you see the monster, at first, too. you hear its first phrase - you hear it beg for death - and nothing else. you hear no special voices. no friend or home guides your way. you are lost, nimona. and something whispers in the back of your mind:
what could you possibly do to help? he’s already dead.
unbeknownst to the other three, a black shadow is beginning to curl off of nimona’s body.
who’s already dead, nimona?
is it roi mistral?
or is it someone else? ]
no subject
datz isn't going to object to putting it out of its misery if that's what it wants. maybe it brought them here to do just that. not that he could easily raise a weapon right now with ponta on his shoulders.
to the others, quietly, though he's still facing forward: ]
...Don't see that there's much of an alternative, do you?
no subject
Not that he can easily contribute right now either, more piece of luggage than party member. ]
... I'm afraid not. There's no healing item for these, I expect.
no subject
well, as their current available sword wielding member, it probably falls on him to do the deed. kogitsunemaru will step forward, sword already unsheathed. let him be the weapon that he is, protecting the humans from having to make the choice for themselves. ]
It may be kinder, to free their suffering instead.
[ he will reach forward to send the dragon as peacefully on its way as he can. if their last member has no objections to it.....? ]
no subject
something is wrong. something is wrong. the little light in her arms has been something she's been guarding so preciously the entire time she's been here, and now is no different. she holds it tightly to her chest, trying to shake off the dark. let go, it whispers. she ignores it. she has her flame. it's trying so hard to stay lit, she's doing her best to stop it from going out.
but she can see this monster. she can see how much in pain it's in, she can see the shadows curling off of it. her heart aches before she even realizes who it is. it's too familiar. it's a little like looking in a mirror, and she can't help but look closer. she takes a step forward.
who's already dead, nimona?
she sees it in front of her. him, in front of her, tall and grinning, freckles splashed across his nose and cheeks. his eye's a little worse for wear this last week, but it's fine. he tells her that he can see just fine, and that he'd have to be some kind of weakling to get taken out here. he grabs his hat and puts it down on her head, and for a second, everything is okay.
and then she sees him as he is here. she sees the monster, and the way it whines. and for a second she sees portgas d. ace struggling to breathe, taking his last, staring up at her and asking her to kill him, and.
her lantern goes out.
and nimona screams.
shadows whip out wildly from her spine, from her chest, almost like tentacles. she rips apart, and grows in size, the scream warbling as she becomes something else. chaos, the shadows whisper. destroy those who have what you never have had, and never will.]
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the monster - the creature, with the sad eyes, lifts its head. it looks between the three travelers who stand before it, and it scoots forward when nimona begins to transform. it can't get far.
it drops its head near datz and ponta, with an almost cacophonus thud, and it closes its eyes and it takes a pained breath. in, out. in, out. ]
Te... [ ... ] Aelfric... prayer... plenty....
Sorry...
[ and then there's a warm, bright light, brief, that wraps around ponta's legs.
with the last of its strength, the creature heals ponta enough that he should be able to stand on his own.
and just like that, it disintegrates into thin air and dust, leaving nothing behind but scraps of fabric. bloodied, teal, white, and gold. ]
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he just barely sees the dust flying away out of the corner of his eye after it gives the last of what it has to heal ponta, and even as he feels the weight leave his shoulders, it doesn't quite register with him what just happened. ]
Pink— Nimona!
[ what the hell is this? ]
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Nimona...
Despite all the sympathy he has for her in this moment, his hand goes to his dagger. If the Nimonster makes any move to get closer in attack, he will cast a gust of wind to push her back, but otherwise he is waiting. Hoping she's still herself in there. ]
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because, right now? this is bad. good thing kogitsunemaru (sword) is already at the ready. however, given he's now on the opposite side of where he needs to be, there's gonna be a moment while he sprits towards nimona to keep her focused on him.
did she hear what he did as well? did the voice that so desperately wanted him to give in sink its claws into her?
either way, it doesn't matter because he needs to make sure she isn't about to bring the entire temple down around their ears. ]
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she sees the sword. she sees something trying to hurt her, again, and there's something in her that wants to let him do it. but the shadows whisper otherwise - hurt them, hurt them.
and so she does - she starts to move forward, swiping her claw out at all three of them furiously. her aim is to shred through them, to toss them into the wall, break bones. and as she does that, a separate shadow tentacle whams into kogi's chest, trying to get him away from her.]
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seems like that wind magic's the best thing they've got right now, and he really doesn't want to draw a weapon on her when she's in a state like this, so for the moment he's just going to focus on covering ponta while he does his thing. ]
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I'm going to try holding her down!! Please get through to her!!
[ He doesn't feel like anything he says would hold particular meaning to Nimona right now, but hopefully one of the others has a firmer bond to rely on...?
His wind casting strategy changes, from gusts to blow her away to a torrent of wind from above, intended to pin her to the ground. Is it strong enough for that? Probably not. But he's trying. ]
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dice maiden: Rolling 2d20: 2 + 1
WELL I GUESS KOGI'S GOING THROUGH IT. the foot he's been pretending isn't injured doesn't hold his weight enough and Nimona's slash strikes true, raking down his sword arm. with the second tentacle coming at him at the same moment, there's not enough time or strength to block and off he goes, flying into the wall.
the cracking sound echoes throughout the temple. the noise he makes sounds horrific. and best of all, the fact he doesn't get back up immediately is probably the worst ]
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those shadow tentacles grow, expanding from every part of her body, and sharpen and blunt as necessary. one goes for ponta, aiming to stab through his shoulder, trying to get him to stop casting. another sharpens, whirling through the air to slice at datz's face before turning to something a little like a hammer, trying to get him to drop his weapon - however it works out, she's trying to break bones.
but when kogi slams into the wall, she stops, looking at him. and when he doesn't get up immediately, she wails.]
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the pain behind that wail seems worse than this, though, so... he'll deal. while she's having her moment looking at kogi's fallen form, he'll try to peel off to the side and run around to see if he can find that bow she had on her before. is it still on her? on the ground nearby? they were supposed to destroy that thing, right? so maybe— ]
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1/2
CYOA COMPLETE ⭐️ REWARDS