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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 24, 2007 16:17:00 GMT -5
The aruseus appeared in a gentle flash of white light. He stood just outside the Fortress proper. Alcatraz pondered how he was going to handle things this time. These pokemon, he now realised, were not inherently evil at all. They had been corrupted. So, he would not destroy them, but cure them. It would be a lot harder than just bringing down the place and kiling all or most within.
He noticed a few smaller pokemon standing not that far away and pondered whether to ask them where their leader was. He had a few things to sort out with that leader.
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Post by fya on Feb 24, 2007 18:54:47 GMT -5
Chyna ran after Chancol and Scrappy, not wanting to get left behind. She had never seen an arusesus, but it was massive. And scary looking. Hideously -light-. And it made her feel sick. She resisted yelling 'go home!' to it, but heald back.
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 24, 2007 19:06:59 GMT -5
Alcatraz did not wait to be addressed by the guards this time. He stopped before them and spoke. " Take me to your leader."
He imposed the same psychic bind on them that he had done for the others outside the Fortress.
" I don't know where he is!" The arcanine struggled to move, but could only speak.
" What is his name?" Alcatraz looked at him from his alien face.
" He is the Shadowlord," gasped the arcanine. " Now please...let me go..."
" You will take me to him," said Alcatraz with a frighteningly neutral voice. Inside, though, he was struggling to keep his composure. He hated having to do stuff like this.
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 24, 2007 19:08:34 GMT -5
" He's going in," said Scrappy. "Oh shit....oh shitshitshit, we're too late!" Scrappy ran off as fast as he could run through the grass and up towards the Foretress. By now Alcatraz and the arcanine had disappeared inside.
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Post by fya on Feb 24, 2007 19:16:03 GMT -5
Chyna ran after Scrappy. Shadowlord would never fall to some light god. Shadows always snuffed lout the light. It was how things worked! But she liked seeing a good fight. And she wanted to see the Shadowlord. Not just hear about him from the others.
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 24, 2007 19:55:47 GMT -5
Alcatraz was deep in the fortress by now, following the arcanine down passageways of stairs. The stairs had been created by humans ages ago. All the passages weer roomy, which was good for Alca, for he was enormous. ~I don't care if the passages get too small...if they do, I'll blast my way in.~
* * *
Scrappy reached the entrance. Two new guards had replaced the other ones. " What's going on? You do know the aruseus is back, right?"
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 24, 2007 21:24:45 GMT -5
Hard, shining hooved tapped over cold stone. Alcatraz ventured down after the arcanine but couldn't help growing more suspicious that he was being led into a trap. ~Big mistake if they try anything on me.~ He was gathering his inner force to do battle with whatever nasty thing lay at the source of this evil. He'd heard of and seen shadow pokemon before. They were caused by something.
" Are we getting closer?" said Alcatraz as the arcanine led him further down into a hallway that looked less than frequently used.
" Oh, yes, we are," said the arcanine. At that moment Alcatraz sensed something from back across the land...Lelaka. She was in distress although not immediate danger...and having trouble with Sassano and who knew what else. ~Lelaka?~ he called to her in a powerful telepathy. ~What's the trouble?~ If any more of these horde members were attacking...he swore....
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Post by Clif on Feb 24, 2007 22:29:36 GMT -5
Chancol had a very uneasy feeling in his gut as everything seemed to go wrong. "What do you think'll happen next?" he asked the group, and also he had no idea what the Shadowlord or what an aruseus could do.
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 24, 2007 22:46:04 GMT -5
" Anything could happen next!" said Scrappy. He stopped where he was. Maybe they should just make a run for it before things got any worse...
* * *
The ten or so Yonowaaru set upon Alcatraz from all sides, melting out from the walls and flinging attacks at him. Alcatraz felt stupid for having walked into such a trap. But a foolish trap it would be...
He asumed dark form immediately and flew into a frenzy of speed, lashing out with judgement pebble yet again. The attack rocketed out towards the bulk of the ghosts and spread out as it left its source. The walls shook and rocks fell from the ceiling as the attack struck the ghosts. In a matter of minutes Alcatraz stood there with the ghosts destroyed or fainted. He caught his breath, looking for the arcanine. The arcanine had fled. " Damn."
Well he was going to get nowhere following him anyway...he realised something, however. Now that he was dark typed he could more closely feel the thrum of darkness vibrating through the tunnels like a sound lower than the threshold of hearing. Alcatraz knew where he had to go--down.
He changed to Rock form and did just that.
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 1:03:09 GMT -5
Chancol thought for a bit as he tried to look where the aruseus went. As he turned a corner, beginning to head down some stairs, "Anyone notice how that guy didn't harm us? Even when we didn't give him what he wanted?" he asked.
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 25, 2007 1:37:57 GMT -5
" Yeah," said Scrappy, "maybe under all that uber power he's just weak."
As Scrappy got inside the fortress walls, he heard a deep rumble and felt the ground vibrating, shivering. Something was going on below the level they were standing on and it wasn't good. " The hell..."
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 2:25:21 GMT -5
"Well...that isn't a good sign," he said, noting the rumbling, but just for kicks he really wanted to see what was going on, Let's keep going." He wondered how deep down each they were now. He actually moved quicker than before, it was an opportunity to meet the Shadowlord, and possibly lend a hand if he could.
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Post by fya on Feb 25, 2007 10:42:44 GMT -5
"What's happening?" asked Chyna. This wasn't good, Chancol was right. But what was happening?
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 25, 2007 11:13:21 GMT -5
" I don't know but I'd be stupid not to think that damn aruseus is the cause of it. I knew it--he's bringing the place down, or trying to." Scrappy thought about running now while he still could, but then he'd look like a wimp.
* * *
Alcatraz's breaking through the solid stone suddenly stopped and he had to go into flight mode quickly to avoid falling through the open air. He had landed in a high, huge cavern...and it was one of the loudest places he'd ever been in.
All through the cave echoed the cries and wails of despairing pokemon...whether they were alive or dead, Alcatraz didn't know. But he did know, as he lit on the ground and looked about, he could feel that he had reached the source of the evil. ~It's you...you who call yourself Shadowlord. You can't hide from me. I've destroyed others like you and I will destroy you, too.~ Just about every land had its evil, its perversions, its unnatural plagues. Alcatraz prepared his judgement pebble to unleash on this thing of shadows, the shadow-maker, the one who knew and saw all in this place. Through the Shadowlord's fear he tracked him. He would destroy him and do so rather easily...he had done this before.
~You may destroy me,~ came the response, ~but you will never destroy my power. All you will do is make your own job even harder. Foolish aruseus, thinking you can simply overpower things and win that way. Destroying me will not bring the Fortress down and it will not bring the Horde down.~
~Maybe not, but with my work here, we'll bring it -up.- ~ An with that Alcatraz closed on the shadows, feeling his way, and unleashed his power in a blast that shook the Fortress to its foundations.
Rock blasted away. An earthquake shuddered through the Fortress. Cracks broke along the caves and higher up, along the walls of the ruined castle built over them. The foundation of the ruins shifted. White light filled the cave where the aruseus fought the shadow enemy, a blinding light and a roar and a strange twinkle, a clinking noise, like a million chimechos singing.
Then there was darkness, and silence. Alcatraz felt darkness leaking out from containment, long held prisoner inside the mysterious Shadowlord.
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 13:25:27 GMT -5
"Shit. Ok I dunno about continuing on now. If this is just the beginning..." Chancol said, suddenly slowing down, "But, then again if he does bring the place down, I think we're too far in now to make it out alive anyway, if you guys wanna leave then that's fine by me."
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 25, 2007 13:39:37 GMT -5
"Whoa..." Scrappy -felt- something. It was like a ripple going through his being as his shadow status was affected, though it did not go away. " Something's -happened- all right. And I'm not leaving! Not now." To leave now would mean to betray the Horde, and the horde had only one punishment for traitors.
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 13:52:17 GMT -5
"Ok, then if you guys aren't leaving then let's keep going," Chancol replied resuming his usual pace towards the source of the shaking. "I think it's one more level down..." as they continued down, Chancol slipped on a worn down stair, and tumbled down the rest of the way. "Damn..." he grunted, standing up.
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 25, 2007 13:55:30 GMT -5
" Careful," said Scrappy. He walked along a long way until he came to where several pokemon were clustered, talking.
" ...you think they're gonna come back up through here?"
" I dunno, he can probably just make another hole if he wants," said a dark marowak.
Scrappy went over to what they were looking at and saw a big, wide, nearly perfectly circular hole that seemed to have been blasted downwards infinitely.
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 14:07:27 GMT -5
"Daaaaaaamn..." he said shaking his head, "That's one hell of a hole, has anyone been down it yet?" he asked. "Hey, Scrappy, what do you think of this?"
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 25, 2007 14:54:54 GMT -5
" Yeah...I'm pretty sure one pokemon's been down it," said the marowak. " Fucking aruseus."
" I think..." Scrappy looked way down the hole. Nothing to see but black, though. " I think he knew where he was going when he made that." He -knew-. That damn aruseus knew just where their lord was...or had been.
* * *
Alcatraz sensed no more of the shadowlord's presence. He was glad he had destroyed him, but he knew easily that the problem here was not solved. Maybe not even made any better. He didn't bother looking about the cave...he knew there was nothing left here for him.
He teleported up by the entrance to the hole and saw the expected group beginning to crowd around it. In dark form, he looked at them all. Scrappy stumbled backwards, caught his balance and continued to back away.
"Now if you all will excuse me I'm going to find what I came for." Alcatraz decided not to do anything to them...maybe if he left them to their own devices, they would now come out of the shadow cursing with time. That was probably the least traumatic way to handle it.
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Post by fya on Feb 25, 2007 15:28:48 GMT -5
Marcol didn't like this. SOmething was terribley wrong. And then, smack, there was an aruseus. "What the hell?" Marcol muttered, staring up at the aruseus. Serious what the hell. He was holding Coralyn and Jarreth. Both he'd recently turned to shadow Pokemon, but it had been fast. Not terribley through and little did he know that Coralyn had not been totally darkened.
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 15:29:36 GMT -5
"What the hell you lookin' for?" Chancol called out. The aruseus had done enough damage, now what was it planning to do? The charmander's spirits didn't fall, since all the aruseus seemed to only care of ridding the place of the Shadowlord, but he wondered if it knew that the Horde would just come right back?
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 25, 2007 15:36:13 GMT -5
The aruseus debated whether to say anything. If he said he wanted Coralyn and Jarreth back, they might do something to them. In the end, he just walked on, tail low and head high. Then in a blink, he vanished.
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Post by fya on Feb 25, 2007 15:38:35 GMT -5
Marcol shrugged his boney shoulders. Total weirdness. If he remembered right, the aruseus had been with his kits. Ahh well. He trudged off to the dungeon and left the two kits in a cell together. They were both unconscious.
"The hell," muttered Chyna. So the aruseus thought this was over? He was wrong. Very wrong.
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 16:15:15 GMT -5
Although Chancol wasn't the one who would be the first to work, he felt like he needed to show that bastard that even though that their leader was gone their spirit would not be crushed. "Alright then, I guess we need to get back to work and make sure that this place don't topple over," he said, nudging Scrappy a little.
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 25, 2007 17:14:04 GMT -5
" It won't topple over," said Scrappy. " The Fortress has -always- been around and it's always gonna be there. It'll take more than one lousy hole to bring it down."
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 18:20:02 GMT -5
Chancol nodded, figuring that Scrappy was right. "Well, now that that's over, what do you wanna do now? Help out with repairing the hole or heading back outside the gate to find something to bring in as a prisoner?" the charmander was also hungry, but he had no idea about what sandshrews ate. He walked away from where the hole was, not wanting to have any chance of falling in, while he waited for Scrappy's response.
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Post by wynnyelle on Feb 25, 2007 18:34:48 GMT -5
Scrappy had thoughts of what he would do. If the Shadow lord was gone, then maybe someday he himself could rise to power. Of course, he would only ever be a sandslash...but perhaps he would be able to rule IF he had powerful pokemon by his side. " You know guys...maybe we oughta find a few more folks who'd like ta try taking this whole joint over ourselves." He kept his voice low.
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Post by Clif on Feb 25, 2007 19:05:57 GMT -5
Chancol raised a brow, "It'd take a looooong time for us to do that, but hey, I'm for it. We'll have to keep this just between us. Just to make sure everyone in the group has to know when we're gonna tell someone else about the plan," he said, thinking that it was a great plan, "What do you think Chyna?" he asked.
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Post by fya on Feb 25, 2007 19:16:43 GMT -5
"Good idea," said Chyna. Most of this was above the young charmander, but it sounded good. Power was something that her parents wanted. ANd if she got it...then she'd be above them! And they wouldn't boss her around anymore!
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