Errant Sword [KtK RP Thread; Mission 1]

[Flyg0n]

“But uh, Mr. Klink said he was just one of the group. If he was the leader, I’d like to think he would’ve said so.” His gaze darts towards the floating keys. “Um, am I right?”

Clink shook their head. "No, Keldeo is not the leader, at least not on this world. Once, he was a student of theirs but these days he is so proficient he is nearly their equal."

They glanced at Shou'an. "Although that is very interesting... Do you mean to say that Keldeo is the leader where you are from, even though he is weaker than the others?"

Before moving closer to the source of the noise, she carefully observed their surroundings, looking for anything unusual or that stood out to het.
Tracks, berries, strange rocks or tufts of fur, feathers, footprints - or hoofprints in this case-... anything could be useful.

As they drew closer to the noise, Sada would note cream colored tufts of fur here and there, and a distinct sets of tracks in the softer patches of dirt. Two toes in the front, and one in the rear.

---

Compared to where they’d landed, this island seemed much more vibrant. Thin green grass waved gently in the breeze, palm trees dotted the shore and plenty of brightly colored plants filled the land. However, the peacefulness of the island was disturbed by the most awful noise. Loud, raucous shrieking and grunting, accompanied by a terrible clanging, like metal striking metal.

There didn’t seem to be much else to do but investigate the source of the racket. A trail leads through the underbrush, and the sounds grow louder and louder. Finally, the trees open up to reveal a huge clearing. There in the center are a tumbling, furious group of brawling Mankey... holding swords? Not, not just any swords.... Honedge?

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for the fight, with the spectator Mankey alternating between hooting in encouragement or booing, or some even throwing dirt or rotten berries at the combatants. The combatants themselves seem to be rather unbalanced as well, with a few Mankey wielding massive Aegislash swinging wildly at some Primeape and Mankey wielding Honedge.

Chaos. Sloppy sword fighting, dirt flying, and biting and hissing and spitting and rusted, chipped blades.

Clink shrank back and grimaced. “This is... not right.” Indeed, even a second passing glance it was clear something was off, dark aura flaring around the Mankey’s bodies and a strange wild light in their eyes. Even the Honedge and Doublades and Aegislash looked unnaturally... wrong somehow. Angry. Malevolent.

“They’re rowdy and love to battle but never like this.” Clink shivered. “I think we should probably stop them...”

 

[Hanafuda]

Josie trembled at the chaotic sight. To think that there were Mankey swinging Honedge, Doublade and Aegislash like that... Yes, it certainly was unnatural and unnerving. Still, she wasn't going to back off. "Should I wrap them up with some of my web?" Her tiny pincers wiggled as they let out a few electric sparks, preparing to shoot out her Electroweb.

 

[FauxFox]

"Should I wrap them up with some of my web?"

“That sounds like it could work.” Nova said, still watching the Mankey fight. “Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Honedge look that mad, and the Mankey don’t exactly look like they’re in the mood to talk either. So yeah, I say fire away.”

 

[System Error]

Nori giggles at the confirmation. “I knew it!” he practically boasts, doing a tiny fist pump as he exhales slightly with relief. “But it is interesting to think about. You know, how different our worlds are. And how similar!” As they dock and he scampers off the raft, he adds, “But that’s a conversation for later. Maybe when we’re on the move again.”

He is somewhat nonplussed at the scene before him. “Wonder what that aura is? And, why I can even see it. Anyone else seeing that?” Was it just his eyes? He wasn’t spiritually attuned or anything. “I know Mankeys are usually super pissed off most of the time, but this is the first time I’ve seen them fighting with swords. There’s a woman in my world who does it.”

Josie trembled at the chaotic sight. To think that there were Mankey swinging Honedge, Doublade and Aegislash like that... Yes, it certainly was unnatural and unnerving. Still, she wasn't going to back off. "Should I wrap them up with some of my web?" Her tiny pincers wiggled as they let out a few electric sparks, preparing to shoot out her Electroweb.

“That sounds like it could work.” Nova said, still watching the Mankey fight. “Y’know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Honedge look that mad, and the Mankey don’t exactly look like they’re in the mood to talk either. So yeah, I say fire away.”

Then he hears two of the Pokemon making plans. Without even thinking, he rushes out in front of the group. “No, stop. Stop! Not yet! Don’t attack yet! That means you, weird red Cyclizar dinosaur thing!” he rasps, also with a point towards the Winged King. That thing rushed in there mindlessly against crystals, and there was no room for error here. “We have the element of surprise here, and we shouldn’t waste it on that!”

Close his eyes. Inhale, exhale. He talks lower, quieter than he already was. “No offense, Josie. But we need a plan. We can’t get into too big a fight before the big guy. I think...” He looks over at the ongoing brawl. He has only a few seconds to come up with something. “Um. Okay.” He claps his hands.

“Okay! I might not look it, but I’ve been tutored in battle by one of the best around. Know your enemy. There are a lot of them and they’re disorganized and distracted with each other. Some seem to just want to watch a good fight. I do think that talking might not be the answer here; even if we can get through to them, there’s too many. But if it comes to that, here’s what I’m thinking: leave the ones in the stands to enjoy the show, unless they come after us. We attack all the ones fighting all at once. Pachi can do that with Discharge, that might paralyze some of them too.”

Pachi squeaks and flexes, doing an arm pump of his own. His words translate to: “Okay, Nori! Leave it to me!”

“Anyone else have anything like that? A big move that can hit a lot of stuff all at once?” He looks at everyone. “We’ll try to hit one after another. Then the rest of us come in. Pick a target and pick it off! Hit them hard and fast and end it quick. Sound good?”

 

[EonDuoLatios]

They glanced at Shou'an. "Although that is very interesting... Do you mean to say that Keldeo is the leader where you are from, even though he is weaker than the others?"

The Latios nodded. "Yes, at least that is what the annals in Tianxia record. It is said that Keldeo is like a young prince, and the other three are his consorts and advisors. Hence, though Keldeo is quite a bit weaker than the other three, he is still the leader."

Upon seeing the Mankey's fighting, the first instinct of Shou'an is to talk to them about ethics and philosophy. After all, most people in Tianxia are educated on such matters, that all people are good, and so on. But that won't work here, he realised. The Mankey were, what they would call, barbarians, and would not heed any advice, in all probability.

As he listened to the discussion between the Pokemon and the humans about the best course of action, the consensus seemed to fall on attacking them quickly and with a powerful ranged move -- that Shou'an could supply in quick order.

"I have two of those moves, both Draco Meteor and Lustre Purge, as you've seen earlier. I think Lustre Purge has a slightly smaller area of effect," the term that he'd been thought in battle training, "but Draco Meteor, perhaps, hits less hard."

 

[Negrek]

It was a brief and thankfully uneventful flight over to the next island, and Nate mostly occupied himself with thoughts of holding on, as well as some amusement at the vulpix's getup. He hadn't met one that wore a crown before, but he'd met plenty that, based on personality, he was sure would jump at the chance if they ever got one.

The "Winged King" was an interesting one, too. Nate hadn't seen a pokémon with wings that unfurled from its head like that. Some kind of dragon, definitely--he vaguely thought he'd seen one or two kind of similar pokémon with foreign trainers before, but they were much smaller and more lizardy. This was a pretty impressive evolution.

When they disembarked, Nate released Mightyena next to him, then nodded at the Winged King. "Thanks, big guy."

The shrieking up ahead sure wasn't instilling a lot of confidence--if was up to Nate, they might just head straight to Keldeo's island, since this one didn't seem too friendly. If there was another pokémon in trouble, though, he supposed they ought to help.

"Nah, Keldeo ain't got any metal on him," Nate said. "Maybe it's some kind of steel-type." He followed along after Sada, doing his best not to interfere with her tracking, or whatever it was she had going on. Though it turned out to be dead easy to discover the source of the noise... not that it really illuminated anything. Nate stared uneasily out at the mankey.

"Well, I ain't got the first fucking clue what's going on here," he said. "You?"

---​

Mightyena wagged excitedly when the big dragon suggested they investigate. She was sure Nate must be glaring at her, too, but she didn't bother checking. She'd be careful! She could be quiet!

She dropped her nose to the ground and sniffed her way along, though the scents here made little sense to her. And when the mankey came into view up ahead, she deflated a bit. Not her favorite pokémon, or Nate's.

"These guys don't look like much, but they're pretty dangerous," she told the other two. "When there's so many of them, they can overwhelm you really easily. And I've never seen them with swords before."

That was really weird. Mightyena raised her nose and sniffed the air. There was that strange aura, too... Well. She didn't have any ranged attacks, so she'd either have to let someone else deal with them or go running in herself.

"If the others are going to distract them, I wonder what would happen if we took some of those swords," she said. Were those the source of the strange aura? "We should see if we can figure out where that darkness is coming from."

 

[FauxFox]

“Anyone else have anything like that? A big move that can hit a lot of stuff all at once?”

“Ooh, I know Hyper Voice!” Nova replied excited. “Although it would probably leave the Honedges… Honeye… Honedges unscathed,” the Eeved paused to consider which plural was the right one before continuing.
“At the very least, it would be a good way to distract them while the rest of you do something more effective.”

 

[Hanafuda]

"If the others are going to distract them, I wonder what would happen if we took some of those swords," she said. Were those the source of the strange aura? "We should see if we can figure out where that darkness is coming from."

Josie perked up at that with a hop. “Right, miss Mightyena! Disarming them can also work!” She tilted her head, a leg scratching below her pincers. She reconsidered, looking worried “But… They’ll still come after us. Wouldn’t want the Aegislash to cut us clean. Crap, I’m gonna need some good pointers for this one.”

 

[canisaries]

"If the others are going to distract them, I wonder what would happen if we took some of those swords," she said. Were those the source of the strange aura? "We should see if we can figure out where that darkness is coming from."

"Well, in my world, honedge and their relatives are said to use their sashes to take over you," Samson said. "Of course, in my world, it's also nonsense spread by superstitious phasmophobes, but I've gathered that this place might work with different rules. I would be careful."

He leaned forward and squinted, trying to see if the swords had their sashes wrapped around their wielders' arms.

 

[ShiniGojira]

The flight was fun! The feeling of the wind blowing against her, the rush of freedom that could only be felt while flying! It was worth having her coat ruffled.

As they landed, she took a moment to smoothen her fur and adjust her tiara. "Thanks for the ride!" She smiled at the two.

But she didn't have the time to say more than that as the sound of clanging metal reached her ears. She flinched, looking around before following the big dragon and Mightyena in their investigation.

Mankey with swords? That was certainly a first. She didn't think she ever saw a Pokémon wielding a weapon, none of the guards in her kingdom ever saw any use in them with the exception of custom-made shields, weapons were pretty useless in the grand scheme of things when everyone could uproot a tree without much effort. Though something told her these swords were different, probably had something to do with the spooky aura cloaking their users and how the others were treating them like they were alive.

Josie perked up at that with a hop. “Right, miss Mightyena! Disarming them can also work!” She tilted her head, a leg scratching below her pincers. She reconsidered, looking worried “But… They’ll still come after us. Wouldn’t want the Aegislash to cut us clean. Crap, I’m gonna need some good pointers for this one.”

"I could try burning the swords if you guys can keep the Mankey distracted. I think I got Confuse Ray and Will-o-wisp that can make it easier but I don't know if I can handle that many of them."

 

[Flyg0n]

“Anyone else have anything like that? A big move that can hit a lot of stuff all at once?” He looks at everyone. “We’ll try to hit one after another. Then the rest of us come in. Pick a target and pick it off! Hit them hard and fast and end it quick. Sound good?”

Chef Flygon flexed his claws, sparks of dragon fire flickering in his jaws. "Sounds like an excellent plan to me!" he declared. "We should try to disrupt them for now, and perhaps then we can get more information."

He leaned forward and squinted, trying to see if the swords had their sashes wrapped around their wielders' arms.

At first, the battle was too chaotic and fast paced to make out anything distinct, but after a few moments it became a little easier to distinguish. Despite the rowdiness and lack of any decorum or rules to the fight, it didn't appear either side was controlling the other. Perhaps more like ach egging the other on, but both sides appeared to be suffering for it. The swords of the Honedges and Aegislashs and Doublades were dulled and scratched, and the Mankey and Primeape looked scratched and battered.

Whatever had incited them to fight, it seemed to have affected both species equally, and didn't originate with either.

 

[System Error]

They were listening. In turn, Nori listened to them. He wasn’t about to pretend he knew everything he was doing, so any advice or second opinions would help. The subject of the sword Pokemon soon came up. While he could not understand that Mightyena, he did when the others discussed it in return. “The swords?” he muses, slowly turning to give them a glance. Was it possible that this was a case of possession and not being driven berserk by the changes to this stupid world?

“I don’t know if it’s them that’s doing it,” he notes, tapping a finger on his chin. He wasn’t fully sure of it himself, even if he leaned towards doubting it. Then he shakes his head. Slowly at first while taking a step forward and lowering his head, then a little more forcefully. “Even if they are, and I don’t think they are, it would be difficult to get the swords away from the apes. Distracting them might seem good in theory, but that’s not going to change much if they’re holding on tight and swinging them around like crazy lunatics. No, I don’t think I’m wrong. We might hurt them less, but we could get hurt more.”

He shuts his eyes and winces. It pained him to say that, especially if these were being possessed by some force. But no, he knew he wasn’t wrong. They had to be practical about this. They still had Keldeo waiting for them, and they couldn’t afford unnecessary injuries.

“Okay,” he says, steeling himself. He clenches his fists and gives them a small pump. “Either way, we can’t let them keep fighting like this. Whatever we do to them will be way less bad than what they do to each other. Pachi will go in first and do a Discharge. Anyone immune to Electric moves or at least paralysis goes in and covers him.” That would keep them from getting hit, and might paralyze some of the apes or swords. “Then we strike, same as I said before. Don’t stress about trying to get the swords away. It looks like neither is using the other, I think.”

Nori turns back around. He’s visibly tense and his legs are shaking a little. Part of it is nerves, but there is a little excitement there as well. Deep breath in, deep breath out. “Is everyone ready?” he asks.

“I am, Nori!” Pachi replies, as confident as his trainer at the risk he is about to take in jumping right into the fray. “We can do this!”

 

[Negrek]

Talk, talk, talk! A lot of people presented ideas, and a lot of them were even good ones, but nobody seemed quite ready to dive in and make the first move.

Not that Mightyena blamed them. She pinned her ears back, momentarily overwhelmed by the mankey's hooting and screeching. Bad memories. But then she gave herself a shake, like Mantine had dumped water on her again, and trotted forward. With a nod to the pachirisu, she braced herself to run. "All right, let's go! Get them!" Then she sprinted forward, looking for a good target. A mankey with a sword, one that seemed distracted. If these guys got to wave honedge around, she definitely deserved to, too!

Whether the swords were possessing the mankey or not, she'd try to grab one and then challenge one of the other wielders to a duel with it. Maybe whatever had them so worked up would be more obvious at close range.

 

[System Error]

"Hey, no! Me first!" Pachi tries to call out, much too late.

"Wait, you stupid--" Nori jerks his head toward Pachi. "Go anyway! If they get in the way, it's their fault!"

With a nod, the squirrel charges in with quickness and grace. With a triumphant cry once he's as close as he can get, he curls in for the briefest of moments and yells out. A scintillating blast of electricity arcs out in a massive radius, big enough to hit all the dueling monkeys, as well as the impatient Mightyena if she wasn't careful. Pachi quickly moves to fall back after getting that massive area of effect blast off.

At least, the squirrel does give a warning. "Look out, shadow hyena! This is gonna be a big one!"

Much more than can be said of Nori. He fires an irritated glare at Nate. "Are you really that thing's trainer? If so, keep them under control better!"

 

[EonDuoLatios]

Shou'an considered the situation for around half a minute, as he considered his next moves. Obviously, just trying to go for an area-of-effect attack, Lustre Purge, wouldn't be too viable, since it would inevitably slam into his teammates that were already fighting, or at least, attempting to fight in the area -- though, the more he thought about it, the more that seemed like a good idea to him; Mightyena was a Dark type, after all, and the Pachirisu had already made a swift retreat. Raising a paw in the air, he cast another Lustre Purge toward the group of monkeys, in the air, before he dived down, draconic claws extended, preparing to do a sword fight of his own.

"Let's go, then! Who wants to duel with me?"

 

[Hanafuda]

Pachi will go in first and do a Discharge. Anyone immune to Electric moves or at least paralysis goes in and covers him.” That would keep them from getting hit, and might paralyze some of the apes or swords. “Then we strike, same as I said before. Don’t stress about trying to get the swords away. It looks like neither is using the other, I think.”

Nori turns back around. He’s visibly tense and his legs are shaking a little. Part of it is nerves, but there is a little excitement there as well. Deep breath in, deep breath out. “Is everyone ready?”

"Right behind you!" Josie skittered after Pachi. Her fur was starting to charge up as she prepared to protect the Pachirisu in case anyone got too close and tried to hit him. She starts moving in a blur as she performs some Agility tricks to get started.

 

[Flyg0n]

Then she sprinted forward, looking for a good target. A mankey with a sword, one that seemed distracted. If these guys got to wave honedge around, she definitely deserved to, too!

Whether the swords were possessing the mankey or not, she'd try to grab one and then challenge one of the other wielders to a duel with it. Maybe whatever had them so worked up would be more obvious at close range.

Where... where... There! One Mankey, at the edge of the group, distracted by trying to rub a smear of rotted berry juice from its eyes. It didn't notice Mightyena until it was too late. She clamped her jaws around the Honedge's hilt, wrenching it from the Mankey's grasp.

The Mankey let out a startled screech of surprise. "Hey!"

A shiver rippled through the Honedge, and a chill traveled through Mightyena. "What do we have here!? Well pup! If you would wield me then you must fight! Let us destroy our opponents. Forward!" There was an eerie tremor to its voice, more than the usual spookiness from a ghost type. Almost like a... bloodlust.

Mightyena would feel a tug from Honedge as it tried to join the fray of other fighters.

A scintillating blast of electricity goes everywhere in a massive radius, hitting everything around him

Bright electricity arced through the clearing, dancing from Mankey's and Primeapes in the blink of an eye. For a split second, silence fell as the group was briefly stunned, sparks crackling through their fur and arcing around the swords. The group seemed to bristle, renewed anger sparking as they prepared to leap back into battle when-

Raising a paw in the air, he cast another Lustre Purge toward the group of monkeys, in the air, before he dived down, draconic claws extended, preparing to do a sword fight of his own.

The psychic blast exploded right in the middle of the group, knocking several aside and disarming others. Alarmed screeches came from the group as they whirled and spotted Shou'an. Perhaps the sight of a legendary, even one not from this realm, gave them some pause. Then they broke out again in an angry cacophony of furious cries.

"Intruders!"​

"Tresspasers!"

"Invaders!"

​

One Primeape, larger than the others, wielding a pair of rusted Doublade, stomped forwards. Brandishing the blades, it gave a fearsome shriek, sweeping its bloodshot gaze across the group. "How dare you interfere with us?" Its voice rumbled with an unnatural edge. A few flecks of blood could seen speckling its fur. "Who are you?"

Clink made a light grating noise, as if clearing their throat. "We-"

"We weren't talking to you, speck. We're talking to the real fighters." Primeape's gaze lingered on the others the group - like Mightyena, with Honedge still clenched in her jaws, Shou'an, Nori, Winged King, Josie, and the rest of the group. Chef Flygon gave a distasteful snort.

Primeape slammed the two blades together with a resounding clang. The Doublade it wielded gave an ominous rattle. "I demand to know how you dare to interfere!" Rumbles of disquiet and anger rippled through the Mankey-line and Honedge-line.

 

[System Error]

Nori blinks as the Pokemon turn out to be somewhat more lucid than anticipated. He looks back at the others. With a shrug, and as the one who sort of made this happen, he decides to step forward. He stands high and tall.

"I am Nori Carino, the Demon Tamer of Veilstone and the chief strategist of this group seeking to stop the rampaging Keldeo of this realm!" he announces in a loud and clear voice with hands on his hips. Maybe trying a little too hard, especially with claiming the position of strategist, though he is otherwise genuinely confident. Pachi takes a spot by his side, miming the boy's pose. "We were en route to his island when we heard the sounds of a fierce battle here. We noticed an unusual aura coming from some of you and came to the decision to intervene."

He smirks as an idea suddenly hits him, and is unable to resist rubbing his hands together. "My goal was to end this as quickly as possible. We apologize for the interruption. Unfortunately, though under other circumstances we might have joined your sport as fellow warriors, it might run counter to the completion of our objective. But if any of you want to cross swords with a Sword of Justice, you are welcome to join us!"

They wanted a fight, and what better fight than a Legendary? Did that...make any sense? Was this a good idea? He was sort of just saying what came to mind there. Handling unruly Pokemon no one else could was his speciality, but this was a whole different world with different culture. He doesn't dare turn around, instead standing with as much of an air of authority as he can.

 

[Negrek]

Mightyena managed to wrench a honedge away from an unwary mankey, and experienced the same moment of elation any dog would when seizing a particularly large stick. The honedge ruined it, though, by deciding to talk in her head. It wasn't trying to possess her, but there was something obviously wrong with it--and Mightyena still hadn't seen any sign of what might be causing all the frenzy.

When challenged by the big primeape, she raised her head proudly, puffed out her chest, and declared, "Wmmf hmmm nmn hff..."

It was a little difficult to talk with a sword in your mouth. Mightyena glanced around and found the meditite not too far from her, watching with avid interest. She dropped the sword in the dust in front of him, said, "Take care of this for me," and then turned back to address the bad-tempered primeape.

"We're travelers from other worlds, and we're here to save Keldeo!" She sank into a ready stance, tail up and waving. "Interfering's kind of what we do. What are you going to do about it?"

 

[Nekodatta]

When they disembarked, Nate released Mightyena next to him, then nodded at the Winged King. "Thanks, big guy."

The dragon grinned and nodded to both the human and the Vulpix, folding up his wings into the two feathered antenna. He simply gave a growl as an answer, before moving to observe the fighting Pokemon.

Well, I ain't got the first fucking clue what's going on here," he said. "You?"

Sada chewed her lower lip with her teeth, revealing a pair of pointy canines as she observed the scene.
« I've never seen creatures fight like this... Hunting each other for food, or two members of the same species compete for territory or to find a mate... But this... » she furrowed her eyebrows, quietly puzzled.

« It's like... a ritual fight, maybe? » but then why would the weapon-shaped creatures let themselves be used as weapons?

The bigger one holding not one but two of the creatures addressed them, and Sada stared at him for a long moment. They both looked injured, one as he bled and the other creature for being rusted.

« What are you fighting for? » she spoke up, moving a couple of steps forward as she gripped her spear tighter.

« What is the meaning of this fight?»

They had to be fighting for some reason.

As they landed, she took a moment to smoothen her fur and adjust her tiara. "Thanks for the ride!" She smiled at the two.