Sea of Wonders ~ Hidden Land

[Namohysip]

The fight went on, flames and ice and stones flying and freezing in midair as Dialga's time froze everything in place. Despite the frantic battling, they could not move, only get a few feeble hits as they weaved between the pockets of time that still agreed with them. And while everyone else prepared for one final blast to strike Dialga down, a few of the team got their strikes in to grapple with Diagla's strength. Would they have enough power? Yes, he was the Dragon of Time, but he was also unstable. Perhaps, with enough force...

Curio's Radiant Fist dealt 63 damage to Dialga and lowered his defense by 1!
Brisa's Thunder Cage dealt 63 damage to Dialga!
Starr's Flare Blitz dealt 204 damage to Dialga and took 20 damage in recoil!

Yet that wasn't all...

Through a rift in the clouds, a glimpse of a shaded forest floor. Smells of pine and ... coffee grounds?

“Ugh, I’ll never be able to reach the high shelves, will I? But maybe you will?”

~OSJ

Starr was healed for 50% HP!

"What--was that?" Owen said. "Is that was Arceus is doing? Calling for help?!"

"Who cares!" Soda hissed, dodging out of the way of a stray wave of energy that seemed to warp the space around it. "Just keep attacking before this place turns the Sea of Wonders into the Sea of... of... just fight!"

Giratina used Shadow Force on Cabot, Celeste, and Astrid!
Cabot: Skara partially protects, taking 31 damage! Cabot takes a grazing 14 damage!
Celeste: Dodged!
Astrid: CRITICAL 59!

Cabot gaind a Protect barrier!

Ominous, shadowy apparitions spread from Giratina's wings like wraiths, crawling invisibly around the team's shadows, obscuring their vision and making Giratina look only half-there.

Giratina used Abyssal Phantom, raising her Evasion and Accuracy by 2, and her allies' by 1!

Dialga was recharging from his Roar of Time, but it seemed that he still had a trick to follow up with...

Dialga used Trick Room!

Palkia raised his hands and squeezed his fist, flashing a glare at Bahamut. "I am NOT," he said, "going to be disrespected by someone like YOU." He sliced the air, but along the way, the very world seemed to twist and turn around them in temporal tower. Entire pillars misplaced, left became right, and perhaps most importantly, front became back.

Palkia used Spacial Rend on Bahamut, Celeste, and Zane!
Bahamut: a grazing 27
Celeste: A grazing, CRITICAL 22!
Zane: 117

Palkia used Radiant Spacecrash, switching everyone's row positions!

Time is flowing normally...

Dialga: 2670
Palkia: 2500
Giratina: 4500

 

[Tanuki]

"I am NOT," he said, "going to be disrespected by someone like YOU."

Zane tried to blow a raspberry, instead spitting out just a bit of blood. “You sure?” he coughed between heaves. For how much damage he could take, he sure didn’t take it well. “Captain Headbutt over here’s tossing you into next week!” he shouted, flicking his claws towards Cabot. “Lemme tell ya, he ain’t nothing, and he’s still handing your own tail back to you!”

This wasn’t going well. They really needed Dialga down. Zane might actually have to even try attacking. This wouldn’t go well. “Putting your own ass on the line for once, eh?” Oh great, he was here. No time. Screw it. Attack. Zane leapt forward and threw his claws out. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” his shadow chuckled.

“Can it!” Zane shouted, leaping backwards. He ignored the shadow as much as he could, trying not to hear it at all, but when his own hands went from black and red to red and blue, when its afterimage followed his leap backwards, more than exertion had him breathing heavy.

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave's heart hammered. The terrain was collapsing. Dialga was manipulating time, Palkia somehow bending space, putting them further away. This brief window, now, was maybe the only time they had to act, to try to turn the tide. But even then, how the fuck were they going to beat multiple gigantic dragons that could literally warp reality as they pleased?

His legs shook. The Poochyena brain urged him to turn and get away. At the same time, a strange cold feeling was pooling somewhere in his chest. They had to rush back in there and confront them anyway. And yeah, why the fuck not? Why not just run straight towards the fuckers, give them what for? Go out in a fucking blaze of glory before being torn apart by spatial distortions or tossed back in time or dragged to fucking Pokémon Hell?

With a desperate yell, he forced his legs to run like hell towards the danger, shadowy tendrils sprouting under his feet.

 

[Ambyssin]

As the Hidden Land went belly-up around him, Bahamut jammed another seed against his core and, somehow, absorbed its contents. He must've looked a fool, smacking seeds into himself like a hatchling banging a new toy against the floor.

 

[Namohysip]

It was time to rush in. The Hidden Land had been plumetting for several minutes at this point, and everyone's ears were popping from the rapid change in altitude. If they didn't stop this soon...

And yet, in the distortions, there appeared to be something watching them. Waiting... Was it benevolent? It was hard to tell. But the rips in reality focused on Curio, and even more spread throughout the whole team...

The stars flared in the pattern of a running figure, a satchel at her side. Her eyes were bright with cunning and her ears and tail were soft with starlight.

“Here’s a little something I just found lying around. Seems like you could put it to good use.”

A hollow roar echoed in the distance. “Dammit, Midnight Silk, give that back!”

“ . . . Uh, better use it fast.”

She winked, brought a dark feather to her mouth, and vanished in a swirl of silver light.

~Pen

Curio's status ailments and debuff effects were doubled in power!

: )))))))))

-kintsugi

The whole team's offensive power was increased by 50%!

"Pop's really calling some odd company, isn't he?!" Soda shouted over the wind and the roars. "Go, go, go!"

Curio used Radiant Fist twice on Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina!
Dialga: 145 total
Palkia: 169 total
Giratina: 120 total
All of their defenses dropped by 2!

Ashwood's Strike dealt 392 damage to Dialga!
Nip's Strike dealt 332 damage to Dialga!
Zane's Shadow Boxer dealt 85 damage to Dialga!
Brisa's Thunder Cage dealt 132 damage to Dialga, trapping him! Her Shadow Maul dealt an additional 359 damage!

 

[Tanuki]

As the Hidden Land went belly-up around him, Bahamut jammed another seed against his core and, somehow, absorbed its contents. He must've looked a fool, smacking seeds into himself like a hatchling banging a new toy against the floor.

The entire world crumbling around him, Zane couldn't help but gawk. The seed just... disappeared. "Huh, so that's how it eats," he mumbled.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Searing Radiance tore through Starr, pushing her forward even as every part of her kept screaming that this was insane. Her movements sharpened, fire burned brighter, dodges quickened, and every so often she felt a small pulse from her bag and an echoing flare in her aura. She had a pretty big suspicion that that was Bob (why the hell had she named it that) helping her. But whatever, she wasn't remotely in the headspace to question it right now--if the shade wanted to help her, then she'd use it.

It wasn't crazy enough that they were standing up to three hugeass god-dragons. Or the fact that time and space and gravity kept falling to pieces around them, throwing them backwards, gluing them to the ground. No, the craziest part was that there was an itch in the back of her head telling her that they could win.

She took charge at the front of the lineup, Cabot alongside her, the two of them hastily giving out orders through Diyem's link. The kid was military--it showed. Everyone got into position. Cuicatl, Bahamut, and Mellow at her back; boosting her aura, healing her, shining unreal sunlight that made her fire burn even hotter. Cabot took off toward Giratina. That left her facing down Dialga.

Starr shot forward, all blazing flame and radiance. Dialga turned his gaze on her, eyes burning red like hot coals. Starr steeled herself, expecting a blast to hit her in the face, willing herself to push through it when it inevitably happened. But none came. Bolts of lightning rained down around the diamond dragon, locking him in place even as he struggled against the restraints. Perfect.

Starr could feel her own fire eating away at her aura. This was still gonna hurt like hell.

A raging fireball collided with Dialga's chest, knocking him backward. A solid hit, but there was another opening, so she went for it again, tearing into Dialga's armor, turning it molten all around her. She wasn't sure long she could keep at it. But she wasn't about to stop now.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

The stakes just kept climbing higher and higher, huh. Where was this mission going to go, now that they were fighting the avatars of forces beyond mortal reckoning? It didn't matter in this moment. Brisa merely fought. And she fought like a bolt of furious lightning, summoning electrical power the likes of which she'd never had occasion to back home, for fear of killing someone. She'd always known that if it came to it, she could take on a god.

Six years of guilt and shame. Lost opportunities. Jesse's voice in her head day-in, day-out, until it pervaded her fucking dreams themselves. Rage and misery and yelling back home. Exhaustion and pain and confusion on Cibus. Curio screaming in a cage of Brisa's making. Starr's blood in Brisa's mouth. A glass hurled and shattered against a wall as she swore her lungs out. All of it, all of it, all of it was so she could fight, alongside this team, her lightning caging an avatar of Time, with a predatory intent more intense than she'd even feared she had within her. All of it, so she could be here.

Well, here she fucking was.

She shrieked fury as shadow energy brimmed around her, and she launched herself at the god she'd caged to maul.

Brisa's Thunder Cage dealt 132 damage to Dialga, trapping him! Her Shadow Maul dealt an additional 359 damage!

 

[Namohysip]

Starr's Flare Blitz dealt a total of 1337 damage to Dialga, as well as an extra 150 from her Boon, and she took 148 damage in recoil!

The moment Dialga slammed into the back pedestal of Temporal Tower, the corrosive lights around his diamond flickered and faded. He tried to move, but nothing responded, and he was too exhausted to continue. Suddenly, gravity felt a lot stronger--the Hidden Land was decelerating its fall. Arceus was slowing its descent!

But that wasn't all.

Maple used Radiant Crescent on Giratina, dealing 1 damage!

Maple flinched. "That... I saw that. My strike connected..."

Vix's Hex dealt 110 damage to Giratina!
Dave's Shadow Charge dealt 190 damage to Giratina, followed by 25% recoil! His two Assurances dealt 716 damage total!
Celeste's double Assurance dealt 419 damage!
Cabot's double Assurance dealt 2019 damage!

But with Dialga down, that meant little for Palkia and Giratina otherwise. Entirely corrupted and focused on the enemy, the Reverse Dragon and Space Dragon continued their onslaught.

The strange phantoms weaved around the team and tried to strike at them, ultimately failing to hit their mark for the vast majority of the team--but Curio was not as lucky. Suddenly, her bag of items jerked away from her, thorns and berries jabbing and pelting at her without mercy.

Giratina used Poltergeist on Celeste, Astrid, and Curio!
Celeste: Dodged!
Astrid: Dodged!
Curio: 44

Curio's items are attacking her! Non-automatic items can't be used for the next turn!

Giratina used Protect, forming five sinister barriers around her!

Palkia used Hydro Pump on Zane, Celeste, and Astrid!
Zane: CRITICAL 160
Celeste: A grazing 58
Astrid: 53

Zane was knocked out!

Palkia used Earthquake!
Astrid: 28
Bahamut: CRITICAL 14
Brisa: Grazing 44
Cabot: Grazing 38
Celeste: 22
Curio: 20
Dave: Grazing 13
Mellow: 42
Owen: Grazing 6
Starr: Grazing 35
Vix: 32

Zane was revived!

"Their influence is weakening!" Maple shouted, making a sweeping motion with her blade of light. "Take out another! We'll handle the third!"

Owen sniffed the air. "Does--does anything smell tingly to you?" he mumbled. It was like a distant sunburn, and he didn't even know he could get those. Among all the rifts in space around them, it seemed like one of them seemed a little more defined than the others... No, it was disappearing. Perhaps it was nothing. They had to focus on taking down Giratina or Palkia!

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr's Flare Blitz dealt a total of 1337 damage to Dialga

 

[Ambyssin]

That damned stone was practically bouncing around Bahamut's bag at this point. What was wrong with the thing? Did these phallic-looking gods somehow have an effect on it like Maple did? Great. Wonderful. Bahamut had had enough of these gods and their large-scale reality manipulation on a whim.

But he wasn't an attacker.

Bahamut produced one of the elixir vials from his bag... and smashed it over his head. The liquid seeped in through cracks in his Prism Armor. The glass shards just fell around him, only to quickly vanish into ripples of distortion given off by the crazy brainwashed god-dragons.

"Are we having fun yet?"

 

[Namohysip]

Owen and Mellow rushed through the fray, side by side, as volleys of flames, Shadows, and Radiance flew above them. Giratina had her wings expanded and in front of her like a spectral barrier. And Owen knew a thing or two about barriers. "Let's pry it open!" Owen shouted to Mellow, who nodded back, breathless. This was probably the most terrifying battle they'd done yet, but she had to be brave. Enough running. It was time to go into the heart of battle and make an impact!

Owen dug through his bag and tossed an Iron Thorn in the sky, where a shadowy hand caught it. Charizard emerged from Owen and jammed the thorn into Giratina's wings. Then, Owen made a gesture with his arms from below, digging further, and Charizard mimicked it, before they both pulled.

Mellow summoned a great hand of earth and Shadow from the stone beneath her feet. She jumped onto its wrist, then directed it to the other wing, fingers of earth and vines overwhelming Giratina's barrier.

The two of them tore it open. "NOW!" Owen shouted. "ATTACK!"

Dave's Shadow Charge dealt a grazing CRITICAL 99 damage to Giratina!
Cabot's Assurance dealt a CRITICAL 673 damage to Giratina!
Dave's Assurance dealt 239 damage to Giratina!
Celeste's Small Blast Seed dealt 50 damage to Giratina!

Giratina was knocked out!

Giratina screeched and slowly collapsed into a heap, the corruption leaving her system. That only left one more Dragon of Creation...

"That's enough," Maple said, holding an arm out to the others. "...Yes. I feel it."

From Maple's right hand, light coalesced and became a blade nearly the same length as her arm. "Thank you for your help, Team Spectrum. I shall handle Palkia while you rest. Good work."

Palkia scoffed. "What is a mere Voice of Life going to do against me? You are not strong, you are observers and guiding spirits. You cannot fight."

Maple walked toward Palkia, silent.

Palkia took a step forward, too, though his stance was less certain. "Really? Just you? Smeargle may know several techniques... but you're still weak. Those bodies are not meant to replicate attacks at their full glory."

Maple swept her blade from the sky toward her lower left, readying an upward slash.

Palkia stepped back and made a similar motion. "Enough! I'll wipe that confident... walk off of the face of... just die!"

He slashed the air, a devastating, warping wave of energy cleaving across Maple's body.

Palkia used Spacial Rend on Maple, dealing 17 damage!

Palkia stepped back, glancing at Dialga and Giratina, already downed. Then at Maple, who was a few paces away from him. "...Truce?"

The blade doubled in length and she cleaved upward, from his lower leg to his right shoulder. It left no wound, yet radiant light exploded out from everywhere the blade touched.

Maple's Blinding Blade dealt 5063 damage to Palkia! Palkia was knocked out!

 

[Tanuki]

Zane decided to nap. Well, didn't necessarily decide to, but he was definitely Flat on his Face and pretty sure he was dreaming. Bahamut just smashed an elixir over his head like a frat-boy would a beer bottle—why was that the first analogy that came to his mind? He desperately prayed that was a third-hand memory from a movie or something and decided to not connect the alcoholism dot for his own sanity.

Just in time, too, because he felt just about every pain sap out of his body. Either something healed him, or he'd gone into shock. Either way, he decided he didn't have the energy to get up quite yet. Sure, the sound of battle blasted his eardrums and threatened to send him into the next dimension (literally, considering who they were up against), but he was pretty tired.

 

[Ambyssin]

Serves that dickhead right. But Bahamut's (lack of) gut told him to stay on guard. Darkwhite could've been lurking anywhere.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen panted, looking between the three of the dragons with a short laugh. "H-hey, we... did it," he said. "So, uh, I think my nose is bleeding or something..."

"Hm?" Truffle swooped toward Owen and leaned forward. "Hmm, that doesn't appear to be the case. Are you feeling alright?"

Owen was positive he felt something. Perhaps not his nose bleeding, but it was energy. Lots of energy in the air, somehow, almost metallic...

Maybe it was just the storm, which was subsiding.

Maple dispelled her blade and turned around. "Good work, everyone," she said. "That's another job taken care of, and Palkia rec--"

"KRIIIIIIIIII!"

Everything went white. The ground heaved; pillars crumbled and the tile split open. A massive wave of energy knocked everyone off their feet, and suddenly they were tumbling, tumbling, tumbling in that light--and then it all stopped.

They were at Temporal tower, with the ground scorched and twisted and shattered...

Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina were gone.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Oh, look, a tower." In this form, it was hard for Bahamut to get disoriented as he lacked a stomach. He seemed rather lax about the giant fuck you light that swallowed all of them up. "I don't suppose it's the thing that enveloped us in that light, is it?"

 

[Tanuki]

Zane’s eyes phased back into focus. It seemed none of the dragons stood on the opposite side of the battlefield. “Hey,” he mumbled, rolling over to rest his head on his other arm, “we did it. Dialkiatina died.” He tossed his free arm up with a thumb raised high. “Great work, team!” he cheered as his eyes slipped shut.

 

[Namohysip]

Maple seemed frenzied, like she had seen something. She suddenly created her blade again and carved through the air, looking back at them all. "We aren't done," she said.

"I felt that, as well," Truffle said, shuddering. "But, Maple..."

"We aren't," Maple said again, her voice even, but there was an obvious, shaky undertone, "done."

She carved a portal through the air, and before they had a moment to react, a wind tunnel pulled them through. Owen and several others shouted in surprise as it pulled them in. The other end seemed otherworldly, purples and blues twisting and turning in the air--and then, Temporal Tower was silent.

<><><>​

 

[Namohysip]

It took a long, long time to get divine permissions, to convince Lapras it was alright, to consult Pepper about how to use the stoneship, and finally to actually traverse the forest that the Hidden Land had become, but eventually, Puff made it to the top of Temporal Tower.

It was odd to be there without Dialga at the top. He had never set foot on this sacred place before, of course, but even then he knew that it was a place to respect. But he was also here for an investigation--a very important investigation.

As an investigative journalist, it was his duty to learn more about the strange anomalies that had taken place here during the battle against Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. The world, reality itself, had ripped open, according to what Owen had told him. They had heard voices, felt presences, while battling--helpful guardians from other realities.

He felt it in his fur. As the Cinderace moved forward, notepad in hand, his fur stood on end and his ears twitched. "Hello?" he called. "...I have some questions to ask you. I am a native of Cibus. I would like to... know what you are. Know things about you."

Space and time warped, and he saw a distortion. There was... something there. Something...

"Who are you?" Puff called. "You're..."

: )

"...Tell... me about yourself?" Puff asked, pulling out his notepad. "What do you do back home?"

: )

Puff wasn't sure what was going on. But he felt it. It was everywhere. Over his shoulder and in front of him at the same time. An omen. This creature was powerful. He wasn't sure what kind of force it could enact upon him, but he knew to speak carefully. Anybody would.

"What do you see for the future? Your future... ours?"

: )

"What... did you fight for? What are you fighting for, if you're assisting us?"

: )

"Right... thank... thank you for your time." Puff stepped back. Mistake. This was a mistake. He'd come back later.

: )

<><><>​