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They said that he was the next in line for the mission to go get one of those Bomb Spirit things - not a GF, but an... Eidolon. The creepy little totem-like things that ultimately equated to a GF. Honestly, he really wanted his very own GF, not an Eidolon, but... for now he'd settle for what he could get. He knew better than to pout to the instructors, even if he wasn't actually a student any more. As a new SeeD member, he was little more than a student who now had to WORK, not just study or train. So, first mission! And this one wasn't even supposed to be so bad - a bunch of SeeD initiates made it without a problem. And they didn't even have tails! He wasn't sure how they'd accomplished it.
As it stood, he knew he was already supposed to be formulating a plan for what he did when he ran in to the big creature. He knew that Bombs exploded, which was why they were adequately named creatures - when they got hurt, it always managed to quite literally pump them up. He sighed, as he trodded along. He wasn't a master of any particular form of magic - ice or water would be really useful in this particular situation, but he didn't actually know how to do those things. Something told him that without magic, he'd be running the very real risk of the thing blowing up in his face.
He didn't know any curative magic, either. Nevertheless, as he walked, today dressed in a bright red vest overtop his usual brown shirt, and slacks that were almost too khaki. It was nifty that the shirt blended so well with his tail - the little protrusion had a matching red bow tie on the very end of it. It had been a good luck charm from a friend of his, and, though it had been embarrassing at first, now that he was out here on his own, without any prying instructor eyes or anything, he was actually quite pleased to be wearing it.
Someone had even made an aspersion to him having a crush on the girl that had given it to him, and who had taken such care to tie it on just-so. He'd stuck his tongue out and told him off, because it wasn't true! At least, he didn't think it was true. He didn't really know how a crush felt, and so he would just leave it alone at that.
His tail was wrapped carefully around his Spearshot, binding it to his back with only a casual thought. It was awkward, some people told him, but he thought carrying it around in a scabbard or like a walking staff was even more weird. This allowed him to scamper unerringly, and still be armed, without worrying about it jostling or slipping out. He could even move it around and maneuver it to allow him through various spaces, or wedge it to provide a quick hanging ledge! No one ever thought about him being able to do those things.
His standard-issue sneakers [ because such things were always standard issue ] didn't make much noise as he moved through the grass, keeping his unusually keen eyes peeled for signs of Fire Cave, where he was supposed to meet the two guards and have them let him in. He vaguely wondered if he should have brought a few potions with him - but he was relatively confident in his own ability.
He gulped.
Relatively confident. Reaching a hand around to scratch the back of his head, he chuckled at his own hesitation, smiling a big smile at no one in particular. He knew he'd do okay! The worst thing that would happen is he would fail, and then have to go to the infirmary. He wrinkled his nose. People didn't know this, but to his heightened sense of smell, that extremely clean thing was very, very nauseating. He hated going to the infirmary 'cause they always smelled like that. Even now, it was enough to make his stomach turn.
For now, though, the scent of grass - with a slight touch of smoke - was all he could pick up. That was fine - as far as he cared, it meant he was getting close. Fire and smoke smelled bad, but posed no real threat other than that to him. Most things that messed with people messed with him, too, but some things bothered him more. Like smells.
To alleviate his nerves, he patted at his belt, where the many pouches stored the stuff he felt was necessary. Two small canteens of water, that held about a litre a piece, a couple of sturdy rations, bandages, a little bit of disinfectant cream, in case he needed it. Needle and thread, 'cause he was useless in the healy department. A few other various utensils, including actual dining utensils, in separate ones so that they didn't jingle with his every step.
As he escaped the path, following his nose once more, the scent of smoke was a bit thicker, and so was the smell of people. He could pick up two distinct scents, which meant...
"Hello!!" He chimed, as he bounded forward to greet the two guards, a broad smile on his mouth. "SeeD Asher here, to do my bomb test. Mission. Thing. To get the thing. Hi!" He repeated, just in case the guards missed his first exuberant burst of energy. He bent his knees, so he could sit, Spearshot turning horizontal with only a little flick of his tail.
Though, it was visible that he was happy - much like a dog, he tended to let that tail wag freely when he was excited, or agitated. Sometimes it was hard to tell which, with him. Not that he really viewed that as a bad thing - after all, it made it interesting to be around him.
" It's you guys I have to see about it, right?" He asked, a look of sheer contentment on his face.
The body of a Caterpillar came flying over the hill and rolled down the side, eventually stopping against the rocks that lined the dirt path to the Fire Cavern. It remained motionless as the presumed state of it was dead. A soft rhythmic squeak came from beyond the blind side of the hill from the direction the insect came from. Soon, for those with the eyes of an eagle, a small pillar of smoke started to rise and seconds later a blue pom pom bounced up and down keeping with the beat of squeaks. Following the pom pom down was the brown clad Moogle and fresh SeeD mercenary, Skeeter. In his greatest attempt to appear cool and tough, he stopped at the crest of the hill and stared down towards the entrance to the Fire Cavern with disinterest, cigar in mouth and paws in his leather jacket pockets. Giving whatever onlookers were around a chance to see him. He then put his paw up to his cigar, took a big inhale and made his way down the rest of the pathway.
At the base of the path were three people. Skeeter immediately recognized two as the appointed cavern guardians. Garbed in red robes and sporting a large, yellow, flat hat; they looked exactly like all of the other keepers in Garden. The other was a resident at Garden. He had seen him around before, but never spoken to him before. It wasn’t hard to recognize the guy, since he wasn’t your average human SeeD, but instead paraded one of the few tails at the school and training facility. They called him Asher and that was about all he knew about him from listening in on offhanded comments and watching him swing from hall to hall.
The squeaks started up immediately as started his strut again. As annoying as they were to Skeeter, he had become used to them over time. It used to be that he couldn’t help but squint whenever he walked anywhere, and almost always chose flight over walking just to keep himself from making any sort of noise. Those times were long gone now and he walked, not with pride, but with the determination of not letting this strange condition get to him. Just a few more steps now and he would make it to the threshold of the cave when….THUMP! He tripped on a small rock and took a face plant straight into the dirt! It was like slow motion as he saw his small dream of leaving this awesome impression on the student (metaphorically) fly away.
*Kupo* A soft and muffled cough came out as his embarrassed face stayed in the dirt as that horrible sound escaped. He couldn’t help it though…when a Moogle did most things they had to give out a “Kupo”. With a mouth full of dirt he tried cursing and berating himself until his wings started to flap and lift him up and off of the ground and his profane language became abundantly clear.
“PLLLEH! PLEH!” *Kupo* He tried spitting all of the dirt out along with his shame and embarrassment. It was humiliating enough to do something like this by yourself, but when you were around other people, especially you peers it was the worst! His fur was all dirty now including the front of his pom pom. Instead of being a near perfect white, he looked more like this guy’s undershirt.
“You!” He pointed to Asher and floated up to bring himself on a level plane with his face. “You didn’t see anything! Understand!” He wasn’t the best a greeting in times like this. He looked to the two others for a second then turned a steel gaze back onto Asher. They probably didn’t care what happened out here and the students didn’t pay attention when they did try to talk to them, what he did have to worry about was this guy in front of him.
His eyes narrowed on the sound of squishing - there was a flying caterpillar! Didn't that defeat the purpose of it being a caterpillar if it could fly on it's own?! It came in for a landing - and... squished again. And then rolled. The serious look that had been on his face, the tension that had been in his now-kneeling form, that made him look ready to spring... well, it all faded. It was weird - the thing had obviously been beaten, and was now little more than a squished bug. He'd even reached for his Spearshot, but that had turned out to be not so necessary.
He glanced around, hunting for whoever had taken it out. It was then he caught site of the guy standing atop the hill the poor creature had just gone flying over. It wasn't a guy, though - or maybe it was, he couldn't tell. Because standing there? Was a moogle! One of the adorable little things that had a tendency to be... well... adorable! Even more adorable than him, which was wonderful, in his opinion. He always got cooed at because of his tail, and the fact that... well... he was a kid. Kids with tails equaled all sorts of fun, according to a few of his classmates.
When the Moogle started forward, he let himself sit back down again, tail wagging gently back and forth, carefully above the grass so as to not turn green. He'd done that a bunch, and had no real desire to scrub is tail clean. It was pretty unfortunate when he had to get all bath-y like that. Though, when the moogle fell, his eyes widened, and he bit his lip - against the laughter that was threatening to burst out. It wasn't his fault! It had just been absolutely hilarious - the moogle had been so serious, and now he was choking on dirt.
He could only laugh because whenever he fell - though not often - he always managed to be the one getting laughed at. Not necessarily by Skeeter - for yeah, he knew of the moogle by reputation alone: 'The most badass moogle in the world.' As far as he knew, he was the only Moogle to have ever graduated the SeeD program. It made them both relatively unique as far as the SeeD alumni went.
It clicked, of course, why the moogle was here. It meant he had a partner! He was about to be massively excited when Skeeter made his rather bold proclamation. Asher pouted a little bit, shrinking back as though he'd been smacked in the back of the head - easily one of the things that got him to calm down almost immediately. He hated getting smacked. Wrinkling his nose a bit, he leaned away.
"It's okay, Skeeter! I fall sometimes too. It's all that gravity." He seemed to have recovered from the more or less mental smack, and so now, he was standing up once more, tail wrapping around his weapon to bring it along with him as he approached the pom-pom wielding SeeD. "Does this mean you're gonna be my partner? I've never had a moogle partner before! Not even durin' the exam! I'm really excited - are you trying to get a bomb, too? Bomb. Are you any good at magic? 'Cause I'm not, really, I don't have any blizzards or anything to hit it with. Just my weapon here, 'cause I'm mostly a beat-em-up fighter. Magic's hard... and..." He trailed off in to random mumblings at this point, most of which were inane things.
"Can I touch your ball?" He asked, pointing at the pom-pom on the top of his head. He knew precisely how it felt to have his tail just assaulted by unwelcome fingers who though it was adorable and whatnot - he long since conditioned people to ask before touching his tail. He could only assume it was the same thing for a moogle and his ball, though he was looking at it though he might just pounce it out of sheer interest.
He glanced back to the SeeD guards. "Can we go in yet? It's boring out here!" He whined, tail still waving back and forth, moving his Spearshot around dangerously.
For the two guards standing and watching the entrance to the infamous Fire Cavern, their day was relatively quiet and tranquil. That was until a monkey-like boy, otherwise known as a Genome, came bounding into view. The pair of sentries stood alert as they watched the child intently and scrutinized him. It was their duty to inspect any SeeD students wishing to obtain the powers the Cavern held with extreme severity; it was their decision whether a student was allowed in or not and they needed to be very strict so none would experience any excessive aguish.
This exuberant student appeared and sounded very young, which they dually noted whilst mentally making their judgement. Before they spoke, however, they were interrupted as a new arrival appeared on the scene. This one was a Moogle. He looked very stout and serious; nevertheless, its noisy walk lessened the serious factor. And on top of that, with poor grace, he had tripped and was currently eating a mouth full of dirt. Simultaneously, the same thought ran through both guards heads, Are you serious? These two? Both of the students seemed rather inexperience. Luckily for them, the guards had heard of their progress whilst they were training in the Balamb Garden, considering they were both very unique students.
The guards now had to make a hard decision: would they allow these two entrance to attain the summon, Bomb, or should they deny them and wait until they mature a bit more? Turning from the two students, the two guards collaborated quietly, so the Genome and Moogle could not hear. After several minutes, they came to a conclusion. Only one guard spoke and he said, “We are allowing you into the Cavern. You may proceed, but be warned: stay alert and cautious at all times. This is your first true test and you best be wary.” What the two hopeful students did not know at the time was that one of the guards would follow them in and observe them as they advanced through. If they deemed themselves unworthy against anything they encounter, they would be subsequently kicked out before being able to complete their mission.
[Role play your way through the Fire Cavern, be as descriptive as possible and rewards may be distributed. At this point in time, you may not role play your journey all the way through to the summon because there are more challenges that lie in the Cavern besides the Bomb.]
How humiliating. He looked off to the side with aggravation spelled out all over his face. Was he mocking him through his little retort about gravity or did he think that his little explanation on why things fell down was going to make him feel better. He eyes traveled down to the cigar in his mouth, the cover was ripped apart smashed completely in the front, letting the contents fall out at their leisure. Not doubt due to gravity…
So with smashed cigar in mouth he turned back to the monkey-kid Asher with disdain in his eyes. Asher kept on rambling without keeping his thought cohesive at all. It was like he wasn’t even trying to, but then he made the taboo. His hand reached out towards Skeeter’s pom pom. Though he only ended up pointing at it, Skeeter jerked his head back as a natural reaction. His eyes watched him very closely for a few seconds, waiting for him to make his move and just grab it, but instead he asked to touch it. Skeeter’s jaw dropped a little bit at the dignity Asher had towards his pom pom. It was almost touching, but then he reached up to the stem and pulled it down until he grabbed the pom pom and forced it against his head with a scowl.
“NO! You can-not touch my pom pom!” It didn’t matter if he was polite about it or not. It ate at Skeeter just to have the damned thing sit on top of his head. It was like a beacon of adorable that attracted eyes and hands alike. He bared his pearly whites with a scowl at the SeeD, showing him how serious he was about it. He let the pom pom go and it bounced like a spring. Skeeter saw the look in his eyes that he really wanted to touch it, most people had the same look, but he threw his index finger out and point at Asher’s face with swiftness and acuity, only letting his finger drop when Asher lost that look in his eyes.
It was really a sight to watch Asher, even when he was being spoken to, the guy couldn’t stand still, if his feet weren’t moving, then his hands were doing something, if his hands were preoccupied his tail would wave around back and forth, something was always moving on him… It was really a sight to see and Skeeter wondered how the guy was able to settle down enough to sleep.
“Now what was this about being your part-“ Skeeter’s demeanor shifted slightly to a more inquisitive tone, but was cut off by one of the guards at the entrance. They were letting them into the cave. Why were they going into the cave? Skeeter recalled Asher mentioning something about a bomb when he was rambling a minute ago. Was he going after the summon in there? Why was Skeeter being allowed in? He had no business here. He was just trying to get away from Garden for a while. Revelation hit Skeeter and he took a deep breath in and let out a long, “Oooooooooooohhhh” as it finally hit him that he was now the assigned partner for Asher in his quest for the Bomb. He scratched the side of his head which built up a bit of static electricity. How did kicking a caterpillar over hill, end up putting him in this position? He had never seen the Bomb before in real life, only in pictures and videos during his studies of various monsters in Gaia. So curiosity took over and with an involuntary “Kupo” he took a few steps past the guards and into the mouth of the cavern, not even waiting for Asher to follow.
*Kupo!*
Amazing, just a few steps into the cave and the temperature had risen drastically. The air had become thinner from the heat of the area and Skeeter immediately regretted his decision to come. His body was covered in fur and combined with the heat in here, he knew he wasn’t going to be comfortable for very much longer. With a few more noisy steps in, the pathway had changed completely. Instead of soft dirt and slightly rocky roads, it was now warm, bumpy and entirely rock. The uneven ground made it difficult for his small padded feet to find even ground so he fluttered his wings a bit and lifted off into the air. At least the warm air would make gliding a lot easier to do. So in the mostly dark entrance to the Fire Cavern, Skeeter hovered midair and waited for Asher who should be exactly right behind him.
He spit out his old cigar onto the rocky path and pulled out a small case from his leather jacket. Opening it, he revealed an entire case full of some of the finest cigars in all of Gaia. He pulled one from the case and put it back in his pocket. He stuck one end in his mouth, bit it off and spit it to the ground. He then flipped it around and stuck the other end in. This was the Fire Cavern for apparent reasons. He would wait to light his cigar…
Word Count: 889 Total Word Count: 1573 Total XP: 157.3
He was pouting. Pouting as hard as he could possibly pout - to no effect! Moogles were masters of adorable, and it seemed no matter how hard he tried, this one was just not going to budge, if that disapproving finger were any indication. He slumped his shoulders, resigned to the horrible fate of never having touched a ball - pom pom - before. He continued pouting, though it was not cute pouting, but legitimate, sad-with-life pouting that only came from being completely and utterly depressed with an outcome. Oh, cruel fate: To be paired with the meanest moogle known to Gaia.
He rocked gently as the mog proceeded to question him, only to be cut off by the guards, who were going to let them in. He whooped, excitedly, quite literally bounding in to the air - more than once - as he cheered. He was really excited to be on his first real mission, and he was definitely going to succeed. There was no doubt in his mind that together, he and his newfound pom-pom headed friend would be able to face down the cave without a breaking a sweat!
In hindsight, they were going in to the fire cave, so sweat was probably inevitable. He wrinkled his nose a little bit at that... he hated getting really dirty. It was just rarely fun, and sweat was really gross. Still, if it meant he succeeded, and got the nifty little bomb-thing, it was worth it. Besides, he now had to prove himself to his fellow SeeD comrade - he wasn't going to back down.
"Aren't you excited,--" He blinked, at that point - the moogle was gone! Skeeter was a friggin' ninja! Peering around, he whimpered feeling as though he'd been quite abandoned. It wasn't until he saw Skeeter vanish into the mouth of the cave. "Skeeeeeter! Wait for meee!" He whined, bounding after him, the Spearshot waving wildly through the air, nearly cutting in to one of the Guards as he wasn't really paying much attention.
The Moogle had a very similar reaction to the innards of the cave as he did. He let out a deep breath, letting out an elongated 'wooooooooow' sound, as he peered around. Red and black - the brilliant fires and lava were all around them. The air in here was quite thick, and there was very little he could actually do about that. Except, of course, whine. Which he was determined to do.
"It's soooo hot in here! Skeeter, make it better!" He pouted, hopping up next to him. He desperately wished he could fly like the moogle could, but unfortunately, he didn't know whether or not little wings like that would work to keep him aloft. Then again, the wings were comically small on the mog, too, so who knew?
He eyed him uncertainly, before reaching behind him. His tail accommodated, slipping the weapon into his extended grasp. Clinging to it, it was as though his demeanor shifted just a little bit. he smiled, showing pearly white teeth. "We can do it, Skeeter!" He said, almost cheering for the moogle. As the plushie-bodied-creature set up his next cigar, he sniffled - he totally didn't want to smell that in this already sulfurous environment. But he wasn't going to bark for that.
Tail weaved gentle patterns back and forth as he started to creep forward, sharp eyes trying to pick up movements as he carried along. If the stones weren't so hot, he'd probably kick off his shoes. He reached up and started to unbutton his vest, and subsequently, his shirt. He didn't stop until there wasn't anything else covering his chest. That at least helped him not feel quite so... melty.
He glanced back at the hovering moogle. "C'mon, Kooopoh!" He giggled a little bit at that, before he started heading off, following the only obvious path. It was due to his great acrobatic skill that he was able to bound up, scampering onto a stalagmite until he was on top, sniffing at the air. He wasn't entirely certain what he was sniffing for - did Eidolons smell? It didn't matter - he wasn't a bloodhound, and though his nose was pretty amazing most of the time, it could be overcome by a permeating scent.
Grimacing, he sighed, peeking around. "I think we can go that way! It looks like it leads deeper, and I think if we go that way we'll to the bomb! BOOM!" He shouted, as he leaped, literally, over the river of fire, to the path once more, hopping twice to regain his balance, tail wagging furiously.
Spinning on one foot, he looked to the Moogle. "Whatcha think?"
As the two of you excitedly and enthusiastically make your way through the fiery, mountainous cavern, you hear a rather strange sound... At first, it sounds like nothing of significance; however, after some time, the noise becomes louder, indicating closer. To your surprise, you are suddenly assaulted by countless bats. There is a rather large swarm of them coming in for the attack. You best be prepared, or you may find yourself drained of energy before you know it and consequently, you could fail the mission.
Battle: Role play fight through the swarm of bats. Be careful because they will drain you of your energy. Also, note that I have not mentioned a specific number of monsters; this part I am leaving to you. Fight as many or little as you want; although, I will judge whether you are ready to move on by the quality of your posts.
Whew, the Fire Cavern definitely wasn't a joke. The rivers of liquid magma on either side of them radiated heat as they distorted the images right in front of his eyes into wavy doppelgangers of what they should have been. Skeeter worried about the smell of his fur; when it would became too drenched in his own sweat to that he would start to offend. Wet Moogle fur smelt worse than a dog's. He wrinkled his nose a little as the potent reminder of sulfur in the cave would more than likely drown out any other odor.
Asher showed up behind him in an instant. One moment he was alone in the cavern and next someone was right by his side. It was a bit uncanny, but with just the few minutes he had spent with the guy; it seemed more and more likely that the uncanny would be more than prevalent in their time together.
"It's soooo hot in here! Skeeter, make it better!" Skeeter brought his little paws up to his ears as Asher gave out an ear piercing whine, entreating for the Moogle to somehow adjust the natural climate of the cavern. What the hell could he do about it in here? Asher really stumped him. One minute he was lecturing Skeeter about gravity and the next he was begging for the impossible…well, not impossible, but highly improbable. After all, the place could be cooled down to a bearable temperature, but it would take some really powerful magic…or a lot of ice cubes…
Within seconds, Skeeter had prepared the ultimate smart remark. One Skeeter could be proud of as he watched the young monkey be taken aback in embarrassment. It would become a phenomenon and they would be talking about it in Garden for weeks. Laying this one-liner on Asher was going to feel so good! He turned and opened his mouth to reply, but instead of Asher standing there, it was only a dusty silhouette of him slowly falling to the toasty floor. Skeeter blinked a couple of times until he and his subconscious realized that Asher was not there anymore and he looked a bit up the trail.
All Skeeter could do was stare in disbelief. The sight of a half naked, monkey swinging around the stalactites and stalagmites screaming "Kupo" was not quite what he had thought he had gotten himself into… Lucky for him things like breathing and flying came naturally, because otherwise he would have fallen onto the burning floor and he didn't think he had the capacity to pick himself up right away.
*Kupo?*
WAIT A SECOND! His brain clicked on again, snapping out of the confused funk it was in. Was Asher making fun of him?!?! His eyes filled with an unprecedented rage.
"HEY COME BACK HERE!!!" Skeeter yelled out to the progressively further and further "partner". There was a snowball's chance in this Fire Cavern that he was going to let that monkey get away with that. His tiny blue wing kicked into another gear as he started chasing down his mocker. "YOU WANNA SEE A BOMB?!?! 'CAUSE I'M ABOUT TO EXPLODE!!! DOC KADOWOSKI WON'T KNOW HOW TO PUT YOU BACK TOGETHER WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU!!! COME HERE!!!" He zipped between the rocky formations of the cavern to catch up to Asher. Soaring through them was easy enough, especially with the hot air helping keep him aloft. He would catch up with the prankster in no time at all.
Skeeter was just about to catch up to Asher as he spun around in a circle when a faint noise echoed through the cave. It was small and insignificant, but it made Skeeter stop in his tracks several feet away from Asher and prick his ears in attention. Something was happening in another part of the cave just ahead of them, the sounds of scurrying and sharp sounds meant that something had woken up. Within a half a minute the sounds grew exponentially and changed from what Skeeter thought might had been a few angry bats, woken up by his screaming, to an entire swarm…or flock…or whatever you wanted to call a gathering of them. And then there they were, the eyes of at least a dozen angry SoBs ready to bite into them…maybe more.
In a complete shift in demeanor, Skeeter let off of Asher for the time being. There was something a little more important in front of the two now. He relaxed himself slightly looked at the bats with a little bit of disappointment. He really wanted to run into a fire spitter first, but alas it was not meant to be. He slipped his paw into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small lighter. Flicking it open it lit instantly and he held it up to the cigar turning the point of it bright red. Skeeter took a few deep puffs and flipped the light shut and back into his pocket. With a little bit of annoyance he watched as the bats grew closer and began to take shape as they exited the dark shadows. The screeching now hitting an all time high, just caused even more frustration to Skeeter.
With a heavy sigh, like he was burdened with the weight of the world on him, he pulled the stogy out from between his teeth and blew smoke in there general direction and dropped his hand o his sides. His wings bounced his mildly in the air as he hovered next to Asher.
"Damn Bats, what are they so upset about? *Kupo*" He growled a little bit at the "Kupo" and muttered a "…Dammit" under his breath. He stuck the cigar back in his mouth and without another word took of straight for the group of bats.
Moogle Martial Arts was a type of physical, weaponless combat designed by Skeeter in an effort to further detach himself from the vast majority of the Moogle population, who tended to act as mages, if rarely anything else, in battle. Moogles weren't known for having overwhelming strength or body mass, so Skeeter devised certain methods that allowed a Moogle to use their body's small size and increased mobility over other species to enhance the blows he could deliver. It was his pride to have created this for himself and for SeeD, his family for years.
His wings beat at a fast pace as he zipped towards the first bat at the head of the group. He wasn't sure if their were alpha bats or if they all stayed on the same level with each other, but just in case they had some sort of hierarchy, the first one was normally the fearless leader of the pack. He still didn't have a great look at them, but their dark bodies flapped wildly, unlike the precise and determined movements of his wings. He had been taught that bats acted on a certain type of sonar rather than sight itself, but nevertheless, their eyes glowed with malice and ill intent for the two noisy intruders of their cave. It might have just been his imagination, but Skeeter could almost see saliva dripping from the fangs, like they couldn't wait to sink their main teeth into him. It was a little bit creepy.
These guys wouldn't take too much to bring down, so with momentum on his side, Skeeter folded himself into a ball and bounced into the front of the first bat, smashing himself completely through him and into the next. Skeeter could here the cry of both bats as he ran into them. With as close as he was, it seemed like the high pitch screech would shatter his little ear drums. *Kupo* *Kupo* *Kupo* *Kupo* *Kupo* His little body bounced off the bats as they fell from the sky, and turned his attack into a chain of blows against several others. He imagined himself to look like a pinball, rebounding off each bat into the next one, though unlike a pinball he had control over his direction and didn't rely on bumpers to guide him.
When he had finished, he found himself on the other side of the bat formation, a trail of smoke stayed and showed him the path he had taken in his assault. He looked to Asher to find out how he was dealing with the little nuisances. Many of the bats had fallen into the lava below him creating a rancid smell of burning bat that traveled up to meet his nose in a pillar of smoke. He wrinkled his nose a bit. It was worse than the sulfur!
Word Count: 1435 Total Word Count: 3008 Total XP: 300.8
There was a strange sound in his area. A sound he had never in his life thought he'd hear - it was just too strange, too out there, and far too impossible! He spun on his current handhold, so that he could see the source of the sound.
An irate moogle. He'd never heard a moogle raise his or her voice before. In fact, he had been more or less convinced that a moogle's tiny throat made it clinically impossible for a Moogle to speak any loudy than a rather amusing squeak. Of course, at this point, he found out different - there was a loud, angry moogle flying at him!
There was only one way to deal with this situation! "You're it!" He shouted, turning this otherwise important mission in to a far-too-cute game. Two of the most adorable SeeDs in existence - mercenaries for hire, dangerous militant forces... playing a big game of tag. Or at least, Asher was playing tag - Skeeter's voice was not the happy voice of someone who was enjoying an innocent game. That didn't matter much to him, he was laughhing far too much to really pay attention.
Well, pay attention to the poof-headed creature, that is. There was another scent starting to fill the air. A scent accompanied with a noise. He was hanging on a stalagmite, head tilted a little bit. After all, this was supposed to be a mission, and there were dangers. He just wasn't particularly interested in them. He didn't have to be, actually, since they, of course, were interested in him. Wrinkling his nose a little bit, he used his actually amazing eyes to try and find the source of the noise, having put the game of tag on 'time-out'.
Flicking his tail a bit, so he could snatch up his weapon from his usual placeholder. Just in case this was a real problem. What could be so dangerous in the fire cave?
Okay, redundant question. Fire was dangerous. So was magma.
Maaagma. Sniffing once more, he had to shake his head a bit, the smell of sulfur still managing to keep him utterly in the dark. But apparently, his new friend Skeeter had decided that this was important enough to pause his chase as well. Licking his lower lip, he glanced to Skeeter, who was now hovering next to him.
"I bet it was the loud. You're just so LOUD!" Which was answered with another now-close screech. Yeah, it was definitely the loudness of the two boys, who were doing their own thing to get to the back of the cave. Wincing a bit, he glanced to the moogle who seemed nonplussed by their sudden existence.
He sniffled a little. "Are you--"
But the moogle didn't hesitate. Didn't so much as wait for the other boy to be ready, he just flung himself forward, performing a rather amazing feat of dexterity that couldn't be matched!
Well, by a human, at least. He grinned wide, at that, as though it were a challenge - even though it was quite blatantly not. The bats came forward, and he had to focus. Time didn't exactly slow down, but he could see why someone would think it did. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, as he too began to launch himself in to the air.
Though, he was not quite as aerial as one might expect - he didn't have wings with which to keep him aloft - he was just that good. Plus, he had a tail. A tail was just as good as wings, right? Even better, in his opinion! Granted, this time around, he had his ribbon, that he really didn't want to ruin.
It was pure awesome, what his moogle friend managed to accomplish. He wasn't quite as adept at flying, but he was more than capable of using the stalgtites to springboard about, keeping himself almost as airborne.
His hands moved with all the methodical precision of a trained spearman. Every time the blade rotated, he was leaving a body, severed and separated in his path. He wasn't quite as pinball-esque as his companion, but he was just as graceful, if not a little moreso. His eyes searched for his out, however - he couldn't stay in midair forever like the moogle could. the muscled in his legs tensed, as he found himself against the next stalagtite, and he used his tail to anchor him , so he could stay a little longer.
The blade flashed, and his finger tugged away at the trigger, releasing loud explosions as he fired into their soft bodies.
However, he'd stopped moving. This made him a bit more of a target - one of the bats had managed to fly around the stalagtite, and snatched on to his neck. He cried out, startled and easily losing his grip. His body began to descend, curling and twisting as he tried to grab on to anything. This was certainly the end for him, as the magma river beneath him rushed towards his face!
Then, of course, he simply wasn't falling any more. He teleported, so that he was next to the earthbound moogle, quite literally punching the bat that was trying to leech away his life. He could feel the effects of that bat's aggravating little trick already - his muscles felt a bit tighter, and his brain felt a little foggier. Luckily, though, it wasn't much worse than a night cramming for an exam.
Clutching his neck with his free hand, he grimaced. "Bats suck, koo-poh." He grumbled, in a rather unfortunate voice, the cheer temporarily running out of his voice. He tugged the trigger down. "Dun be so loud!" Between the two of them and their aerial acrobatics, there were only a few of the little batlings left, which he, at this point was able to pick off with a couple rounds from his Spearshot's rifle mode.
Trigger effectively squeezed, he sighed a little more, dropping on to his butt with a loud 'whump'. He wasn't exactly the most graceful when he wasn't trying to be. Whimpering, he prodded at his neck. "Think I'm gonna turn in to a vampire?" He asked, letting out a deep sigh. He knew they couldn't linger much longer here, because there was supposed to be a time limit or something.
Nevertheless, he needed a breather. After a few good seconds, he pushed himself back up, so he was standing properly, poking at his neck to make certain he wasn't still being all bleed-y. That would be pretty bad, if he kept bleeding all the way to the bomb.
"You okay, Koo-poh?" He asked, smiling brightly, at that point. Though he was still a little lightheaded, he'd make do with it. He was bound and determined to do well on this test, and he was going to get that bomb! He was just glad that, for the most part, his friend seemed unhurt.
Reward: Both of you receive +100 XP for well written and interesting posts. Nicely done!
No doubt, the two of you easy handled the bats that suddenly intervened in your mission. As bats fell into the lava and scattered across the ground, you are relieved by the fact that there are no more enemies, for the moment. You still have to face what you came for, though you have a little further to go until you reach what you desire.
[You are very close to the summon. Just role play your way to the back of the cave. You will know you have arrived when you see a large pool of lava before you.]
Skeeter watched as Asher plopped on the ground with a thud. Apparently the bats had gotten him better than what Skeeter thought and so they stood there for a moment as the waited for Asher to recover a bit of strength. It was a little bit unnerving inside of Skeeter to watch this guy lose a bit of his cheerful demeanor to such an insignificant creature, like a bat. Skeeter landed softly from the sky next to the monkey-boy and stood in silence, puffing his cigar, listening to him whimper about becoming a vampire. It was a bit pathetic, so Skeeter focused on the combat abilities he had just witness Asher pull off.
The guy didn’t have any wings, that Skeeter knew of, but he managed to stay up in the air effortlessly. It looked like it was almost second nature to him. That weapon of his was a fairly cool piece of equipment too, if Skeeter had any say in it. It was just like a gunblade with one major difference: the handle took the shape of a spear and gave it a more rifle-esque visual quality to it. That assumption was made even clearer when he took the gunblade and shot the remaining vermin out of the sky.
“You okay, Kuu-poh?” Asher asked to the annoyance of Skeeter. He was grinning like an idiot again and making fun of Skeeter being a Moogle. Unbeknownst to Skeeter, a bat had clamped down on the stem that connected his pom pom to his head. He couldn’t feel a drain in energy, because the bats teeth had surrounded the stem and not actually penetrated the skinny stem.
“Yeah! Yeah, I feeling just great, Monkey!” Skeeter hurled out with spite at him. “Unlike somebody I knoooow…” He looked into the eyes of Asher with hand crossed over his furry chest, “…I don’t nearly pass out from bat bites!” He started walking away, until the ground became a bit too hot for his un-shoed paws to handle and he took to the air again with rapidly flapping wings. The bat hung at the back of his head, weighing down the pom pom. It threw off Skeeter’s balance a little bit and he swayed from side to side in the air at times while he flew.
Without any further interruptions, they made it to, what appeared to be, the back of the cave. Though paths didn’t mean much to the two, the rocky walkway stopped and wouldn’t let typical travels any further, unless they had some way of surviving a swing through the lava. Skeeter hovered in the middle of the air as he waited for his partner to figure out what he wanted to do about finding this Bomb. As he waited, Skeeter took a closer look around. This place certainly felt a bit hotter, but after his look around, he was sure it was hotter here than in any other place they had been in the cave. Lava was spitting out of the bed of liquid magma that blocked there path now. Heat, warped the view in front of him, changing the cave structures and walls into rippling mirages of their true solid nature. He pulled his aviator hat off and wiped his brow with a *Kupo*.
“No wonder there’s a time limit for this place.” He spouted out. He didn’t care at this point if Asher heard him or not. “There’s no way we could last in here forever. Not unless we came wearing refrigerator armor.” Skeeter closed his eyes and sighed at the daydream of him wearing something that would keep him cool in this place.
Word Count: 606 Total Word Count: 3614 Bonus XP: +100 Total XP: 462.2
He was already feeling better, even though Skeeter was throwing barbed statements - or at least one - about him passing out. He didn't even make a face when he was called 'monkey', 'cause... well... that was what people tended to call him when they first met! 'Monkey-boy', Monkey, Tail-kid, kid-with-a-monkey-tail. Honestly, the list was as long as his tail, and so it wasn't all that bothersome to be called something one was used to.
"I didn't pass out! I'm a vampire now! Vampires don't pass out. They suck bloooood." He lifted his hands above his head, free one making claws as he tried to be as 'scary' as possible. The only thing that made him think he might be was that, for the first time in a long time, he was taller than someone. That was not a usual situation for him.
As a matter of fact, though, he was already starting to perk up a little, gigging as the bat continued to try and chomp and cling to the bon-bon stem. He had to keep averting his eyes every time Skeeter looked at him, because, he wasn't about to say anything about it. Why would he? Maybe he would pass out, which would be quite funny.
He wiggled a bit, bouncing every so often, flapping his arms carelessly, as he tried to turn in to a bat. Vampires did that, so he was convinced he just hadn't quite figured it out yet. Still, they were both moving fairly quickly, no doubt the threat of another bat-attack lingering in their minds. He had to admire Skeeter, though, as he worked his arms madly.
Skeeter was an effective combatant, and he did so without even seeming to show a hint of effort. Asher had to keep focused when he was bouncing around like that, knowing full and well that one missed step would send him crashing back down to earth, and no doubt, he'd have to get up. Monsters didn't give you time to get up when they were trying to eat you. It was why he was so glad he could teleport. If he did falter, he could just as easily resume his assault as he could breathe.
Most of the time, at least.
Wrinkling his nose as they got to what appeared to be the back, he peered around. The whole place was dampening his nose, now, there was no scents other than heat and sulfur and damp moogle. All in all, it was a bad, aggravating situation, no doubt added to by the fact that he, too, was sweating, most profusely. He didn't sweat all that often, so when he did, it was definitely time to pack it in.
"I dunno what you're talking about. I'm cold as ice! BRRRRR" He called, at Skeeter, since Skeeter wanted to play a game of who was the better person. He stuck his tongue out. "And by the way I like your new hat." he added, trying hard not to giggle again. And failing, miserably.
Still, the heat drew him. He turned back towards the center, stepping forward. There was supposed to be something here. His presence should trigger it. Did he have to say something funny? A magic spell or an announced arrival?
"I, Asher Gheri, call up the Bomb, for my SeeD Exam!" He anounced, loudly, almost professionally, and most certainly, echo-y. He stood there, trying to keep his most serious face on. A full minute passed, until he realized that nothing was happening.
"COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE YOU BIG STUPID FIREBALL HEADED THING!" He finally called, moving so close to the edge of the lava pool that he knocked a few rocks in. They hissed and sputtered and began to sink in to the molten liquid stuff.
He took a step back. Now he could feel something. In the air. His grip tightened on the Spearshot as he looked back to his friend. He gave him a full-toothed smile, and asked: "Think I made it mad?" He asked, now determined to keep his voice down.
At least for the next thirty seconds.
[/blockquote][/blockquote] ( Word Count: 732 Thread Word Count: 4466 )
Little did you know that your whole journey through the Fiery Cavern was monitored closely by the very thing you desired. Bomb. As a unelected ruler of the Cavern, he knew all that occurred in his territory, even as it happened. He closely watched, from his residence beneath the great lava pool, your progress through the cave. The fact that someone new had come to challenge him caused the fire encompassing him to burn even more fiercely as his excitement grew. He hoped dearly that you two proved to be a better challenge than the previous contenders.
As you stood on the edge of the lava pool, throwing harsh words into the bubbling lava, Bomb began to rise from his dwelling. The raging lava poured over the edge and if you did not move to a safer distance, you would soon be consumed by it. You could see a something emerging from the center of the lake, it got bigger and bigger. Finally with a huge burst of lava, Bomb appeared, flames roaring and glowering red eyes glaring at you.
”Fools! What do you hope to accomplish here? You will not win this fight, instead you will perish in flames!”
Description: A large floating ball of fire, similar to the enemy Bombs but on a much larger scale.
Battle: To defeat this creature, you both must cumulatively post 3500 words. You can do it all in one post each, or you can take several turns to complete it; however, after each turn, the Bomb will get bigger. After three turns, it will use its Self-Destruct ability and you both will die, to put it bluntly. You may not control the Bomb’s actions, I will.
BGM:Final Fantasy VIII // Force Your Way ( Boss Theme )
He had to bound back, as the earth shook and lava practically came to life. His eyes glittered brilliantly in the light - practically glowing, now. There was red, and sweat that made his skin all but shimmer, now, especially considering the heat that rose around them like waves. He smirked a little bit at the over sized creature, who all but hummed with it's own violent, malevolent energy. Asher's muscles tightened a little bit, and he readied his weapon, dropping one clip out, and slipping another in, even though there were still bullets to be used in that one. This would be tough, and he would have to have every available shot, with no break in between. Taking a deep breath, he let his gaze narrow on the King Bomb, leveled with his now-aimed Spearshot, blade glinting in the demonic light.
"Oooor." He said, with a grin. "We put you out! How's that sound, mister bombhead?" He shot back, ready to begin this well and truly.
Instead of charging forward, one hand shot to his utility belt, where he grabbed a canteen. "Like I said. Extinguish!" He called out, heaving the still-full canteen at the monster's open face. It wasn't much, perhaps two or three litres of the cold liquid, but it was a lot more than none at all. This might have made any sane person look... not quite so sane... and it would probably make anyone look rather stupid at him. But, it wasn't like he had a spell he could throw at the bomb to keep this working out the way he wanted to.
Instead, as it would have collided with the monster's face, instead, it would explode with all of the force of a grenade - from where he stood, Asher had taken aim and fired a single rifle round at the canteen. Not that it was under any sort of pressure - but still. It was hit with enough piercing force to punch a hole in metal, at less than a few yards away. That was explosive in it's own right. The point was to do two things. Add a little kick to the bullet, and to spray the monster with the ice cold liquid. No doubt not as effective as a Waterstrike weapon or a Water or Blizzard spell, but certainly enough to hit the beast, and release a hefty bunch of steam in to the air.
That was a distraction.
The real point, was for Asher to take off, as the bullet pierced the bomb, so that he could rush up the side of a stalagmite. He'd already proven his aerial prowess - he just lacked a major amount of strength. It was why he chose such a violent blade, that could add it's own power every time he tugged the trigger. Teeth gritted against each other as he set his jaw, bounding up the almost-sheer rock face, barely taking time to ready himself. One hand firmly gripped on to the Spearshot, the other being used to help him scale the upturned earthen appendage. From the very tip of the stalagmite, he leaped. It might have looked as though he was aiming for the Bomb, but that wasn't quite right.
He passed right overhead, striking the centermost stalactite - the one that was hanging over the beast's head. It was no doubt the reason the lava pool had been able to form in a circular pattern in the first place - that was how stalagmites and whatnot were formed - their opposing stalactites. As Asher's blade smashed in to it, he pulled the trigger, which would cause the muzzle of his Spearshot to let out an angry roar, and add a mini-explosion of stone and dirt. Of course, it wasn't enough to knock the stalactite down, but it was certainly enough to leave a hefty chunk in it.
Asher came down on the other side, as the steam was finally clearing, not quite hitting the ground, but rather, one of the upturned edges of the cave formations. He tried to turn hard, snatching the nearest stalagmite with his tail so as to allow him to spin almost a full one hundred eighty degrees in place. As he came around, another nifty canteen - the only other one he had - was sent rocketing at the back of the monster's head. It was followed by another burst of fire, and a third gunshot, the bullet once again piercing the canteen, and rushing straight for the monster's glowing hide. Asher was a master Marksman, if nothing else could be said for him, he was impressive in that sense.
He forced another spin, as steam would start to cloud the air, and pushed himself off, his angle slightly different from the first. On the opposing side of the center-hanging stalactite, he once again drew his blade along it, squeezing the trigger. A similar burst of angry debris was thrown outward, as he continued through, the hanging earth giving way to sheer angled metal and science. Asher's plan would no doubt be relatively evident to anyone who had been able to track his unearthly quick movements - but he was not making that easy.
He did an almost excellent dive-form, so that he was hurtling upside down through the air, still facing the Bomb, though. Clutching his free hand into a fist, he felt what little magic he had under his control pool in to it, taking the form of blue light.
"SLOW!" He intoned, unleashing the light in the direction of the Eidolon spirit. He finished his spin, so that he came down with a brilliant, albeit painful sounding thud, having to roll as he did so. Asher's body curled just shy of exactly where he had been when he first started this little bouncing expedition. Still, the Slow had been mostly meant as a temporary distraction - he didn't know if it would work on the creature. Free hand snatched up something, as he rolled, forcing himself to pop up once more.
He had to grit his teeth a little, glancing in Skeeter's direction. Had the Moogle overheated? Was he all right? Asher bit his lip uncertainly, but couldn't stop moving, he knew that much. He turned, so that he could run the perimeter of the circle, wishing more than anything he had a few more canteens, or at least a black mage friend who could help this whole problem out. He needed a little more time. As he reached the front edge of the heat-ring, he lobbed in his free hand, what looked like a small black rectangle at the Eidolon's open mouth.
The hottest place on a Bomb? Inside of it. He knew the fire orbs were dangerous because they had such incredibly compacted heat on the inside - which was why he had taken such care and dramatic timing to leave himself a seemingly 'used' clip on the ground. Once inside it's mouth, or even close enough to get superheated by the thing's presence, it would do what was known as a 'Cook Off', in the gunner's world.
The gunpowder would heat up, and explode.
That, if nothing else, would certainly serve as a distraction. Shrapnel in one's face? Yeah, ouch! The only thing protecting his weapon from performing a 'cook off', was simply that the loading mechanism was inside the grip of his weapon - it wouldn't suffer from sudden heat intake like a naked clip might. He continued his rush around the circle, until he was almost exactly 90 degrees from the place he started. Up he went, once more using the stalagmites to give him the vertical boost he needed to get airborne, and over the monster's head.
He could already start to see cracks in the stalactite, where he'd done good damage on it thusfar, as he passed by, striking one of the undamaged edges and squeezing the trigger simultaneously. He could practically hear the ground above them protesting as he did more damage to the cave ceiling. This was no easy, or laughing matter. In fact, the things he was doing could easily be considered recklessly dangerous - a thought which made him smile as he used the opposing stalagmite as a springboard to launch him once more the direction he'd gone. He smashed in to the stone fixture once more, eliminating another hefty hunk from it, and sending a cascade of stone chips.
Asher gritted his teeth sharply and vanished from his place midair. When he appeared again, his legs were wrapped around the stalactite to the best of his effort. This was the big difficult part. The core of the stone had had hundreds of thousands of years to form. No doubt it would be infinitely more difficult to get it to shatter in to a million pieces. Still. He had to take his chance, especially considering the stalactite was just too far around for him to balance on right. With a deep breath and a loud grunt, he shoved the spearshot as deeply as he could into the self-made crevasse that he'd worked so hard in making.
Then he started pulling the trigger. It took him three more shots - a total of nine thusfar, to make the thing groan... and snap. He had only seconds - he used what little force he needed to push himself up on top of the relatively flat surface of the giant, broken stone, so that when - or if - it crashed in to the bomb, he could bound away. "NOT SO STALACTITE NOW ARE YOU?!" he yelled, as loudly as he could, with no way of knowing just how stupid that sounded. He had just heard from that Zell guy that when you did something someone might consider awesome, you had to say some witty remark, else you run the risk of angering the crowd. When Asher had asked what crowd, Zell took off to get some hot dogs.
That was life. The stone would drop, and he would use it to allow him to get as far away as possible, bounding again in the direction of Skeeter, whom hopefully hadn't died of asphyxiation or the bat that had latched on to him. "Skeeter wake up wake up wake up! I could use a little bit of help, koopoh!" He cried out, as he tumbled through the air, stumbling a few times as he landed with as much grace as he could muster.
He turned on his heel to survey his work, mostly uncertain as to how much work it would take in order to bring such a monstrous... monster... down. He could taste blood, from where he'd unconsciously been biting his lip, trying to ascertain just how powerful this would be. Upon noting that, despite his efforts, that the thing was still alive, he blanched, visibly paling, despite the heat. He reached down to swipe up Skeeter, as his mind immediately began racing as to how well he could help this fight along while he was sleeping or at least not paying attention. For once, it was a bonus - Skeeter was smaller than him, so when he pulled the other out of the possible range of his newly made rubble, it wasn't actually difficult by any stretch of the word.
He spun again, readying his weapon. He only had two rounds left, and only one more clip left. He wouldn't have enough time to really load it again - mid battle, it was almost impossible to really get it all set up, with no readily available cover. Still, he was able to grin, as he rushed forwards, using the fallen stalactite to get him up in to the air again. The only place he could safely attack from was above - and even that was dangerous. The heat was enough to stifle him, and already, it was wrinkling his poor little ribbon bow. As he arced overhead, he brought his blade down in a healthy slash, adding another round to the one's he'd lost.
Hitting the other side, he didn't even pause, pushing backwards in a much higher line path over the creature's head. Obviously, however, the momentum of his previous bounce was lost. This time, he wasn't trying to make it over the monster's head. No, this time, he was trying his damndest to get as high as he could. As he reached the peak of his 'arc', not more than three or four yards over the creature's head, he started his way down, Spearshot held in a rather awkward manner.
Both hands grasped the very butt end of it, specifically so that when he went down, he'd be driving it in to the creature's forehead - and the momentum would practically rip it out of his hands.
That was what he wanted, though.
His energy was already starting to wear thin, though - he couldn't keep up this whole fight forever. He landed precisely where he knew he would, on top of the stalactite, which rolled a bit. He dropped down, so that he could latch as much of himself on it as he could.
He, and his rock face friend vanished.
If it had hurt the beast the first time, it would probably hurt worse the second time around. He could teleport anything that latched on to him, or that he latched on to. Typically, this was a problem - it made escaping situations hard, and if he was caught, he was caught. But for just this once, he was definitely using it to his advantage.
Appearing over the Bomb Eidolon's head, he pushed off the thing with all his might - which turns out, isn't much - so it would once again smash in to the creature's cranium.
The other bit, though, was somewhat improvised. As the stonework would crash in to him, Asher was full expecting to fall off. Instead, he caught his still-impaled Spearshot, and smirked. What better way to spend his last shot? He tugged sharply, a feat that would seem rather interesting, considering he was all but dangling in the air. The extra boost would come from the tug of the trigger. It would fire the final shot in to it, while forcing the boy and his red - hot - bladed weapon from the monster.
He curled himself up again, just a bit, so that he came down in a little ball, a good few feet away, panting. No more rounds, no help from Skeeter, and what was worse, was that he could feel that he couldn't teleport again fro another minute or so, at least.
This was problems, especially considering the Bomb... wasn't dead yet.
[/blockquote][/blockquote] ( Word Count: 2509 Boss Count: 2509 Thread Word Count: 6975 Note: DAMMIT! I tried to one-shot it. ;_; )
Unable to following most of your swift movements, there was little the Bomb could do against your assault. Being battered around only increased the fiery creature more, though. So, you had best be prepared for some rage. Unknowing to what was going on until it happened; the giant rock crushed the Bomb so it fell downwards into the lava. To make the attack more devastating, Asher had followed through with thrusting his blade into the Bomb’s blazing core and then letting off a shot right into it.
As a result, the Bomb slowly sunk back into its lava filled pool. From its reaction, you might think it was defeated or giving up; however, you are wrong. A violent wave erupts from the pool of magma and threatens to consume you in it. From the centre of the lake, the Bomb remerges, this time, looking bigger and badder. It was obvious that its size had swelled, this was because it was storing energy to unleash its ruinous move, Self-Destruct. You best work faster if you wish to live another day.
This time, it took the initiative and began moving speedily forward in your direction. Launching several Fire spells of varying degree at both of you as it moved closer. Its hate-filled, red eyes burned as they stare furiously at you. Yes, you now have an extremely upset Bomb heading your way. Good luck.
Asher very nearly cheered, as the Bomb went down - he was almost jubilant.
Then, the earth started to shake once more, and the heat rose with the magma, pouring out from around the stone. When it exploded outwards, he barely managed to escape the cascade of molten rock with all of his body parts in tact. It was nothing more than pure speed and agility that saved him from a particularly lethal - flavored end. Tumbling, he wasn't even able to recover appropriately from his downed position. Instead, he had to push himself back to standing - a rather unusual thing for him - he was not someone who ate dirt often.
He grunted, as he tried to force himself to turn, already starting to have his vision blur. It was a scary thought, the heat obscuring his vision so much that he almost missed the fact that the newly emerged giant Bomb was rushing forward, at him. He bounded back, only to be assaulted by fire spells. Quick handiwork, had him aptly blocking a few of the fireballs with nothing more than his Spearshot. They flew this way and that, crashing in to stones, or simply rocketing off in to the aether - he was careful never to let one hit his flesh, if he could help it.
He hadn't time to think about it - in seconds, the whole thing was too hot for him to hold. Yelping, loudly, feeling his hands suddenly burning against the hot metal, he had to drop it, otherwise he'd really be in trouble. Or at least, more trouble than he was already in.
But the fire spells weren't done and over with, no. He had to carefully bound backwards, body coiling in the air, so that he performed a rather graceful back hand spring, avoiding most of the little explosions. One, however, tagged his arm, singing right above his elbow, giving him a rather nasty looking burn, to go with his palms. Palms that were now firing directly in to his pain receptors, as he used them to spring himself back on to his feet. Despite his wound, he seemed more or less capable of some feats of acrobatics, though his speed had markedly diminished.
Wincing, sharply, he used his place now to streak his way over towards Skeeter, who still seemed more or less out of it. If it was because of the bat, he was going to take care of that, now. He grabbed the thing around it's throat, squeezed until it let go, and tossed it over his shoulder - in to lava. No, he was not a merciful Asher, sometimes.
But this was done while he was moving, trying his best to make sure that Skeeter wouldn't get set on fire, or knocked in to lava, or have some other horrible fate befall him on Asher's behalf. He was pushing himself hard, though.
He lunged back behind a stalagmite, so that further fire spells would hit it, and not them. Gritting his teeth, he looked to his wounded hands, and glanced back around the stalagmite. The Bomb was not happy, that much was obvious by the power of the spells it was hurling at them. But Asher was no Skeeter. He wasn't a hand to hand combatant. Rather, he was all in to the marksmanship.
But what did that mean, if he couldn't pick up his weapon? Biting his lip, he thought hard. Suddenly, it came to him, like a lightbulb. He pulled his tail in front of him, untying the wilting ribbon bow, and then hurriedly wrapping it around his left hand. The grip would be safe from the heat, especially having had a minute to cool off. But the shaft, on the other hand - not so much. He couldn't aim a rifle with just one hand... so... this was the next best alternative. Reaching his free hand in to his utility belt, he produced his last clip. With the Bomb focused on him here...
He pulled off his vest, as gingerly as he could, though he'd leave his unbuttoned shirt on. Not that he needed it, but A) this made him feel a little more cool, and B), well, B was part of the plan. Grunting, he heaved the vest up, as hard as he could, specifically so that it would catch attention - bonus attention. He didn't stay long enough to see if it was caught on fire by the Eidolon.
He teleported, though it took a lot out of him to do so. Behind the Bomb, at his Spearshot, he knelt, releasing the spent clip, and shoving the fresh one in to the chamber.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded. He pulled up the Spearshot, using his wrapped hand to balance the shaft, while he tugged the grip down in to Rifle mode.
"Keep your eye on the prize, you big glowing jerk!" He yelled, before he squeezed the trigger, five times. Five separate bullets would release themselves from the muzzle, passing just beyond the blade, to hurt the Bomb from behind. His eyes narrowed - he knew that it wouldn't be enough damage to really take down the Bomb... no. Not on it's own. But it would certainly get it's attention.
Even if it didn't, the boy was already moving, his body once more being pushed to the fullest extent. All of his training, his calisthenics... all of it. It was being put to the test. But wasn't that the point? He pulled himself in to a large arc, so that he could jump, spinning the Spearshot over his head much like a large, lethal helicopter blade. The point was simple. Gravity, momentum, inertia - all three would lend their aide to him, as he came down from his aerial position, screaming wildly. Eyes alight, caught in the glow of fire, he brought the Spearshot down, plunging the blade as deeply as it would go in to the Bomb.
And then he emptied the remainder of the clip in to it.
The last round was used mostly to help him swing back out of the creature, so that he landed on his ass.
Well, either that worked, or he was about to become a very well cooked SeeD.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]
( Word Count: 1058 Boss Word Count: 3567 Thread Word Count: 8033 )
In an instant, the cavern calmed and the raging lava returned to a tranquil state as its lord, the Bomb, was defeat. ”Congratulations, young one. You have passed... The Bomb seemed relaxed, as well, as it dematerialized into a mysterious red dust. That dust floated down and landed on you. Interestingly, it was absorbed into your core. Successfully overcoming the challenges of the Fire Cavern, you have obtained the mighty power of the Bomb. Congratulations.
[You did exceptionally well, considering you managed to do it all yourself. Because of this, you get an extra +100 XP. Job well done!]
