Infiltration of the Arbiter's Grounds (EVENT | DUNGEON TEAM)
POSTED ON Jan 2, 2022 3:15:43 GMT
Post by Marianne de Hyrule on Jan 2, 2022 3:15:43 GMT
The puppeteer was down! Marianne raised her right hand as the prism glowed brightly. Her left hand was also raised, and it seemed that she was ready for one strong attack.
But at that moment she hesitated.
Ethereal voices were one thing. But a shriek.... A scream....
"..."
Before she knew it, the moment had come to pass. The walls pushed her, and she found herself on sinking sand. By now it was quite clear what she had to do, and soon she was already on her spinner, navigating the area.
Empowered by this energy, the Stahlebus would rise up to its full height and display its six arms, all supported upon a single spinal column in the center.
The walls of the sanctum would be pulled in by the unknown power, forcing the party members onto the sinking sand.
"My, just one thing after anther... spinners, then, and observe the wals!" Revyn called out, just in case. "Ah, and you up there should really learn to speak more clearly!" he added for good measure, quickly hopping onto a spinner of his own in the meanwhile.
"Fuck you! Use your words!" Vlad countered at the creature yelling, doing his best to breathe in the oppressive air as he dug out his own spinner not... really looking to die via quick sand. That'd be embarrassing
"Roland," Marianne's mind called.
"Yes-yes. Mistress Yes-Yes."
"Can you still contact Gretel? Please try your hardest. I'll let you in deeper to feed."
"Roland can Yes-Yes! Roland needs time Yes-Yes-Yes!"
"Please, then, Roland. I am counting on you."
Meanwhile, she also focused her mind, trying her damnedest to establish a Project Thought with that person. Yes that was certainly someone under a mask.
"Who are you?"
Fiora did a U-maneuver in the sky, readying her bow then, in one fluid movement, released an arrow towards the mask on the puppeteer. The arrow flew true, but with mere tilt of the head, the shaft would break upon the wall.
"... WHO..."
She reached out as a single tendril shot swiftly toward Fiora. But too late for Fiora. She was as agile as always, but the tendril seemed to have precognition. It wrapped itself around the Rito, pulling her.
"... AM..."
The tendril would wrap around the Rito and pull her forcefully into the ribcage of the Stahlebus, bound by beak, wing, and claw to the spinal cord. She would not feel pain, but she could not move.
"Curse y-"
But before she was dragged completely, she managed to activate Din's Touch to her body. Now, even if the demon wanted to harm her it would find her as hard as rock. Fiora, The Royal Guard of Princess Marianne of Hyrule, would not go down without a fight.
And did the creature forgot that she had blades on her wings? The tighter she was squeezed, the deeper her blades would be pushed towards the spinal cord, and the reverse would happen if she was not squeezed as tightly. Take that, you fiend.
"... I?"
The Stahlebus would swing backwards, its hands reaching for their heads, copying their puppeteer impeccably as the puppeteer threw her body around in agony.
"AAAAAAAARGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
Destructive magic began to rain down from the mouths of the Stahlebus, exploding on contact with the sand.
As for the Implin, it would take a while before it could get a stable connection.
"Whatever this is doing, keep it occupied. Seal the base, if you can," Revyn simply shouted as the creature started to flail... before he was swifly moving. Off the spinner, further along with Gale Runner to start climbing up whatever path along the bony body that he could take.
Destructive magic, of type unknown, rained down on them. But while navigating her spinner to avoid the magic, only one thing filled Marianne's mind.
'Who... am... I?'
"HYRULE!" she suddenly screamed, "HYRULE CASTLE! HYRULE CASTLE TOWN! HYRULE ROYAL FAMILY! HYRULE, YOUR HOME!"
Had she... lost her mind? Even Donna peeked her furry face a little, surprised by the sudden outburst. But still the princess continued, shouting words after words on top of her lungs in rapid succession.
"MARIANNE! MARI! LEON! BEATRIX! DAPHNES! CELESTE DE HYRULE, YOUR FRIEND! YOU PROMISED MARIANNE ! YOU WILL DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO RETURN TO HER, AGAINST DEMONS OR GODS!"
"Revyn, Mr. Zaharie, Rularu, Fiora -" once again, her thoughts were broadcasted to her allies, "-we have to repeat the previous act. Bring it to the ground again."
"MAGIC ACADEMY! PROFESSOR! PROFESSOR OF DARK MAGIC, THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE! 'YOUR WILL IS ENOUGH TO SWAY DARKNESS TO DO YOUR BIDDING!' OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT?!"
"Remember, Nayru against Din. Din against Farore. Farore against Nayru. Fiora, you can still use Trial by Fire, right? It doesn't need any movement. Make it a conflagration that its flames reaches the heavens. Farore's head is right on top of you, the middle one."
There was an explosion in front of her, hurling sands everywhere. But still the princess kept shouting, doing her best to overcome the ruckus even if her eyes were blurry and her throat burned like fire.
"THEIA DE HYRULE! YOUR FRIEND WHO DISAPPEARED! MASK SALESMAN! JANETTE! SHE KEEPS YOUR ROOMS AS IF YOU ARE STILL THERE! BOUCHARD! ANGEL MASK! T-TOURMALINE! TOURMALINE IS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU!"
"Once we do that and the heads are inactive again, Mr. Zaharie, can you find a way to launch me towards that person?"
In her haste and troubled feelings, she realized that she had forgotten the most obvious part.
"VON BRANDT!" Came her desperate shriek, piercing the air, "URSULA! ULRICH! AMELIA! VON BRANDT! IS NOT THAT YOUR NAME?!"
"I have one last spell that... Maybe I'll have a chance to take off that mask...."
"AND JON! GENERAL JOHANNES VON BRANDT! AMELIA WAS HIS FINAL WORDS!"
"It is said that to call forth the Avatar of the Goddess herself is to wager one's very soul.... But if you have any other idea, do shout it right now."
Better than in the way of those explosions.
And finally. Finally a name that, even if all else fails, Marianne was sure it would evoke a memory if indeed that person was the one Marianne thought about. A name of purity and innocence. A name that Marianne hated herself to hate, a name which she had always avoided it to be mentioned in her mentor's presence, if she could.
A name of an angel that, until now and probably forever, Marianne still felt herself as merely a pale replacement for that girl in her mentor's eyes...
"MERITA!!" And without realizing it, tears had trickled down Marianne's eyes. "LITTLE MERITA VON BRANDT! SHE DIED, NEVER TO SEE THE WORLD! YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU CAN STILL SEE HER SMILE! IS THIS, IS THIS HOW YOU WANT HER TO SEE YOU?! LIKE THIS?!"
And now, she was positively crying.
"Fight it... Fight it... please... Whether you are my mentor or a puppet or something else entirely... I know you don't want to be like this...."
The pain... the pain and agony in the creature's scream... It was genuine. It might be that the person was not actually who she thought she was, in which case her words would be nothing but distractions. But the suffering behind those screams and her finally speaking those names after so long.... It was enough to break her resolve, once again.
But something.... Something told her that she was right. After all, as she told Desmond Dragelion before, she was used to loss. Something like this would definitely be the thing that happened to her. That was her curse, right?
"You want me to launch you towards them?! Don't let emotions make you make stupid decisions!" Vlad shouted back towards Marianne, following revyn in climbing on the spinner.
"I see no other choice!" came Marianne's answer to Vlad, also broadcasted "If we can bring the heads down again and render them inactive we can reach-"
But at that moment she hesitated.
Ethereal voices were one thing. But a shriek.... A scream....
"..."
Before she knew it, the moment had come to pass. The walls pushed her, and she found herself on sinking sand. By now it was quite clear what she had to do, and soon she was already on her spinner, navigating the area.
Empowered by this energy, the Stahlebus would rise up to its full height and display its six arms, all supported upon a single spinal column in the center.
The walls of the sanctum would be pulled in by the unknown power, forcing the party members onto the sinking sand.
"My, just one thing after anther... spinners, then, and observe the wals!" Revyn called out, just in case. "Ah, and you up there should really learn to speak more clearly!" he added for good measure, quickly hopping onto a spinner of his own in the meanwhile.
"Fuck you! Use your words!" Vlad countered at the creature yelling, doing his best to breathe in the oppressive air as he dug out his own spinner not... really looking to die via quick sand. That'd be embarrassing
"Roland," Marianne's mind called.
"Yes-yes. Mistress Yes-Yes."
"Can you still contact Gretel? Please try your hardest. I'll let you in deeper to feed."
"Roland can Yes-Yes! Roland needs time Yes-Yes-Yes!"
"Please, then, Roland. I am counting on you."
Meanwhile, she also focused her mind, trying her damnedest to establish a Project Thought with that person. Yes that was certainly someone under a mask.
"Who are you?"
Fiora did a U-maneuver in the sky, readying her bow then, in one fluid movement, released an arrow towards the mask on the puppeteer. The arrow flew true, but with mere tilt of the head, the shaft would break upon the wall.
"... WHO..."
She reached out as a single tendril shot swiftly toward Fiora. But too late for Fiora. She was as agile as always, but the tendril seemed to have precognition. It wrapped itself around the Rito, pulling her.
"... AM..."
The tendril would wrap around the Rito and pull her forcefully into the ribcage of the Stahlebus, bound by beak, wing, and claw to the spinal cord. She would not feel pain, but she could not move.
"Curse y-"
But before she was dragged completely, she managed to activate Din's Touch to her body. Now, even if the demon wanted to harm her it would find her as hard as rock. Fiora, The Royal Guard of Princess Marianne of Hyrule, would not go down without a fight.
And did the creature forgot that she had blades on her wings? The tighter she was squeezed, the deeper her blades would be pushed towards the spinal cord, and the reverse would happen if she was not squeezed as tightly. Take that, you fiend.
"... I?"
The Stahlebus would swing backwards, its hands reaching for their heads, copying their puppeteer impeccably as the puppeteer threw her body around in agony.
"AAAAAAAARGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
Destructive magic began to rain down from the mouths of the Stahlebus, exploding on contact with the sand.
As for the Implin, it would take a while before it could get a stable connection.
"Whatever this is doing, keep it occupied. Seal the base, if you can," Revyn simply shouted as the creature started to flail... before he was swifly moving. Off the spinner, further along with Gale Runner to start climbing up whatever path along the bony body that he could take.
Destructive magic, of type unknown, rained down on them. But while navigating her spinner to avoid the magic, only one thing filled Marianne's mind.
'Who... am... I?'
"HYRULE!" she suddenly screamed, "HYRULE CASTLE! HYRULE CASTLE TOWN! HYRULE ROYAL FAMILY! HYRULE, YOUR HOME!"
Had she... lost her mind? Even Donna peeked her furry face a little, surprised by the sudden outburst. But still the princess continued, shouting words after words on top of her lungs in rapid succession.
"MARIANNE! MARI! LEON! BEATRIX! DAPHNES! CELESTE DE HYRULE, YOUR FRIEND! YOU PROMISED MARIANNE ! YOU WILL DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO RETURN TO HER, AGAINST DEMONS OR GODS!"
"Revyn, Mr. Zaharie, Rularu, Fiora -" once again, her thoughts were broadcasted to her allies, "-we have to repeat the previous act. Bring it to the ground again."
"MAGIC ACADEMY! PROFESSOR! PROFESSOR OF DARK MAGIC, THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE! 'YOUR WILL IS ENOUGH TO SWAY DARKNESS TO DO YOUR BIDDING!' OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT?!"
"Remember, Nayru against Din. Din against Farore. Farore against Nayru. Fiora, you can still use Trial by Fire, right? It doesn't need any movement. Make it a conflagration that its flames reaches the heavens. Farore's head is right on top of you, the middle one."
There was an explosion in front of her, hurling sands everywhere. But still the princess kept shouting, doing her best to overcome the ruckus even if her eyes were blurry and her throat burned like fire.
"THEIA DE HYRULE! YOUR FRIEND WHO DISAPPEARED! MASK SALESMAN! JANETTE! SHE KEEPS YOUR ROOMS AS IF YOU ARE STILL THERE! BOUCHARD! ANGEL MASK! T-TOURMALINE! TOURMALINE IS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU!"
"Once we do that and the heads are inactive again, Mr. Zaharie, can you find a way to launch me towards that person?"
In her haste and troubled feelings, she realized that she had forgotten the most obvious part.
"VON BRANDT!" Came her desperate shriek, piercing the air, "URSULA! ULRICH! AMELIA! VON BRANDT! IS NOT THAT YOUR NAME?!"
"I have one last spell that... Maybe I'll have a chance to take off that mask...."
"AND JON! GENERAL JOHANNES VON BRANDT! AMELIA WAS HIS FINAL WORDS!"
"It is said that to call forth the Avatar of the Goddess herself is to wager one's very soul.... But if you have any other idea, do shout it right now."
Better than in the way of those explosions.
And finally. Finally a name that, even if all else fails, Marianne was sure it would evoke a memory if indeed that person was the one Marianne thought about. A name of purity and innocence. A name that Marianne hated herself to hate, a name which she had always avoided it to be mentioned in her mentor's presence, if she could.
A name of an angel that, until now and probably forever, Marianne still felt herself as merely a pale replacement for that girl in her mentor's eyes...
"MERITA!!" And without realizing it, tears had trickled down Marianne's eyes. "LITTLE MERITA VON BRANDT! SHE DIED, NEVER TO SEE THE WORLD! YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU CAN STILL SEE HER SMILE! IS THIS, IS THIS HOW YOU WANT HER TO SEE YOU?! LIKE THIS?!"
And now, she was positively crying.
"Fight it... Fight it... please... Whether you are my mentor or a puppet or something else entirely... I know you don't want to be like this...."
The pain... the pain and agony in the creature's scream... It was genuine. It might be that the person was not actually who she thought she was, in which case her words would be nothing but distractions. But the suffering behind those screams and her finally speaking those names after so long.... It was enough to break her resolve, once again.
But something.... Something told her that she was right. After all, as she told Desmond Dragelion before, she was used to loss. Something like this would definitely be the thing that happened to her. That was her curse, right?
"You want me to launch you towards them?! Don't let emotions make you make stupid decisions!" Vlad shouted back towards Marianne, following revyn in climbing on the spinner.
"I see no other choice!" came Marianne's answer to Vlad, also broadcasted "If we can bring the heads down again and render them inactive we can reach-"