[Mari]

Palutena stood gazing into the distance thoughtfully as she waited for aid.

"..."

A thick, ominous cloud loomed overhead, snuffing out most of the natural light. An unusually strong concentration of starvia was present in the air, and it made her stomach turn. Her body had been having a strong reaction to the starvia ever since her near-infection experience, and she found herself feeling a little nautious just being near this particular area of Li. Hopefully she wouldn't have to stay very long, and hopefully whomever showed up to help could pull her weight. The reality that failure here could mean infection was all too familiar to her.

Still, Palutena knew she was on a time limit. If no one answered her calls for aid she would be very disappointed, but going alone was a reality that she was unfortunately ready to accept if need be.

[Coolshaymin]

A strong wind blew through the air as it picked up leaves and earth. The wind blew past Palutena and left a second goddess concerned for Pit in it's wake... Though she would not admit that was the reason she was here. Viridi appeared with her scythe like staff appearing in her hand as she stood at a significant height shorter than Palutena in person. Apparently she was the only shorty of the gods and Goddesses... Oh well, Youth was much more befitting her anyway.

"Hello, Palutena. What a time for us to meet up in person. I see your errand boy needs a bit of help. Kind of like a reverse Chaos Kin, isn't it?" Viridi mocked after she appeared.

"Anyway, it just so happens Pit still holds some importance to me as well. Can't let the little guy get corrupted before he can even contribute. I assume you know where he is Oh All Seeing One?" Viridi continued.

[Mari]

Palutena's gaze shifted to acknowledge a newcomer and, to her surprise, it was Viridi! Not one of the mortals, or even a blade for hire, but the goddess of nature! Palutena smiled slightly, seemingly amused by the other's entrance.

"...How kind of you to deign to grace us with your presence, Viridi~"

Judging by the tone of her voice, Palutena was teasing the other. Palutena seemed unfazed by Viridi's remark but chose to ignore the comment about the chaos kin. It wasn't a moment of her life she could make light of very easily. "I suppose Pittoo being grounded puts us both in the same boat." Palutena went on to muse aloud. Last time she had heard of him, Pittoo had had a bit of an unfortunate problem where his life and consciousness was tied to Pit's. Viridi's next question was what seemed to stop Palutena's train of thought. She hesitated for a moment. "Of course I know where Pit is~!" Palutena replied, feigning mild insult at the question in a manner that wasn't all that subtle.

"...He's on Li~"

Palutena turned tail and began to gently float toward the awaiting darkness. Her answer seemed to imply that she did not, in fact, know where Pit was. Yet, it wasn't entirely clear if she was joking or not. This time, her tone gave no hints as to the meaning of her words. Was she teasing Viridi, or was she being morbidly honest?

[Coolshaymin]

It was a bit unfortunate that Dark Pit was down for the count right now because of Pit. They really did share some kind of bond because of that mirror. Getting Pit back to fighting condition would probably make Dark Pit useful again as well. Sure, she had a replacement for the angel now but wasting resources was not something she was about to do. Besides, Pit also held value himself as well. The last thing she wanted was an infected Pit running around... Which may cause an infected Dark Pit as well... That would be pretty problematic.

... Viridi did not appreciate Palutena's response to her question though. 'He's on Li~'?! That did not make this rescue mission any more tolerable. "... This better not be a wild goose chase! I am going out of my way to help you and your errand boy and I receive an 'I don't know'?!" Viridi started.

"This is why I try to beat you! You two can be so infuriating!" Viridi finished angrily with her hands gripping her hair.

"Fine, whatever. These infected guys are a bigger issue right now anyway. Let's just go and take care of this problem!" Viridi gave in as she followed the Goddess of Light on foot.

[Mari]

Palutena beamed with pride as she listened to Viridi's reaction. Her smile was borne of amusement at the other's expense. Seeing as Pick on Pit day had been cancelled for some time now, she was in need of another to ...torture. We'll call it torture. Judging by Viridi's reaction, she'd done well. Now it was time for a pivot.

"Patience is a virtue, Viridi~" Palutena remarked in mock warning, glancing over her shoulder as she continued floating forward at a casual pace. It was a necessity that they take their time, for they were walking into one of the most dangerous places on Li. "I wasn't done explaining!" Palutena would add, winking at the other light-heartedly. She would return her gaze to the direction they were going.

"Of course I know where Pit is. I also know where Pit isn't."

The goddess of light giggled playfully, her staff lighting up with a highly permeating light as the natural light around the goddesses began to give away, leaving them in total darkness. The staff lit up a modest area around them; best not to look directly into the light. Palutena quickly became a bit more serious, however.

"I've been searching Li for quite some time now. You'll understand if this was the last place I could afford to check."

The darkness seemed to encroach around Palutena's holy light, pushing inwards as if it were a living mass attempting to consume the duo.

(Roll 10+ perception to notice the unnatural way the darkness resists Palutena's light.)

"I wouldn't even send Pit here without backup. It's too... evil. I know not what manner of light-forsaken creatures we may encounter ahead, but it would be wise not to let our guard down."

(Roll 16+ perception to detect movement nearby in the darkness. If you detect it, you may attack it.)

[Coolshaymin]

Well, Palutena seemed to be trolling after all which was good. Honestly hard to tell when this Goddess is serious and when she isn't. Still she followed as she looked around at the darkness as she followed Palutena's light. Viridi was not really the type to possess much light powers. Phosphora's lightning was about the best light source she had. "Wow, you have been looking by yourself for that long? You sure there isn't more than a servant-master relationship there?" Viridi teased as they walked... well, she walked.

EPMNcAP4p_1d20+4(Determining the unnaturalness of the darkness)

Something seemed severely wrong about all this darkness though. It just did not seem natural in the slightest. Something was definitely wrong here and if anyone could tell, it was the Goddess of Nature. Even she thinks Yoshis are strange and this darkness was no different. Actually, maybe the most concerning thing was... the darkness was acting more like a living thing and was more natural than darkness. This put Viridi a little more on the spot in keeping on her toes. Palutena may be more than a foot taller but sometimes you have to be closer to earth to tell these kind of things.


p_1d20+4(Nothing can escape the eyes of Mother Nature)

Then she saw something move in the darkness and knew that there was more to this darkness. So the darkness might be trying to aide the creature in the shadows. Viridi put her staff in front of Palutena and pointed in the direction she saw the movement. "Phosphora! Strike now!" Viridi called as a blue lightning bolt struck down where she pointed and hopefully it did not move too far.

p_1d20+4

"Looks like we are not alone on our search for Pit. No surprise there," Viridi said as Phosphora's aim was pretty mediocre. Then again, the darkness probably did not help that matter in the slightest.

1d20+4·1d20+4·1d20+4

[Mari]

Palutena's brow was raised by the referral of Pit as Palutena's 'servant'. Why, that almost sounded scandalous! ...And she wasn't oblivious to the deliberate implications being thrown about. Palutena's nose wrinkled for a moment, but she quickly dismissed the lewd joke from her head. It was a disrespectful thought to everyone involved. A smirk replaced her momentary distaste.

"Why? Are you browsing the market, Viridi~?"

Palutena had put the spotlight back on Viridi by suggesting she had a crush on Pit--or Palutena herself, for that matter. She hadn't really specified which. She often enjoyed letting the subjects of her teasing come to ther own conclussions. It was funner that way! ...Plus, it made it harder for them to guess her true intentions.

d0QdKbqgp_1d20+4 (Palutena's Perception)

Palutena also noticed that the darkness was behaving oddly and raised her staff, chasing it back a bit. Yet, she was unable to identify what exactly it was. It was a concerning phenomenon, regardless. Her gaze watched the ground carefully, observing how the shadows were behaving. "Do you see that..?" Palutena asked in disbelief. She was a bit distracted with this, so much so that she didn't notice something else moving deeper within the shadows. Luckily, Viridi was on the ball. Phosphora's lightning briefly lit up the landscale, revealing more of the deformed and mutated flora. More alarming however, was what she had just electrocuted.

*Growling*

The mutated body of a large wolf recoiled from the blow, quickly stepping into Palutena's light. Starvia clinging to his body seemed to pull off of him, retreating to the shadows. The wolf seemed to be alone, defying it's nature--probably due to how severely it had been warped.

(Roll 12+ on your preferred attacking stat to hit the wolf.)

Palutena would turn to address the wolf, raising her staff. The staff discharged a blast of light at the wolf, automatically aiming for it.

p_1d20+4 (Palutena's Auto Reticle)

"It looks like we're attracting attention."

Mutated Wolf
77 HP
Status: Starvia Crazed

1d20+4·1d20+4

[Coolshaymin]

"As if I would be looking for someone. Love is not exactly something I will be interested in anytime soon. Not many look highly on my goals you know," Viridi returned to the topic from earlier as she watched the wolf's movements. These infected really were giant monsters for corrupting nature like this. As far as she was concerned though, this wolf was no longer natural.

"Besides, I would NEVER dream of taking your darling Pit from you," Viridi continued to tease as she focused on the wolf.

She felt she was on target now and pointed at the wolf. "Cragalanche!" Viridi called. As she did, a massive rock fell out of the sky and tried to crush the wolf under it's weight.

o9xkKWL2p_1d20+4(Cragalanche Crush on the Wolf)

1d20+4

[Mari]

Palutena's eyes danced from Viridi to the wolf as the other spoke and unleashed her pet rock on the unfortunate thing. The wolf yelped in pain as it was sent rolling from the impact, struggling back to its feet. The wolf jerked forward, rushing Viridi with murderous intent and lunging for her throat!

n657LkAFp_1d20+3 (Wolf's Pounce)
p_1d20+4 (Palutena's Protection)

...But luckily for Viridi, Palutena was looking out for her. A blast of light shot the wolf out of the air as it lunged, forcing the wolf to reconsider its approach. The wolf abruptly ran off after shaking off the blast, wounded by the girls' attacks. It quickly retreated into the darkness, where it could no longer be seen. Suddenly, the darkness violently closed in on them, swallowing up Palutena's light as it attempted to force the girls into darkness!

p_1d20+4 (Palutena's Light)

...But Palutena was able to push the darkness back, barely. One could only speculate what might happen if it consumed them. The darkness closed in close enough to reach the girls' toes, but was promptly pushed back by a strong burst of light by Palutena's staff.

"Somehow I'm not convinced dropping a reset bomb on this coast would be an unpopular decision."

It was a rather morbid thought, but the starvia's presence in the area was simply too strong for anyone to be holding out here. Even now, one could taste it in the air. They were not safe here, and every moment they wasted contributed to their downfall. To this end, Palutena chose to keep moving even as they were being stalked by the wolf. They didn't have time to stand around wait for it to attack. Furthermore, this darkness bothered Palutena. It was strong enough to make her struggle, which represented an extreme threat. If she'd known about this beforehand, she might have hesitated to come without taking additional precautions.

"Come to think of it, though, it is easy to imagine you owning a bunch of cats~"

Mutated Wolf
46 HP
Status: Hidden

1d20+3·1d20+4·1d20+4

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi just rolled her eyes before reacting to Palutena's comment on the bombs. The cat part was not what really troubled her. It was more the part about the Reset Bombs considering what Pit did. On top of that though, she had not told Arle about what she did before Li. Makes her consider what the human would think about that now that she was her servant. She still continued walking with Palutena as the darkness was troubling. Also making sure to keep an eye on the dog that seemed insistent on following them.

Viridi decided to answer Palutena as she channeled a Mini Reset Bomb in her hand. "You're right, I could help undo what these infected has done. That would definitely be a major help. I will just make one with my Reset Bomb Facto-... Oh wait, I nearly forgot! A certain Goddess's angel blew them up!" Viridi said sarcastically.

Viridi quickly changed to a serious demeanor though. "To be serious though, even I think using them as is would be bad. Sure, I can reset entire areas but what good will that do? The air will still be infected and soon what I have done will only help them. I need to take care of the pollution they caused before even my Reset Bombs will help matters. In that sense, these guys are worst than humans," Viridi said honestly.

"Would still prefer cats though," Viridi joked. She did appreciate Palutena defending her but she was not about to admit that. The Goddess had enough of an ego already, Viridi was not about to double it's size. She then threw the Reset Bomb at the wolf. Hopefully the natural plants that would cover him up would slow his movements.

nXDomhzEp_1d20+4(Critical Mini Reset Bomb)

1d20+4

[Mari]

Palutena glanced at Viridi briefly. Worse than humans? It was nice to know that her ally had her head on her shoulders. ...Her tiny, tiny shoulders. Cute. Viridi's reset bomb erupted explosively, illuminating for a brief moment the form of a mutated wolf being blown into the air. The power of hiding in an infinite span of great darkness was no match for an expertly thrown high explosive. An accompanying yelp was heard as the wolf decidedly never knew what hit him, KO'd from the blast's impressive power. Wolf down!

"Impressive shot, Viridi!"

bMnGcsdip_1d20+4 (Palutena's Light)

Palutena certainly hadn't been expecting the bomb snipe. However, she quickly regained her composure. The goddess of light braced herself as the shadows once again attempted to close in on the girls, forcing them back again with a burst of light. It hadn't been long since the last attack either, and the frequency made her worry. One of these times the shadows would win... But not this time. For now, she focused on the mission at hand.

"Though, don't you think an eternity is a long time to be alone?"

...or rather, on the topic at hand. "Thinking about it kinda makes me feel bad for you..." she would go on. It honestly didn't sound like she was even being sarcastic or mocking this time, however, there was no denying that her words might cause offense regardless. Suddenly however, a robed figure leapt from the shadows, launching an eggplant shaped spell at Palutena!

p_1d20-2 (Palutena's doooodge!)

...But it was a no-go. The aggressive spellcaster managed to blast Palutena with his spell, turning her into an eggplant! Deprived of her normal form, the disorientated goddess-eggplant just sort of wobbled over to Viridi, bumping into her.

Eggplant Wizard
100 HP
Status: Starvia Crazed

1d20+4·1d20-2

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi seemed taken aback for a moment by Palutena expressing concern. Was she really worried about Viridi never being in a relationship so bad?! Viridi could not help but be flustered as well as annoyed at Palutena's expression. The only person right now that probably has any interest in Arle... And as if she would lower herself to a human's level because they have feelings over her... OVER CURRY!

"Y-you just be concerned for your own relationship! Nature is most beautiful when it is left untouched! Let's just pay attention to our current goal!" Viridi blurted out.

Viridi took a moment to calm down as they walked and Palutena pushed the darkness back. Viridi had to rely on her to keep this holy light going since Viridi was not exactly a Goddess of Light. All she had for light was Phosphora bolt and that would not be that useful. Lighting her staff on fire would definitely not help against this darkness.

She just had to focus and not let anything happen to Palutena as much as she hated... to... admit... it. Viridi's thoughts slowed as Palutena bumped against her... except she was now an Eggplant. "... AGH! Could you protect yourself for FIVE seconds?!" Viridi said in outrage.

Viridi ignored the momentary thought to take advantage of the situation and taste the eggplant for the fun of it. There was much more important things right now than freaking Palutena out. Viridi had no ways to cure the Eggplant status and that made the darkness even more worrying if Palutena can not hold it back as an Eggplant. "This is for causing trouble!" Viridi said as she raised a fist up in an uppercut motion. Hopefully the tree that sprung up quickly would hit whatever wizard did that.

RJnVNaH3p_1d20+4(Tree Uppercut on Eggplant Wizard)

1d20+4

[Mari]

Eggplant-Palutena just sort of took shelter near Viridi. It was the closest thing she could do to protecting herself, and though she and Viridi weren't best friends she could, at least, trust the other woman not to do anything crazy. Like ... take a nibble. Right? Right. Of course. Meanwhile, the eggplant wizard was struck--...by a tree. It staggered backwards and fell, pushing itself back to its feet. It seemed it wasn't anywhere near giving up quite yet. Raising its arm, it would launch another eggplant spell at Viridi! Luckily, the spell did no direct damage. However, it was only a matter of time before another enemy showed up and made things more difficult.

(Roll 11+ to dodge)

And just then, the question of whether Palutena could hold off the darkness as an eggplant had to be answered. The darkness once again closed in on the girls, pressing inwards with it's crushing weight.

9o1F68rCp_1d20+4 (Palutena's... failure)

The darkness snuffed out even Palutena's light, closing in on them. All at once, the girls were thrust into darkness. Perhaps being an eggplant was interfering with her ability to use magic! ...Or perhaps she was just growing weaker as she continued trying to resist it. Either way, Viridi was about to find out what awaited her there. ...It was dark, for starters, dark enough that she could no longer see the enemies--or Palutena for that matter. A vaguely eggplant shaped body would brush up against her, though, to quickly re-establish where her partner was. The air began to taste funny, the faint taste of metal and a less than flattering smell gracing Viridi's senses. A toxic smog-like substance was now substituting the air, aggressively infiltrating her body.

(Palutena and Viridi are now considered poisoned, suffering 5% damage plus 5% additional damage each turn. The poison will wear off immediately once the darkness is driven back with a roll of 11 or more.)

Palutena flailed helplessly as the poison afflicted her. How did it even get into her eggplant body? ...A question best left for the scientists, perhaps.

Palutena
5%
Status: Eggplant, Poisoned


Eggplant Wizard
83 HP
Status: Starvia Crazed

[/quote]
1d20+4

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi heard the satisfying hit of wood against useless monster if could not help but smile. That smile faded however as an eggplant spell headed for her next. She had to think fast if she did not want to become like Palutena.

ygQTQHiLp_1d20+2

Viridi quickly realized there was little room for movement. They were surrounded by darkness and there was few methods of escape. She had no room to manuever away as the eggplant spell hit her and changed her form. As if being turned into an eggplant was not bad enough, the darkness quickly consumed them.

Viridi could feel the pain of the darkness and was slowly getting angrier at being helpless. That anger reached a boiling point as she was knocked to the ground by Palutena brushing against. This caused the boiled eggplant to kick her legs in annoyance.

Viridi
5%
Status: Poisoned, Eggplant

1d20+2

[Mari]

...Both girls were eggplants. Truly, it was a disastrous situation. They would be helpless, in the dark, to be preyed upon by whatever manner of foulness came across them. Palutena felt a kick at her easily bruised exterior and pursed her non-existant lips in annoyance. Struggling to regain control over the situation, she attempted to restore light to the area!

jM2iOOhrp_1d20+4 (Palutena's Light)

Palutena's staff, floating on its own nearby, lit up and explosively drove back the darkness with a blast of light that lit up the immediate area. Revealing...

Some very hungry mutated raccoons

(Roll twice to dodge two attacks from two raccoons. The rolling threshold is 11+ If you are hit, they will take a bite out of you for 15% damage each)

p_1d20-2
p_1d20-2

Palutena's eyes would widen in horror if she could as the raccoons surrounded her. The unfortunate critters had been starved, and the girls were in a very unfortunate position to help them with that. Unable to evade the nimble yet exhausted critters, Palutena's eggplant body succumbed to their ravenous biting. Nearby, the eggplant wizard grinned sadistically as he watched the spectacle. He then backed off into the darkness.

Palutena
35%
Status: Eggplant (0 Turns Left)


Mutated Starving Raccoons
A: 25 HP (Attacking Palutena)
B: 25 HP (Attacking Palutena)
C: 15 HP (Attacking Viridi)
D: 15 HP (Attacking Viridi)


Eggplant Wizard
83 HP
Status: Starvia Crazed, Hidden

1d20+4·1d20-2·1d20-2