[ARTIFACT QUEST] It's Time for ADVENTURE - PG. 10!

[Smerdle]

If there had been a contest to see who could squeeze the biggest frown out of the wrath demon today, this Ultra-MermaidTM would have won easily. Funnily enough, it also would have won the competition to get him to smile. As the giant creature's fist smashed into the flame boil, West grinned widely, unable to strike back for a stretch as he began to laugh.

HP: 44/60
Damage: 0
Mermaid: 18/30  

[chiickadee]

As soon as the egg touches the pedestal, the cave begins rumbling. For a moment, everyone (mermaids included) are knocked off balance by the shaking of the cave. Then it quiets, as though nothing happened.

The fighting resumes, but sound has gone missing. Only then does an enormous wave of golden light ripple across the room, leaving everyone temporarily blinded. When sight returns, the obvious change in the room is that the entire lake is gone. All of the water has simply disappeared, leaving an enormous dish-shaped crater in the ground. The crystals on the wall now glow a hazy golden color, matching the egg, but they shine brighter than before, almost encouraging you on.

Danny is revealed to have been lodged in a crack at the bottom of the lake, connected to a volcanic steam vent. The mermaids, however, are not letting defeat stop them; they stand over her body, occasionally even stepping on her. They're significantly weakened, due to the lack of water, but their PURE TENACITY is giving them super duper strength. Now they're coming forward with more force than before.

ULTRA-MERMAID HP: 18
Auto-dmg: 20 yes im serious

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darkheartedsorrow

inle-roo

phantompanther13

smerdle

blade kuroda

 

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

For a moment, Rikki was afraid that he'd really ******** up by dropping the egg into the pedestal. He grunted as the shaking room forced him to the ground hard, but still managed to stand without much difficult once it stopped.

The water was gone, which meant he could see Danny. His stomach twisted in panic, not knowing if she was okay or not. The only way to get to her though was to get rid of the mermaid.

He summoned his weapon and threw one of the bladed ends towards the ultra mermaid.

HP: 13
DMG: 7
Mermaid HP: 11  

[Inle-roo]

Taima was all for playing with her food, but this was getting ridiculous and she wasn't getting to eat anything. Clearly this was unacceptable. Taima dug her talons into the ground as the cave started shaking, blinking floating spots out of her vision at the bright flash of light. Her eyes glowed brightly as electricity crackled around her and she gave the giant mermaid the dirtiest look she could muster. That it was accompanied by the smell of charred fish only mollified her a little bit, considering she still had mermaid-fry biting at her feet.

HP: 30/50
Damage: 14  

[chiickadee]

The mermaids fall apart, their FEAR fraying under Taima's asskicking. Each of them slaps against the hard ground and dissipates (save for the ones that Taima has charred of course- those are free for the eating), and all is well. Unless you count mass minipet murder as "not well." Which you probably should. You monster.

One mermaid falls onto a crystal the juts out from the wall. It slowly cranks downwards, having not been a crystal at all, but a switch. Said switch reveals a section of the cave with a SECRET DOOR PASSAGE. Yes, more tunnels.

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darkheartedsorrow

inle-roo

phantompanther13

smerdle

blade kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun was ready to continue the fight, but it wasn't needed. He gave the others a curt nod before turning his attention towards the tunnel that suddenly opened up.

"The journey continues..." he muttered while heading down that way.  

[chiickadee]

Danny stirred from her spot on the ground somewhere between the mermaids stepping on her and Taima's defeat. She had attempted to stand up, but with the mermaids hissing and looming over her, she was too disoriented to really make any progress. She wasn't dead or dying certainly, but being covered in water wasn't helping her condition. She definitely felt a cold coming on.

At the very least, once the mermaids were gone, she sat up and sneezed, looking around at the cavern. "Wasn't there water here ... Am I dead did I die."

She then attempted to stand up once more, only to find her tail wedged between a few rocks. "Oh jack dammit," she grumbled, reaching down between the rocks to try and pry it free. At the very least, she was doing well enough to complain.

darkheartedsorrow

 

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

Rikki didn't waste any time. As soon as there wasn't a terrifying mass of mermaids in his way he jumped into the empty basin of the lake, sliding down the side until he could run to Danny's side.

He checked her frantically for any severe injuries and reached down to help her move the rocks off her tail. When he was certain she wasn't in horrible, severe, no good condition, he held her face between his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"s**t, don't ever do that to me again."  

[chiickadee]

Danny fought his hands and squirmed out from under his kiss. Super not the time bro. "Yeah, 'cause I was the one who was like you know what would be a good idea? Running into an old castle with a bunch of death traps for some stupid memories."

There was a surprising tinge of bitterness in her voice, most likely brought on by the bad mood provided by 20 million tons of water on her moments ago. Though the majority of the larger rocks were out of place, her tail was still wedge in between two particularly tough ones, coated in heat from the vents, meaning only Danny could stick her hand sin and remove them; no easy task for someone who had to bend around backwards due to the positioning.

"Why don't you guys just go ahead for a while? I'll catch up," she remarked, pulling on her tail and shimmying the rock to the left a little.  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

Rikki's hands flew back like he'd been burned, confusion drawing his brows together. "They're not stupid," he said, frowning. It sounded a little childish to his own ears. "It's two years of memories, Danny. That's a lot to lose. I thought we were on the same page about this?"

He let her struggle with the hotter rocks, though he wished he could help. "I'm not going anywhere without you." To punctuate his point, he sat down, giving her room to try to get herself free, and crossed his arms over his knees to wait.  

[chiickadee]

"They're stupid when I almost die for them!" she retorted, the Fitzgerald stubbornness entering her voice. "We were on the same page like 3 months ago," she continued to grumble.

One of the rocks from the top broke free, giving her easier access. Now it was just a matter of lifting the big offender with one hand while also moving her tail with the other. "Here," she said, holding her tail out to him so she could put both hands on the rock.

In that moment, a steam vent erupted, shooting hot air into her face. Of course the heat was no problem, but steam was indeed water. It didn't make her feel any better about the water situation, and it definitely didn't improve her mood. "Watch your hand. I'll tell you if it's going to do that again."  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

He pressed his lips together in a thin line and didn't say anything for a while, only doing as she told him. He could see her mood souring as the seconds passed. He startled as the vent erupted, stinging his hand with the heat, but he didn't let go.

Three months. She'd let three months pass with Rikki frantically searching for a way to get her memories back, and she'd, what, stopped caring? "You could have just told me you didn't want them back. I wouldn't have made you come out here if I'd known."  

[chiickadee]

"Yeah uh huh you toootally would have dropped it,"she responded. "Just like how when I wanted to leave the library you said no no five more minutes and then that turned into another hour? Or like how I had to ask Oersted for favors just to get us in some places?"

The rock finally budged and her miniature rant was cut off by heaving. She was strong enough to lift it of course, but it ended with her rocking backwards onto her butt and the lava rock rolling to her left. One of her fingers pinched under the rock and she yelped, throwing the injured finger into her mouth. That was Rikki's fault too.

Finger still in her mouth she said, "I never said I didn't want them back. I just don't think it's happening man."  

[DarkHeartedSorrow]

He winced, because she was probably right even if she was being kind of nasty about it. He would have at least tried talking her into it, still. But it was only because he thought that this was important.

He let her tail go as she freed it, wrapping his arm around his knees again. "I'm sorry. I just... I was willing to make the sacrifices to try to make it happen. I spent all this time with you, I have all these memories of being with you and doing so much s**t together, and you don't remember any of them. That's hard for me to swallow, Danny. I know it doesn't seem like a lot to you because you don't know what you're missing to begin with but... it is a lot."

He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "I won't keep pushing you though, if that's not what you want. We don't have to go anywhere else, or search anywhere else. If that's not what you want, then fine."  

[chiickadee]

"Oh my Jack I knowwww. You've said it like twelve times! This is what I'm talking about man," she said with a punch to his arm. Broken record Rikki please.

Now she felt like a d**k. She stood up and brushed herself off, wrapping her tail a little closer to her belt (it was still feeling sore after being crushed after all. Maybe in need of FEAR healing after this wow). After an awkward silence, she kicked the dirt and said, "We can't just stop in the middle of an adventure. That's not how adventure works." Danny was an adventure expert.

She offered him a hand up and said, "C'mon. We'll talk about it later. Let's just focus on not dying okay?"