[attr="class","header"]NIGHT FOUR: BEDTIME BACKDROPS

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[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/716039518305779782/1190817042304081990/Mewmore_-_Great_Fairy_Fountain_The_Legend_of_Zelda_-_Tears_of_the_Kingdom_Remix.mp3?ex=65a32dcb&is=6590b8cb&hm=e71488cff1096fd86bc438ebb8b4104eb746fa472a5b0c02ecfedc0aa228ce00&[/player]

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Mewmore // Great Fairy Fountain (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Remix)

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"What the-" This isn't how he remembered the castle. What the hell was going on here? Was this really the game or were they just beta testing by accident? Even so, the puppy king assures them all this may be good. He drops the announcement and Paxton can only tilt his head a little confused but intrigued nevertheless. [break][break]

Checking the UI like everyone else, he reads the journal item in silence before leaving the castle to go sit somewhere more private to use it. He stays within the binary lines of the castle, settling on a patch of grass at the bottom of the steps and opening the item once more.[break][break]

The scenery around him changes in the blink of an eye. He's no longer wearing the weird outfit that came with Streentrup's partnership, but more casual clothes. His hand was outstretched, with a couple of treats in hand. An antidote sat nearby as well as Joules' watchful eyes hovering behind him. [break][break]

The Seviper stared him down, curious but too lazy to unfurl herself. Paxton had been working with her for a few weeks now, training her to be ready when the time came. He'd found her outside Lillycove and caught her on a whim. She was large, but not outright malicious. She liked her food well enough and she enjoyed battling even more. [break][break]

Paxton had brought her home to relax as a reward, but she didn't seem to resonate. The snake curled up on the couch and had stayed there for some time now. Occasionally she'd lifted her head to follow Paxton's movements but other than that, still. [break][break]

He'd tried to figure out what her concern was. Most pokemon he brought back home were curious even in this small space. At first he thought she was simple content lounging. But as the hours crept by, and he caught her staring at him he wasn't sure. [break][break]

Until he's busy putting his shoes on and the Seviper had quietly left her space on the couch and leaps onto his back causing Paxton to yelp. She held on tightly as he steadied himself, keys jangling before he managed to open the door. [break][break]

"A walk? That's it?" he asked as the Seviper catapulted off him and slithered down the path a bit before turning around and waiting for him. "I'm going to the store but...we can walk through the park." he offered. The Seviper hissed her appreciation and let him lead the way. He crossed the street, veering into a small ark nearby and took a seat on the bench. This time, she doesn't sit with him, slithering around excitedly, crossing his path a few teems getting out some kind of energy before eventually slowly slithering back. She lays coiled again on the bench next to him, and now takes her treat. [break][break]

It's nice. The whether isn't too bad out that night, and he isn't zoning out as she munches on her snack. After a while of rest, he gets up and she follows happily. "Next time, we can go to the safari zone. It's always changing...I think you'd like that." to which he received a happy hiss in return before leading her to the convenience store he'd walked the other way from.


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[attr="class","oocnotes"] + joules survived despite ALL ODDS AGAINST HER HAHAHA

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[attr="class","header"]NIGHT THREE: SNEAKY SHADOWS

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[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/716039518305779782/1178583491689062421/Forest_Temple_-_The_Legend_of_Zelda_-_Ocarina_Of_Time.mp3?ex=6576ac69&is=65643769&hm=0e075698b7d0ab07d09228ab3a70ae519141b2c0516098d3cb475c2c52d693f7&[/player]

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Forest Temple - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

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The King speaks with dejection over something or another about copyright. Paxton is unsure how to take that, more interested in the new task he was presented than the Snubbul monarch's lament. Streentrup clings to his back, resting as he began to turn away from the pink puppy in search of his own little quest. The option to team up doesn't populate, and Paxton is just fine with that. [break][break]

He passes people he thought were allies, playing the same game, living the same dream. But he supposed not everything can be GOODBYE GALAR. It makes the world feel a bit more lonely though. Nevertheless he persists, taking off into the wilds. It'd be too easy to think he'd find his keyhole in the trees amidst old stumps, and darkened shrubs. He finds keyholes that reject the dog tags he'd begrudgingly placed around his neck. [break][break]

Streenstrup helps guide him, her itchy tentacles ready to help pry open his door- their door. She nudges him through the darkest depths of the forest until they enter a section where the canopy is so tall and thick the surroundings are akin to night time darkness. But his Octillery is determined to continue going. So he does. [break][break]

The keyhole is like a dead end. A strange, unique wall covered in layers upon layers of ivy. But as Paxton stared, he began to find shapes. A ring for a knocker, what could've been a slat to peer through, and as he reached forward, with a glowing trinket floating around his neck, the door. His door. Their door. [break][break]

The DOG TAGS resonated with the keyhole and as he listened to a magical click, Streenstrup's tentacle all lashed out, slamming with astounding force against the door. Suckers grip tight and she yanks violently, even as his key continues to glow. The door creaked and whined at the assault and soon enough Streenstrup has thrown herself into a void that only Paxton can populate. [break][break]

He follows, hearing her fading screech. He barreled through expecting to fall but he just ran at a slant down before his footsteps felt different. He goes from running on layers of dead leave and peat and moss to...something more wooden. [break][break]

The smell of lavender and cinnamon linger in the air, as does the smell of fire growing. He hears smashed windows, and sees a blur of speed as Streensturp has begun her attack. It's as if she's enraged by the idyllic cabin in the woods, surrounded by home made comfort. The more she destroys the more confused he is. He'd never seen the destruction of his own home, only appeared to the ashes of it. It's almost cathartic. He doesn't stop her and steps through to take one more look at the place he used to call a home. A place he'd thought he'd buried. And then he left, stepping out into the back yard where things grow increasingly more chaotic in his dream scape. He steps through familiar woods, through abandoned territory finding more and more pockmarks of destruction. Streenstrup was moving with such speed, flinging herself and blasting out move after move. The trees around him fell, the screeches of his Octillery haunted the night. [break][break]

"I'm sorry."

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Paxton stopped in his tracks, a voice muffled and distant but very much there. [break][break]

"I'm so sorry."

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He tracks the source, turning to follow as his partner leaves a trail of fury in her wake. Never too far off, intent on obliterating every familiar piece of this dream. He hits a clearing, notes the familiarity of the path and the hidden base before him. But that's just background to the strangely gruesome scene before him. A trail of blood, not Streenstrup's dragging tracks, but footsteps. A body hidden by shadow that heaved and shook, wheezing out broken apologies and clutching something against himself. [break][break]

Like a huge joke, the shadows peel away from the figure at the center, revealing corpses, too broken and rotten to identify. The figure before him doesn't acknowledge him, strange black skin and ashen gray hair. As Paxton began to put the pieces together, recognizing rags of uniform and dead pokemon, it turns to him. Its face screwed up in agony, dark red eyes locking onto him as it clutched the body of one CALLISTA MOON to its chest and stopped bemoaning her fate. [break][break]

"You."

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Paxton blinked slowly, on the back foot. This was not his fight, and he wanted no part of it. [break][break]

"Y̸̡̨͈̮̟͍̤̟̳̟̹͈̱̭̟̣̓̈́̊̇̔͐͆̅̕͜͠ơ̷͍̺̑̄́̏̆͋̇̀̓͂̈́̏̃̆͝͝ṷ̸̡̢̧̝̻̣̙͎̖͖͎̲̥̗͗͂̐̃̈ ̵̧̢͔͙̲̙̳̝̲͙̲̘͙̪̮͐̇̀̀͑̋̈́̑̊͘͘̕ď̶̪̤̇̐̃̋̈́͊̍i̵̡̢̡̺̥͕̗̗̙̻̖̞̘̗̱͒͐͂̔̄̑̍͝d̶̬̮̘̼̭͓̞̈́̀̓̆̈́͒͆̆̿̽͛́̾̈́̚̕ ̷̨̨̘̭̮̣͈̺̩̯̠̰͎̼̽̃̃́̈͛̅͗͐͊̑̉̏͘ţ̴̝̭͎̱̲̳̲̙̲̘̯̝̱͉͌͐̾́͂̊̋̓͋̑͌̿̂̂̔̀͝h̶̥͍̞̞̤̺̝͙̮̃̋̾̀̇͂́̊͆̎͝ī̵̠̳̗̜̥͔̹̟̩̻̬͖͉͌s̴̡̡̩͚̘̹͇͈͎̞̎͌͐̎̊̃͗͗͌̿̀̽͝.̷̦͍͇̬͍̠̖̪̜̥̱̼̈́̾͂̄̽̅̃̓͌̀͜͝"

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No. CALLISTA MOON was safe. Callie was home. Callie had just gotten coffee with him after a mission last week. Callie had survived. [break][break]

Callie's body is dropped, and with inhuman speed Shadow! Paxton sprints right for him, a rusted blade in his hand swiping upwards at Paxton's eyes. He fell, tripping as he moved back. Part of his bangs flutter in the wind. A moment later Shadow! Paxton is stabbing down, aiming for his thigh.

"You can't aim for shit." he snapped despite barely rolling away and scrambling to his knees, somehow the wind up key was still firmly in its place. [break][break]

"I'm not aiming for the heart."

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Oh. His thigh. His artery? A slow and torturous death? [break][break]

"You need to bleed out, like she did when you left."

Another fucked up line of dialogue cooked up from however they had scanned his subconscious. Paxton doesn't fall to the trap set before him, throwing off the shadow when it yanks him to his feet by his hair. The copy slams down and he stares at his hand a moment. [break][break]

The shadow is unphased, stopping a slam of Paxton's heel against it's gut with a hand and shoving him back, causing PAxton to hop to keep his balance. The Shadow recovers, bouncing upwards to slice at his throat. Blade catches the forearm, ripping a tear in the fanciful coat he wears and cutting through skin. Blood is swiped from him, though in a strange black, viscous form. Oil, probably. Matched the motif. [break][break]

It stings, but Paxton slams a right hook into his copy's cheek, sending him stepping sideways. He tries to recover, lunging at Paxton as he began to reach for the key on his back when the tell tale tendrils of SHADOW HOLD show themselves. Streensturp has identified the biggest target in this dream world and she aims to destroy, not understand. The copy is held back and it struggles as the Octillery clambers onto him curling up her own tentacles and bashing them against the shadowy form again and again as Paxton tried to help. [break][break]

He scrambled out of the way, letting his partner brutalize shadow him, pulling out an X ATTACK card to use. But no sooner is he able to access the item does he hear the sounds of squishing as Streenstrup's fists meet a melting ooze. In fact the ooze sits in other places too. In the pools of blood around the littered bodies, in the sap leaking out of ripped and broken tree trunks. And what's more, flames close in remarkably fast, leaping from goop trial to goop trial. [break][break]

His partner is unaware, or perhaps simply doesn't care, writhing and squirming as Paxton scooped her up and headed back the way they came. Smoke began to fog the way flames burn and cling to him. He eats his PEWTER CRUNCHIES to see if it'll help stave off the flames through the burn resistance but can't tell if it does anything. Nevertheless, at some point Streenstrup just barely holds it together long enough for Paxton to stumble out of the mini dream world going up in smoke and flame behind him. He watches it, numb to the destruction of it all. It's not like he hasn't seen something similar before. [break][break]

Steenstrup tries to get back into it, but he holds her back and eventually, as the doorway darkens she calms. The door she'd rip off disappears and just becomes a regular ivy wall, in a dead end dark forest. [break][break]

"What's with you?" Paxton asked, breaking the silence as she went back to her perch on his back. She didn't respond and he sighed through his nose, and began making the tiresome journey back. "Wish we had fast travel." Then he remembered this was a game, and put away his partner, before checking the UI and logging out for the night.


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[attr="class","oocnotes"] + dont say shit to me abot uthe music it still fits ;;

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