WHO PUT THE CHARIZARD IN CHARGE OF SCUBA DIVING

[rivalkidneypunch]

Who: Zero, Knuckles, Char, Riwane, Jolt, Connor (possibly Melia? Chiyo?? If I've missed someone, let me know!)
What: LAKE EXPLORATION. Why's the water rising? What's down there?!
Where: The lake, of course
When: Late afternoon, July 9
Warnings: Mysterious watery bullshit, probably

It had taken a little looking to get his hands on some Devon Co. scuba gear, but Char, being Char, had of course come through in the end. Char was much more familiar with Silph Co.'s stuff, but he had to admit, this would work nicely enough: a pair of goggles and a small, portable breathing apparatus, not bad. He couldn't say that he felt all that much more at easy about this idea, though -- Charizards, water, still not great friends.

Even so, he arrived at the lake, a messenger bag full of the scuba gear he'd promised hanging off one shoulder. Jolt and Riwane should have been arriving any second now, and considering how much attention the rising water levels had gotten, they probably wouldn't be the only ones.

Comments

[blazebottom]

Oh fuck this got real right quick Riwane thought as she saw the spark that blew this whole thing out of the water almost. They were so not prepared... This went from investigating a possible disturnbance stirring the lake, to a full blown out rodeo with all the bells and whistles the city county could afford and then some.

That said, her first thoughts were her friends and she did her damndest to clear out of the way of that blast and speed to them. She was glad she had trained so often in water or she was sure she'd be extra crispy... or whatever that beam woulda done to her.

[rivalthunderbolts]

OKAY, THE GIANT FISH MONSTER WAS SHOOTING AT THEM. And he couldn't fire back, not without hurting everyone else. He could probably fry it right away if he didn't mind zapping all of his friends, including his thunderweak brother and kinda girlfriend. He hated the idea of retreating, but he knew he was more of a danger to the group if he stayed to fight. He swam out of the way and tried to signal to the others to get back to the surface.

[machomonotreme]

Knuckles managed to spindash out of the path of the attack fast enough to save his bubble shield, but just barely. He growled under his breath, coming out of the roll and skidding to a halt some distance from the beast.

"That's how you wanna do this huh, bub?" he called. He could see the creature illuminated against the wavery blue light of its own attack and a familiar excitement started to well in his chest. This was almost like fighting the Ifrit all over again. Just a different element, that's all. Plus, he had help this time and Rouge wasn't being mind controlled into attacking him.

In short? It was On.

He revved in place a second before launching himself at the dragon and crashing into its side, swinging punches and launching kicks and hoping no-one needed his help.

[awakeningwill]

Huh. That was new. Usually, massive sea dragons didn't speak English.

Zero had been expecting some kind of counterattack, so he was ready on the dash when the Water Laser shot towards him. He sped out of the way and began recharging the buster gun immediately, firing off a few more shots whenever he had line of sight.

With Knuckles going for an assault in close quarters, the reploid hung back to provide support from a distance, giving him cover fire and hoping to draw the beast's attention with a well-aimed charge shot if it looked like the echidna was about to get swatted.

"So, you can talk." Didn't look like answers would come easy, though.

[rivalkidneypunch]

Char was about as ill-suited to this as you could get. He wasn't exactly the most practiced swimmer out there -- for all his trying, the Water Laser still clipped the edge of his wing, and with his weakness to water moves, he most definitely felt that. He definitely couldn't even attempt to breathe fire with scuba gear affixed to his face, either.

He could see Jolt trying to indicate they should head for the surface, and it made a lot of sense: they were hopelessly badly adapted to fighting underwater, and they couldn't exactly put a plan together while below the surface. However, neither Knuckles nor whoever-that-other-guy-was looked like they were all that good at floating; even if it was only for a bit, that would have meant leaving them alone with this overgrown Lapras thing.

Also: it would have meant running away, and Char's stance on running away from fights, no matter how outmatched, was very easy to guess.

So Char instead shifted mid-swim to his dragon self -- even less well-suited to the water, but at least like this, he could join Zero in providing a little ranged juice. In his case, a Focus Blast: one of the few moves in his set that was likely to work in the water.

[aquaticus]

The punches were hard enough that Aquaticus was given pause. Pause enough that some charged up blaster shots and a focus blast slammed into him causing him no small bit of pain.

"You DARE strike me!?"

Yes, Zero. The Overgrown Lapras Thing CAN in fact speak to you. Whether it listens to you is another story. It started to swim in earnest, zooming to the edge of the lake and starting to circumnavigate the inner banks. The water currents followed him with the strength of a rip-tide, dragging everyone unable to resist along for the ride.

[hometownchargal]

For someone who would have been more in tune with being in water, avoiding that riptide would have been real hard. So imagine for someone who wasn't as in tune with the water as she wished she could be?

No, this firetail got wisked away in the torrent and it was hard enough to keep a stable stance, let alone try to get out of it and it was painful. With little choice other than to stay for the ride, Riwane did her best to get enough stability to rush into an attack as best she could. She'd be damned if she went down without trying!

During one of the chaotic spins brought about by the rip tide, she used her wings to twist herself into a more stable stance and initiated a Dragon Rush directly at the whateverwhalething.

[lovesclearlakes]

This Vaporeon has been here all along, trying to maintain calm and keep an eye out for others, but once the overgrown and foreign AGGRESSIVE creature came into play, panic began to settle in. Seeing Riwane get carried away by the torrent had her heart spiking up out of her chest and without thinking, she followed straight after her to help.

"Riwane!" Chiyo was amazed at everyone's mobility in the water. She had never swam with anything other than water-types and fish, and in this situation of sudden combat and hectic craziness, her desire to protect others -- especially her sister -- kicked in. With a mix of anxiety and determination, she faced the creature and used WATER PULSE.

[monotreme_101]

Knuckles, meanwhile, dragged his feet through the silty bottom for a second, trying to hold his ground. As it stood, this was not going to happen. He needed to get out of the currents created by this huge creature.

He dove down, shoving his hands into the mud at the bottom of the lake and starting to dig. He could dig through dirt like a fish swam in water and it took barely a fraction of a second before he was gone.

For now.

[awakeningwill]

Zero and his made-of-metal-ness already had a leg up on being far heavier and immovable than an organic. He wasn't going to be thrown around as easily as someone already swimming, but this was going to take all his concentration if he didn't want to lose control of his footing. The currents plowed into him with the strength of tornado winds - he had to spam his dash continuously through it all just to stay in one place.

Gotta bide his time and wait for the right moment. He was building up a charge in anticipation of an opening.

[rivalkidneypunch]

Char, unfortunately, was really not cut out for the life aquatic. As poor a swimmer he was, he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of resisting the powerful current. Focus Blast was an inaccurate move at best, but when he was being bowled ass over teakettle in a roaring tide, there was no chance whatsoever that he'd be able to aim it accurately.

So there he went, utterly and completely swept along. At least the rest of the crew was still putting a brave offense up.

[aquaticus]

Fear not, water-weary battlers. Aquaticus' trip around the lake was short lived. He splashed to a halt, distracted by the water pulse attack. He breached the surface and roared, before waving his tail angrily through the water. Pieces of Egg Carrier, sunken logs and small rocks along with magically produced boulders of ice flew through the water toward his attackers.

He glowered at them all, sitting in place, watching to see whether anyone was smashed by his projectiles...

[hometownchargal]

Catching a very familiar voice out in the middle of the rush of water, Riwane twisted well enough mid-swim to see Chiyo. It immediately made her get more defensive, she didn't want her sister to get hurt. Unfortunately she dind't have the grace that her sister had when in water so while she tried to get to her, it seemed it was futile, especially considering she had to attempt to dodge the flung debris now.

She couldn't do anything from this front so doing her best to dodge the dangers she made for the creature. Some of the shards from the attack tore into her regardless of her best attempt to dodge, some lodging in her skin while others cutting long deep strips across her body.

This wouldn't do! She finally made it close enough that she could cling onto the massive creature. Close combat would have to do since and she clung unto it for dear life while laying some damage with various attacks.

[rivalthunderbolts]

Jolt wasn't an ace swimmer, despite all his boasting. And thus he found himself pegged by small rocks whipped at them by Aquaticus. It hurt a lot, and he clutched his arm where he was grazed. The momentary distraction caused him to spark, and he started to panic. If he kept losing his focus, he was going to fry not just Aquaticus, but also all of his friends too. He had to get out of the path of the fight.

He turned to swim, but another rock hit him in the leg. He sparked again. He could barely move now...

[lovesclearlakes]

Everything seemed to be in complete chaos after her water pulse that Chiyo felt incredibly guilty for inciting the creature. The debris was everywhere and while she could swimmingly avoid it or turn into water, her fellow companions couldn't. Riwane clinging onto the creature nearly had her heart stopping and with everyone everywhere she couldn't determine who needed help most.

And by the Pokegods, Jolt looked as if he were about to shock them all. Not comforting at all.

She should really get him out of the water.

But that electricity.

That electricity. It brought a lot of bad memories, but now wasn't the time for them. Jolt could possibly go off as easily as the Charizards' tails could go out. So who to help first?

Gritting her teeth, she went straight for Jolt and clamped her teeth onto the back of his shirt. Apart from looking like he had been injured and rendered immobile, he was also a danger in the water. With haste, she swam to the surface to get him to safety. She just hoped he wouldn't shock her too badly on accident.

[rivalthunderbolts]

Jolt thought for sure he'd go off, until he felt someone grab on to him and pull. It was Chiyo... Jolt's heart skipped a beat. He was already feeling himself lose some control, and he didn't want her anywhere near him when he was in this state, not when he knew she had problems with Jolteons before. But she was an excellent swimmer, and as she started to pull him away from the fighting, he could focus all of his energy on keeping his electricity under control.

When they broke the surface, Jolt replied, "Thanks for that. I can get to shore on my own, they need you down there. Be careful, okay?"

[lovesclearlakes]

Chiyo stared at Jolt for a full minute before nodding and saying, "Of course Jolt. Anytime."

If she were to be perfectly honest, she didn't expect to get him to the surface without a shock. However, it did leave her feeling slightly tired from having to carry his weight and dodge the debris, which was a miracle in itself.

"You be careful as well," she added before dipping back down to help the next person. Perhaps the male Charizard, Char? If she could find him.

[awakeningwill]

Thanks for getting the vulnerable parties out of there, because down in the thick of things, Zero had his hands full just dodging the debris - even if he could do anything but sink, there was no way he'd be able to get people to safety without being pummeled at the same time.

But it was a lot easier to do when he could just jump out of the way, instead of swimming to avoid the incoming wreckage. Slashing whatever he couldn't evade with his sword, Zero was doing pretty well - but he was still too far from the sea monster itself to fight back. Especially now that one of the fire dragons was up close, trying to tear it a new one. Aiming a buster at this distance was just as likely to hit her as it was to hit the beast.

It did occur to Zero that he hadn't seen an echidna in a while, though. That guy sure could dig. Maybe this was a reckless idea, but...

"Knuckles, you there?"

[machomonotreme]

Knuckles had been waiting for his moment.

He erupted from the lakebed in a cloud of sediment and shale and hurled a boulder at the dragon, sending it sailing through the water at the beast.

"Zero - what do you need?" he asked, voice a little muffled behind that bubble shield of his. (How it had withstood his digging through the mud and rocks, we may never know.)

[awakeningwill]

"That move where you create an explosion with your fist... can you do it underwater?" Explosions generally needed oxygen and the like, but considering Knuckles managed to dig through the earth itself while keeping a water bubble intact, the rules might not apply quite the same to him.

Because throwing a boulder was pretty good... but throwing something that could punch as hard as Knuckles was way stronger. Not to mention there was way more reckless endangerment.

"I can throw you at that dragon once there's a lull in his attacks. It's dangerous, but you could do a lot of damage."

[monotreme_101]

"Buddy... I like the way you think." Knuckles replied with a grin.

If that didn't knock this thing out, or at least have it seeing stars, then nothing would so far as the Echidna was concerned.

[awakeningwill]

Glad to know there was another red dude around who was almost as reckless as Zero.

Just in case: "If your bubble pops, swim and get one of those fire dragons to safety," the reploid told him before picking Knuckles up. Sorry if he wasn't too gentle, but the (now appropriately named) Z-Knuckle wasn't an implement for handling fragile objects. The moment he saw an opening in the debris, he activated his dash boots and leapt as high and as far as he could towards the sea monster. And being underwater, that was considerably further than normal.

Aiming for Aquaticus's face, Zero hurled Knuckles as hard as he could. Hopefully the monster would be too distracted by the Charizard beating on its tail to laser breath the echidna before he got to punching its face in.

[birdlady]

MEANWHILE ON THE SHORE, Melia was staring, mouth agape at the sight of the giant, Deinos-like beast that crested the surface of the water, then dived down as quickly as it appeared. What in the world had they found down there?

...Were they all right? That thing certainly did not look friendly.

She was broken out of her stupor at the sight of some of the divers coming to the surface. Fearing the worst, she ran the length of the shore until she was close enough to call to them.

"Quickly! Before it comes back!" She cried out as she waded into the water towards Jolt, reaching out to him to help him ashore.

[rivalthunderbolts]

When Jolt was close enough, he grabbed on to Melia's hand, letting her help him up out of the water. At least the rest of the group was safe from him now. As for the monster... He could fry it himself with one shot if everybody else were on land.

"Thanks," he said to her, flopping back on the beach, arm and leg throbbing where they had been struck.

[birdlady]

"Right, right, there you go, lay back and relax," Melia helped him as much as she could as he collapsed on the ground. She straightened up and clasped her hands together to call forth a spirit. "Summon Aqua!"

A glowing blue orb manifested before her, its power regenerating hers and Jolt's health. It wasn't much, but it would hopefully ease his pain.

"Is there anyone else hurt?" She asked... despite that she couldn't exactly go down there and check.