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

[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.

[rivalthunderbolts]

As the orb appeared, Jolt felt the pain diminish, and soon he was able to sit up. Should he have been? He didn't care. He was too worried about those left behind in the water.

"I don't know," he said. "But there's something big and dangerous down there, and if it gets its way, then yeah, everyone's gonna get hurt."

[machomonotreme]

"HRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA----!"

Knuckles flew towards Aquaticus' big, blue face. His fist started to glow white hot and he drew it back, feeling the heat inside it build. It was time to show this Dragon was it was like to be punched by an Echidna when he wasn't holding back!

[aquaticus]

Aquaticus, plagued by the smaller reptile tearing and rending his flank turned around, about to shoot his Water Laser at Riwane. Then, he was hit by a boulder, preventing him from unleashing his attack.

"You tiny wretches....!"

He swung his head, powering up for a full-bore attack. This would be the Water Laser to end all Water Lasers, he'd decimate his foes! Rip them apart with water pressure, sink them to the lake bottom and bury them in mud! He was going to get an Echidna's fist directly in the eye!

....oh.

Zero's Z-Knuckle Knuckles Fastball Special was one hell of a thing to suddenly have in your face. The Echidna's fist exploded on impact, causing Aquaticus to scream and thrash.

"GYAH! Give up! You have no hope of beating ME!"

If you guys thought the prior torrent of lake-borne garbage and debris and magically transmuted ice boulders was bad, this was on a whole other level. It was all traveling in one direction, and wasn't even remotely aimed. Trees that had been buried for years, rocks that hadn't seen the light of day in centuries, pieces of Eggman's handiwork and the accumulated thrown away ephemera of Smash Academy's student body flew upward and outward towards his attackers. Aquaticus was on the warpath.

But if you looked closely, there was nothing behind his defiance at this point. He was spent and he knew it. That didn't prevent him from lashing out and offering up a little bluster to try and intimidate his teensy weensy foes into thinking otherwise.

[awakeningwill]

That didn't sound like the scream of someone who was winning. More like the scream of someone petulant and desperate and full of hot air.

But the lakebed was becoming a very bad place to be. Even if the beast was no longer aiming he debris in his rage, the sheer size of the deluge was overwhelming. Even for a seasoned veteran like Zero, it was impossible to dodge them all. If he hadn't equipped an Absorber chip, he would've been stunlocked after the first chunk crashed into him.

He couldn't let himself get lost in the enemy's attacks now. The only real way to escape the on-coming jetsam seemed to be getting close to the monster itself - he wasn't going to be pelting himself with that garbage.

Bracing himself for the damage he was about to take, Zero dashed through the maelstrom, cutting through what he could and being battered by the chunks he missed. Taking away his body's recoil reflex didn't numb the pain, but so long as he was still functional, he was determined to break through.

Finally, when Aquaticus's thrashing brought his fin just within reach, Zero leapt and shot the Plasma Whip at the appendage, latching onto it like a grappling hook. He swung himself towards the dragon's massive body and, with the Z-Sabre still in hand, slashed as deep as he could.

[hometownchargal]

Such an awesome sis, she'll have to thank her when she gets out of this. IF might have been a better word, but Riwane wasn't one to just give up on things or think the worse! With Jolt safely ashore and her sister looking strong, she looked to the others to see if they were okay. She couldn't see Char which worried her a great deal, she just saw the red feller smash right into the creature's face not long ago and she swears she saw the shining beacon from the robot just now...

For all it was worth, they were giving this thing hell, but man was it swinging it back. She was tired, having excerted much of her energy just trying to survive, let alone using up even more to try and put a dent in this overgrown lizard. The next barrage of debris, minimal as it was at close range, still managed to lay it hard on the unwieldly Charizard. She couldn't dodge the ones that came at her, not with trying to stay on to keep attacking the thing and trying to avoid getting swept away again. One, two, three large barrages collided with her until she finally lost her grip as the world faded.

Welp, can't say she didn't try... This was it for this firetail, flame dimming dangerouly, but man she wasn't going down like a chump! She wouldn't be able to look anyone in the face! So as she drifted away and upwards, she blasted one full Dragon Rage right at it before everything went dark and the hefty dragoness floated to the surface. Unconcious but alive and well aside from all the deep cuts and bruises. She'd need some major r&r after this... Again, if they made it out.