Victoria - Adventure Thread (Johto)

The place is calm and quiet, but in a good way! Unlike the eerie silence of the rest of the forest, this particular area seems almost...welcoming. You get the feeling, however, that this is fleeting. This is confirmed by a helpful blue box that appears before your eyes. It reads: "Once you rest, this place will no longer be protected. Do you wish to rest? All party members will be healed to full as if at a Pokemon Center. Y/N"

Victoria feels a warm surge of energy rush through her body. Even having taken no hits herself (the Wild Pokemon focused on the things attacking them first, naturally), she was probably feeling a bit fatigued after the long slog to get here. That fatigue, however, is now gone. She feels like she just got a full eight hours of rest. If the text box is to be believed, her Pokemon will have gotten Pokemon Center equivalent treatment for injuries and likely equal amounts of rest. It's perhaps a bit off-putting that it all happened instantaneously, but at this point it's just par for the course.

After "resting", Victoria makes her way back to the deepest part of the Forest Dungeon. Just beyond the trees is a large building. Even from several meters away, she can tell that it's old. It's overgrown with vines and a tree has even begun to lean heavily over its rooftop. One could half expect the tree to topple over any moment and take the entire place down with it.

Drawing closer, Victoria notes that instead of leaning on the building, the tree is instead seemingly supporting it by growing right on through the upper story.

The door seems to swing open easily at Victoria's touch. Despite being here long enough for vines to cover it entirely and a tree to grow through it, the wood of the manor house is solid and firm to the touch. As if it were still lived in and taken care of; though the state of the interior itself suggests something else is afoot here. As far as Victoria is aware, the only people who should be living in Mirror/Dungeon Ilex Forest are the two Shrine Maidens, Aima and Miyako. Aima never mentioned anyone else living here, but perhaps she is not aware of this ancient-looking manor house? Hm. May have to ask her later, presuming you survive long enough to do so.

Entering the house fully, you are greeted with a musty smell. Not quite 'rotting/decaying wood', but definitely like the place hasn't been cleaned in ages. Despite being fully furnished, the place is empty. Strangely, two of the beds in what would have been rather large bedrooms are still made up perfectly, just waiting for someone to crawl in and sleep in them. The third bed, however, is all messy, like whomever had made the other two neglected the third; or that it had been used at some point after the beds were made, and whatever transpired to cause the disappearance of the occupants occurred shortly thereafter. Whatever the case, there appears to be nothing of value or interest left within the building. The stairs leading up seem sturdy enough, but the case is likely the same as the ground level: nothing but empty, fully furnished rooms.

Strangely, or perhaps, not so strangely, you feel drawn to the stairs leading down. Like something is telling you that your goal lies in that direction. When you approach them, however, you bump into an invisible barrier. A familiar blue box appears, warning you that once you head down these stairs, you will not be able to return until you defeat the Boss that lies within the Heart of the Forest. It then asks if you are sure you wish to proceed. However, before you can select an option, a voice cries out to you.

"No! Don't do it! Leave this place while you still can, child! It is not safe!"

The voice is distinctly male, that much is clear, but the voice is somewhat soft, and wavers slightly, as if struggling to communicate across a great distance.

No sooner have you pressed the "Yes" button, then you find yourself walking down the stairs. Even had you wanted to stop for a moment, you find you are unable to. As if they were possessed, your legs keep on walking you down into the basement and then through the extra creepy tunnel that seems to lead away from the house from said basement. After several minutes of forced walking, you finally regain control of your legs. Attempting to turn back results in another of those invisible barriers with a notice reminding you that you must defeat the 'Forest Dungeon Boss' before you can leave. Of course, it doesn't tell you what happens if you lose to it, but that may just be for the best. Despite the video game-like text boxes that occasionally explain stuff to you, this is still real life. Your fate should you lose is...probably not good.

Before you is a large, darkened clearing. That creepy aura you felt from the trees outside the manor is back, and far more intense than before. It is safe to assume you've found the culprit. Striding forward, the clearing is suddenly lit up by a ring of ghostly blue fire. Just beyond this ring are numerous Ghost Pokemon. Duskull, Misdreavus, Phantump. Just about any Ghost Type Pokemon you can think of can be seen out there. Strangely, or perhaps, not so strangely, they don't advance. Instead, they seem to be...watching? As if this is a spectator event. Then again, the weird text boxes did imply there was gonna be a fight. Wait, there's a giant tree in the middle of the clearing. That...wasn't there a second ago. Oh boy.

The 'tree' quickly reveals itself to be more than what it seems, as eyes suddenly appear, along with a mouth. The mouth opens with a cry that sends shivers down your spine and into your soul (figuratively speaking). Just then, a trio of forest Pokemon appear between you and it. A Shedinja, A Serperior, and a...Persian? The Serperior and the Persian, however, seem...faded. Like their colors have been washed out. ... They're ghosts, aren't they? Crap.

The house is...still exactly as it was left. Though a faint voice does thank Victoria for freeing the restless souls of its former occupants. As if in recognition of her deeds, the house shudders violently. Methinks it's time to go! No sooner has Victoria done just that then the house collapses, effectively sealing that tunnel beneath it as well. Looks like there's no re-battling that thing; not that she wants to.

Victoria tromps her way back to the main area of Dark Ilex, heading for the shrine to speak with Shrine Maiden Aima. The "good" sister, as it were. As luck would have it, the two seem to be having an argument about something when she approaches. Likely not expecting any other people to be around to overhear, they aren't even bothering to lower their voices. It's strange to hear the soft-spoken, demure shrine maiden shouting at the top of her lungs. Standing just outside rather awkwardly, you are startled when Miyako storms out of the shrine and right on past you. She seems to be headed towards Goldenrod. Distracted by this sudden turn of events, you are briefly startled when Aima clears her throat.

"Welcome back, Miss Victoria. You look much more disheveled than I last saw you. Are you alright?" She asks softly from behind her sleeve.

Being quite familiar with putting up a facade for others, Victoria catches the little hints of emotion leaking into her voice. If she had to hazard a guess, it would appear that the two shrine maidens have had it out with one another. Gotten into a big argument that resulted in Miyako storming off.

Aima blinks in confusion. "A...mansion, you say? No, I was not aware of such a thing. Tell me everything."

Once Victoria explains what she found, Aima looks...disturbed. If only for a moment before she schools her features back into her usual mask. "I see. How very unsettling. I shall have to investigate further. It would appear that I have been lax in my duties."

Aima sighs softly. "Miyako has abandoned her duties...abandoned me. By now, she will have left the Forest." She trails off, clearly struggling to continue to hide the obvious hurt in her words. "I...wasn't strong enough to stop her. To make her stay...some part of me even wanted to let her go, as she wasn't happy here."

The surprised Miko hesitates before returning the hug. Moments later, Victoria feels her begin to shake slightly as she allows her emotions to leak out from behind the cage she has kept them in.