Rei - Solo RP & Special Missions

Rei stares at the wall intensely for several minutes, and then, as if by magic, very faint seams become visible to her eyes. Or maybe she's just hallucinating from eye strain. Either way, that by itself isn't super helpful. There is no obvious method of opening this hidden door. Then, for just the barest of instants, she thinks she sees the kanji for 'dark' written on the section of wall that encompasses the 'door'. Not just in one place, but spread out across the entire section of wall. In this way, it looks to the casual observer like it's just random lines on the wall from the stone being old.

There is a faint grinding sound, and dust begins to fall from the ceiling as the seemingly ancient door slowly opens. Beyond it is the passageway that Banette found. The entire floor of the passageway is filled with dust and dirt, as if it hasn't been used in ages. There's no telling where it leads. Holly congratulates Rei on figuring out how to open it. She never would have thought of that.

No sooner have the girls stepped through than the 'door' closes behind them, seamlessly gliding back into its original position. Of course, from this side it's easy to spot, so that hardly matters. With only one direction to go, the girls begin walking. It seems like hours have passed in the small, darkened tunnel before they reach the end. At first it seems like a dead-end, but then Holly spots a small trapdoor in the ceiling with a pull rope on it. It's obviously meant for someone a bit taller than Holly, but Rei is easily able to grab and pull it down, despite being a bit cramped in the 6 foot tunnel.

This trapdoor has a ladder attached to it that drops down when opened. Holly silently moves up first, Honedge attached to her wrist like always and Banette floating nearby. This trapdoor seems to lead into a small room with a single door leading out. It seems like they're in someone's house?

Rei sees nothing but an empty hallway beyond the door. Unlike the trapdoor room, however, it looks like this new hallway actually sees activity if the cleanliness is any indication.

Holly nods. "Of course. Just tell her what you want her to do, Rei. You may not understand her like I do, but she can understand you just fine."

Banette nods and phases through the wall, turning invisible on the other side. After several somewhat tense minutes, Banette returns and communicates with Holly. Holly then turns to Rei.

"Banette says that there don't seem to be a lot of people here right now. There are a few concentrated in one area, but it's on the far side of the house from us. There was one more presence that Banette found, and it matches the description of what I felt back in the castle basement. Strangely, I can't sense that anymore though. I'm not sure what that means, if anything."

Banette says the presence had a very strong aura, and strangely, felt almost like a Pokemon and a human at once. Something she's never felt from anyone but Holly. Of course, it didn't want to get too close since the aura in question was most definitely associated with the Dark Type. Even discounting the fact that the human known as "D'Mara" wields Dark-Type energy and is their foe, Banette couldn't risk discovery. If she got much closer, it might have dispelled or disrupted her phasing or invisibility. What Banette is trying to say is that she's not sure if the presence is actually like Holly or if it was just a human with a strong Pokemon in the same room.

There is plenty of artwork displayed on the walls, but nothing like a personal portrait or the like that may identify whoever this house belongs to. Considering its size though, and the fact it's connected to the palace via some sort of ancient, probably long-forgotten passageway, means it must belong to a noble of some sort. At the same time though, it makes one wonder: which came first? The tunnel or the house? Likely the tunnel, but who can truly say?

In any case, with the silent Holly and her ghosts beside her, Rei manages to sneak up to the first level (ground level) of the home and eventually finds a grand staircase that branches off in two separate directions. To the left is where Banette indicates she discovered the strange presence. She didn't explore to the right as the presence was too intriguing to ignore. The 'gathering' of humans (probably servants) was on the far side of the house on the first level of the home. And so it comes down to a decision: Left or Right?

As expected, heading left brings the group ever closer to the presence. It grows stronger as they approach, as it naturally should, but it doesn't feel so overwhelming or terrifying as D'Mara's. It just feels like a particularly strong aura. Even that strange portal that Rei encountered in Rock Tunnel alongside Sorra and Maya felt stronger than this, though that's likely due to the fact it was a 'portal' and not a singular entity. Regardless, it's quite a bit weaker than D'Mara's, so it's most certainly not her. Just as the group is approaching the room that Banette says the presence is in, the door to that room opens and a girl no older than Rei/Holly steps out. she has long, black hair with her left-side bangs seemingly being dyed pink. She's a tad on the pale side and wears rather casual clothing.

She grins as she spots the group. "Hi hi! Who are you? How did you get here?" The new girl asks excitedly.

The girl tilts her head to one side in confusion. "Aura? Secret entrance? I don't know what you mean."

Holly seems content to let Rei take the lead in this conversation. She's never been great with people (that aren't Rei).