World Tree MUSH

    A fog has fallen over the lowlands of Westmarch tonight, the smell of fresh rain hanging in the air. The sounds of various creatures singing and the wind rustling the marsh reeds echo through the night. The fog has most of the night patrols staying much closer to the towns than usual...as zealous as they sometimes could be. But even they know that these lands are rife with dangers of all sorts, ready to spring on the unsuspecting traveler...

    Luke is not sure where he is, one moment he was trying to go home via Vine, the next he is in this... marsh, sometimes the Vines are just... capricious on their destinations. Whatever the reason, he decides there is no harm in simply exploring, he is sure he can handle some wilderness. Of course, he is not crazy to be alone per se, and thus, he is being flanked by a sizeable creature. A tall, and very soft looking bipedal beast, resembling a bear of some sort, or perhaps a Theme park mascot themed after one, especially with the pink, white and black colors!.
    The pokemon seems more concerned about the surroundings than Luke, looking around and staying as close to its trainer as it would, something just doesn't seem right to it.

    Even through the dense fog, Luke might catch sight of a light in the distance, moving slowly through the trees. It looks like a lantern, maybe. Is someone else out here?

    Luke seems far less cautious than he should, but then again he might have little clue of what to expect from this world, even with the noises of the wildlife all around him, he certainly is used to that from back home, to a degree!. Thus when he spots a light, he simply begins to wander towards it, trying to get a better look, with the Bewear trailing behind, almost looking disappointed at how careless the trainer was, just moving besides the boy, ears perked, eyes looking around cautiously.

    As Luke approaches the light, he'd see that it's a man mounted on a white steed and clad in gold and silver armor. The lantern is dangling from the horse's saddle bags. When he notices Luke and Bewear, he quickly holds up a spear defensively but doesn't attack. "Halt! Identify yourself!" he demands.

    Luke seems surprised at the medieval looking gear, so neat! and fascinating!. The pokemon seems less impressed and more cautious, reaching one meaty limb to grab Luke and hold him close. The boy is polite enough to offer a wave and a smile, "Greetings, I am Luke Gray, this is Bewear, we are simply exploring... we are..." it takes him a moment to remember the term most people use, "Offworlders."

    The man seems to relax when Luke introduces himself and Bewear, but also notices that he's a kid. He frowns, getting down from the horse. "Where are your parents, lad? You shouldn't be out here alone."

    The boy seems a bit amused, while the pokemon just looks back at Luke, then back at the man, nudging the boy a bit as if saying 'listen he might have a point'. But, Luke just smiles, "Oh, i am not a kid I can take care of myself in the wilderness, don't worry." he says to the polite armored person.

    The man doesn't seem to believe Luke at all. "Come, I'll take you to Kingsport. We can search for your parents there." He gets back up onto his mount and motions for Luke to get on behind him.

    That finally makes Luke blink, "I am not from around here, and I am not with my parents." he says softly, glancing back at Bewear for a moment. Still, he figures fighting the knight is a bad idea, the guy seems concerned and friendly. So he returns the pokemon to its pokeball, an unusual display for sure, one moment it stands there, the other, vanishes in a red light!. He carefully tries to join teh knight on the horse, "I guess visiting the town won't hurt."

    The man watches with a measure of interest as the odd creature seems to simply vanish into thin air. But he has seen the royal mages pull off similar feats, so it doesn't perturb him that much. The steed starts galloping off down the road, but it isn't long before he stops and frowns again, glancing behind them. "We are being followed." He jumps off the horse again. "Stay here, I shall investigate."

    He starts off into the dark fog, and if Luke is paying attention, he might also catch sight of a shadowy...thing lurking behind them. It seems to dart between the trees and brush, but the fog makes it hard to tell exactly what it is.

     Luke has some minor experience riding horses back at home, but certainly it is not the same as being on a Mudsdale. He remains quiet, simply looking around, trying to see through that dense fog, "Is it always so... dreadful?" he asks. As the armored person climbs down to check the area, Luke reaches for his pokeball belt and clumsily gets down. 
    The boy calls his pokemon again with one hand, while calling outloud for the friendly knight, "Careful! there is something lurking near you!" he calls.

    "Dreadful?" The knight chuckles. "This isn't the worst I've seen. I take it you are from somewhere much more beautiful."

    As the man moves forward, he cautiously holds his spear aloft. But it's hard to keep track of whatever this thing is. "Show yourself!" he demands, trying not to appear as terrified as he feels. At that moment, something indeed springs from the shadows. A monstrous-looking thing, it resembles a giant snake-like creature its eyeless face mainly consisting of a massive toothy maw that is permanently twisted into a wicked grin.

    The creature suddenly appears behind the armored knight, but instead of devouring him, it seems to...go into him. Its body turns into a wispy sort of substance that wraps itself around him and flows into him through every available cavity in his body.

    The boy gives a little chuckle, "Well, guess I have never seen this much fog around." he says, staying near the horse and the lantern, holding onto his pokeball belt, while the Bewear takes a step in frfont of Luke. There is a moment of panic at the giant snake appearing, and the large bear tries to throw a sizeable boulder towards its head, but it was far too late, one moment it was solid, the next... it turn sinto some kind of smoke. Luke remains back, while his pokemon rushes forward, trying to reach for the man, pull it away of that wispy cloud clearly trying to poison or infect him.

    But it's too late, the monster has disappeared into the man already. He jumps away from Bewear when it appears to try to grab him. "What! Why is your pet trying to attack me?" he exclaims. But there is something off about him, now...

     The pokemon stands its ground, slowly coming back to Luke's side, and letting out a weird, sharp growl, it sounds comical on such a large beast. "You are infected by a giant... snake thing, it appeared behind you and somehow... turned into mist nad entered your body." He doesn't seem to realize it sounds more than a bit crazy.

    "Is that so?" The man folds his arms. "Sounds as a child's tale. Come, it seems there was no one back there after all. We should get to Kingsport quickly, however. It is not safe out here for you." He starts back toward his steed.

    The boy certainly is freaked out, and he begins to climb down of the horse, "Why don't you tell me where the town is, like a direction, and I will make my way there on my own, I honestly want to explore around some more, and if things get more complicated I believe I have a good idea of where I came int this world, so i can always go back."

    The man tries to grab Luke once he gets off of the horse. "No. I must escort you...I insist..." However, there is something sinister in his eyes. Even the horse seems uneasy, as it whinnies and paws the ground nervously.

    The boy has seen enough horror movies to know something very bad is going on, even the horse is scared!. He climbs off the knight's ride and stumbles back, reaching for his pokeball belt. "Stop." he calls, fumbling with a button as a flash of red light appears and a different creature shows up now. A large... tiger might be a generous term, it's clearly feline, very... round, and very large, it's simply adorable, with those dark round eyes and big black rounded ears. 
    Yet, it only takes the beast a second to realize what is going on, glancing at Luke's panic, the horse's, and the very creepy soldier approaching, quickly starting to snarl, eyes narrowed, and what seems like electric sparks flying from its fur. "Careful Dynamo... I don't know what is going on, or if that person is... still there."

    The knight definitely doesn't seem himself, even though Luke had only known him for a short while. He charges at Dynamo, his spear glowing with some kind of unnatural light as he aims to thrust it into the creature's chest!

    The pokemon doesn't need any kind of command, its trainer is scared, and this person is attacking!. The electric cat gracefully jumps out of the way of the charge while letting a loud snarl, the electricity around its frame building up, before releasing a series of energy rings towards the knight, they seem to 'wrap' around the knight for a moment, before fading in a powerful, unpleasant shock hitting all over. IT is more akin to a tazer than a lighting blast at least, clearly trying for a 'subdue' angle.

    The rings hit the possessed man, causing him to stagger back. However, it doesn't seem to quite have the effect one might have expected, at least on a normal human. Still, it does open him up to a follow-up attack...

    Luke has no clue what to do, he has... no idea of how to handle a possesed person, he doesn't know much about ghosts!. He looks at the horse, and back at Dynamo, and finally lets out a sigh, he doesn't quite like hurting people but... self defense?. "Dynamo, attack again, Shock wave." 
    The pokemon nods, growling to the staggered human. Once again energy builds up, the electricity gathering in a large orb of energy building on top of its head, which is launched in an arc towards the knight. Just as it gets close, the sphere splits into several smaller bolts of electricity landing around and on the human, almost like a shotgun blast, clearly an attack meant more for accuracy than outright power. Now this one hurts, quite a bit.

    The electrical shock strikes the man, and his metal armor serves as an excellent conductor. He screams and writhes in pain, falling to his knees. For a split second, he's just kneeling there, his breathing becoming more and more labored, but then something else begins to happen. He howls in agony as his body starts to twist and contort, his skin turning a pale grey color as claws come out of his hands and spikes rise out of his skin and burst through his armor. 

    He gets up, glaring at Dynamo and Luke, his eyes burning with hellfire. This thing...now looks more like a monstrous amalgamation of the human it used to be and the snake-like demon that now inhabits it instead of one or the other. It reaches into the ground, clawing up a pile of rocks and dirt that coalesce together as it sets the ball of earth ablaze with an unholy fire and launches it at the both of them!

    Well, certainly makes it easier on the two to decide if the guard was... done. The hellfire attack gets the pokemon to charge at Luke, not even waiting for a defensive command, planting its feet in front of Luke. "What?" is the only thing the boy can say before the rocks are thrown at him and Dynamo. 
    The pokemon has to block the move, but can't quite block both at the same time, so it decides to cover Luke, growling loudly and releasing energy in Luke's direction, forming a translucent green barrier that seems to simply stop the burning stones in their tracks, causing them to just break and fall down away from Luke.
    Of course, that means Dynamo can't quite dodge it, and gets grazed by the unholy flames, burning its side and causing it to stagger and limp after the impact, clearly hurt. The barrier fades after stopping the attack, the pokemon looking strained after producing it.

    The monster screeches, its jaws dripping with some kind of corrosive liquid. By now, it has grown in size to almost as large as the electric Pokemon itself. Seeing that Dynamo is now injured, it lunges, ready to sink its claws and teeth into the tiger-like creature.

Of course, injured does not mean defenseless and Luke is the one to help this time, "Dynamo, return!" recalling the pokemon in a pokeball moments before the lounging Demo lands, vanishing in a flash of red light. Clearly he has to take care of the thing fast. And thus, decides to avoid anything dumb, or flashy and calls the same large 'bear' creature from earlier in the day. There is something unnerving about the fluffy looking thing, those eyes staring at the acid dripping monster!. 
    "Bewear, try to slow it down, Rock tomb!" Bewear lets out a loud sharp growl and the pokemon smashes the ground, several large rocks raising from the ground, before being launched at the demon!

    The boulders go flying, and the creature knocks some of the rocks away with its massive claws. However, a sizeable one eventually hits it square in the chest and knocks it down to the ground, again giving Luke and his Pokemon the opportunity to attack again while it's stunned.

    Bewear makes an impressive display of speed the demonic thing, reaching it within moments, "Bewear, Super power!" and while it remains stunned, grabs the beast tail in both paws. and begins to beat the monster to the ground, slamming the long beast into the ground hard enough to crack the ground with the hit, before throwing the beast towards the nearest tree. Despite how 'effortless' the action looked like, it seems to be winded, clearly it was not as easy as it looked.

    The demon-human amalgamation is pummeled hard into the ground by the large pink bear-like creature, then thrown into a tree with a resounding crack. Black blood spews out from cracks in the knight's armor, and from wounds in the tail where it had been grabbed. It falls to the ground, suddenly shrinking and changing back to its former human state. Although the man is still in an equally battered condition. Now all that is left is to finish the job...

    The pokemon and trainer due remain there, watching for a few moments as the monster seems to 'fade away' and reveal a very much wounded person. At that point, caution leaves the kid's mind and he rushes to check on the soldier, already reaching for his backpack for first aid kids. "Bewear, come help me make sure he is not too badly hurt, might have to carry him to that town he mentioned.". 
    The pokemon is far more wary than Luke and approaches first, ready to hold down or punch the 'human' at the first sign of trouble.

    At that moment, a brilliant light suddenly comes down out of the sky. What appears to be a glowing being lands in front of Luke and the injured man he is trying to assist. It may be familiar to the young man--he has seen this being before at least once; therefore he may recognize it as the archangel Tyrael.

    Whether or not Luke remembers, Tyrael seems to recognize him. "Luke Gray." He intones, turning toward the boy. "You would be wise to step away from the demon."

    The boy stops as he hears the command, and makes a motion for his pokemon to stand down as well, seemed to be quite on edge and not very sure the kid was 'smart' at trying to help. "But he needs help... he was guiding me earler before something jumped into him and made him attack." he explains, perhaps still hoping there was some way to assist the person.

    There is a tense silence as Tyrael seems to consider Luke's arguments. Or perhaps he's shocked at the incredulity of what Luke is trying to do. It's hard to tell, from the blank wall of darkness that is present where a human would normally have a face.

    "I assure you it was not helping you in any way, only attempting to lead you into a trap. I am grateful you were able to lure it out as well as subdue it. Now I must send the demon back from whence it came, so as not to prolong the human's suffering--that is, if you will not."

    Luke is grateful for the help of course, nad makes sure to offer a smile to the angel, "Thank you." he says softly, rubbing the back of his head, "Yeah I... can't do it, not to a person... or something that was to be one like that?" he says softly before shaking his head. "I think i should be coming bck to my own home world... but thank you Tyrael." he offers, followed by a boy and a slow, cautious walk away, in the direction he had originally came from.