World Tree MUSH

Brighton, Massachusetts is an ordinary city neighboring Boston, just one of many metropolitan areas making up part of the northeastern megalopolis. It is also apparently the city which is most commonly visited by travelers from other worlds; a makeshift kiosk has been set up in a convenient park area downtown, providing pamphlets describing the current iteration of Earth and any differences it might have with other worlds.

However, right now, there's something supernatural going on. Just around a corner and down the street is a swirling portal, looking like a hurricane made out of all the colors of the rainbow; it's eerie and unpleasant to look at, and there's just something about it that looks faintly unreal, as though it wasn't entirely there.

Anna is sitting on a park bench right by the corner, looking scared and frustrated. The golden-furred and catlike form of Spiral is sitting next to her, a sympathetic but faintly worried expression on her face. "It's okay, Anna," whispers Spiral. "Someone will come over as soon as they're done with one of the other Distortions."

"I *know* that," mutters Anna. "It's still frustrating not to be able to help."

    Tourist spot?, Luke likely is there!, surprised to see how many worlds seem... similar to his own, even if there were far more cars... and smog and contamination, and lots of souvenir stands!. He made sure his electric pokemon remained near him, and made sure to get snacks for both!. 
    At the moment, he was trying to read the panphlet, while the electric cat kept pestering him to move forward, in the direction of the portal, sensing something amiss. "Dynamo, what is it?, another hotdog vendor?, I am not sure those are good for you." he mumbles, following slowly, and noticing the girl and the weird cat thing. To be fully honest, the cat thing seems more 'normal' to him than the cars around. "Something wrong?" he asks, noticing the unease on the young woman.

As one of the 'ambassadors' of her world to try to seek out what interferes with her own home, Kiyohime explores random Vines quite often. She has, in this case opted to dress more like the locals anyway. No kimono this time, but instead a light shirt saying 'We Didn't Start the Fire' that appears to be a Billy Joel shirt. She's not quite right in the time period, maybe! But the pretty and youthful girl at least has chosen a pair of shorts to go with it, thus looking like a high school teen or an early college girl out to enjoy herself while she investigates.

The scent of magic and wrongness doesn't escape her though. She may not know exactly where things are, but it has drawn the young woman this way. Pokemon, of course, are immediately noted as offworld. "Hmm... no, this isn't quite right. Have any of you seen anything unusual?" Like the cat she hasn't realized the other two shouldn't be able to see.

Anna blinks, and looks up at the other new arrivals. "Oh, um, hi," she says, slightly more distracted by Luke's Pokemon than Kiyohime's fashion sense. She has a faintly androgynous voice. "I'm just ... um ..."

Spiral's eyes flicker with a pearlescent light as she looks at Luke and Kiyohime in turn, and Luke's Pokemon for good measure. "They can see magic," she says simply. She glances at Luke, and mutters, "For some reason."

"Oh!" says Anna. She gets up and starts walking over to the corner, Spiral springing up to perch on her shoulder. "Well, my name is Anna, and this is Spiral. And the answer to both of your questions is ..."

Suddenly, almost as Anna rounds the corner, an invisible ripple of ... unpleasantness erupts from the Distortion. It's an unpleasant sensation, as if a cloud of despair and lethargy had settled on the area. The pedestrians wandering the area suddenly seem to slump slightly, looking more terse and irritable, even if they can't see why. Even the cars start moving more slowly. Anna is only slightly affected, and Spiral isn't affected at all.

Anna points straight at the Distortion. "... um, that."

"Oh... some kind of Reality Marble or Bounded Space," Kiyohime says, startled. "And you can see it? How interesting!" She tsks. "And unfortunate. Hmm... well it isn't my job to handle these sorts of problems, but if you tell me a little bit more about them it could be useful. And in exchange, why don't I see about cleaning this up a bit? That seems fair, yes?"

Kiyohime looks at Luke with a smile, and adds, "You seem a little out of place here as well. Are you the heroic sort, I wonder?" Despite the mercenary way in which she offered to help, the girl acts friendly enough, and is already heading for the Distortion to get a better look.

    Luke's attention seems to be on the odd... cat?, not a cat, but similar?. He is quick to return the greeting, smiling to Anna, Spiral, and finally, the other arrival!. He opens his mouth to continue introductions when he hears words he is not quite familiar, "Magic?" he says, before he remembers to speak, "I'm Luke, and this guy is..." 
    While the trainer was speaking, the large, round looking pokemon padded to get a closer look at Spiral, all in a friendly way, tilting it's head at the mention of magic or other things. The 'wave' causes the pokemon's fur to ripple and it shakes, "Dynamo." he mumbles, "Something happened?" he asks, reaching to check on the electric critter. Kiyohime smiles, "I am from another world, was honestly visiting... but if I can offer help well... I'll be glad to do such, as long as me or my pokemon can do something at least." he says with a grin. "I admit to be curious!"

Spiral nods. "Well, if you can both see it ... that is called a Distortion. It's the home of ... a really nasty monster made out of negative emotions, called a Curse Phantom." Her tail flicks nervously. "There's currently three other Distortions active in this city right now, and everyone I can reach is busy dealing with them, soooo ... if you can fight, every little bit helps, thank you."

Anna fingers her sapphire pendant. "... and I'm too scared to transform," she mutters. Spiral winces, but doesn't contradict her. Anna hesitates, then adds, "The magic in this world is powered partly by emotion, and I have a king's ransom in ... performance anxiety and indecision, let's call it that. I can follow you in, but ..."

Kiyohime takes note, and then just smiles. "If that is all you are worried about, just watch my back, all right?" Luke is asked that, before the girl turns to Anna, a shimmer of light manifesting in her hand to resolve into an ancient naginata polearm. The long-bladed spearlike weapon is pointed toward the Distortion. "These sorts of things shouldn't be left alone too long, should they? We should go in if we can. I'll expect more answers after." She starts, then pauses. "Oh, I'm Kiyohime, if you need a name. Don't worry, I know how to fight. This IS something we can fight, yes?"

Looks like she's already resolved to go in, but 'problem solving' is pretty high on her priority list. Unless something else holds her back she's going in.

    Luke glances to see the colourful portal, indeed, it looks... off, wrong even... enough to make him a bit on edge. "Well, I am not a good fighter myself, but my pokemon are pretty strong, and very good in a fight.". He smiles to Anna, "I'll do my best.".
    Dynamo tries to stand proud as Luke talks of how strong the pokemon are, and turns it's attention at Kiyohime, ears perking at the weapon, padding a bit closer to Luke's side. "I'll do my best to help... I guess asking for types is not going to help but... should I fight from up close? or from a distance?" he tries, before nodding to Kiyohime's words, "Yes, I figure if this is as bad as you said, we should take care of it, Dynamo, ready to fight a Curse Phantom?", Dynamo stretches and growls, fur poofing as some electric sparks fly from the round feline, enough to be seen at least.

Anna is slightly startled by Kiyohime's sudden weapon-summoning, but she isn't particularly perturbed, and immediately moves to follow after her. "Yes," Spiral says to Kiyohime. "Exactly correct in all details! And sure, answering questions is part of my job. Oh, and don't worry, after we destroy the Curse Phantom, we'll just appear right on the sidewalk!"

Anna looks over at Dynamo. "I've never seen something like that before," she says. "... Of course, I live in a city which I'm pretty sure just broke a record for most Distortions in one area at once. Uh, Luke, if you can't fight yourself, you should probably hang back with me and Spiral. But if you can do anything ranged, that'd be perfect."

Through the portal is the Distortion, a world which lives up to its name. It's like an entire cavern, with walls that pulse with rainbow-colored light, and with occasional random features from the city, such as a lamppost, a random tilted brick wall with opaque windows, or a paved road running up the wall and ceiling. If it looked unpleasant from the outside, it actually feels oppressive on the inside. One tunnel in particular seems much darker than the rest, and radiates an even more unpleasant sensation.

Oh ... and the way out seems to have disappeared.

"Definitely some kind of Bounded Space..." Kiyohime muses. "I can see why you call them Distortions." She twirls the naginata into a guard position. "If your companion creatures can fight, then that would be the best place for you, in the back. It would be inconvenient if you died here." Her clothes shimmer this time, and she's fully in her own 'magical girl' outfit, kimono taking the place of the casual clothing. Purely a cosmetic change, it seems, because she doesn't seem armored.

The tunnel radiating darkness is an obvious choice, and Kiyohime gestures toward that one before walking that way. "Hmm. I suppose we'll need to beat this to escape, yes? Or the exit is hidden. Also inconvenient. Well, let's hope that I have more room further in, this isn't ideal for me. I'm a mobile and reach fighter, not a tunnel fighter, and I can't use my flame here without care."

>> SUMMARY[Kiyohime] >> Chatter, readying for fight, and heading down the tunnel.

    Luke nods to Anna, "Perfect, Dynamo is the best for ranged combat." he says, smiling, "Sometime you should come to my world, I'll be glad to show you the rest of my pokemon and guide you around a bit." he replies. "I need to be kinda close, to guide Dynamo, but otherwise, I'll try to stay out of the way." he says softly. The big fluffball and the kid follow after Kiyohime, the pair seeming situably surprised at the sudden change of location, and especially, the sheer unpleasantness of the cave, the... sensation feeling the zone.
     The pokemon growls and glows with electric power, small electric bolts arcing from around the round shape, "Guess we are going to the darker cave." he comments, inching closer, trying to act as if he is not freaked out, but yes, he was. The mention of 'flame' gets Luke's attention. "I have a fire pokemon, I mean... one resistant to fire, if you are worried about hurting it, but that one is better at close range."

>> SUMMARY[Luke Gray] >> Luke is ready! and spooked. Dynamo is glowing and seemingly ready, don't pet the sparking cat.

Spiral nods to Kiyohime, taking her costume change in stride, and floats up off Anna's shoulder. "It'll get wider once we get further in," she says. "The biggest cavern is usually the one with the Curse Phantom itself, but we're in a small entryway."

Anna sticks by Luke. "Melee attacks are fine, as long as people like you and me aren't *in* the melee," she says. "At least, that's how it worked the last time I followed someone in here."

There's a light up ahead; the tunnel clearly opens up into another cavern. There's a faint clicking, chittering sound audible. "Oh, there's Curse Imps as well," says Spiral. "I didn't know if they were going to be in here, usually they're less common when it's only a level-1 threat." She gives a grandiose shrug. "Well, it shouldn't be a problem, just attack them until they disappear."

The cavern is massive, easily twice as large as a city block. There are a couple dozen small, varyingly-colored ... creatures, mostly about the size of a large dog, each one made out of shambling collections of triangles that form something vaguely insect-like. They all turn as one as the group enters, and start swarming towards them!

"Good," Kiyohime says to Spiral, and then she glances to Luke and thinks. "Dragon flame might still be uncomfortable, if things get bad enough to use that. Let Dynamo support through the rear with you two, I can handle guarding the front. Protecting my flanks would be better than focusing on attack," she thinks aloud.

Then there are Curse Imps. Up until now, Kiyohime had been able to draw some pretty close parallels to things in her own world, but now she's getting to the more different and alien beings. "Curse Imps, hmm? Well, minions will be a thing, won't they? Ahah... this will be good practice for working together for when we encounter the phantom, yes?" She casts a quick, pleasant smile behind her... then launches into action as the Imps approach.

She doesn't try to take out all at once, going 'light' for now. Still, she is a Counter Guardian of her World, and that means she moves at an uncanny blur of speed, naginata lancing out to make quick stabs. She doesn't try to engage all of them at once though... she's worried about getting overwhelmed and injured before the big fight. So she keeps her mana consumption low, only occasionally summoning a pair of extra naginatas to launch toward nearby Imps. If Dynamo can support her, she hopes to not get swarmed this way.

    Luke seems to feel a bit less nervous next to Anna and Spiral, "I'll make sure not to get in front of the creatures there." he says with a little chuckle. "If something does threaten us, I have Agni with me, just in case." he points to an odd red and white orb he is holding in one hand. The talk about the curse imps gets a blink, "Just like in a videogame?" he says. 
    Luke nods to Kiyohime, doing his best to keep cool, and returning the grin, "Dynamo, you heard Anna, we need to hit those things until they dissapear!, let's try Discharge!". Dynamo nods, seeming a bit uneasy about the things, adn certainly glad not to be asked to charge close range, instead, it begins to follow Kiyohime, letting out a loud growl, the electricity on it's fur growing visibly, building up, and when the creatures get close enough... it unleashes the stored charge, multiple bolts of yellow energy fire from it's body, each of them hitting a Curse imp, seemingly just zapping several of the creatures as they approached.

Anna shrugs. "I'm pretty sure they don't have enough intelligence to be proper 'minions'," she calls over to Kiyohime; her voice sounds slightly more androgynous when she raises it. She glances at Luke and adds in her normal voice, "The video game analogy isn't too bad, though."

The Curse Imps attempt to stab Kiyohime and Dynamo with their pointy forelegs and the occasional claw. However, it turns out that they're very weak, and before too long, Kiyohime and Dynamo's combined efforts have taken out more than three quarters of the ones currently attacking. However, it's not long before more of them start swarming out of side-tunnels, especially from a particularly dark tunnel off to one side; occasionally, some of them even seem to try to flank Kiyohime and Dynamo, or to be running more towards at Luke and Anna and Spiral.

"That ... is too many Curse Imps for this to be a level 1 threat," Spiral says nervously. "This Distortion is growing *fast!*"

"Unexpected numbers?" Kiyohime calls out in a vaguely worried tone. It distracts her enough that one of the sharp piercing attacks actually makes it through her guard, but sheer luck(?) means it slices mostly through her kimono, opening a shallow gash along her midsection and nothing serious. A quick counterattack makes short work of the Curse Imp before Kiyohime leaps back toward Luke and Anna and Dynamo.

"This isn't normal then?" Kiyohime frowns, then summons four naginata for a quick barrage into the Curse Imps. Like the others she summons and doesn't retain hold of, they vanish into mana particles moments after landing their hit or embedding. "Should we try to break through then? I am not in the right state to use my dragonbreath, but I could try. It could be dangerous for the three of you if I do that, though."

    Luke is a bit worried, not so much about Dynamo's own safety, despite the very round shape, it is a very agile creature, and its constant barrage of electric blasts seems to take care of pretty much all things that get too close, except Kiyohime of course!. Whenever one of the small things seem to get close to swipe, the cat jumps out of hte way, slowly returning to Luke and Anna's side. "I was going to ask that, taking care of that Phantom thing should clear this up, right?". He seems to agree with Kiyohime's point. "Dynamo can protect us, if you think doing that attack might help. I know he can block many kinds of attacks, at least things like fire and energy."

Spiral looks around. "Well, it's pretty normal for ... I wanna say threat level two or three? On a scale of one to six." She shakes her head. "And yes, Mr. Luke, taking out the Curse Phantom will cause the Distortion and all the Curse Imps to disappear."

Anna cuts in, "We just need to push towards that other dark tunnel, and keep going until we find the Curse Phantom." There's an undercurrent of frustration in her voice. "The numbers from that tunnel are ... We're not *too* far from it, are we?"

"Sounds about right," Spiral says confidently. "It's the threat that's growing, not the internal size, that's on a fixed rate."

The Curse Imps continue their swarm, but their numbers seem to be more-or-less holding steady. About half of them seem to be aimed at Kiyohime and Dynamo, while the remaining one-quarter ignore them to try to head for the bystanders. The ones that were already dead, meanwhile, slowly start to disintegrate into sparks that quickly fade away.

"So many... perhaps we should break on through?" Kiyohime huffs. "The danger isn't in the flame. I am unlikely to use it on you. But I am less controlled when in that state." She shakes her head, "Let's try to cut through without resorting to that, save it for the Curse Phantom." She makes a wide slash with her naginata, then leaps back toward where the less-protected pair are, shifting in midair. When she 'lands' it is on a lengthy, pale serpent tail, her lower half a snake, which she uses to wrap around to form a barrier and whip her tail toward the Curse Imps heading this way. "Shall we make the offense then?"

A more brilliant flash summons over a half-dozen naginata, sending them twirling toward the mass to try to cut through, though she doesn't have quite the area attack capability of Dynamo so could use some help with this.

    Luke nods, "Sounds like a plan." he says, smiling, "Dynamo, let's go all out, we need to move deeper and destroy these things." he outloud. Dynamo seems distracted by the odd reptilian tail, even as the arcing lines of electric power keep flying around the tiger, but upon hearing the command it roars and moves to follow on Kiyohime's lead!. 
    "Charge beam!" calls Luke, and the tiger stops spamming electric arcs around it, and instead aims at the middle of the swarm, opening it's maw and building up power, a glowing orb of energy forming in front of it, before unleashing as a beam of power ahead, going all the way into the cave, blasting the things, while building more electric power, the beam itself is not the strongest attack Dynamo has, but should be enough to destroy the imps.

The snake-tail startles Anna, but she actually cracks a smile when Kiyohime starts using it both offensively and defensively. "Works for me!

Spiral's ears perk up slightly. "Sounds solid to me, too!"

Kiyohime's weapons plus Dynamo's beam are enough to leave a wide gap in the numbers of the Curse Imps, whose numbers are actually starting to go down now. There's still enough that to be a problem, especially towards their destination ...

... now that Dynamo isn't attacking in all directions anymore, one of them manages to slip through the group's defenses, and starts charging right at Luke!

"NO!" shouts Anna. She runs as fast as a car, her legs wreathed in a faint sky-blue glow, before she does a running leap and dropkicks the attacking Curse Imp! She then proceeds to fall flat on her back, letting out an almost boyish grunt as the wind gets knocked out of her.

"Anna!" exclaims Spiral.

Opening up a path is just what Kiyohime wanted! She readies to rush through it... but then Anna ruins it all by falling on her rear! Oops. That thud is pretty loud, and Kiyohime was already attempting to run toward the two and protect, but even with her high speed she can't cover everyplace at once. That's impossible.

Once the kick is done, a lance skewers the Curse Imp to the wall, and she puts extra effort into letting this one linger a few seconds. Kiyohime feels no jealousy toward Anna for some reason, maybe because of the utilitarian nature of their efforts, so she's quite kind in offering a hand up. "Are you all right? Hurry, we may miss our chance." Getting everyone out alive is, for once, her major goal.

Luke Gray was admitedly trying to keep his eyes on Dynamo, trusting that no imps might push through and attack them, "That's it Dynamo." He only realizes he was attacked when Anna charges and admitedly saves his bacon, which causes Dynamo to look back, snarl, and zap the offending Imp with a dose of electricty, even as it was impaled and jabbed to the wall. It rushes back to check on the pair, nuzzling at Luke and Anna, and one might see the concern, glancing at the things around and nodding to Kiyohime. "Dynamo agrees, let's take care of the big monster fast."

"Owww ..." Anna's voice sounds even more androgynous than usual, but she accepts Kiyohime's help in getting to her feet. She clears her throat and gets her voice back to normal. "Yeah, I'm good!" Her upper half seems slightly disheveled, but her legs are unharmed.

"What were you thinking!?" fumes Spiral as they take advantage of the momentary respite to charge towards the dark tunnel, which is now the only source of Curse Imps and has slowed to about a quarter of what it was at the beginning; they're still beset on all sides, but it's no longer as much of a swarm.

"Well," Anna says flatly, "MOSTLY, I was thinking, 'hey, that Curse Imp is about to attack Luke! I should do something about that!'"

Spiral just groans.

Tsk, "I suppose that is one thing to think of. You are more suited for this than I am." Is there a hint of bitterness in her voice there? It vanishes as she slithers along(yes, still part snake) and tries to keep the Curse Imps from harrying the small group.

"Is this a common occurence?" She asks. "You said there were a lot... didn't you? Could something be making more of them? My world has suffered from some outside interference, perhaps yours could be?"

Luke Gray rubs the back of his head, "Sorry I was so careless." he says softly, moving deeper and making sure to keep up with Anna, the magical cat, and Dynamo, who is back to blasting the small things that get too close, at least until they find the 'big bad' of the cave. "Thank you Anna, I appreciate it, glad you are not hurt."

Anna frowns. "Suited to which?" she says. "I mean, uh, all I have is my Windrunner ability -- that's, uh, the name I gave my magical super-speed." She just smiles at Luke and says, "No problem! It's why I took on the, uh, the job of 'magical girl' in the first place." Her smile falters. "... Even if I can't transform yet ..."

At Kiyohime's question, Spiral says, "Distortions in general? Yeah, they're pretty common, at least the ones at threat level 1 and 2." The catlike creature settles on Luke's shoulder, if permitted. "Four at once, with one one at level 4, and two at level 3, one at level 2? Not as much." She shakes her head. "We haven't found any evidence of outside interference, but it *has* started increasing ever since our world started integrating, and this does have us worried."

The dark tunnel leads to a cavern which dwarfs the size of the previous one, easily the size of a small village. The walls all have black streaks, the lighting is more dim overall, and there are even more random city-like features, including what appears to be the back end of a train car made out of obsidian.

In the exact center sits a massive spider-like creature about half the size of the cavern they just left, made out of mostly black shards of odd irregular polyhedrons; it seems to have a horizontal traffic light for eyes. It stands up on pointy legs, turns to face the arriving group, and lets out a screech like twisting metal, as half a dozen Curse Imps crawl out of its shell and join the ones already advancing to the group.

"... Okay, that's the Curse Phantom," says Spiral. "Also, scratch that, it's threat level 3, not 2."

Kiyohime glances to Anna, "I was referring to your spirit, not your power." Whatever that means. She doesn't have much time to really go into depth on that, because she's busy making her way through the tunnel and trying not to let any Imps sneak up on the group. Her naginata helps with that while she notes, "More common, hmm? Might need looking into."

But it isn't that long until the Phantom itself is in sight, and she grimaces. The lamia-woman rears up and mutters, "Threat level 3... can you give me an idea of how serious I should be getting?" She may have to go all out even with support from Luke, she's worried, and that is something she seems hesitant to do for some reason. Until then several more of those lances fly out from around her, two heading for the Phantom and the rest into the mob heading their way. Testing the spider, mostly.

Luke Gray smiles and pets the cat creature, if allowed, listening curiously, "I'm sure you will manage soon enough, Anna." he tells the girl, "You did great at helping me." he says, trying his best to keep up with the others. While he did a valiant effort at being 'calm' under all this mess, seeing a monster of that size manages to get a squeak from Luke. "Going all out, that's a good idea." he muses, "Dynamo!, Thunder!"
    The pokemon didn't seem very happy to see the creature, given the loud snarls it did, didn't like the sound of 'level 3' either, and rushes ahead, watching the lances fly, before doing it's own effort. There is another visible buildup of power around the feline, flaring all around it like a bright, yellow aura, before it roars. A thick colum of electricity, as big as the pokemon producing it, raises from it and flies in the direction of the giant spider, slaming into it's torso, blasting it with a heavy dose of electricity, some of it arcing from the point it lands to hit at a few of the imps.

Anna concludes from context that 'spirit' means 'fighting spirit' or the like. "Got it," she murmurs. "Well, you seem pretty good in that department from where I'm standing!"

Spiral nuzzles into Luke's hand. "Threat level 3 is ... Let's just say I would've wanted to bring more people in here I'd known." She glances over at Anna. "Anna, can you transform? Either Star Paladin or Heart Mage is fine at this point."

Anna grabs her pendant, and then just ... drops her hands, letting it hang limply around her neck. "... no," she says, in a small defeated voice.

"Okay, don't worry," says Spiral, without missing a beat. "Um. Let's see, how else can you use Windrunner ..."

The lances pierce through the spider's carapace easily, and it twitches at Dynamo's attack; bits of its carapace start falling off. But it then immediately lets out a loud screech, even louder than before, and starts lumbering towards the group, apparently not particularly slowed down by the damage it's gotten so far. Or by the fact that it's crushing a few of its own Curse Imps underfoot. As it draws nearer, it seems to emit an aura of despair, anger, hatred, envy, seemingly every negative emotion at once.

"Ev ... Everyone, try to keep it together!" Anna says quickly. "Don't let it overwhelm you! These aren't your feelings, it's just what Curse Phantoms are made of!" She seems to be saying this for her own benefit as much as anything else.

Fighting spirit is a good guess, but Kiyohime has no time to clarify! She's too busy with the fight coming to her! At first she smiles at the naginata digging in deep, but when the spider just charges, she realizes she's going to need to get more into it. Especially when those feelings start to rush over her.

"Inconvenient," she murmurs, slithering AWAY from the others. This is because she has a way to bolster her mental defense against those attacks... but it causes a shimmering aura around her to arise, and her hiss of annoyance to rise to one of rage. "How... dare... you..."

Rising up, it becomes obvious that her eyes are maddened, and anger burns within them. More than what is caused by the spider. As the chittering Curse Imps stab into her scales, she thwacks at them and hisses, "HOW DARE YOU TOY WITH A MAIDEN'S HEART! BURN!" Yes, to use her full power she just gets angry for no reason, and that's how she's able to let loose the stream of fire at the incoming spider.

Luke Gray seems well, not enterily surprised the attack didn't do much, visibly, the thing is big enouhg to just step on them, but still, it is a bit discouraging!. "Dynamo!, get back!" he calls as the monster begins it's charge. And then comes the wave of raw chaotic emotions washing over him, and Dynamo. Luke gets stunned at the mix of words, frowning and covering his face as it seems to mess with something deep in his mind. Dynamo seems certainly affected, fur on end, ears twitching furiously in a mix of anger and fear, but seeing Luke in distress seems to snap it out of that, rushing back to the pair to check on them. It seems upset enough that it continues to release blue bolts of power from it's fluffy self, blasting away any imps that dared to get too close to it. It tries to help Luke react by bumping it with one paw, causing the trainer to fall on the ground, "What... what?" he mumbles.

Anna blinks as Kiyohime slithers away, and nods in approval at the sudden aura. When Luke basically keels over, though, she rushes over, physically lifts him up in a fireman's carry with one arm and grabs Spiral by the scruff of her neck with the other, and starts running away from the Curse Phantom as fast as she can, her legs glowing once again as she rushes at car-speeds.

The fire slams into the spider, tearing off more of its carapace and revealing clumps of twisted metal, street-signs, and other vague city-esque features. Electricity arcs through its body, looking suspiciously similar to Dynamo's earlier thunderbolt, and it lets out another screech. However, rather than trying to attack Kiyohime or Dynamo, it turns around and starts lumbering after Anna -- much more clumsily than before, too, with an almost drunken stagger, and nowhere near fast enough to keep up. The Curse Imps start milling about in confusion, some of them following their master, and some of them try to stick with Kiyohime and Dynamo.

"NO!" Kiyohime screeches that, pouncing with a savagery that is much different from her friendliness before. Shimmering naginatas appear, launching at high speed toward the spider when it turns toward Anna. Kiyohime, even in this form, is very fast, though not as fast as Anna is during a footrace. She can at least pursue, launching more of those polearems through the air and ignoring the increasing number of her own shallow wounds whne the Imps pierce her in her reckless assault.

Resisting mind control is less useful when she has to go berserk to do it.

And that is obviously why she avoided her flame breath. Not because she attacked the others with it, but the lamia-girl's attacks are wild and reckless, willing to protect Luke and Dynamo and Anna but with no real planning behind them.

    Luke is indisposed!, or at least, unable to properly react at first, he IS still a kid, and is only jolted to reality from the shock of the heavy shove from his pokemon and being carried away. Still, beyond pointing at the monster and claiming "Dynamo!" he is in too much distress to properly speak.
    Said distress and fear seem to only make Dynamo's anger at the monster, rushing ahead to try to intercept the thing, it heard that, if that creature is beaten, this will stop, and it certainly seems willing to try and end it, especially with most of the things still following it. 
    It stands and faces the creature, snarling and growling a challenge at the spider monster, and someone sensitive to auras might notice it is gathering a lot of energy, a sphere of power building up in front of it again, white and gold swirling in it, before it roars and releases the stored energy as a white and yellow beam at the beast, aiming to slam that energy right on it's wobbling head, hitting with all the raw energy a high level pokemon can muster in it's anger.

>> GAME >> Luke Gray spends an Edge for: Hyper beam from Dynamo at a monster.

As the naginatas pierce it, the spider lets out a screech which sounds higher-pitched and more distressed. The Hyper Beam doesn't even give it that much of a chance; the beam pierces right through it, and it explodes in a shower of flame, electricity, and shadow. The multicolored light of the Distortion promptly starts to fade, and they're plunged into darkness ...

... which immediately fades, revealing the city street they were on when they entered the Distortion. Around them, people are straightening up as their energy and emotional states return, some of them glancing around in confusion.

Anna hurriedly sets Luke down on his feet. "You okay?"

Almost as if she were a magical girl, when Kiyohime 'lands' on the street, she does so on her feet, with legs clad in stockings. However, her casual clothing is gone, so she's wearing a very traditional kimono instead, of a very ancient style. Unusual but at least not monstrous. Even better though, as the surroundings fade, so does her anger.

The girl bows, politely. "I apologize you had to see me like that, all of you," addressing Luke and Anna and even Dynamo. "I hope it does not deter you from asking for assistance in the future, if it is to our mutua benefit.

Luke Gray seems to be getting better, even as he sees Dynamo do something potentially dumb as go ahead and flip out on the monster. He rubs his face and takes a few moments to calm down, "I think I am ok, that was just... was not ready for that." he muses, "Are you all ok?." he asks, glancing back at Dynamo, and reaching for a pokeball, "Good job... thank you for... finishing that for us, please rest.". Dynamo, by that point, was laying down on the street, panting heavily, and oddly, seeming a bit pleased. 
     "Yes, i never quite... ran into something like that before." he repeats after a moment, seemingly a little bit dazed. Kiyohime is met with a smile, "That's fine, don't worry... I am glad you were here to save us, I am sure to ask for your help, if I need it, and you are welcome to ask for mine as well.". He turns to look at Anna and the magical cat. "That goes for you two as well."

Anna nods to Kiyohime. "Not a problem at all, Ms. Kiyohime, considering you're a good fifty percent of the reason the Curse Phantom isn't there anymore," she says dryly. "Spiral, how're the other Distortions doing?"

Spiral closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them. "The other two level 3's are down, and everyone who was in them is heading over to the level 4," she says. "No casualties." She smiles. "Looks like hope wins again!"

Anna smiles back. "Why don't we go grab a bite to eat?" she says. "And a candy bar for Luke, chocolate is *great* for recovering from a Curse Phantom's horrible-emotions aura ..."