{PP-F9} Hasty Travels <<Guardian of Fire>>

[Pinball 1]

Just as Pinball went for what he thought would be the game changing move, the figure shifted its weight and evaded the strike. But this time, they were the one putting distance between them. Pinball pivoted, about to throw himself forward, but the man was removing his mask now, revealing the ever-present, cocky smile of the one person Pinball hadn't expected to be behind the fight but should have. 

"Hello, Mars," he sighed, letting his spear hit the ground. Pinball visibly slouched now, a forced frown on his face. On the inside, though, he was happy to see him. Pinball was always lonely nowadays, and he adamantly refused to use Mars' shop for sleeping like he had used to. Pinball brought Cold Fervor up to his shoulder again, letting it rest there, and that was when Zomekko remeved its shadowy aura from the weapon, reforming by his side as a cat. "Sounds about right," Pinball muttered, shaking his head. But his lips parted in a small grin now. 

After they got that out of the way, Pinball would equip his sword again, probably to Mars' chagrin. "I'm heading to fight some kinda hellhound thing," Pinball explained. "On this floor, I won't have to try too hard, I don't think." He was a bit happier now, and it showed on the teenager's face. However, with each passing minute, it seemed like he got more and more tired, the fight having drained what little energy he had had left in him. 

[Mars 0]

You're going to pass out after you fight that thing i am almost certain of that Pin. With that i mind why don't you actually try to get some sleep you kept making a bunch of sloppy mistakes. you should've been able to end that fight rather swiftly if you were using that spear from the beginning and weren't allowing fatigue to get to you. he says towards Pin with what sounds like a honest tone of voice which is to say something for certain when it comes to Mars. That he would be admitting he could've lost that fight from the very beginning if those precautions were used towards him and subsequently anyone else that Pinball's would've been fighting against. Also for Cerberus it shouldn't be too difficult for you. I'm certain if that little sword of yours has any decent AoE it would be just as good at killing them. Not as certain as your spear, but decent enough i suppose. he says calmly towards Pin with a nod of his head as Mars moves his sword over to the side as he lets out a loud sharp whistle as his familiar charges down the slope and spews flames towards Mars' sword to free it from the slight layer of ice.

[Pinball 1]

"Actually try to sleep?" He thought for a second. The cave shouldn't be too far away from here - he could practically make it out in the difference. He looked up. It was almost afternoon. And in Pinball's fuzzy, befuddled mind, he thought that Mars was suggesting that he sleep right now. "Yeah, you're probably right." And with that in mind, he went through his inventory and produced a couple of blankets and a pillow. And the tired teenager laid those sheets out on the ground, right there, and sat, pulling up a fluffy comforter up to his chin. He pat the pillow before finally resting his head there. He set Zomekko's jar to the side of him, and unhooked the belt that held the pouches and potion vials. He placed his sword right next to him. "You're probably right," he murmured, closing his eyes. And Pinball let himself slowly drift to sleep, the only cover being the boulder that was parallel to his little spot. 

What a dumbass. 

[Mars 0]

With a nod of his head he just sighs at seeing Pinball do this, but decides better than to try and fix the eccentrics of his rival, but more so to utilize this time that he now has to make sure that he can get some training in once more. The black clothed and haired fighter just diving fully into the training that he can get while leaving his familiar to guard Pinball and just let out a roar or stream of flames to give a signal of mobs attacking his sleeping compatriot. With mars just working on strikes centered on releasing waves of either anger, or in most cases towards fight the thrill of what he is experiencing it. Once more now fighting a fire elemental as he dodges seas of flames as he would jump over them or to the side to dodge most of the burnt of the attack. Finding himself glad taht he can't experience the pain cause otherwise the burn status effect would be a constant war to fight against seemingly. rushing forward he slashes along the semi-corporeal being till it bursts into nothing. After a few rounds of practicing against mobs he makes his way back towards Pinball and than just waits their.

[Pinball 1]

As Pinball lost consciousness, and slowly drifted to sleep, he tried focusing on the little sounds. The sigh of the winds or of Mars, the soft touch of ash that sometimes kissed his pale face, or the comforting presence of Zomekko's shadowy form snuggled against his stomach. It was comforting - but it also worried him that he was actually going to sleep right here. The fight with Mars had just been practed, he had said, and it wasn't in him to question Mars' loyalty - but what he did question is if he would actually one day run into somebody like that. Someone who saw him as a scourge; as a stain that needed to be wiped off the face of Aincrad, killed off so that others could survive. Was he really that bad of a person? Sometimes Pinball thought he wasn't. Others he found he couldn't answer that question. 

But these thoughts slowly faded into nothingness as Pinball, exhausted, fell asleep in the middle of the fiery, blackened 9th Floor. 

[Mars 0]

He waits patiently for when Pinball would wake up and arrive in time for the fight ahead to begin though for the meantime it is up to him to look after his rival, and despite what he would want to say to himself a partner that he could count on for all cases within this case. As much as he tried to initially just use him as nothing but something he could use and dispose of when the time came it seemed that the rather eccentric spear wielding boy managed to get under his defenses and thus make him trust him despite the odds. 'Might've been because he noticed right away something was off and wasn't afraid in saying that i was messing up in my act towards him. he is good at spotting things and is rather talented despite how he acts.' Mars thinks to himself with a chuckle as he just keeps a steady watch over the land with his sword at the ready having to occassionaly kill a few obsidian golems that spawn with a few hits of San Ge to end them within seconds.

Edited April 13, 2019 by Mars

[Pinball 1]

Pinball slept until morning - and he would have slept until late evening if his sleep wasn't plagued by feverish nightmares of things that once were and could be. He shot awake, Cardinal exaggerating his expression to where it looked like he had just seen something horrifying - beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and he breathed heavily, quickly, and nervously. Immediately, in the back of his groggy mind, he knew that Mars might be somewhere watching. So he took a hand and wiped it across his face as quickly as he could, swallowing and trying his best to maintain composure and a steady cadence when he was finally urged to speak. Pinball went about, rushing to pick up his things and hook his sword back onto his belt without even bothering (or maybe even thinking) to check the time. They were close, and they would get there soon. He looked for Mars. 

[Mars 0]

Staying up all night was not a task possible for the black haired man so he took shifts with his familiar to make it much more tolerable especially since getting pounced on by a doberman sized creature would currently wake anybody up. When morning came Mars would be on one of the boulders that were completely in tact so he can use it as a small little view point to keep an eye from a slightly higher position than what just standing would do for him. Gazing back when hearing the sound of something moving he quickly turns with sword almost at the ready before sheathing it back quickly when seeing it is just pinball waking up. having only one real thoughts when looking towards the spear wielding man. 'At least he doesn't look as horrible as he did yesterday.' With that thought he jumps down from the boulder and makes his way towards his rival and pats him gently upon the shoulder. You feeling better today pin?

[Pinball 1]

"Yeah," he replied steadily, if not with a bit of a monotone. "I'm doing fine." He hurried and returned the loose items to his inventory, but not before brushing them off. Luckily, weakness as a result of hunger wasn't possible, but pangs of it were. He felt a hot stab in his stomach: the system reminding him that he hadn't eaten in over a day, and that it'll get worse and become more frequent if he didn't eat soon. But Pinball gave no sign of that happening, save for him clutching his stomach for a brief moment. He pointed across the mountain range, his hair scruffy and even more unkempt than usual. "It's supposed to be straight ahead, from what the villager lady told me." He waited for Mars to give the okay to go, and then he, too, would silently stretch and make his way down the mountain path, the sun high and bright - although mostly obscured by clouds - overhead. It wouldn't be too far. Pinball gave it 30 minutes, tops, unless they came across some sort of obstacle. Even still, he kept to himself. 

[Mars 0]

he hands Pinball five days worth of food while looking him in the eye with a rather serious look. Eat. Now. he says simply not as a request and would simply wait for as long as need be while staring Pin down till the spear user would  eat the food that he had given him. You can be as stubborn as you want, but i'm fine with waiting as long as need be Pin. You are the only friend i have in this game, and i'm making sure you don't do something as stupid as get yourself killed or put yourself in a state of discomfort from not getting teh food you need or the sleep that is required. Mars says rather simply towards Pinball in a flat and matter of fact tone of voice towards him. For Mars he just waits patiently having already had some food to eat while waiting for the man to wake up. Mars' familiar standing beside him as the fire liger seems much more calm compared to the usual state that he is in when being on any other floor besides this one.

[Pinball 1]

He looked at the unholy amount of food Mars handed Pinball. He took a second to take it all in. He wasn't expecting something like that. How did he know? Was he that obvious about his hunger? About the lack of sleep he was getting? It wasn't by choice, most of the time. But other times it felt like he was punishing himself. The thing was - and Pinball knew this - that he deserved it. Every single second of discomfort he subjected himself to, and every moment he felt like he was being choked by loneliness. He deserved the way people treated him, and he deserved the way he treated himself. Redemption, for Pinball, was something he didn't deserve. And although he didn't really know it, it wasn't something he wanted. 

He looked at Mars, a skeptical look in his eyes. Almost disgusted? But Pinball took the food. It wasn't often Mars said something like that, and he could feel the emotion welling up in his chest, threatening to spill out in some kind of choked sob. He turned away, chewing on a bit of tasteless bread. 

"Yeah," he murmered. "I know, I know." 

And then, quieter; sadness and gratitude mingling in a soft emotional blend. 

"Thank you." 

[Mars 0]

You're welcome Pin. A genuinely happy tone sounds back towards his friend as he rests against the rock and just waits for when Pinball finishes up on the food so that the two of them can make their way towards their destination Tapping hsi finger gently against the rock as he waits. Gazing up towards the blackened and red sky he than glances back down towards Pinball with a curious look. After we got ditched on floor thirteen you told me to message you soon. Consider this me messaging you. Did you just want to hangout Pin? he asks curiously towards the man with a slight tilt of his head while waiting patiently for him to say something, and when he would get an answer he would gesture for Pin to start following him as he would make his way towards the cave of Cerberus. Towards the point where even the heat could burn and hurt somebody from how much is being shout out from the body of the Cerberus beast.

[Pinball 1]

"Y-yeah," he mumbled, quickly chomping down on his food. That was true, but it didn't make it any less embarrassing - especially when it was Mars. Yeah, they were friends, but Pinball couldn't remember a time they had hung out when there wasn't anything to fight. Pinball shook it off. Why did that bother him? It wasn't that big of a deal, yeah? 

But Mars was his only friend. He was the only one he really had. 

Pinball jumped up, nodding. The twinge in his stomach had faded now, to the point where it was barely noticeable. He could eat something later if he was really feeling in the mood. Pinball hopped to it, following Mars down the mountain path, his sword on his belt and Zomekko trailing behind, a whispy shade in the bright sun. Pinball tried not to talk. He was afraid he'd suggest something embarrassing again. Intead, he resigned himself to getting the task at hand done and finished with. 

[Mars 0]

Than how about this Pin after this we'll...i dunno i would say go into a town but the orange crystal denies us that, so we'll just choose a floor and just find our own adventure to go on. If anything we could go towards floor sixteen and hijack that pirate ship and goof around on that if the quest and adventure will allow us to do such a thing. he offers towards the spear wielding man as something that he has been curious about but has never tried to attempt such a thing since the quest itself while something he could handle would be better off with two people. Since as much as the quest is easy and would be a breeze with the two the inner child that even he has would demand to have a two man group facing off against a fully decked out pirate ship to take over the boat like that.  Since if it was one person that'd ruin the at least something many people have probably thought of for a good fun fight because of those Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

[Pinball 1]

Pinball nodded, instantly a beaming mess. "Yeah! I've wanted to do that for like - forever!" He jumped up and down, throwing his fist in the air happily. "Holy- we're gonna hijack a pirate ship!! I'm going to smack a [censored] [censored] off the side of the [censored] deck! " He took to laughing at the obsurdity of it! He imagined himself beathing the snot out of a ship full of pirates, only to take their ship on a joy ride - and probably crash it into rocks - after. He couldn't wait. Pinball, giddy, would talk more and more about the stupid stuff they were obviously going to have to do once they actually took it over. And how... voluptuous those hairy, sweaty, stinky pirates would be. Oh, the details he went into. 

And soon, the cave was in sight. Pinball stopped, a few hundred yards in front of it, and pointed it out to Mars in case he hadn't noticed it. "I think that's the place over there. Apparently it's supposed to be super hot inside or something?" He wondered if Mars knew anything more than he did about it - he usually did. 

Edited April 14, 2019 by Pinball

[Mars 0]

Yep that is the case it shouldn't really be that difficult in all honesty just a single AoE and you'll clear out all the scrub mobs within seconds without any issue at all Pin. He says towards his rival without any seeming care or worry about any possible danger that could occur for Pin if he somehow was extras stupid. Specifically if Pinball's luck was stupid and spawned more overpowered mobs that shouldn't be on this floor, or if he somehow summoned two phoenix's from the other quest on this floor. The katana wielding man just making his way down towards the cave to trigger the pack of hell hounds that guard the king of them Cerberus. Not wanting to waste much time with this quest just standing around since it'll be over in seconds anyhow. Shouldn't even take a minute at most from what he could speculate and guess. The familiar alongside Mars traveling alongside him at a rather relaxed pace.

[Pinball 1]

It didn't take them long at all to get into the cave they were supposed to be in. The heat was stifling, and Pinball could have sworn he was taking damage from it, even. But! He persevered, and with Mars at his side, he was sure that whatever creature lurked in this cave wouldn't stand a chance. As the mountain got hotter and hotter as he traveled inside, Pinball drew his sword. And just ahead, sleeping, all three heads resting on its giant paws, sat this huge black dog that seemed to spit fire when it yawned. He moved forward, but before he could, a group of four smaller dogs rushed forward. Pinball instinctively lashed out with his sword, surrounded in Zomekko's shadowy aura, sending beams of red energy out at the dogs. It cut threw them, and Pinball hopped backwards in case the big one decided to suddenly wake up and lunge at him. 

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Action Taken: Sword Art - [Shadow Explosion] [-14 EN] {Well Rested} 
Hell Hound 1: ID#114674 BD: 1+4= 5 (Miss!) MD: 8-3= 5 (Miss!) 
Hell Hound 2: ID#114675 BD: 7+4= 11 (Hit!) MD: 7-3= 4 (Miss!)~ 15*9= 135 DMG 
Hell Hound 3: ID#114676 BD: 7+4= 11 (Hit!) MD: 2-3= 1 (Miss!) ~ 15*9= 135 DMG 
Hell Hound 4: ID#114677 BD: 5+4= 9 (Hit!) MD: 10 (Crit+2) ~ 15*9= 135 DMG // 100 DMG 

Pinball: 900/1000 HP | 86/100 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 

Hell Hound 1: 30/30 HP | 50 DMG 
Hell Hound 2: 0/30 HP | 50 DMG 
Hell Hound 3: 0/30 HP | 50 DMG 
Hell Hound 4: 0/30 HP | 50 DMG 

Edited April 14, 2019 by Pinball

[Mars 0]

With a sigh he watches as three more hounds go around one of the corners of the cave as he decides he should do his fair share of the work from making more hounds appear than what was necessary as he rushes forward and cleaves through each of them with one swift and brutal carving swings. The swing going from each of their left sides towards their eyes as they burst into red pixels as he is on the other side of the hounds now as he looks towards Pin and just gestures to go deeper into the cave. Come on now no time like the present we have Cerberus to kill so we can just leave this cave and than do something that is actually fun with our time Pin. He tells his rival as he waits patiently for the familiar sound of the loud cerberus stomping its way towards him, and than to be followed with the sounds of it dying soon after.

Action: Amatsu no homura  -16 ENG towards mars.

#114682 BD:10
#114683 BD:6
#114684 BD:6
#114685 BD:6

Edited April 14, 2019 by Mars

[Pinball 1]

"Well, that's fair, I guess." They had blown through that so quickly! They were right about these mobs being way underleveled. After that crappy display, Pinball doubted that Cerberus was going to put up much of a fight. Sure as hell did look pretty tough, though. If he was 30 levels lower, he might have even been scared by it. Pinball's sword glowed bright hot in the fiery cave, Zomekko's shadow swirling around it in an awesome display of badassery. He rushed forward, activating Shadow Explosion - he was going to cut every single one of these heads off at once, and then him and Mars were gonna go on a date hang out. Pinball unleashed Tyrfing's energy in a blast of bright, crimson energy that rocketed towards the fire spitting dog. Was this the end of Cerberus? The end of their quest? As heads fell to the ground and Pinball sheathed his sword, he figured that was pretty obvious. 

Yuh. 

Wait, [censored], no- 

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Action Taken: Sword Art - [Shadow Explosion] [-14 EN/+1 EN] 
Cerberus 1: ID#114687 BD: 2+4= 6 (Hit!) MD: 4-3= 1 (Miss!)~ 135 DMG 
Cerberus 2: ID#114688 BD: 7+4= 11 (Hit!) MD: 7-3= 4 (Miss!) ~ 135 DMG 
Cerberus 3: ID#114688 BD: 1+4= 5 (Crit.Miss!) MD: 4-3= 1 (Miss!) 

Pinball: 900/1000 HP | 72/100 EN | 15 DMG | 3 EVA | 4 ACC 

Cerberus: 0/30 HP | 0/30 HP | 30/30 HP | 80+10 DMG 

Edited April 14, 2019 by Pinball

[Mars 0]

Welp that i could say was another successful quest than wouldn't you agree Pin? He asks his rival in a amused tone of voice before signaling him to follow him as he starts to make his way towards the sixteenth floor. It's time to steal a pirate ship pin! he announces with a sense of glee in his voice as they exit the cave and make their trip back towards the main settlement be it by TP crystal or by walking the multiple day journey home. However, by the end of the day one way or another Mars would get onto the teleport pad and say the simple command phrase to move onto something more casual and fun even if it might require another stupid quest to do something a bit more silly and fun with his rival and friend. Teleport, Sixteenth floor. With the command said Mars along with his familiar head towards the floor to start and attempt to try and do a pirate esque adventure within Aincrad if the game will allow them to do so.

Summary:

Pin : 5 SP, 400 COL, Cerberus Soul: A Potion that when used on Weapon adds burn damage for the duration of the thread, burn damage at +2 for 2 turns on Natural Dice Roll of 8-10

Mars: 2 SP, 400 COL, Cerberus Soul: A Potion that when used on Weapon adds burn damage for the duration of the thread, burn damage at +2 for 2 turns on Natural Dice Roll of 8-10