[F8-PP] Ape Escape!! (Monkey King)

[Freya 0]

Freya had taken some days to herself. She knew she needed them. That also gave Freyd some time to think about the entire situation. Maybe he came up with some other idea's that they didn't think about before. Starting her days like normal...feeding Gaius and his mini bear. Eating some food herself to be fully prepared for the day. After dropping off the food for Gaius she decides to grab some things from the guildhall before she messaged Freyd.

Arriving at floor 22 she grabs some items from the Vault and walks out eating and drinking what she took. She knew today might be hard again but she was going to be in a better state of mind with everything. More optimistic about everything. Hope...it's what she needed right now, a breakthrough. After finishing her snacks and what not she heads to floor 8 to see what quests it had to offer. 

Arriving on floor 8 now she scans through the quest board and sees a monkey quest... "I think this would be rather enjoyable," she says with a chuckle to herself pulling it off the board. Sending a message to Freyd now saying:

To: Freyd From: Freya I have a quest ready on floor 8. Something about a monkey? We can discuss other matters as well. Did you speak with Raidou?

 With a chime of her HUD the message was sent. She stands there waiting for Freyd to respond or show up.

Freya Consumes: Thin Chocolate Covered Mints (Accuracy 2), Lavender Lemon Bar (Evasion 2), Well-Done Steak (Protein 2)

Freya | HP:500/500 | EN:50/50 | DMG:17 | EVA:4 | ACC:5 | BLD:24 | REC:1

Spoiler

Freya
Level: 25
HP: 500/500
EN: 50/50

Stats:
Damage: 17
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 5
BLD:24
REC:1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Grim Reminder - Sorrow (T2/Perfect/2HBA): Damage 2, Bleed 1
Armor: Dark Embrace - Sacrifice (T2/Perfect/Light Armor): Evasion 2, Recovery 1
Misc: Bringer (Tierless/Perfect/Trinket): Accuracy 3

Skills:
Two-Handed Battle Axe [Rank 5]

Extra Skills:
Concentration
Familiar Fighter (Rank 1)

Mods:
Finesse Rank 3
Ferocity

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal*1
Resistance Plate - Lily (T1/Perfect/HA): Mitigation 27
Silver Band - Farore's Wind: (T1/Perfect/Trinket) Loot Dice 3
Requires Extended Weight Limit 1
Requires Extended Weight Limit 2
Requires Extended Weight Limit 3
Obtained via Item Stash (Housing)
Obtained via Dimensional Backpack

Housing Buffs:
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Tasty: Turn 2 identical food items into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

 

[Freyd 0]

Donkey Kong Kaiju.

The image immediately jumped to mind every time he did this quest.  His original experience had been less than stellar.  Kiluia and Haine basically wiped it out while he slipped and slid across the battlefield on monkey shit.  Some things also couldn't be unseen.  Freyd pressed his palm to his forehead, even as an ironic smile crept across his face.  Yeah.  Sure.  Why not?

To: Freya From: Freyd I'll be there shortly.  Haven't heard back from Raidou yet.  He's probably busy crafting a new universe in his linen closet.  I'll ping him again and try to get him to join us in Florenthia.

Grabbing a few bare essentials from 'the larder' he gulped then guzzled them down and made his way to the portal plaza.  It was a short jaunt from The Blind, and the fog wasn't actually too bad today.  There wasn't even a whiff of rotting zombie in the air, which was a real positive on floor 13.  Sparing a quick moment to see if he could finagle Raidou's involvement at the last minute, his fingers tapped the send button just as he reached for the portal.  

"I need shit-proof boots," he mused aloud, just as his form vanished.

@Raidou

***

Freyd | HP:1750/1750 | EN:187/187 | DMG:23 | MIT:79 | EVA:2 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:175 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:87

Freyd consumes:
Cotton Candy Puffs | ACC 2 | 174494
Liquor of Light | DMG 3 |173280

Mega Slime Farm activated.

Spoiler

Freyd, The Whisper in Shadows
Level: 86
HP: 1750/1750
EN: 187/187

Stats:
Damage: 20 (+3)
Mitigation: 79
Evasion: 2 
Accuracy: 4 (+2)
BH:87
VAMP OFF:175
HLY:6
FLN:6
LD:5

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Samael's Pride (T3-2HSS, VO 1, HOLY 1, FLN 1)
Armor: Skirmisher's Garb (T3 LA, MIT 2, EVA 1)
Misc: Night Shades (T3-Trinket, ACC 3)

Skills:
2H Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 4]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Parry [Obtained]
Energist [Obtained]
Charge [Rank 5]
Extended Mod Limit R3 [Obtained]
Hiding [Rank 5]
Martial Arts [Rank 4]
Quick Change [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Disguise
Familiar Mastery: Fighter 3
Survival
Meditation

Active Mods:
Precision - 2HSS
Finesse - Rank 3
LA Athletics
Ferocity - 2HSS
LA Sprint and Acrobatics
Vanish
Vengeful Riposte
Surprise Attack (Assassin)

Inactive Mods:
Night Vision

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystals*5
Gungnir Shard: Haniel's Modesty (T3 Perfect HP Rec [Instant]*5
Flash of Rejuvenation (Mass HP Rec [Instant] (+30*Tier HP)*5
Fruit-Infused Tea (T3 HP Recovery)*5
Imugi's Inspiration (T3 Mass HP Recovery)*5
Mega-Duper... Sauce (Antidote 3)*5
Grave Injustice (T3-2HSS, ACC 1, Keen 1, Abs. ACC)*1

Housing Buffs:
Rested: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Skylight (Searching): +1 Rank to the Searching skill.
Angler: +1 material gained when fishing
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [1/1] - Mega Slime Farm Used on this Thread
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata Bamboo Tree]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Kumatetsu Statue: +1 Base Damage for a thread

Wedding Ring:

 

 

 

[Raidou 1]

A single ping from the whisper breaches the silence, the lingering remembrance of a night prior still held fast within his memory. One of a waltz, an exchange, and a single cup of unsweetened green tea. A fold of a black book in his grasp, one with words from an author that had more to learn. A plan with a pin placed in it, a slide into his robe pocket, and a faint recollection of a name that had no answer to its meaning.

Moments swelled and recalling all of the affairs he had still yet to handle. Chase, Mari, Hidden, Cordelia. But he still had time, more than he could count these days. Held at a cap that would allow no more growth, he was working on what wasn't held in a digit on his status screen now. To the vault, shifting over the labels and shelving and plucking a few vials from where they rest.

A trigger of skill as they are raised and uncorked, his iris flashes a deep purple as a sonar like a trigger emanates from his marker on the minimap. Tracking finds him, and removing a teleport crystal from his pocket it shatters, and in an instant leaving a few empty botttles. Raidou was on his way.

Raidou Consumes: Titan's Strength (+3 Base Damage), Artisan Carrot Cake (+3 Accuracy/Filled)

Mega Slime Farm Activated: +2 SP for no reason

Raidou | HP:1790/1790 | EN:176/176 | DMG:22 | MIT:121 | EVA:4 | ACC:5 | TAUNT | LD:5 | BH:89

Spoiler

Spoiler

Raidou, The Red Wanderer
Level: 88
HP: 1790/1790
EN: 176/176

Stats:
Damage: 22
Mitigation: 121
Evasion: 4
Accuracy: 5
BH:89
TAUNT
LD:5

Equipped Gear:
Weapon: Auric Sol - Corona [T3/Perfect/2HSS]: Damage 3
Armor: Red Wanderer's Robe [T1/Perfect/L.A] +3 Evasion
Misc: Commander's Scrutiny - Duress [T1/Perfect/Trinket]: +2 Accuracy, Taunt

Skills:
Gatherer [Obtained]
Two Handed Straight Sword [Rank 5]
Extended Mod Limit R3 [Obtained]
Parry [Obtained]
Howl [Obtained]
Battle Healing [Rank 5]
Fighting Spirit [Obtained]
Light Armor [Rank 5]
Searching [Rank 5]
Charge [Rank 5]
Extended Weight Limit [Obtained]

Extra Skills:
Concentration
Familiar Mastery: Protector
Survival

Active Mods:
Focused Howl
Finesse Rank 3
Athletics
Sprint and Acrobatics
Tracking
Ferocity
Justified Riposte
Bull Rush

Inactive Mods:
Vengeful Riposte
Emergency Recovery
Detect
Precision
Reveal
Stamina

Battle Ready Inventory:
Teleport Crystal*1
Pillar Fragment [Unique/Glowstone]
Eternal Watch - Tenacity [T3/Perfect/Trinket]: Recovery 2, Accuracy 1
Mass Heal Crystal*5
Incarceration [T1/Perfect/Debuff Song] Double DoT*2
Hypnosis 2 [T1/Rare/Debuff Song/Instant] -2 Accuracy*3
Tactician's Gaze - Ogma [T1/Perfect/Trinket]: +3 Accuracy
Eye of Midas - Larceny [T1/Perfect/Trinket]: +3 Prosperity
Empty Slot
Empty Slot

Housing Buffs:
Well Rested: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
Squeaky Clean: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
Hard Working: +2 EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
Filling: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot.
Item Stash: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
Delicious: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed.
Relaxed: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
Col Stash: +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests
Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month [0/1]
Multipurpose: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
Decor [Potted Tanabata]: This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.

Guild Hall Buffs:
Lucrative: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters receive +1 crafting attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters receive +2 crafting attempts per day.
Col Deposit: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.

Scents of the Wild:
Tanos Statue: +15 Mitigation for a thread.

 

[Freya 0]

Freyd was on his way, she was wondering if Raidou would make an appearance this time. She knew that he was busy with other things but as Freyd had said, this was important. She was still wishing that Raidou didn't have to know but in the end...it was for the best. They knew very little about this thing inside of her and she was wondering if it would even appear with Raidou being here. Appearing twice in one day was very odd and to the extent that he did. She was trying to cope and HE seemed to calm down just a bit. Nothing has happened for days... 

She made a promise to herself though, no matter what happened in these next coming events, she would stay positive. Sinking into the rabbit hole was no longer an option. She hoped that they were able to make some progress today because the suspense was killing her, maybe more than she knew...

Lost in thought she sees Freyd appear through the gate. Eyes turn to Freyd now and asks him "Have you thought of anything else that could possibly help..."

Edited January 4, 2021 by Freya

[Freyd 0]

"Well, we could try cognitive re-calibration, but Gaius would probably stab me real hard... eventually."  A confused pause greeted his sardonic grin.  "Means I could hit you in the... nevermind.  Look, the point is that we need to shake something loose, either by triggering Goldeneye again, or possibly by finding the people who took you, or where they took you.  Raidou is the only person who sounds like he could help with that info, so we'll just have to wait until we speak with him.  In the meantime, beating up a giant monkey sounds like a great idea!" 

Leading her down the path, he deflected any protests about waiting.  

"Oh, don't worry.  He'll find us.  I tested him, testing me.  He's a good finder-er?"  His voice cracked up a pitch at the end, implying that he wasn't sure how best to word that.  "I haven't quite figured out how to fool the system yet, but will eventually.  In the meantime, we can get going and rest assured that he'll have no trouble..."

*FLASH*

"...and there he is."

[Raidou 1]

Landing square to a gate as the small dot that gave Freyd away, a twist from the gate "This discussion." Always straight to the point, as usual, Raidou steps down with a sway in the red robe on his shoulders. Just as flashy and eye-catching as intended, his eyes blocked by mirrored lenses on his brow. Extending a finger and pressing it up to his brow he looked to them in earnest, Freyd he expected but Freya. That was something he had not foreseen as a possibility. Freyd must be trying to cut her to shape, a fact he could respect. "Monkey King or just grinding?" Raidou asked the whisper for a sitrep, unsure of the motive behind the location. Drawing his blade with the intention to talk and walk, drawing down its length the pillar fragment for unlike Freyd the light was where he worked best for his defenses relied entirely on his sight.

 

[Freya 0]

Following after Freyd saying "Ha ha very funny...I would enjoy that show with Gaius though kicking your ass..." she shrugs "or the other way around," she says smirking toward him now. Becoming a bit more serious now though she starts to say in reply "Right we know that he likes to darkness..." Not sure if Raidou would know any more than them. 

Raidou comes into view now after Freyd comments and she felt a huge knock form in her stomach. Not sure if his words were meant toward her, Freyd or both but she says "Maybe a little of both while we pick your brain about something." She had not a clue how to start a conversation like this. -Oh yea so I have a demonic thing inside of me-...she thinks to herself. Walking with the two guys now she says "Soo I have major issues, Freyd take it away..." she gives a nervous smile toward Freyd now jerking her eyes toward Raidou. She really didn't know how to explain something like this and Freyd had seen her first hand in a very bad condition. "Start by telling him what you saw..." she says to Freyd... To be perfectly honest she was terrified of Raidou, but who wasn't.

[Freyd 0]

"Yes, and more," Freyd spoke in response to Raidou's last query, then waited as the woman spoke her piece.  

"Freya has been having some problems, of the variety that change your eyes to silver-gold and make you speak in voices not your own.  Fortunately, no pea soup was involved, but I remain concerned.  Her memories are gone, and this... thing... seems capable of overriding control of her body under a subset of circumstances yet to be confirmed.  Anger seems to do the trick, though any powerful surge of emotion may be sufficient." 

He looked to Freya, gazing upon her with those cold, analytical red eyes that made him seem like too much of a robot.  

"I managed to provoke it twice.  It also seems to have access to her memories, and is releasing them in dribs and drabs.  I can't blame Freya for wanting them restored, but there is a serious vulnerability in feeding or ceding to this thing whatever the heck it wants.  Unfortunately, for the moment, it controls all the doors.  We need another way in.  I was hoping, while we wipe this overgrown monkey off the face of Aincrad, that you could share with us the story of where and how you rescued her, and possibly from whom."

Having laid out the sum of it, Freyd summoned his black blade and let it sit loosely on his shoulder, stuffing his spare hand into his pocket for want of anything else to do with it.  His words flowed with casual ease, and it was evident that the rapport between the two men left certain things unsaid.  They would be topic for later conversation, if ever required at all.  Unlikely.

"Thoughts?"

[Raidou 1]

"Interesting." Raidou remarks listening to the recount of what had transpired seemingly either here or prior. "So this was recent?" Raidou adjusts his lenses and moves closer to Freya and looking into her eyes like one would expect a physician to. He was an alchemist, and the world was his problem to solve. "Changing eye color is pretty common in Aincrad, voices not quite as much." He comments pressing his fingers across her face and fiddling with her eyelids.

A pause as he sends a request to the girl, an inspection of her gear and equipment. While he awaited her approval he would clarify where she was found. "A cave on floor 1, inside were cacoons with multiple people trapped within them. Memory loss seems to be just a side effect of being trapped in them. Just high-level enemy like spiders, 5 legs, and tan. Nothing exemplary about them. They died just the same as other mobs and frankly seemed to have no real way in regards to intelligence. She was food." The very same where Kiluia, where Haine and where Ruri were. He happened on Freya simply by accident.

"However given what we know, I do have an idea. But its drastic." His eyes shift to Freya, a fiddle of his lenses and a flare of red on his iris as they are made clear. "It could kill you, or worse."

Raidou activates Justified Riposte

Raidou | HP:1790/1790 | EN:171/176 | DMG:22 | MIT:121 | EVA:4 | ACC:5 | TAUNT | LD:5 | BH:89 | JUSTIFIED

[Freya 0]

Raidou fucked with her eyes a bit and she just stood there letting him...Listening to everything again on repeat she lets Raidou examine her gear. "This was happening before I got this new gear," she says. She became a bit uneasy thinking about everything they said. Most of it she already knew, some she had forgotten so bringing it back into the light was a good thing. Hearing the last thing that Raidou said though makes Freya chuckle given she was ready to give in just days ago. She didn't know though what she was more afraid of, keeping him inside her trapped or letting him out completely in hopes that something worse didn't happen. "Raidou, to be completely honest, I am willing the try anything at this point. Hell, I was ready to die just days ago to the cause so whatever you have bring it. I might be able to handle it and I might not but something has got to give." She looks to Freyd now knowing that even a chance of her dying, that risk...was worth taking if it meant that she wasn't going to hurt anyone she loved or cared for.

[Freyd 0]

"There seems to be a disconnect between your memories and the data in hand.  Let we spoke, you mentioned an image of people capturing you, and yet somehow you ended up cocooned in some spider cave.  Either they placed you there deliberately, or someone's been feeding you false data.  Both could also be true."  He also had to concur with Raidou.  "Too much is mutable in this world to be certain of sensory data.  Descartes would lose his shit in this place.  'I am a doubting thing'?   Pfft.  You can too easily doubt your fallible senses in here and be correct.  At the same time, you can be whoever you set your mind to being."  The edge a red iris caught Freya's glance, as if conveying a subtle encouragement.  The look likewise masked a quick flick of the wrist that signaled activation of his defenses.  A basic parry was all he called forth, this time, instead of a riposte.  If Freya lost control, he wouldn't want his innate counter to result in tragedy.  The unpredictability of their circumstances warranted a greater level of caution.  

"What did you have in mind, Raidou?"  The irony of that statement after his philosophical musing wasn't lost on the Whisper.

***

Freyd activates Parry (-5 EN). 

Freyd | HP:1750/1750 | EN:182/187 | DMG:23 | MIT:79 | EVA:2 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:175 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:87 | PARRY

[Raidou 1]

"Well simply put, Juiblex."

Raidou's words were cut out clean, short, and sweet. The familiar was keen on dialing one emotion up to 11, the worst one. The red wanderer was already well studied and careful on how to control it. Ariel was not. Freya is not. The darker the girl's history and already present issues would simply be pushed to extremes. Raidou thought about it hard, and it was only a word from Freyd that had made him believe it may be useful here.

He looked over the girl's gear, her skills, and her statistics. Nothing abnormal or strange, comparable to Sam in every regard. She had but one skill that had a habit of changing one's eyes, and that was gemini. "You've done gemini." he remarked rather bluntly with a glance to Freyd, thinking instantly of Mari and what was pulled from her stomach. "I vaguely recall one gemini doing what he wanted, even to the point of ripping someone else's out of another player's throat. Your most likely culprit, So before you assume that you can handle it Freya. Remember that Freyd was significantly higher than you are now and had his do at it wished. Found a player much higher level than you and ripped clean a gemini. Now imagine giving that thing the strength of a familiar."

[Freya 0]

Listening to Freyd's words carefully, she completely forgot to mention the ring. Looking to Freyd saying "There was a ring, I gave it back to Rin and he recognized it instantly given that it was his grandmothers. That ring would make that memory true right?" He might have been right about the false memories but so far she had proof for most of what has returned. "Eruda and Griswold both confirmed the dad thing and Eruda confirmed the fight with our mother. So that would mean those were not false either." The last statement Freyd said also had some truth to it...Eruda grew in ways that Freya would have never imagined her too. A very different person than what she was back then.

Raidou recalls the meeting that Freyd had made with the guild. Freya was paying attention but she did not realize or put two and two together. She did not even think that the situations could be similar, but the more she thought about it the more they seemed roughly the same besides a few matters like the memory loss.

One thing that caught her attention Juiblex... Glancing to Raidou now confused a bit "What is a Juiblex..." is it a thing, a person, a Gemini... a pet. "To be perfectly honest I don't think that I will be completely ready ever... I..." her words fall just a bit thinking. Are her memories really that important? Is it purely just because they were stolen that she wanted them back in the first place... The main memories, she has already recovered and Rin had no idea who she was so what was the point if he didn't even want to try to remember her... Even then she had Gaius now...Maybe... 

Taking a deep breath she tries to separate her thoughts. Whatever Raidou had planned she knew that it wasn't good. But it really might be the only way to deal with whatever thing was, which was being stubborn as all hell. Backtracking to what Raidou said before...You could die or worse...Her chest becomes heavy just thinking about it. Or worse...what could possibly be worse than dying...

"Let's..." pausing lost in thought for just a second, "Just kill this monkey and then..." she glances to Raidou almost terrified now at all the possibilities that could happen, "We will try your idea... If it will prevent me from even the slightest chance of attacking Eruda again...Then I will do it..." She knew this was for the best, she wanted to say bye one last time before the unknown happened to her, just in case she didn't come back from whatever was going to happen, but she knew that talking to her now would be a bad idea. Eruda and Griswold just got her back and they both would do anything to try stopping her... Freya just knew that she had to try something.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Freya

[Freyd 0]

You should be disturbed right now.  VERY disturbed.

'Quiet.  I'm thinking.'  If his shadow had eyes, Freyd was sure that they would be the size of saucers at the moment.  Was he really willing to consider this as an option?  The toll it had taken on him was significant.  It then went on to nearly break Mari, but Mari was already internally shattered.  It wouldn't have taken much to push her over the edge.  Was Freya any different?  She'd just admitted that she was willing to risk anything, and to pair that with recent suicidal consideration seemed even worse.

This is a bad idea.

"It's a fucking death game, Montjoy.  Bad is highly subjective here."  Raidou and Freya just gave him a weird look as the spoke the words aloud to no one in particular, deliberately fixing his eyes on the horizon.  That was where this led: to unknown territory.  She was prepared to try it, without really understanding what any of it meant.  There was no greater degree of desperation, or pulling back the carrot.  Her goal was fixated.

There are things worse than death.

'Remember who you're talking to.  I know that.  She's made her choice.  It's not up to us.  More conversation would be pointless.'  Scenarios played out in his mind, developing a contingency.  

"Monkey business.  Right.  Let's do this."

[Raidou 1]

The silence between them all breaks, as he comments the very same name that he had eluded "Montjoy." Raidou mutters beneath his breath. He understood issues, but not the context. A plain stare to see if perhaps the man was speaking toward someone, but there was nothing there. "I suggest you give it some thought, this is not a decision one just makes so readily without forethought. Like Rhino, you will try and dive into this long before your prepared to face it. I find that you should, try to understand it first before you take any extreme measure." Raidou warned as quickly as he offered.

Nothing was ever easy.

"So on to Monkey King." Raidou shifted the subject, on the tip of his tongue was the thought of two problems. One that was obvious and laid out before him, but another that was as troubling as it was unknown. Now a man divided with the knowledge of what he'd overcome, with a sense of serenity that they were buried. It made looking at it plain in the face all the more difficult. The wanderer could not help but feel as though he was projecting a bit, but perhaps both Freyd and Freya had more in common with him than first expected. He was just ahead on the journey.

[Freya 0]

Watching Freyd talk to himself, it really seemed like he was talking to something that was not in view, Montjoy...What is the total hell is that now. First Juiblex now this other thing. Hearing what Raidou had to say she understood the gravity of it. It still was a complete and utter confusion for her though. No one was explaining anything and she started to get a bit annoying at this factor. They walked in silence through this village that was made under a large canopy. The Nav market peaked just ahead of this in the darkened forest. There was light but just enough to see in such a setup. Freya looks back at the boys as her movements heading into the forest. Whatever Raidou is planning or wants to do, she needed to know more.

In the distance she hears branches cracking, she looks in that direction seeing movement now but it was unclear what it was. Taking out her Scythe now she watches this thing. Between the unknown that Raidou spoke of and Freyd's talking to nothing...And now this huge thing in front of her...she was starting to get angry. Her focus was now on the movement ahead. Freya watches as she hears a crack...crack...crack...Freya has to quickly move out of the way as a tree falls in her direction.

Nealing down on one knee now she sees Red eyes flash open. They were very large and close...where was the body they were attached to. Freya glances back at the guys nowhere to be seen hear eyes dart back forward as a large hand comes from seemingly nowhere, trying to flatten her. At that very second, she darts out of the way and takes a swing at the hand with no body. Making contact as black oozed mist pours from her body due to her concentration skill, the same texture coming from her weapon now. Upon making contact, the very large ape cries out in pain with a voice that caused the ground beneath them to shake. The creature runs into view now pounding his chest in pure anger toward Freya. His head lowers down to her...Giant Red eyes, a head ten times larger than Freya's body stares at her with a huff causing Freya to regain her balance. Freya says nothing, just stands there glaring at the large face. "No fear," she says taking a deep breath now waiting for the others to act now that it was distracted.

Activating Concentration and Explode Catapult

ID# 181121 results: Battle: 2+6=8 Hit! vs Monkey King, Dealing 17*14=238-50=188 Damage

Players:
Freya | HP:500/500 | EN:37/50 | DMG:17 | EVA:4 | ACC:5 | BLD:24 | REC:1
Freyd | HP:1750/1750 | EN:182/187 | DMG:23 | MIT:79 | EVA:2 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:175 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:87 | PARRY
Raidou | HP:1790/1790 | EN:171/176 | DMG:22 | MIT:121 | EVA:4 | ACC:5 | TAUNT | LD:5 | BH:89 | JUSTIFIED

Enemy:
(1,0,0)Monkey King | HP:62/250 | DMG:240 | MIT:50 | MD 9 or 10 Stun AOE for 120 Damage

Edited January 7, 2021 by Freya

[Freyd 0]

A slender, humanoid shadow moved to Freya's left just as another flanked her to the right.   Both streaked past her from behind, bound for the same target she had just decimated with her scythe.  Thunderous roars of surprise were followed by the flailing smashes of fists the leveled entire trees and cratered the ground wherever they struck.  The giant ape was in a frenzy as it tried to find the shadows concealed by darkness that assailed it.  

"Now!" The cry came from one of two men, sounding very much like Freyd, with that cold, imperious tone he tended to have when he fell into the mental zone for combat.  A third, smaller shadow sprang from his form and spread to wrap itself around the Monkey King's head, knocking him backwards onto his backside.  A terrible crunching, squelching sound could be heard as the mob's body twitches violently and then suddenly fell still.  The corpse burst into fractal shards a moment later.

All three forms converged into one as they emerged into the light.  There strode Freyd, hands stuffed into his pockets, a strange gap between his feet and his shadow's closing silently, just as something wriggles beneath his jacket, blinking momentarily with a pair of tiny blue eyes beneath his cowl.

"Well," he said, a slight smirk perched upon his lips.  "That went a lot better than last time."

Taking note of Freya's hesitant expression, he pointed to the thing inside his cowl.  "Persi eats field bosses for breakfast.  I'm guessing that she was a little peckish.  Be glad that you couldn't see what was left of the head before it vanished.  And this," he gestured to his shadow while catching Raidou's eye, "is Montjoy, the herald and harbinger and my second thoughts. I suppose that you could call him the hollow left behind when I killed my Gemini...erm... the second time."

Spoiler

Galaxy Destroyer (x13): 13 EN - (Rested 1st/2, Finesse 3) = 9 EN

ID #181145 | BD: 10 (Crit +2, Holy, +6).  Freyd deals (13*31=403-50=353) damage to Monkey King.

Players:
Freya | HP:500/500 | EN:37/50 | DMG:17 | EVA:4 | ACC:5 | BLD:24 | REC:1
Freyd | HP:1750/1750 | EN:182/187 | DMG:23 | MIT:79 | EVA:2 | ACC:6 | VAMP OFF:175 | HLY:6 | FLN:6 | LD:5 | BH:87 | PARRY
Raidou | HP:1790/1790 | EN:171/176 | DMG:22 | MIT:121 | EVA:4 | ACC:5 | TAUNT | LD:5 | BH:89 | JUSTIFIED

Enemy:
(1,2,0)Monkey King | HP:0/250 | DMG:240 | MIT:50 | MD 9 or 10 Stun AOE for 120 Damage (62-353)

 

[Raidou 1]

Weren't they the troubled trio, Raidou was rather estranged by the display from each of them. Freya seeming to assail first and foremost, the push was welcome but the delivery and method much to be desired. A fix of lenses on the bridge of his nose, as expected Freyd and now Freya didn't really quite need his input here. "Montjoy then, I picked it up in the mines. Seems your given name has stuck. It was marked as such when it divided from you." He looked to Freya earnestly.

"Freyd did not need what I planned, as neither do I believe you do. If it is indeed a gemini." Raidou's gaze advances to Freyd "Then perhaps you just need to kill it twice." Although the very notion was staggering, the thought that perhaps his own was not through and had been lying dormant was sickening. But he maintains a calm approach, choosing to believe that he was long finished for he'd heard no word from it in what felt like years. He was worried, not only for Freya but now for the whisper.

The hell was a Gemini, not some faintly mirrored reciprocation of oneself as he was lead to believe? But some living creature with all of your flaws? Some preparation and study needed to go into the subject for the exploration of them had been just what appeared to be on the surface level. The wanderer had some inkling to investigate further after the meeting brought on in regards to Chase. The very reason he left as quickly as he had. If these things were capable of sheering clean the dark part of people's hearts against their will, then perhaps it would happen again and someone weaker than the whisper would not overcome them so easily.

A study and control found solely in a man with the first. Patient 0, and fellow captain suited no more fair a subject. "As before, please keep me posted if anything changes. Freya keep pushing yourself and try to find an alternative method. Mine will come only if you find no other way."

A flash trigger of a teleport crystal, an argument with no rebuttal. Like Gaius he expected Freya to abject. He would move away and give her no option to decline, he had some of his own matters to attend to and some information to attempt to purchase.

[Freya 0]

Freyd delivered and inside the darkness before her she saw nothing but movements and strikes followed by death to the very large creature that was no longer in front of her. Most people would cringe at the events that just transpired, Freya saw it as enlightenment. Freyd points out Persi and Montjoy his shadow...Very interesting. His Gemini was in a pure shadow form peering from his being. Raidou said divided from him and Freyd said he killed his Gemini a second time...Words that stuck in her mind as she glances at Raidou as he speaks and vanishes before Freya could react. Taking a slow deep breath now as her scythe materializes onto her back once more. Her HUD chimes with the completion of the quest. 

Freya's thoughts were racing through her mind at everything that was said. "We have 3 options, all very dangerous." Her eyes reach Freyd's as she could feel her chest tightening from each thought that ran through. "I could let him in fully, experience what he has fully to offer." She takes a seat on a stump that was created by the falling of a tree. "This could result in losing myself, and possible death upon people who walk my path." Leaning her elbows to her knees and her head to her hands, " Raidou's option which he did not explain fully but given your reaction and his, nothing but the unknown would follow that idea." She started to feel like all the odds were stacked against her now as none of the named options were good. "Or I could outright Kill my Gemini again..." She starts to feel an icy burning sensation down her spine after she says this. "I am not strong enough to face it again...It nearly killed me last time. I can only imagine it would be a million times worse this time. Right now this is not an option that we should be thinking about." The sensation of what would be pain fades as the idea slips from her mind. It was almost a warning of sorts without words. 

Her vision fades out then back as she lifts herself and sits against the stub looking to Freyd...She felt like she was holding on by a single thread. If that were to break...what would happen... "Freyd, I am not giving up but I really don't know of anything else that would end in anything but causing myself damage." She could feel the waterworks coming but she keeps them inside...Her chest feels heavy with emotion. " I know that you have the thought that I can be fixed but maybe I can't be. Maybe...I just have to accept that I am and always will be damaged goods...Broken. Maybe...I just have to learn to live with that and work with it instead of fighting against the very thing that is making me feel miserable..." She raises her hand and unfolds it staring at her palm now...Nothing good would come of this either way...

[Freyd 0]

"Sassafras," Freyd replied, bluntly, and with utmost non-sequitur.  

"If you've slipped and lost yourself inside, say that word.  It never comes up in conversation.  I'll know what you mean."  He turned and looked to his shadow.

"As far as he goes..." The Whisper fell silent and pensive for a moment.  "He's a hollow left behind by the vestige of whatever thing drew itself forth from within me.  When I slew my Gemini, the second time, it carried within it all the hate and rage that had been simmering inside for too many years.  It was every dark impulse I'd carried inside, dragging it behind me like an anchor until it weighed me down until I could no longer move."  His eyes narrowed as a memory intruded.

Freyd - real Freyd - was absolutely furious.  This shadow-thing he had wrought thought it was just so damned badass, but he saw it as little more than a reckless child incapable of anything more than causing mischief, carnage and pain.  This thing it had loosed from inside Mari, that was going to be a whole other level of mess.  Irresponsible... and just DUMB!  The plagues of an overly reasoning mind. "It's not like you would care. But I? I  could harness that. All it'd take is a single. Tiny...push." "You're right."   That quiet admission was the last thing the Gemini had ever expected to hear.  In fact, it had never heard them spoken of itself, ever.  A look of sheer elation swept over its face, as if it had finally achieved all that its heart desired.  Was this what nirvana felt like?  Recognition from that which had refused it for so long? "...I don't care."   A shimmering black blade erupted from the thing's chest, the image of bliss on the Gemini's face turning to horror as its dreams shattered.  "This is what you've done to me every day for over half my life." Freyd seethed in its ear.  "I'm happy to repay the favour."  He thrust the blade right up to the parry barbs near the hilt.  "You were also right about another thing.  My real problem has always been finding the will to act.  Thanks for giving ME that little push."  Hefting the blade to the cliff's edge he braced his foot on the Gemini's back and shoved him off, over the edge.

"You're heading for the crucible, Freya.  Maybe it will damage, or even break you.  But you can't stay where you are, so what other choice have you?"  Staring at the spot from where Raidou had vanished, Freyd came to his own realization.  "We cannot survive this place alone."  Damned if he hadn't tried, and kept trying to do that very thing, until now.  

Is that why you help the newbies, or every other broken soul you seem to come across?  Are you trying to fix yourself by helping them fix themselves?

Freyd stared, dumbstruck, into his own shadow.  Maybe that was it, after all?  How could it possibly have taken him so long to figure out such a simple concept?  Extending a hand down to his struggling companion, he repeated his words, as if only just understanding their meaning for the first time.

"We cannot survive this place alone."

***

Thread Summary

Freyd receives:

4 SP (1 page, +1 event, +2 mega-slime farm)
<<Monkey Agility>> A strange potion which boosts the users evasion by 1. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.

Raidou receives:

4 SP (1 page, +1 event, +2 mega-slime farm)
<<Monkey Agility>> A strange potion which boosts the users evasion by 1. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.

Freya receives:

5 SP (1 page, +1 event, +3 quest)
400 col
<<Monkey Agility>> A strange potion which boosts the users evasion by 1. Lasts for one thread. Takes a post action to apply.

Edited January 16, 2021 by Arabelle
note: added SP from Raidou's mega slime farm; used in #3.