It's About Time, part 2.5: Journey to Tartarus

[no_vampires_plz]

As the three humans, one Hyrulian, one unicorn, and one demon-dog press forward, the character of the woods around them changes. The undergrowth gets denser, the canopy above lets in less light, and the flora in general is much more... exotic than what one usually sees in the woods by the lake.

"Now, I know that the pathway to Tartarus starts somewhere in this general area," says Twilight. "But I don't know of its exact location. It's not something that ponies really want to advertise."

Comments

[fiss84]

84's fine now that her eyes have recovered, part of the strength package of a FISS is endurance as well.

"If I have to drop you quick like, would you prefer the ground or Cerebus again? Uless there was lava, then I'd know where to put you. Are you sure you don't want to fly? Those wings of yours looked really big on the soccer field."

Someone might be a little nervous again.

[basic_powers]

"Cerberus, and I can't use the wings right now...there's not enough room for me to spread them in here and use them."

Sure the giant dog the size of a house can fit easily enough...but propelling him is another story entirely.

"Not without hitting people, or the walls anyways. Don't worry, you're doing great, just like when you helped take on Brigman."

[no_vampires_plz]

They walk in silence for a long time, before Twilight speaks up.

"Is it just me, or is the ceiling getting lower?"

[gorgonfondness]

Mia looks up to see what Twilight's talking about. It was harder to tell from the perspective of the now-lost carpet.

"Is Cerberus still getting through all right?" she asks, glancing ahead to the canine.

[sky_child]

He looks up to the ceiling and frowns. "It's definitely getting smaller."

[basic_powers]

"Are the sides the same width?"

There's a good chance Cerberus could probably crawl or squeeze through if the ceiling continues to get lower.

[fiss84]

"Should we fly ahead and see if it gets smaller?"

[no_vampires_plz]

"It looks like--"

Twilight stops short.

There's no question of why. Everyone's looking up, and everyone else just saw the ceiling move.

Something is crawling along the ceiling of the tunnel. Something so impossibly massive that, were it not moving, it could be (and indeed was) mistaken for the ceiling itself.

[gorgonfondness]

Mia looks up in awe, remaining silent as she watches the gigantic creature move.

She wonders if she should ask Twilight if they should keep quiet and still but decides actually doing so would be counterproductive.

[sky_child]

Link lets out a quiet sound of surprise, his face soon adopting a look of wariness, determination.

(This would also be the part where he automatically pulls out his sword, if he were not too busy carrying a bag of dog food.)

[basic_powers]

"Hgnnnngk."

Moon Shadow is just going to be turning -on- the tazer gauntlet and trying to turtle his helmet between his shoulders.

"What in the great name of the moon and the stars is THAT."

[fiss84]

"That's not fair," 84 whispers as while she's strong and invulnerable, she has no idea how to fight something that large. Barely aware she's doing it though, she looks for eyes or a face, anything that might be a place she could hit and have it matter.

[no_vampires_plz]

"A night-crawler..." Twilight breathes.

The creature shifts its weight, and drops down into the cave in front of the party. It looks like a gigantic millipede with a pitch-black carapace supported by millions of tiny wriggling legs. It rears up in front of them, its mandibles writhing hungrily.

[gorgonfondness]

"Any weaknesses?" Mia asks, muttering to her bag for any available antidotes to get to the top just in case.

[no_vampires_plz]

"I..." Twilght bites her lip. "I don't know."

[sky_child]

Well, if she doesn't know, and if he's the only one here with a sword...

"Someone take this," he says, holding out the bag of food.

[basic_powers]

"84, drop me near Link and grab the jerky, please."

Technically, he has swords, but neither of them have a cutting edge. He can however, provide Link with some support if need be.

[fiss84]

84 does as she's asked while watching the monster. Those pincers are scarey.

[no_vampires_plz]

"Magic won't work on it," Twilight murmurs, backing away and trying to look as small as possible. "They eat magic."

Which means that that the two magic users and their bag of starlights are going to seem mighty tempting.

[gorgonfondness]

Mia instinctively puts a protective arm in front of Twilight, though she joins her in backing up and trying to look small. All the while, she does her best to fight her other instinct, the one telling her now would be a good time for some sort of spell.

"Don't worry," she mumbles, trying to be reassuring. "Our friends are strong."

And it's not like Mia hasn't been a distraction before if it came to that.

[no_vampires_plz]

The night-crawler has no eyes, at least none that are readily visible, but it's clearly focusing its attention on Mia and Twilight. Drool drips from its mandibles as it prepares to strike...

[sky_child]

Sword and shield in hand, Link dashes towards the night-crawler's side. He hadn't seen any obvious weak points near the monster's head, but it's legs...

It can't do much if it has no legs, can it?

In a fast, circular sweep, Link slashes several of the monster's legs at once.

[no_vampires_plz]

The night-crawler shrieks and writhes in pain, knocking its head against the roof of the cavern.

[basic_powers]

Does he even have to tell 84 to guard Twilight and Mia?

No? He's just going to follow Link's lead then and start tazering one of the legs, then, even if the Nightcrawler is bigger than the elephant the tazer was designed for.

[no_vampires_plz]

Unfortunately, electricity is close enough in nature to magic, at least in this universe, to have no ill effects on the night-crawler. On the contrary, the creature sucks the tazer's power greedily into its maw.