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 Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:06 pm
They're like us, in a mechanic body. Tsukiya didn't directly respond to the Lucario's reply, afraid that it might agitate the swarming creatures above even more.
What was it about the two plush that all the creatures in this warehouse wanted? After a few seconds of defending his position, Tsukiya realized that the bats weren't equally attacking both of them. They were aiming for the Lucario, and only for the Umbreon if there were too many bats on the Lucario to make a straight dive for him. These bats were smart, like the rats were below.
A whole bunch went for Lucario at once, and Tsukiya could only watch as the other plush fell. He was almost glad that the Lucario had such nimble reflexes to catch a hold of the ledge as he fell. Not because Tsukiya liked the Lucario, or anything, but he didn't want to be the sole outlet to their angry dives.
When the Lucario called out for help, Tsukiya had already thought out the possible outcomes, and was on it in a flash. He leapt to the Lucario's position, disregarding the bat wings that battered against his pelt. He cradled the back of the plush's neck with his mouth, as a mother kitten would do to her cub, and pulled.
The Lucario was safely back on the beam, but the bats were ever so relentless. Were they trying even harder to attack them now? It was as they understood the act, and were now even angrier.
"We have to go." He bounded ahead of the Lucario. Running, dashing, diving, avoiding every bat he could, and only swatting those down that he couldn't. The more he ran, and the less he stopped to attack, the faster he would be out of there.
It was only until he got to the window that he looked back to see whether the Lucario had made it.
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:53 pm
Aaron sensed a wave of relief from the umbreon as he had caught the rope, which was another thing the lucario hadn't expected to sense. It seemed that the umbreon was slightly concerned, although the Lucario couldn't pinpoint why.
Then he felt the umbreon grabbing him by the neck and pulling him the rest of the way onto the beam. "Thank you." He thought to the umbreon, as he managed to gather his balance and sense around. Again, the bats seemed slightly confused as he sent out his voice via the aura around them. Well, that was a good discovery. Apparently it interupted their sonar, which made it harder for them to pinpoint the plush targets.
The bats seemed to be a bit more frenzied now, as the umbreon pelted away down the beam. Indeed, that was a very good suggestion, and Aaron took off after the dark-type. At every few steps, he thought random things and sent them out over his telepathy to confuse the bats into crashing into each other, or barely miss him.
He slid to a stop at the end of the wall, beside the umbreon. He looked between the broken window and the coming swarm of bats. The window was almost broken enough for them to fit through, but a good punch would probably dislodge the last sad-looking pieces of glass. After all, a single shard of glass could probably slit right through them, and then surviving the rats and bats would have been for nothing.
Quickly turning back to the incoming swarm, Aaron yelled from his mind, "Stay back, you aura-filled creatures of science!" That wave of aura/telepathy seemed particularly startling, and several bats flew into one another. Looking back at the window, Aaron threw his weight against one of the bigger, looser pieces. It wiggled, then tumbled out, leaving the Lucario to grab the window edge to keep from falling out. He looked down. It wasn't too far, just a few stories. Aaron could make it, and he also noticed a few feet away, against the warehouse wall, there was a ledge that led to some clothes-lines that could get them to a ladder leaned against the building opposite of them. It seemed like a good way to escape, but then horror dawned on him as he thought (in his head, not aloud), 'Tsukiya can't climb...' He looked at the umbreon and thought to him, "Tsukiya, I'm going out the window. Then, I'm going to stick my tail back through, and I want you to grab it in your teeth, okay? Then, I'll climb over to that ledge, we can walk across that clothesline, and make it to the ladder, and from there we can get to the ground and get away."
The lucario slipped out of the window, gripping the brick wall tightly. He could definitely make this, and he was strong enough to get the umbreon across to the ledge, at least. Aaron's tail came back in the window, waiting for the umbreon to grab it so they could escape.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:18 am
As Tsukiya looked back to make sure the Lucario hadn't slipped off the beam once again, he heard the other plush yelling random things at the bats with his telepathy. Every time he did this, the bats would temporarily lose control of their flight pattern, bringing them crashing into one another. Strange...
Finally, both plushies were safely at the window. It seemed freedom was just within their reaches. Tsukiya waited, as the Lucario broke the crack in the window into a larger hole for them to fit easier through. Then, waited some more, when the Lucario surveyed their surroundings, and hoped he was plotting their escape route, and not just staring out the window.
"They're still after us!" He swatted at a bat that had gotten too close, urging the Lucario to hurry.
The Lucario explained his plan, and the Umbreon didn't care how, or where they went, as long as it was out of this building. He would comply with anything, as this point. Running was first on his mind, and looking stupid was second. But, when the Lucario went out, and dipped his tail back inside, Tsukiya wondered if the other plush really could do this, or if he only thought he could. Maybe he couldn't. Tsukiya lingered. A bat body pelted him in the side, reminding him of the horrors inside the warehouse.
"You better be able to do this." He grabbed a hold of the other's tail, and positioned himself outside, on the ledge of the window. Tsukiya looked down. They were pretty high up.
"Falling would suck," he mumbled to no one in particular.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 8:32 pm
"At least my voice can confuse them a bit. It must be from dirsupting their sonar..." Aaron thought aloud, more to distract the bats than anything else. His trainer had sat him down in front of an animal book and read it aloud to him, which is why he'd known aobut the sonar-aspect of bats. Echo-location or something like that.
Finally, Aaron felt the umbreon grip onto his tail. "Got it? Don't let go!" And with that, pulled the fellow plush out the window. Clinging to the brink, Aaron was glad he was made of sturdy fabrics and stitches, half of which he thanked being a fighting-type for, and began to work his way across the wall. "I can do this...thank goodness I'm a fighter-type..." Aaron thought aloud, confusing a few of the bats that were trying to find the hole. Soon, the ledge was coming into range. Aaron gripped harder, making sure he wouldn't slip in the last bit.
Finally, he was over the ledge, and climbed down a bit, setting down the umbreon on the ledge before taking his place next to the dark-type. "Come on."
The lucario began to make his way to the clothes-line and gave it a little pull to test it's tautness. Deciding that it was good enough, the lucario stepped out, his tail flicking about as a balance. Again, Aaron was happy he was a lucario. Even if he fell, he'd be able to grab one of the articles of clothing being hung from the line and save himself.
He looked back about halfway through, making sure the umbreon was coming.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 9:48 pm
The two plushies clung to the side of the brick walls with the black, ringed one clinging onto the blue and black one's tail. Tsukiya flexed his paws feebly while in the air, missing the solidness of the ground. The Umbreon disliked his paws being off the ground, and hated having to depend on the Lucario once again. If it weren't the only way out of the nightmare factory, he would never have agreed to this.
When they made their way down to the clothes line, it didn't sooth Tsukiya's nerves one bit. He observed the Lucario step onto the thin line first, and when it didn't immediately snap, the Umbreon tested placing on paw on the wire. It bent a bit under his weight. He slipped another paw on, and slowly, all four were on. Plushies on a wire. He thought to himself, slightly amused at their predicament.
Tsukiya first moved both his left limbs together, then alternated to his right, careful to keep the weight evenly distributed as he moved. He straightened his tail, using it for balance. He even used his ears, though he didn't know if it helped any. He didn't lift his gaze from the line beneath him, concentrating hard. The Lucario only had two legs to worry about. This task was twice as difficult for the Umbreon.
When he was about halfway across the clothesline-- Tsukiya felt a sinking feeling. He literally sunk a few inches lower. He looked ahead at the Lucario. Seeing that the other plush hadn't stepped off the line yet, his heart sank. It's the line! It's snapping! The line was old and rusty. It couldn't take the weight of all the towels, heavy clothing, and the two added plush.
"Move faster! The line is about to break!" Just as the words escaped his mouth, the line did indeed break. Tsukiya lunged forward, grabbing the nearest towel with his teeth. He could only grip on for dear life, and hope the towel didn't side off its clothes pin. The line swung forward to the wall it was attached to, bringing with it everything that was pinned to it. The towel flapped into his face, and Tsukiya couldn't see where he was headed. He could only hope.
Slam! The wall stopped the line from swinging any further, but it also knocked the wind out of the Umbreon plush for a moment. He clung to the towel, dazed, but glad he was still in one piece.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:40 pm
Aaron saw the umbreon following him across, although he didn't seem to have the natural balance for it like the lucario did.
About two seconds before the umbreon spoke, Aaron felt the wire dip, and the tension flow through it as it reached it's last lines.
And then it snapped.
Aaron dropped with the rope, managing to catch a towel on his way down. As the wire swung, the fighter felt a strange sense of something his trainer had pronounced, "Day-shah-vu". He'd done this before, just a few minutes ago in the warehouse, when he'd swung down on the cord to push the umbreon onto the belt! That's what it was familiar...
As the wire slammed into the wall, Aaron just managed to twist out of the way of being gored by a clothing-pin, which surely would have been a very sad way to go. Very unheroic and rather lame, actually, if you thought about it.
Gasping a bit, as the rope had knocked the air out of him, Aaron suddenly realized something. From where they were, it was only about story or so down. And the ladder was only a few feet away. They could swing the wire over to the ladder and climb down! (Aaron was rather sure that he couldn't pull up the entire cord, plus plushie, plus assorted materials/clothing.)
"Are you alright?" Aaron called down to the umbreon, turning to look down at him. The lucario knew that the dark-type couldn't be dead, as some shocked aura still was beating from the umbreon. He looked up at the window of the warehouse, seeing little bat heads starting to poke out.
"We'll have to swing to the ladder, alright? And in a hurry too. It seems the bats have found the window." Aaron thought in a slightly concerned voice. The flying creatures were starting to give him a phobia.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 11:07 am
"Fine," he grumbled, when he regained the ability to speak. Tsukiya only said enough to indicate that he was alright. He really didn't want to be making unnecessary conversation while unstably clinging onto a towel at the side of a building.
Swing. He thought about just this morning, when he was with his trainer at the park, and all was well. Her dropping the plush on the ground wasn't horrible at all. He was happy, even. Never would have thought about the hell he was going through now, a plush having to fend for himself. If he was a real Umbreon, he would have all kind of attacks, and could have gotten out of the situation easily!
Tsukiya wrapped his tail around the clothesline to steady himself, and held one paw on the clothespin. How did she do it? The plush pushed off the wall with his hind leg, towards the ladder. The line waved a little, back and forth. When he came close to the ladder again, he wiggled towards it. He was just a tiny plush, so his pushes weren't as strong as his trainer's.
Tsukiya stared at the towels on the wire. They were weighing down his swings. He peeked below him, and seeing that there was indeed a piece of clothing there. He kicked at the pin that held the shirt tight, and it came loose, bringing the shirt tumbling to the ground. He didn't dare rip off the towel that saved him, and held his clothespin in place.
"Any stuff you can get off the rope?" He called to the Lucario above.
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Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 5:23 pm
Aaron nodded, thinking that right now would not be the best time for conversation, since they were in a bit of a life-or-death situation.
As the umbreon called out to Aaron about knocking off articles of clothing, Aaron looked above him, at the series of shirts, pants, towels, and whatever else the person had set out to dry. "I'll knock some off. Hold tight, as I don't know just how far I can throw them, so I don't know if they'll clear you down there." Aaron called in warning down to the umbreon.
Gripping the rope, the gymnastic lucario began to climb toward the higher clothes. At the first obstacle, a pink shirt with a few frills on it, Aaron pulled off the bottom clothespin. A few moments later, the next pin was undone, and the pink anchor fluttered down to the alley under it. The fighter continued to climb, using the clothes-pins he'd taken off as extra things for him to step on so he could get higher. He encountered the next object, a large, wet towel. 'These must be where all the weight is.' Aaron thought silently to himself, actually keeping the thought inside his mind. Taking the bottom pin off, he climbed up the rope and took the top of the towel in hand. Steadying himself on the wall, rope in the crook of one arm, He detached the heavy fabric and flung it off the rope. Luckily it went far enough that it wouldn't take out the umbreon farther down the wall.
A few more feet and he undid a smaller dish towel, watching in flutter down. "Try swinging now!" Aaron called down to Tsukiya, pushing off from the wall and propelling himself a bit toward the ladder. The rope swung much easier than before. A few more objects and they'd be set to get on that ladder.
Climbing a bit farther up, he undid a large shirt and let it fall. He looked up, at the warehouse, and if had any, the hairs at the back of his neck would have risen.
The bats were watching them.
The bats were watching them. But not just watching them. They'd found the hole in the window. And were coming out.
"Tsukiya, we need to get to that ladder. Right now." He called down, trying to sound calm, although the urgency in his voice would not be missed. The panic broke through a bit as Aaron continued by thinking to the umbreon in a rather flustered voice, "The bats...they're coming out...! Any moment, they'll figure out they can fly out here. We've got to go!"
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Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:27 pm
Tsukiya braced himself, as the Lucario began tossing almost all of the items from above. He watched as clothing fell through the air around him. The bulk of which was a huge soaked towel that came down with the weight of a boulder. It thudded as it landed somewhere below the Umbreon.
Tsukiya pushed off the wall again to gain momentum. It felt much lighter this time, and he could easily sail past the point where he tried to do it before with just one push. More items tumbled down from above, signalling to the Umbreon that the Lucario was still pulling clothing off the rope.
As he was working on swinging, he heard the Lucario panic. Wait, did he hear the other plush correctly? Was he actually scared that the bats would come get him, or... Is he scared of bats? He thought back to when they had first seen the bats, and remembered that the Lucario did seem to be distressed over the discovery of them. Even Tsukiya would be afraid of the creatures in the building, since they were the craziest things he had ever seen, but somehow, he wondered whether there was something more to the Lucario's unease.
"Keep it cool," Tsukiya instructed. "You need to come back down, so there's more weight down here to swing the line further." It was going to be like a pendulum, using both of their weights and the towel that the Umbreon plush was on, to get to the ladder quicker.
Normally, Tsukiya would have made fun of the Lucario for being scared of tiny bats, but the situation was dire, and he needed both their heads in this to get out of it. Making fun can wait until later.
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Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:59 pm
As Aaron was finishing with pushing clothes off, he felt something like slight surprise and amusement come from the tmbreon. The lucario knew it was because of his previous statements about the bats. He grimaced as he heard Tsukiya tell him to 'keep it cool'. It seemed the dark-type had identified the slight panic that Aaron hadn't been able to completely conceal. "Ergh, Aaron keep it together. You don't want to give that umbreon anything to mock you with, do you?" Aaron thought silently in his own mind. Back to the matter at hand. They needed to escape, and fast.
Aaron quickly slid down the rope, making his way down to near the umbreon. He glanced at the bats, sensing a few beginning to fly toward them. He managed to cover up more of his unease and looked back at Tsukiya. "It's not that I particularly fear the bats, it's simply that their attacks naturally do more damage to be than to a normal plush. And I can sense that they know." Aaron said, trying to justify his slight tense-ness.
Trying to avoid the subject further, Aaron pushed off against the wall, his tough fighter's strength greatly increasing the distance the rope swung. They were swinging much farther and faster without all that extra weight from the clothing.
The rope swong back, then toward the ladder again. They were getting closer. Just a few more swings and Aaron would be able to catch the ladder edge or jump onto it.
"Tsukiya, want me to jump first, or would you like to? If I jump over, I can grab the rope once I'm on the ladder, and thus make it easier for you to get onto it." Aaron said, feeling the weight of the rope shift again and swing them toward the steps of the ladder once more.
Then, Aaron looked up, his eyes widening a bit, as he saw a few bats land on the rope high above them. It was clear what they were doing to it by the vibrations it sent down. They were trying to claw through the wire rope. And, by the jolt sent down, the old thing wasn't going to last long.
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:23 pm
Sure... right. That sounded like an excuse you give when you get caught. The Lucario tried to justify his unease at the sight of the bats, but Tsukiya felt like he was just trying to cover up his panic.
They swung with ease, now that they were working together, though the Umbreon does not like to admit this. They were only helping each other to get themselves out of danger, he told himself, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were helping each other.
The Lucario actually took the time out to ask which one of them were going to jump first. What is this, a date? The Umbreon wasn't going to hang around more than he needed to. Tsukiya kept his focus on the ladder in front of them, and at the next instant when the rope swung closest to it, he leapt without question, without hesitation.
He belly-flopped in the middle of one of the rungs. Not the most graceful, but he was a fat plush, after all. He pushed himself back onto the rung, then slipped onto the one below. He didn't want to be the cushion that the Lucario was going to land on when he jumped. Tsukiya glared back at the Lucario. Hope that answers your question.
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Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 9:01 pm
When Tsukiya jumped over to the ladder, the lucario got his answer. Quickly after the umbreon had moved out of the way, Aaron lept over himself, landing near where the umbreon had landed. Just in time too, it seemed. The rope, weakened from where the bats had been clawing at it, snapped.
Aaron gripped tightly to the ladder as he watched the long cord fall. He looked up, his eyes widening a bit when he realized that the bats were still there. And now they were coming toward them.
"Tsukiya, get climbing down! The bats are coming!" He called down, sounding not so much panicked as slightly concerned. The lucario jumped down to the next step, where he was level with the other plush, then down to the next. They'd have to hurry if they wanted to get down before the bats came to them.
Then, Aaron's head whipped down toward the wearhouse opening, where the children had taken them in from. "You've got to be kidding." Aaron thought aloud, his senses telling him that life was scurrying down below.
And so it was. Bursting from the opening was a flood of rats. It seemed they'd finally realized that their quarry had gone outside. "Tsukiya...the rats are back."
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Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 10:03 pm
Tsukiya didn't have to wait for the Lucario to tell him to move. He did so automatically, trying to get as far away from this building as possible.
When they were finally on solid ground, he heard the Lucario say that the rats were here as well. Didn't we just escape from them? He followed the other plush's gaze, and saw the rats had eaten a small hole through the door, and were now headed everywhere. These creatures being out in public could only spell disaster.
Tsukiya had no time to worry about anyone other than himself, though, as a good number of them seemingly took a liking to the two plush, and were determined to take some bites out of them. Thankfully, the Umbreon was a lot better at running on the ground than climbing, walking on ropes, or swinging.
He bolted. He didn't care if the Lucario was following, or not. As Tsukiya ran, he surveyed the urban environment. This was a city he had never seen before, nor care to see ever again. The buildings around him look old and abandoned, though he didn't know for sure if they were. He hoped they were, because if people showed up, he would have to stop running, and the rats will get him for sure.
Tsukiya's first plan was to hide out in one of the buildings, but if the rats get in, he might as well have trapped himself in with them. Maybe there is food to distract them with? He chose the first house he saw that he could easily get into. The plush ran through the doggy door flap. It was meant for a small dog, and it required Tsukiya maneuver a bit to fit through.
The instant he was in, he looked for the heaviest looking item to cover the entrance. A wooden footstool stood nearby. That will do. He knocked it over, so that the solid seat could be used to seal the doggy door. He pushed it easily to the entrance, and hesitated. Should he look outside to see if the Lucario was near?
Tsukiya would potentially risk having his head bitten off. He shrugged. He kind of, sort of, owed him one for carrying him, though he hated to even think about it. Might as well give him one chance before I shut everything out. The Lucario better not be dead, or I'll have risked my life for nothing. Tsukiya lifted the flap only the slightest to peek out.
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 11:38 am
Aaron followed after Tsukiya's example as fast as he could, jumping form the ladder to the ground and taking off running. Those little monsterous rats...they'd chewed through the door. The metal door. Mechanical monsters or not, that shouldn't have even been possible! There was definitely something wrong with these creatures.
Of course, there was also the problem of the now swooping down bats. Jumping for a moment to dodge an incoming flier, he saw that the rats had sped up, along with the bats. He kicked one of his would-be attackers, smashing it back toward some of the other menaces. It was a good thing there were no humans around in this wrecked part of the city. The plushes couldn't afford to stop.
Aaron sensed, rather than saw, Tsukiya jump into a doggy-door. And then the umbreon's head was peeking out, at which Aaron shouted to him, "Move your head, Tsukiya!" A few bats collided as their radar frazzled for a moment, and the lucario took this opportunity to wriggle into the doogy-door, even if by doing so he ended up plowing the umbreon back inside the house.
Inside, he saw the knocked over stool, and nodded at Tsukiya. "Good idea, we can block them out." He gave it a push to the front of the door. Finally they could relax...
At that exact moment, he heard the sound of a key turning in a lock somewhere else in the house, most likely the front room. And then the sound of barking.. Very loud barking. "Humans and dogs incoming, Tsukiya. We have to hide somewhere if we don't want to be mistaken for chew-toys." The lucario at this point had jumped up to the top of the stool, and was jumping to hide behind a picture leaning against the backsplash. Then a voice came from the other room as the door opened. "I know, right? It's been so nice to see you again! Wow, I haven't been to your house in ages. I wouldv'e brought Aaron, you know, my cute stuffed animal, but I was afraid that your pets would've torn him up."
Aaron's jaw, if it hadn't been sewn to the rest of his body, probably would have fell off as he recognised the voice and aura. He knew that she'd said she was going out to visit a friend with dogs, but what there the chances of his trainer's friend living HERE and his trainer showing up with her?!
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 2:19 pm
Maybe peeking back out wasn't a very good idea. Tsukiya concluded after being rammed head first by the full force of the running Lucario. He had been knocked back inside, and was sitting there a bit dazed.
There was something he now had to do... Oh, right. The stool. The unexpected bump on the head made him forget his plans temporarily, until he saw the stool on its side near the door. Tsukiya scrambled to get up, wasting as little time as possible. If the rats got in... well, it was best that they didn't get in.
The dark plush got to the stool at the same time as the Lucario, and both gave it a strong heave to the doggy door.
Tsukiya paused as he thought he heard a click, and then it was confirmed by loud barking somewhere across the house. He had seconds to find a hiding place, and hope not to be seen. The dark plush followed the Lucario up to the counter, thinking it was probably best to be off the ground, in case the rats managed to get in, and then he'd have two problems.
He tucked himself behind some jars of spices and cans of food. Hopefully, they don't feel like cooking just yet.
Tsukiya listened to the humans chatting away happily. He thought he had heard the name 'Aaron,' and looked over at the other plush to see if he had heard the same. He might have looked a bit surprised, although Tsukiya couldn't really tell as easily with plush as with humans.
He poked his head out to look around, but lowered it when he saw the dog run into the room and sniff at the air. It knows we're here... thought Tsukiya.
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