Kioshi and Sylvia encounter the Mannicage, a specially-designed gibbet that envelops itself over the target. Check out the original version by stalker5999 here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/14581167/
[Update 1/8/25: Added the story!]
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An exploration team recently went down deep within the depths of a castle dungeon. Kioshi the Riolu and Sylvia the Weavile, leaders of Team Eclipse, take the mission to rescue them, promising a handsome reward if they succeed.
Normally, Team Eclipse would operate with four members in one squad, but the rest of the team were busy on other pressing issues at this time.
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The castle was abandoned a long time ago. Wild pokemon have taken the castle and made it their home. Despite their territorial nature, storming the castle is easier done than said as wild Pokemon aren't as strong or coordinated as some people claim. The castle dungeon is another story entirely; the Pokemon down there are much more ferocious, and traps are littered around to further punish those who dare to enter.
Wild Pokemon are indeed ferocious and nasty, but they can be dispatched by anyone with a solid battle plan. A Riolu with natural fighting prowess like Kioshi can take a ton of punishment and deliver more with a good set of punches and kicks, while Sylvia can follow up with her sharp claws or bring an ice-cold wind at a distance.
Traps are plentiful and placed in very sneaky locations, yet anyone with keen eyes can easily spot them from slight changes in the scenery. Sylvia can usually find some holes on the ground for spikes and spears, some stains leftover from a grimy trap, cracks and wear from a hammer, or a suspiciously large pad of gravel for an underground Pokemon.
This dungeon proves to be a dangerous place to explore, yet for a strong team like Team Eclipse, it's simply another day at work. The only challenge in this mystery dungeon they can find was the occasional banter between them.
Of course, they aren't immune to trouble. A good combination of issues can make even an experienced team like Team Eclipse have a rough time. On one floor, Kioshi was sent into a pitfall trap, forcing Sylvia to hold off against two Raticate and a Lampent while Kioshi climbed herself out. On another floor, a pair of Haunters tried to tie up Sylvia in ropes, only for the Weavile to effortlessly cut herself out with her claws and maul one of them, leaving Kioshi to finish off the other. (Either the way they tied their target up was poor, the rope's quality was bad, or Sylvia simply wasn't in the mood for it...)
As Team Eclipse treads deeper and deeper into the dungeon, visibility slowly becomes poor, dark, and much more spooky. There are no windows to give some natural light, leaving the remaining sources of light as flares mounted on the walls, lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and the team's respective flashlights. The wild pokemon are get increasingly territorial and aggressive, but it doesn't change how they can still be taken down in a few swift hits. Traps are almost impossible to notice thanks to the dark environment, yet can still be traced with scratches and smoothness from wear.
Despite her sly and snarky nature often instigating the banter, Sylvia eventually quiets down as the fighting heats up. She knows what's at stake, after all. Kioshi wouldn't mind either way, a Riolu can easily sense surrounding Pokemon's auras to a surprising distance, and the lack of talking can allow her to hear footsteps from nearby, allowing the duo to better prepare for hostile encounters.
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The team should be getting close to their objective. Only two more floors to go.
As they enter the next floor, however, the atmosphere takes a sharp, ominous turn...
This next floor consists of a long, dark hallway. Sylvia points her flashlight dead center in the hallway; there is no light at the end. Kioshi emitted a pulse to detect any potential encounters, yet the closest living beings she found, barring a certain Weavile right next to her, were wild Pokemon they dispatched several rooms back.
Both Kioshi and Sylvia, normally calm, calculating, cold, and callous, were unnerved at the mere sight of it. However, they maintain themselves and choose to push onward, slowly tiptoeing through this deep, dark hallway as bravely and cautiously as they can.
There is no light for visibility. No flares mounted on the walls, no lanterns hanging from the ceiling, not even a bubbling cauldron emitting an ambient glow in the distance. The only source of light left was the team's flashlights.
The duo is speechless, their senses razor sharp, bracing for an ambush with every step they take. But much to their surprise, and perhaps their horror, no such thing would happen. No rodents or bugs scurrying around, no bats screeching from up above, not even a moaning ghost beyond the walls.
The last few floors were crawling with wild pokemon and littered with traps at almost every other corner, yet this particular floor was devoid of such things. The only noticeable features on this floor were rooms dotted on each side, the tip-tapping sound of their footsteps, and now, pieces of metal scattered across the floor - that itself only made the scene much creepier.
Without a word, Sylvia took a moment to inspect the metal. Some of these bolts seem rusted and old, while others look like they've been made recently, a few years ago at best. It looks really out of place for a location like the castle's dungeon floors. Was something being built here? One of them wondered.
There aren't many words to describe what this hallway felt like. Creepy, isolated, surreal, deafening... It's almost like they walked into a strange dream, or the entire floor was built to be abandoned and left to the unknown.
The Riolu and Weavile boldly continue their trek through the hallway. They have a mission to fulfill, even if it means going through an eerie, desolate environment such as this.
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At long last, there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is a large door decorated with two fires on either side leading to the next floor. Alongside that were several cages lying nearby.
The duo took a minute to rest. It is difficult to tell if what they are seeing is real or not, given they spent what felt like an eternity in such a surreal experience. Sylvia turned off her flashlight and sat down to calm herself, taking a few deep breaths and rubbing her hands over her face. Kioshi kept her light on to examine these strange cages, hopefully to get her mind off the mess.
These cages seem to be gibbets, humanoid-shaped cages that keep their prisoner immobile. Gibbets were historically used to publicly execute criminals by starvation, thirst, or exposure to the elements. This punishment has not been in use since the early 1900s.
These gibbets in particular, however, seem to be recently made and extensively modified from the normal design. They're much thicker overall to increase strength. Ball mittens are added to close the prisoner's hands, possibly to prevent hand gesture-based moves. The lower half has a sort of ball gown design, possibly for mobility or to clamp down on the legs. At the head, a muzzle to prevent speaking, and to add insult or mystique, a masquerade mask. A small inscription is on the back of one of them, labeled "Mannicage."
Escape from a normal gibbet would be impossible without a superpower of some kind; this type seems to be oriented to improve on such shortcomings. Whatever this Mannicage thing is, it is well built and diabolically crafted. Either someone got very bored or is planning something terrible...
Kioshi could only imagine what happened to the downed team on the upcoming floor. Maybe a boss is using these "Mannicages" to keep their victims as prisoners or trophies; maybe they might have gotten caught by something far worse, or they simply got caught with their pants down from a combination of things like what Kioshi and Sylvia experienced earlier. Only one way to find out...
Sylvia wasn't interested in her boss's history lesson, rather busy looking at the decoration surrounding the door instead. The Weavile finishes up around the same time with nothing to decipher, brushing the door's craftsmanship off as pretentious. No theme or motif of any kind, just decoration for the sake of it. Sylvia asks her boss if she's ready to go; the Riolu quietly nods.
Kioshi's flashlight suddenly went out. The decorative fires aren't bright enough to see much beyond the door they present, and chances are there's no visibility beyond this point. She smacks her flashlight, cursing casually.
A rusted squeak breaks the silence. It came from the darkness they stood in. Kioshi and Sylvia fear the worst.
Sylvia turns her flashlight back on to light a dark patch behind Kioshi. ...Either the Weavile's eyes are deceiving her, or that "Mannicage" thing is standing itself upright! Kioshi notices Sylvia's sly and sadistic demeanor painted with a comical grimace - not a good sign. Her flashlight comes back on, and it illuminates the dark patch behind her partner. Kioshi's hardened and focused attitude goes on full alert; she sees another Mannicage a bit too close to Sylvia's back.
Kioshi shouts at Sylvia to move; the Mannicage quickly closes itself on Sylvia's body, imprisoning and gagging Sylvia before she can warn her leader what is behind her. The Riolu dashes back into the darkness, hastily apologizing to Sylvia, saying she'll be back.
Sylvia was initially surprised at Kioshi for this move; is she really just going to leave her, just like that!? The Weavile boils at the mere thought, willing to get her bloody claws on that pesky Riolu, but she quickly calms down after realizing her leader is simply thinking on the fly. Kioshi always has a plan, even when on the run.
That &@!$% better be back soon, or she'll have a few new holes to breathe through...
Kioshi ran back into the dark hallway to buy enough time to think of a plan. Helping Sylvia now would only leave her open to the other Mannicage. This hallway has no decorations to pull out and use as a weapon, nor any traps to lure it in, just a ton of steel nuts and bolts scattered across the floor and small rooms on either side. Getting trapped in a corner isn't a good position, and using the bolts as a distraction won't work. Options are very limited. The hallway's lack of light makes it difficult to tell what is on the floor, even with the flashlight in her hand. The target is slow but uses the darkness to its advantage. There was no way she was going to take on a living gibbet in the dark.
Suddenly, Kioshi slips on a bolt; she instinctively plants an arm on the wall to save herself but has already tumbled to the ground, dropping her flashlight as well. She leaves it behind and pulls out a spare. Despite repeatedly pressing the switch, it doesn't turn on. Either the batteries haven't been replaced, or there's another problem instead.
Kioshi curses as she nearly trips on another nut. She has to turn back to get her main flashlight. She sees her flashlight lighting up the stone-tiled hallway, but also a feminine gibbet slowly approaching from the darkness. ... She takes one good look at the scene and charges at her target. The Mannicage opens up for its victim. Kioshi gives it a daring drop kick on the torso; the tremendous force of her legs crushes her target to where it snaps in half, knocking the metallic abomination back into the darkness. The dungeon hallway echoes a thunderous clash; metal braces fall into more pieces of steel on the stone-tiled floor.
Kioshi takes a moment to catch her breath, thinking to herself for a minute... What the living hell did she just fight? Better yet, was it the weirdest thing she has discovered so far? A living gibbet was definitely an absurd thing to encounter, especially compared to what she fought against already: from archetypical stone golems, giant snakes, doomsday cultists, and scuba divers, to some weird ones such as people hypnotized in bee-themed suits, facehugging gas masks, and even ghostly jumpsuits, but living gibbets!? Good Arceus, that's a keeper! It won't top facehugging gas masks, but it's close.
Once that crazy revelation was over, Kioshi continued where she left off. She picks up her flashlight and walks back to the doorway. Sylvia is still standing in front of the door, trapped in the other Mannicage, unable to walk or move. One could easily tell underneath the masquerade mask that Sylvia seems very irate, producing a lot of disgruntled muffling as well. Kioshi couldn't understand any of the Weavile's nasty tirades as a muzzle gag seals her mouth shut. Now that the coast is clear, Kioshi focuses on cutting her partner out. The Riolu points her index and middle fingers up, forming a shuriken made of a shadowy aura in between them. These Shadow Shurikens are strong enough to cut through thin metal as long as some elbow grease is applied, yet she is careful enough to avoid cutting her partner by accident.
The Weavile continues her muffled screams towards her leader. She sounds a lot more worried and desperate than just plain mad... Kioshi is already exhausted from the expedition, and brushes off her partner's muted ranting about ditching her or not wanting to get cut. ... Wait a minute... What is she saying? Behind-?!
A metallic clap came from behind; Kioshi's left hand was encased in a steel ball. Kioshi jolted into action far too late as her other hand was quickly sealed in another steel ball. It is far too late to realize Sylvia was trying to warn Kioshi of another Mannicage waiting for her, and it caught Kioshi while her guard was down.
Kioshi shouted a dozen "NO"s at a rapid pace as the Mannicage pulled itself over her, closing its chest and ballgown sections to lock the prisoner in. The Riolu desperately flexes her arms to break herself out, but its thick steel holds her arms in place like a statue. The ball gown hugs itself over Kioshi's legs, locking the ankles together to prevent her from running. And finally, the "mask" closes itself on Kioshi's face to successfully seal her in, with a solid muzzle covering her mouth to shut her up for good.
As a final act of the Mannicage, it positions Kioshi's arms in a very particular pose: the ball of her left arm touches her hair while her right arm rests on her hip. Her pose mirrors Sylvia's to a degree; Sylvia's right arm is slightly more forward while her left forearm is pointed outward, parallel to the ground. The resulting poses look similar to statues to further decorate the door, or perhaps similar to models found in a showroom, a stark contrast to the insidious peril they are experiencing.
Poor Kioshi would grunt and squirm hopelessly in her cage, unable to break out by herself, unable to move her arms or legs as they were locked tightly in place. The Mannicage's thick and sturdy restraints are strong enough to hold even a Primeape in place. Sylvia simply glared at her leader with bitter annoyance. That stubborn $!%&# was too busy worrying about "partnership" to look behind, and now she's trying to break out like she's some kind of &@$%!^# superhero! Uuugh...!!
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Several hours have passed; the poor Riolu has long given up struggling to break free, now hoping that her team will find out she and Sylvia have gone missing. Sylvia also got tired of blaming Kioshi for the mess she got dragged into, preferring to wonder what fashion trends are online right now.
The two pokegirls will remain trapped inside their cages, forced to stare at each other stuck in seductive poses. They will be nothing more than objects, left and forgotten in front of a decorated door to forever mock them of their fates. They can last a couple of days, maybe a week, until succumbing to starvation, before eventually joining the many lost souls wandering the deep, dark depths of the dungeon.
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In spite of their coming fates, however, one couldn't help but admire how the other one looked...
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But of course, all bad (and good) things come to an end. Upon figuring out Kioshi and Sylvia were in trouble, Anastasia the Glaceon and her posse spring to the rescue.
The rescue squad eventually finds Kioshi and Sylvia standing in complete darkness, imprisoned in the gibbets. With some special keys, the Mannicages open up, freeing their prisoners from their neverending staring contest.
Anastasia the Glaceon and a volunteer squad member nurse their top dogs back to full health with some food and refreshments. Two additional Eclipse members examine the mysterious Mannicages with intrigue. Sylvia warned them of the Mannicages and what they could do, but Anastasia assured her partner that the rest of Team Eclipse had already been informed beforehand. Even then, the living gibbets were "put to sleep" by the keys; the Mannicages won't attack again anytime soon.
Finally, with the two elements of Team Eclipse united and recharged, they open the doors leading to the next floor. Team Eclipse splits into two groups of three to cover more ground and-
...Straight out of the gate, they find their objective. A downed team of four pokemon is found lying in defeat. It is an amateur exploration team currently in training with a well-experienced Rhydon.
Team Eclipse flashes their badges on the downed team, and all three elements are whisked back to the surface in a flash. The mission is accomplished. The entire team will be paid handsomely; tons of cash and goods to boot.
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During the mission debrief, Kioshi and Sylvia find out they were stuck in the Mannicages for a couple of hours. As for the downed team, they went past the Mannicages without a hitch, only to get ambushed and defeated by a monster house just a few rooms down. A bit comical compared to what Kioshi and Sylvia experienced. Of all the luck...
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"Wha... What?! Are those photos of us?!" "Ugh... Seriously, Ana? Again?"
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Kioshi the Riolu and Sylvia the Weavile are by me. Riolu and Weavile are Pokemon species, by Gamefreak, Nintendo, and TPCi. Mannicage concept is by stalker5999 (FurAffinity)
