ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

The dark veil recedes, and Truth's teleport has taken them to a wide, flat grassy field as she mentioned. This must be the Ground of Being's center - Mountains reach into the clouds all around them. The smell of the grass, warmer temperature, and gentler breeze makes this area a relief from the rest of the lifeless mindscape. In the center of the field lies a gigantic red crystal growing out of the ground, spherical in shape and half the height of the mountains. It's concealing the outline of a gothic cathedral inside.

Truth: -walking closer to the crystal- 's in there. Can't send you inside the church 'cause of that thing. It's always been there, grows like a weed.

Dioh: Jeez... Looks Zamorakian. It's the right shade of red...

Phoenix:    Smash it open.   

Ten: -with Bodee perched on her shoulder, rubbing against her neck- How? If she can't get past it, we're screwed. Why is it even there?

Truth: Hell if I know. Never really cared to know what that symbolizes, honestly.

Interloper

Welcome

 Channah's Mindscape 

-Hearing the voice-

You again. This is your domain I'd assume?

-Nero sighs and sets Lila upright-

Bartelby: That'll be [REASONABLE PRICE].

Nero: I'll pay, umu!

-The Smasher is hit by the Bworb, and is Paralyzed-

-This, alas, activates Guts and he goes for a Dragon Hammer-

-Good news is the Steelix bites a different set of Smashers this time-

edited 15th Mar '18 1:15:28 PM by Umbramatic

Ten: -looks curiously at Tagg, she and the rest can't hear the voice-

nothingismydomain / notevenmyself

however

mystrengthisgreaternow / icanopenthewayagain

A Golett wearing a Golisopod-themed jacket and sunglasses comes in, with a Heal gun in hand.

Golett!Leo: *runs back in; talking to himself* <I GOTTA STOP ZONING OUT.>

Following behind is Rabbid Leo and Cerbeau. Upon seeing the fight, Rabbid Leo shoots his Freeze Blaster everywhere.

Rabbid Leo: *either a scream or a battle cry, I guess(?)* <BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!>

Cerbeau: <WAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWHISMURNO->

Human!Automa quickly comes up from behind Rabbid Leo and stops him, but there are still some things that got hit.

Human!Automa: *monotone* Everyone...okay?

edited 15th Mar '18 1:35:59 PM by Reuknighted

 Channah's Mindscape 

I seem to be the only one who can hear them.

-To the voice-

Lead the way.

-Megan smiles happily at Daydre-

-and then the situation all goes to Distortion-

-there's a few confused moments, then-

Megan: Pollen! Intercept!

-Pollen nods, and flits forward, putting herself between Rabbid!Dezi and the Dragon Hammer-

-with her face-

Pippy: -to Automa, somehow sincerely- <We're wonderful!>

<...Veeeee, we need you!>

-pop-

Vee: <Oh good golly, what've you gotten us into now?>

Pippy: <Mayhem! I defer to your greater expertise.>

Vee: <A wise choice. Want the Gatling gun this time?>

Pippy: <Certainly.>

-they swap weapons, and Vee slides to the side, melting and stretching into a tower poorly camouflaged as a creepy tree-

-from the top, she tries to snipe at turned backs and shoulders, trying to sow as much chaos as possible-

Lapis: -looking at the much larger, scarier Bwahdred- Bwaaaah...

-then she realizes-

-she has muscles-

BWAAAAH!

-and she runs forward and attempts to hammer-slam the nearest Smasher-

-however wise that happens to be-

-Ratigan is devoured out of the net that the Minun still held right in front of her-

-she stares blankly, in shock-

Minun: <...>

<...>

<...>

<Hahaha, that was badass.>

Plusle: -gliding over- <I heard noise! Did I miss it?!>

Minun: <Heh, totally. You should've seen it, I was like zap and the big lady was like whoosh and there was this horrible    crunch    like two inches from my face! It was awesome.>

Plusle: -pouting- <Aw, dang it!>

-the Minun snickers-

-Tripod emits what might sound a lot like a sigh, before floating over and gently picking up Dawson with a magnet, to bring back to Basil-

-Ceal takes a few more breaths, then slides down to them, attempting to draw any foreign water out of Dawson's lungs with an Aqua Ring, possibly also drying some others off as well-

Tripod: -gazes at Dawson and Basil, with a gentle "how are you holding up" expression-

-"Ramona and her mons are walking around, attempting to reach the next gym. A map is in Ramonas hands, and she's reading it as she walks."-

Ramona: Let's see, if we turn left, then right, then left again, then spin at a 180 degree angle, jump twice, push A, B, A, A, B, then dig a hole, run fifty feet to the left, ahh, that's right. -puts the map down and smiles- We're lost.

Victor, pissed: <NO SHIT!>

Ramona, thinking: Hmmm, If I had a flying type, we could just sore there on it's back.

-"She then notices a pidove pecking at the ground."-

Ramona, happy gasp: A Pidgey! <3

Aya: <Isn't this gen V?>

Norma: <Does it matter?>

-"Ramona then jumps at the poor bird catching it in her arms."-

Ramona, smothering the scared flying type: Ok, now we just need a thousand more, and we can fly to-

-"As Ramona was attempting to finish her sentence an Unfezant appears, and rushes at her."-

Wild Unfezant: <LET GO OF MY BABY!>

-"Ramona jumps back, letting go of the pidove, who falls to the ground."-

Wild pidove, trying to breath: <I, was -gasp-, about, to -wheeze- die...>

-"The Unfezant, still enraged, uses brave bird at Ramona."-

Angry Unfezant: <DIE HUSSY!>

-"Ramona stand immobile, her mons rushing to her to try and help... when suddenly."-

Hyde, ramming into the Unfezant with a head smash: <CAR CRASH, BOOSH!>

-"The Unfezant crashes to the ground, knocked out."-

Wild Pidove, happy: <Yes, she dead, I'm free!>

-"The Pidove flies away, leaving... what ever the unfezant was to him, to her fate."-

Norma: <...What the fuck was that!?>

Lucy: <Our... lives...>

-"Ramona rushes to Hyde, happily wrapping her arms around his neck."-

Ramona: Hyde, you saved me, good boy <3

Hyde: <Why is she hugging us?>

Other Hyde: <I think it's was because we got dinner>

Other, other Hyde: <We got dinner?>

Other Hyde: <The bird we smashed>

Other, other Hyde: <Ohhhhhh>

New Hyde: <Does any body ells feel like they're growing a second head?>

-"Hyde starts to glow in Ramonas arms, growing in size, its head forking in the process."-

-"After a few seconds Ramona is no longer hugging one head, but two."-

-Hyde evolved into Zweilous-

Hyde, to new Hyde: <No, why?>

New Hyde: <I don't know, just this feeling. It's gone now though.>

icannottellyouwhere

Phoenix: -mutters to herself about destroying the crystal on her own-

-Phoenix starts walking, rather slowly but steadily, around one side of the crystal, inspecting it intently as though for weak points. After watching her for a few seconds, Dioh does the same at a more relaxed pace, going the other way, and they disappear to the other sides. Truth remains where she is, ignoring everyone and content to be completely unhelpful, and Ten looks expectantly at Tagg-

Ten: Um, are you okay?

 Channah's Mindscape 

-To Ten as I start using Aura Sense-

Oh I'm fine, Truth's not any worse than what my own mind tells me sometimes.

Ten: Oh... Only, I heard you talking to yourself or something... -looks concerned and a bit anxious- Sorry I didn't go in there with you. We don't all feel like that, though. She's just too strong...

-A bit farther away, out of sight behind a small hill, a pure, aspect-like aura is pulsing weakly-

Whittington

Dawson lets out some coughs now that he's free.

Basil: <It's... over. I can't say I don't think it was karmic, what with what I've heard him threaten his minions with.>

Copper: <Happy to help!>

Amos: <That fox still got away.>

Copper: <...Yeah. But, hey, we helped these folks! Aren't you proud of that, sir?>

Amos: <Hehe, guess so, Copper.>

Amos addresses the group.

Amos: <So, you folks are planning on following those pirates, aintcha?>

 Channah's Mindscape 

Yeah this is definitely reminding me of my own.

-To Ten-

There's... something behind that hill over there.

Whittington

<If that's where the whims of Makbeliv take us. Now that your villain has met his end I feel that we can move on.>

-He gets out that harmonica again and trills a few notes. Though said notes aren't exactly good-

<Never could get the hang of these things, and the snout ain't helping. Key probably still works though.>

Fusewheel Forest

-*SQUEEKY*-

Dezirabbid: <Bwah>

Deziree: Oof... That looked painful...

Ten: ? -goes over to investigate-

-an arm rises into the air from that spot, trembles, and places itself on the hillside. Ten stops, frowning. A body hauls itself up with that one hand and rests for a moment - Yet another aspect. This one looks like Channah's normal self, but wearing a cold-shoulder dress with a familiar color scheme-

Ten: -looks suddenly horrified-

cosplay!Channah: ... ... ... ... ... <3! -waves weakly to Tagg, then loses her balance and falls down the hill-

youneedafullpartyofsixfortheritual

thisonewilldo

 Channah's Mindscape 

Guessing this is probably the Steven fangirl aspect, mostly.

-Noticing Ten's reaction-

What the fu-fudge is going on here?

cosplay!Channah: -rolls to a stop at the bottom of the hill near Tagg, blinking the confusion away to give him a hopeful grin- Eheh, hi there!

Ten: Fangirl... Just, go away...

Truth: -walking over- Ha, someone fell - Oh god. Escaped from its cell again. Phoenix, kill it.

Phoenix: -approaches disdainfully-    Might have germs, I'm not touching her.   

Fangirl: -dismayed, sitting up and sighing- You guys are never happy to see me, sheesh. All I do is t h i r s t , it's harmless. At least Tagg likes me! I think. Plus he needs another aspect to get past the Mourning Sun! So you can't put me away again.

Dioh: T-the what?

Fangirl: That, Mr. Green. -points at the red crystal- Wow, it shines so beautifully in the daylight... The color red can be so dramatic and romantic, I love it!

All aspects except Fangirl: -mild gagging-

 Channah's Mindscape 

The dress is kinda-What am I saying?

-Deciding that it's probably best to change the subject-

So, the crystal?

edited 15th Mar '18 7:26:20 PM by rmctagg09

Golett!Leo: *awkwardly holds up arm with Heal Gun* <IS ANYONE WOUNDED?>

Rabbid Leo: *gets out of Automa's grasp and starts firing again, with no intended target*

Human!Automa: Hey!

Automa then saw one of the stray shots going towards his Poke Doll. Without thinking, he ran up to the doll, but he wasn't fast enough.

The doll was encased in ice. It wasn't destroyed, luckily, but it'd take a while to melt.

Golett!Leo: *noticing what happened* <UH-OH.>

Human!Automa: *seems to have lost all color, even in his clothes*

Golett!Leo: *going up to Human!Automa and the doll* <DON'T WORRY! IT'S FINE, JUST...UHH...> *turns to Cerbeau* <CERBEAUHELPMEOUTHEREPLEASE.>

edited 15th Mar '18 7:52:06 PM by Reuknighted

Fangirl: Yeah! We all gotta do the memory thing. It's kinda like a locker combination. C'mon, I'll show you! -bounces a little and leads them all back to the crystal-

Truth: And how do you know any of this?

Fangirl: Because I'm more in touch with base human desires than all of you combined, and therefore I get some special perks. Like knowing what the Mourning Sun means.

Light begins surrounding the inner Fangirl, and she casually summons a slightly transparent, static-y scene that plays itself out in front of them - Obviously a memory. It consists of a teenaged Channah and a boy sitting on a couch in a darkened room, watching a Capumon movie. The young Channah notices their hands resting near each other and stares down at them for a moment, but says nothing and continues to watch the movie.

Meanwhile, a hairline crack appears in the base of the red crystal, snaking upward.

Fangirl: It's like the most unsubtle representation of a Mind of Crystal. It keeps Deepest Self sealed away, for one. -turns to the others- Normally, we'd keep it under wraps because it's dangerous, but Tagg wants to see it and we want to please him. I do, anyway. -smiles dolefully at him- The least I can do for my only friend.

 Channah's Mindscape 

So my Aura reading was right about her having some sort of Attribute... We do tend to attract one another...

As for the memory, should I ask about it?

-To Fangirl-

You really mean that?

Can I get some fight music?

Uh...sure?

Yay! I know just what ti get!

Oh no.

How the fuck is that fight music?

Fighting's just violent dancing, Mister Seraph. -Winks-

Wh-whatever.

Jessica: "Watch the Gigalith!"

-Cereza and Achille nod. The former leaps at the Ditto, flaming stick in hand.-

-The stick's parried by its doppelganger.-

Cereza: <Jealous, are we?>

-She eyes the Ditto!Cereza.-

Cereza: <I look good. But you got the beauty mark wrong.>

-The Ditto just Psybeams her.-

-Or more accurately, her Protect barrier.-

Cereza: <Ah-ah-ah, dear. Ladies first.>

-The Ditto tries to pull up a Protect. They're not fast enough to avoid the Psyshock that hits them.-

-Meanwhile, Achille's Illusion renders him invisible as he runs and climbs towards the Octillery.-

Jolteon: <We don't need your help!>

-He darts out of a Stone Edge, zig-zagging.-

Umbreon: <We do right now!>

-He takes a Thunderbolt from the Rotom before countering with an Assurance.-

edited 15th Mar '18 8:32:44 PM by SwiftSeraph

Fangirl: -softly- Yeah. Haven't really had one since him. -tilts her head at the kid in the memory, then turns to the other aspects- Your turn. The more memories, the faster this goes.

-most of the others look apprehensive-

Truth: Welp, she's more or less correct. It is on our checklist for this dumbass trip. I'll start, since the sooner this is done the sooner I can go back to planning new ways to dispose of you all. -starts glowing-

Dioh: ._. -begins glowing too- Uh-?

Ten: -glowing- Just like this...?

As the aspects are engulfed in light, memories related to the aspects begin playing themselves out rapid-fire. Scenes overlap and wink in and out of order. They include Channah in events such as...

-obtaining Bodee from Garrett, looking dismayed before hearing its Keroberos-like accent and giving it an excited hug-

-surfing on the open ocean for the first time, staring at the streamlined shapes soaring beneath the surface-

-spending most of her childhood in an empty house while her parents work-

-grimly steamrolling over several gyms in her childhood, mostly with an Espeon and a Kingdra spamming high-powered, stamina-intensive moves-

-hovering in the very back row of a geological society meeting as a scruffy teenager wearing a visitor's tag, watching Steven Stone in jealous awe-

-casually telling an interviewer why a trainer she defeated in a Kanjoh tournament is bottom-tier and should quit now to save everyone's blood pressure, while said trainer stands awkwardly off to the side-

-listening to Rembrandt the Sylveon play guitar while trying to eat weird foodie ice cream in Kalos-

-leaning against the Champion's door at the Indigo League, starting to hyperventilate-

-half-listening to Tagg's calm philosophizing as she examines a row of pocket watches on a cold, dark evening in Lacunosa Town-

-staring into the eyes of a dark-eyed boy who looks very much like her, flinching when he reaches forward and touches her hair-

All the while, the front of the crystal is cracking soundlessly apart in intervals. The rest is sturdy as ever, but a high-ceiling hole appears, more than large enough to walk through.

here

Finally, some of the shards are unable to support themselves anymore, and go flying toward the ground, crashing all over the field. The path to the cathedral is open.

<aneasyprocess>

<butnotoneshehaseverdaredtoattemptuntilnow>

 Channah's Mindscape 

-Watches the memories with an unreadable expression, before taking a breath and walking forward, turning around to face the aspects-

You guys coming?

edited 15th Mar '18 9:39:17 PM by rmctagg09