Zangoose Fair, Ferris Wheel

Vana stares at the horizon for a few seconds before she says anything.

"That templar - Ferrum. He was... or is, I guess... he scares me. Last year, there was a trainer that learned about the school from a schoolkid, and to punish the schoolkid for telling somebody, the School decided to have them killed."

She takes a deep breath. "There were three creations of the School who were sent to eliminate that trainer. One was Nitrogen. The other was Ferrum. And the third was me."

Vana pauses before continuing the story. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to kill that trainer, but Ferrum and Nitrogen were there fighting them, and I was scared of what would happen if I disobeyed. Then Ferrum tore off the trainer's arm, and he had this look on his face that terrified me. It was like he'd never been so happy, so fulfilled in completing his purpose. And so after all that, I finished that trainer off."

She looks now at Stewart. "So, in answer to your question, Ferrum is the biggest mistake that the School ever made. He's a psychopath that loves to cause pain, and really believes himself as better than anyone else in the world. So I'm sorry for you, because you have to share his face."

Veilstone (?)

-In a twisted environment being chased by Lynels and what seem to be cartoonish versions of River Zora-

Fuck fuck fuck!

-Climbing up the side of a building-

How'd it go from the Ghost Ship to this?

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Zangoose Fair, Ferris Wheel

Stewart: Wow. That's rough, buddy. It's monstrous that the School would put that in your conscience. I'm sorry you had to go through that... with someone who looks like me.

He sighed. They used his DNA to make a monster. Someone with his skill set (perhaps "refined") but raised to be a slave-driver and a murderer. The School had him terminated because he didn't seem to be cut out to be either of those. And they went ahead and made a version of him more suited to their monstrous tastes.

A part of him wished he was never thrown into that pigsty unconscious all those years ago. If he'd live up to their expectations, there'd be one less nasty genetic byproduct as twisted as his doppelganger was. An innocent person will not have suffered such a gristly fate.

But he thought again. They were going to make someone like this "Ferrum" eventually (just a rebranded iron in a different language).

Stewart: Well, if I looked a lot like him, they must've used my DNA to make 'im. A knockoff of a knockoff. I can only assure you, young lady, that I am nothing like him. And he better watch out if he tries any funny business while you kids are on my watch.

How much those words can sound comforting from a guy who shares his face with who could be the biggest tool a young girl has ever known in her life is suspect. But he tries.

Stewart: So, what's the rest of your story? How'd you end up with the J-Team?

Veilstone (?)

-It's now pouring rain as I walk down the dark-

Could really use a raincoat, or an umbrella right now...

-I then spot an indigo blue-eyed, middle-aged [Asian] man with a similarly eyed child, the man having a wound in his cheek as if shrapnel had gone through it, and the child being similarly wounded. Both are, unlike me, wearing dark green raincoats-

Man: -Seeing me- We should go.

Child: No Daddy, he looks like he needs help, he should come with us to our house.

Man: Alright.

-I then follow behind them-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Jun 18th 2022 at 8:53:50 AM

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Jubilife Contest, Evelyn VS Kendall

-The 729 flames surround Simon and explode, throwing the Hypnosis Pokémon to the ground.-

Marian: SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY NINE FLAMES?! I AM IN AWE! THIS BATTLE IS JUST GETTING BETTER BY THE SECOND!

╓────────────────╢ KENDALL'S POINTS ╟───────────────────────╖ 
╠══╡ STAMINA ╞══════════════════════════════════════════════╣ 
║████████████████████████████████████████████               ║ 
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

╓────────────────╢ EVELYN'S POINTS ╟───────────────────────╖ 
╠══╡ STAMINA ╞═════════════════════════════════════════════╣ 
║████████████████████████████████████████████              ║ 
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Evelyn: Simon, can you still fight?

-Simon pulls himself to his feet.-

Simon: <Indubitably!>

Evelyn: Great! Now, use Shadow Ball! Hatty, use Magical Leaf!

-Simon conjures an orb of shadows, black as the night, and throws it into the air as Hatty surrounds herself in a flurry of magical rainbow-colored leaves which slices the Shadow Ball into smaller and smaller Shadow Balls, roughly numbering in the hundreds. Simon then lowers his hand and Hatty unleashes the leaves and hundreds of bullet-like shadows at Helmsman and Kamui.-

Evelyn: Hope you're familiar with Danmaku, Kendall...

Sinnoh, Jubilife City

-Parental Peril and Daddy Dearest land in Jubilife City and look around. Under normal circumstances, the city is full of hustle and bustle, full of joy and life. Even today. That is, until Parental Peril arrived. All hustle and bustle stopped as the people of Jubilife stared at the superhero-dressed individual and their Gallade, wondering what he is doing here and why.-

Parental Peril: If Evelyn is here, then so are the J-Team and Ian. If I want to protect her, I will need an army to do so.

Daddy Dearest: ~Forget not the task to bring Neon, Coil and Iris to Pavo and his masters.~

Parental Peril: Trust me. I am aware of that task. But my daughter's well-being is of the utmost importance, and I shall see it through...

-At that moment, a tourist inexplicably carrying an ice cream cone steps towards Parental Peril with the same abject confusion as every other person in Jubilife City.-

Man with Ice Cream: Hey, uh, can you explain to me what you're doin' here? I mean, we don't usually get people coming into our city from the sky and-

-Daddy Dearest snaps at the man wordlessly, making eye contact with him. The Sentimon's eyes flashed red, causing the man's eyes to glaze over as he fell under the power of Parental Peril. The image of a girl with hot-pink hair and deep brown eyes, wearing pink, blue and purple robes with a paint splatter pattern and a Hattrem on her head is implanted in the man's mind as four words echoed through it...-

STAY AWAY FROM HER!

-Daddy Dearest then blinks his eyes and turns away from the man, who blinks his own eyes as he slowly awakens from the very short trance he was in.-

Man with Ice Cream: Uh... Not sure what happened, but... carry on...

-The man with the ice cream cone walks away from Parental Peril, munching on his ice cream.-

Parental Peril: So this is your power?

Daddy Dearest: ~I was created from your very emotions... My power is your power...~

-Parental Peril smirks.-

Parental Peril: Groovy!

-After the show of Daddy Dearest hypnotizing the man with the ice cream cone, the rest of the staring civilians gasp in shock and draw back.-

Parental Peril: Daddy Dearest... I think the rest of these people want to volunteer...

Daddy Dearest: ~And you did say we needed an army...~

Parental Peril: Get drafting!

-Daddy Dearest nods to affirm Parental Peril's wish and then glares at each of the civilians. His eyes flash purple this time and everyone else's eyes glaze over as they fall under the spell of Parental Peril. The image of a girl with hot-pink hair and deep brown eyes, wearing pink, blue and purple robes with a paint splatter pattern and a Hattrem on her head is implanted in the minds of Daisuke's new thralls as two words echo through them...-

PROTECT HER!

-The mesmerized civilians salute Parental Peril, fully aware of what they must do, who they must obey, and how much obedience to show.-

Parental Peril: -thinks to himself- Not enough... I need a bigger army. I know Ian will be trying to protect her from me, yet I don't know how powerful he truly is. You can never be too careful... And if I manage to snare a few J-Teamers, all the better.

-The supervillain then nods, then sends the thralls to search for Evelyn with a wave of his hand.-

Zangoose Fair Carnival, Hall of Mirrors

-Aurelia and Tina run between the mirrors, their reflections rushing by as they do. Aurelia fires a rainbow-colored laser at one mirror, bouncing it off a few mirrors and at Tina, who counters with a silver-colored laser, bounced off another mirror.-

Aurelia: -laughing- Pew pew pew!

Tina: -also laughing- Pew pew!

Aurelia: -laughing- Heads up, Olly!

-Aurelia then fires a laser behind her at a mirror which bounces off it. Aurelia then ducks to avoid getting hit by her own laser.-

Earth Vellumental Temple

-Evelyn and Ian go starry-eyed as the Magic Circle manifests itself.-

Me: TWINCOOL!

Evelyn: Hey, Olivia... Do you think you can teach me this magic once our adventure is done? And maybe teach Ian and I how to float like you can?

Meat Palace

-Joybringer and Witchling nod.-

Joybringer: After you, m'lady.

-Witchling giggles.-

Witchling: Oh, Joybringer. You're too kind.

-Witchling, followed by Joybringer, climb to the second floor and follow the other Phantom Thieves into the building.-

Sinnoh Route 202, Picnic

-Ian and Evelyn are enjoying a picnic together. However, instead of a picnic basket, there is a blanket on the larger picnic blanket.-

Me: So I just tap the center of the blanket... right?

Evelyn: That's right.

-Ian taps the center of the blanket with a stick a few times. He then pulls the smaller blanket away, and when he does, a picnic basket appears.-

Me: Ta-da~♪

-Evelyn applauds Ian.-

Evelyn: I have taught you well.

-Ian chuckles.-

Me: Think it's time we bring everyone out?

Evelyn: Indubitably.

-Ian and Evelyn throw all their Poké Balls into the air.-

Evelyn and I: COME ON OUT, EVERYONE!

-The Poké Balls burst open and in a flash of light, reveal all their Pokémon.-

Tsubomi: <H-Hi...>

Me: Everyone (barring Piku-chan), I would like you all to meet Tsubomi. She's the newest member of our team and our new friend.

Oshawittle: <Hail and well met, Tsubomi.>

Raru: <U-Um... hi...>

Mothra: <It is a pleasure to meet you, Tsubomi.>

Totoro: <Zzzz... Hi...>

Miyako: <Hey, Tsubomi! You're gonna love it with us!>

Piper: <Nice to meet you.>

Floof: <Oh. Hello.>

Hanuman: <Ey, Tsubomi! Nice t'meetcha!>

Ritchie: <Don't worry about a thing. You're in good company.>

Kitt: <Ah! Friend! Hello, friend!>

Calcifer: <Hello... I hope we can be friends... Don't worry. I won't burn you.>

Blossom: <Hello, Tsubomi... Are we related? I feel like I should know you...>

Hatty: <Hi, Tsubomi. I am Hatty. I am Evelyn's friend.>

Kako and Mirai: <So nice to meet you! You're just so cute!>

Axon: <It is a pleasure to meet you.>

Simon: <Indubitably.>

Yumi: -saying nothing, tries to nom on Totoro's head.-

Sandra: <A pleasure to meet you.>

-Tsubomi opens up the bud on her head, revealing the purple and black spots on her vines.-

Tsubomi: <Hi. It's so nice to meet you all. You all look very friendly.>

Me: I do hope we can be good friends, Tsubomi.

Tsubomi: <Yeah! I hope I can learn so much from all of you!>

-Tsubomi runs toward the group of Pokémon, smiling as she starts to play with everyone.-

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

Veilstone (?)

-We arrive at a normal looking house, save for the fact that it looks like a concrete bomb dropped on it-

Child: You'll be safe in here.

-We go down to the basement to find...-

-Aura Sense activating in the gloom-

Wait a damned second.

-The man and the child, except that they're dead as they lie on the ruins of a bunk bed, indigo blue eyes wide open as they bear the same wounds as the man and child still standing up-

Not indigo blue, violet or purple.

These people, they're associated with the School.

Child: -Nods- We can help you.

-A red and black feather drops from the black sky-

The feather of Yveltal, said to balance the scales of death.

-Plucking the feather out of the air-

Help me? Seems you both need the help far more than me.

-Looking at the feather-

Help being put to rest, that is.

-Dragging the feather across the shoulders of the man and child-

Go in peace.

-Both start sinking into the ruined, partially flooded basement floor as the area fills with light-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Mar 17th 2023 at 1:13:25 PM

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Route 209, millions of years ago

Channah: (throws up her hands) Oh well that's all okay then! He always has a good excuse for whatever shit he gets sucked into, so I have to be understanding. (kicks at a stone) Tagg's self-sacrificing shtick is so fucking annoying sometimes. No, make that all the time. But does he listen to me, hell. Whatever.    At least she sounds like a challenge.    Not that I'd get anywhere near that, likely. I'm always busy when the cool shit happens. Haven't even killed anyone yet.

Avallac'h: <em esucxe>

There is no disdain in nature, there is no humiliation.

Route 209, past

Chiyo: Like I said, admirable, but it'll destroy him if he isn't careful. But Channah?

-Looks at her as if she's staring into her very soul as they enter Solaceon. It's a bit unnerving-

...Be glad you haven't had to kill anyone yet. It sticks with you, forever. Especially when it's your own kin.

-Sighs-

Guess we should probably go bunk in the Center.

Veilstone (?)

-Floating in the void-

This has been a rather odd experience.

-The imagery shifts to a machine with purple-eyed people in tubes-

Is this... the machine the Schoolkids and Templars are formed from?

-It is. An approximation, to be precise.-

Uxie? I figured.

Uxie: -Manifesting- <My apologies for contacting you this way, but the circumstances were what worked best. Normally the realm of dreams is Cresselia and Darkrai's domain, but Knowledge allows one to slip through the cracks, particularly through Our connection with the Collective Unconsciousness you and your fellow Contractors and Thieves traverse.>

Why show me those two? Who were they?

Uxie: <A Schoolchild, and his child, murdered by Templars before you were born, before the thought of creating Chiyo and her Batchmates had even entered their creator's minds. Life was... ultimately unfair for both of them, the escapee and their progeny. The nature of how Schoolchildren are raised makes it harder to pass on upon death, and as you might expect, they have been unable to move on for decades, until you managed to free them of their torment.>

<To facilitate that, I connected you to their pocket plane in your sleep, for as the Sevii Cubone taught you, the realm of sleep, the manifestations of the Dream World, connects closely to the realm of the dead, the Spirit World.>

-As the scientists liquify a Schoolperson that comes out as simply a lump of flesh with with eyes-

Talk about putting the literal in liquidation.

Yeah, it's how they summon the souls of the dead from the Dream Mist.

Uxie: <And why the dead make contact in the dreams of mortals in the Waking World.>

Edited by rmctagg09 on Mar 17th 2023 at 1:10:26 PM

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Stormchaser, Hiro's Room

-Hiro snickers, brief and bright, before smoothing back to neutral-

Hiro: That's an accurate description, followed by a common statement made about them. The impression I get is they save their energy for moments of particular import.

-rolling his shoulders- My friends are varying degrees of enamored with them, I expect after having witnessed one of those moments.

-Hiro, being perhaps uncommonly inured to both asking and receiving very personal questions and also killing people, only nods-

-another Litwick on the seat next to Apple-A-Day pats them on the leg, pityingly-

Hiro: -evenly, at Percy's testimony- Well, I've never fought a Schoolperson that matches that description. Fortunately.

-grimacing- Noted.

-when she brings it up, he does finally conjure a flame in his palm-

-it's bright white, smokeless, and straightforward in a way that usually leads to dead Schoolkids-

Hiro: -honest- …I really don't want to have to test that.

(-straightforwardness, in that way-)

-his expression is apologetic but not exactly regretful-

Hearthome, Vegan Place

-Logan and Addie glance at each other-

Logan: -listening without question- I do.

Addie: <I do!>

-she smiles, bucktoothed, at Lotophage in a "do not judge me for meowing at human-audible tones" sort of way-

Logan: ...

-definitely the expression of someone recalibrating to that barefaced admission of intent and not a conversational partner even more profoundly self-centered than anticipated-

Logan: -sheepish- Well, so long as it ends well.

-let's shelve that-

Logan: Oh?

-grin- The Rangers had their hands full keeping interdimensional epidemics contained and fights from breaking out. How'd you do?

Waiter: -customer service smile- Hello, how are you doing today?

Chingling: <Meow meow.>

Logan: -real smile- Well, thanks. Hearthome's lovely this time of year. Can you believe the last Contest hall?

Waiter: -brightening- Right? Ugh, the judges panel is rigged, I swear. Hana being a better performer better win in the last round or I'll eat my hat, swear to Mesprit.

Logan: -shaking their head- Tragic. How are you doing after all that?

Waiter: Pretty good, heh. Can I take your order?

-Logan indicates a tofu melt and a Chesto cappuccino-

-Addie points to a mixed-nut bowl, smiling at the water while Logan turns back to Adelinde-

 Celestescape 

Buried!Molly: Oh I am so sick of fire. -but two gleaming eyes peer out from the crate-piles, watching…-

-the Apricorn roast, and words fall out:-

<Is this a tragedy? She doesn't fit."

---

We do.

-they don't-

We come out as complete as we ever will be.

And when you're complete, finding someone to complete you is pointless. Looking for friends in a human settlement is foolish. Ridiculous!

-aloud- "Tell us more.>

---

-Molly presses a hand/paw/thought to the thrumming folds of Celeste's mind-floor, watching for: what does this story make her feel? what does this mean to her?-

(-she looks for weakness.-)

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jun 19th 2022 at 10:10:29 AM

No mind to think. No will to break.

Zangoose Fair, Ferris Wheel

By now, the Ferris Wheel has finished its first rotation, but this ride allows the customers to go around three times before stopping, so Vana and Stewart are lifted into the air once again.

"Well, after that incident I stayed with the School for a little while. I mean, what else could I do at that point. I had nowhere else to go. I thought I might be able to destroy them from the inside or something, but I had no allies, no influence, no real power except messing with someone's memories for an hour at a time. And when they work out you're playing with their memories, they stop keeping you around."

"Eventually I ran. I don't remember much of what happened after that, but I ended up in Celestic Town half dead. A scientist there took care of me until I was able to travel, and I did. But that was when I found out. You see, it turns out that when I was created, I wasn't created well. I was made not even two years ago and I already have the body of a teenager, and apparently nature doesn't like that because my body is now destroying itself and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"But anyway, I found out the trainer had survived, so I went to find them and make my peace, but they tried to kill me in their rage. Understandable I guess, but not the way I wanted it to go. So after that I made my way here to the Stormchaser to seek some kind of asylum. They took me in and have been looking after me ever since. But there's nothing they or I can do in the end."

The Ferris Wheel reaches the highest point. Vana holds out her hands in front of her. The skin looks almost see through. "I reckon between one month and two is all that I have left, you know. It's surprising how easily you get used to that, after a while."

She turns to Stewart. "But there you go, that's my story. We have another go around left, so do you want to tell me yours?"

Stormchaser, Hiro's Room

Percy: Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.

-Apple-A-Day scoops up the Litwick for pets-

Apple-A-Day: Hey sweetie, everything okay?

-Percy gives them a funny look-

-   Hiro   -

Percy: -tense- Please put that away.

Hearthome, Vegan Place

-Lotophage definitely seems to be judging Addie-

Adelinde: Petaya-Kasib smoothie and...Lotophage, kale salad?

-Lotophage nods-

Adelinde: -visibly trying to remember if the School has plants in the contest halls- If you ask me, her Sunny Day/Overheat combination was ill-timed. I won't disagree about the quality of her performance, but there's more to judge on.

(to Logan) We did alright. You can see that the sky is fixed now.

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

The Ferris Wheel

Stewart has seen these

Stewart: I'm so sorry. I don't know what it's like personally, but I've seen a couple of my fellows perish that way. Not a lot of us were built to last. In the time I was there, I sadly saw even a few of those of the older batches, alumni, treated that way. And it's not like they'd treated us any better if we passed as healthy, either.

He paused.

Stewart: I suppose I'm gonna have to tell you sooner or later. At first everything went well enough, or about as well as we would be. Got a lot of high marks, or so they told me.I got along swell with the others in my batch, too. When we rallied together, we—and I mean we, even those who underperformed otherwise—felt we could do anything. Which was probably why they tried to rid of me.

Stewart sighed.

Stewart: Key word is tried. They set me up for a complex demo in an obstacle course I've run through, to help some of the less than stellar members of the class learn from how I did things. I didn't suspect a thing at the time since I went through that field many times already. Long story short, they set up an accident, one to try to get rid of me, and the other to intimidate the "laggards"—their word, not mine—to reconsider any funny business.

As they went down again, he noticed his Grumpig Hemo holding a rattata in his hands. They were waving. He shot back at them a puzzled look. There was much to discuss.

Stewart: Turns out, I wasn't dead. When I got knocked out, my breathing and heartrate slowed to the point it wasn't detectable. Shortly before I came to, the henchpeople just dumped my caboose into a mud pit at a piggy pasture. I overheard them wanting to break my legs and pull my teeth out so they could feed me to pigs or something. Why they didn't try to do that earlier, I never did understand, but they never had the chance because they were chased out of the pigsty by a sounder of angry mamoswine. The big one—Mama Sadie—took me in while I was barely conscious and brought me to the owner of the farm, Farmer Mertens. He kept me in as a farmhand and he later adopted me as his son. He was pretty worried when I told him where I came from, at first. And he was the one who got me this sweet gig at the Oasis.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Jun 2nd 2023 at 12:42:03 AM

Ferris Wheel

The wheel finishes its final loop, and the bar comes up to allow the two to step off. Vana jumps down to the metal ground, and looks up at Stewart.

"It's official. We're joint winners in the sucky life competition. Let's go and eat something bad for us." She pauses. "And I know this is the wrong message, but I'm kind of craving something that comes from a pig pokémon now."

Carnival, near the Ferris Wheel

Stewart: That's certainly a word choice.

Hemo: ~I'm right here.~

Stewart: If it bugs you so much, I'll get the beef ones and she can have whatever's made of pork.

Hemo: ~It's still gross.~

Stewart: Anyway, Vana, here's my Grumpig Hemo. He actually belonged to the Oasis and was given to us by them. They figured another psychic can help Rusty trust others.

Beat.

Stewart: Who's the rat, though? And why is his aura funny?

Hemo: ~He says his name is Willard. Beckett attached this device on him. I don't know what it does but—~

Stewart: Ooooh. Why does that device have an aura? A rather threatening frustrated aura. Is there a rotom there?

Willard: <There appears to be a switch I can't reach. Would you kindly ask the human to flip it and see what it does.>

Hemo: ~Oh, certainly. Stewart, would you mind?~

Stewart: Okay...

He does what he is told. The device on the rattata's back activates. Suddenly it begins to speak as the rattata's eyes start glowing.

Stewart: What in tarnation!

Mysterious Presence, via speech device: I believe introductions are in order. My name is 2021-085, code named Astatine. Batch of 2021. I already know who you two are, 2010-026 and 2021-023. Iron and Vanadium. A pleasure to finally meet.

If Vana were aware of her batch's origins, there may have been a faint memory of 85th child being written off as a failure.

Stewart: Wait. Are you a rotom now? What'd you die of?

Astatine: I am not dead. Not in the real sense, anyway, but there's a time to explain that. Shall we get better acquainted?

Hemo: ~Disembodied human consciousness, and he doesn't seem to want to tell what happened to the human body he came from. Do it over a bunch of beef dogs.~

Edited by MasterJayAM on Jan 17th 2023 at 5:19:35 PM

Laurie's Bedroom

Laurie paused for a few moments before eventually speaking.

"...Thank you," they said. "Thank you so much. I... I'd like your number, so that we have a chance to talk again. Who knows? I... might see you during the League."

The Carnival

"Gah-!"

Ollie, not having seen the lasers coming, desperately ducked his head in an attempt to avoid them. Uefo, meanwhile, went up to the lasers and reached out his hand, attempting to touch them.

<▼♠∞▼-Ω∞ Ω∞:√?> ^note  {What is this?} he asked.

Hulbury Stadium- Puzzle Room

The minute that Ingrid stepped into the puzzle room, the first thing that she and Ananpi noticed were all the switches and grates of different colors surrounding them. The second thing she noticed, of course, were the cascades of water flowing from the similarly different-colored pipes. Ingrid stared over at the pipes in front of her, and saw that in front of her and Ananpi was a blue grate, a yellow grate, and two red grates. The blue and yellow grate didn't have any water flowing on to them, but one of the red ones did. Also in front of Ingrid was a red switch and a yellow switch.

Ingrid blinked.

"Oh my," she muttered. "I-it looks like I'm going to have to get wet for this..."

<Ah, maybe you don't have to, chuu~!> said Ananpi.

"I don't have a single Water-type on my team, though..." said Ingrid. "And I certainly don't have a mon that has Water Absorb as an ability."

And then- one of her PokeBalls opened, and Bindi emerged in front of her.

<You have me though, dontcha?> she said, grinning.

Ingrid smiled.

"Oh, Bindi..." she said. "I do appreciate you wanting to help, but I just used you in the last puzzle." She took out Bindi's PokeBall. "I think I'll use someone else for this one. Let's see..."

She thought for a few moments, and then:

"Ah! I know!"

She promptly grabbed another PokeBall and threw it out.

"Go, Bjorn!" she cried.

Hi, I’m oghond, and I’m a Rushaholic. Sorry if I annoy you unintentionally. 😅

"Hmm," Mitchell says. "Yes, that would be a smart idea."

With that, Mitchell sets down what he has in his hands and retrieves the mobile phone left in his pants pocket. He double-checks the phone number registered on it, then tells Laurie his phone number, including the country code.

"May I have your number, too?", Mitchell asks. "Just so I know that a call's coming from you, you see."

Veilstone Warehouse

-Upon following Alex Tagg will see her plugging the parts into a massive, gnarled machine-

Veilstone, Dave Zone

Seigbert: "Ack! No no no no!"

Storm: "We want your HELP!"

Sinnoh

Pavo: ~Remember! Get the J-Team's attemntion! ESPECIALLY those three!~ -psychically beams images to Parental Peril's brain-

Earth Vellumental Temple

-Upon Ann activating the circle, Olivia folds in on herself and grows until she too is an origami Groudon-

Olivia: <How do I look? Powerful? Imposing? Magnificent? Even a little cute? It's like I'm the Earth Vellumental!>

Jackie: "And I am sound asleep dreaming." -pinches herself- "OW!"

Olivia: I feel really powerful, like I could shake things up in here. You know what? I'm gonna dance it out!"

-Produces pompoms and starts dancing-

-The ground begins to rise-

Contact Me!

Veilstone

Dave: Whatever that is, the answer is n—

Lillifuture Jonathan: Hey, maybe we can use this as a bargaining chip.

Dave: Hmmmm. I get your point. Well then, explain further. And remember, I ain't doing any of this shit for free, Ymmärrätkö?

Earth Vellumental Temple, past

Ann: -Is risen-

Veilstone, past

-Looking at the machine-

What is this?

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Zangooose Fair

"Astatine?" Vana asks. "As in, that Astatine? We all thought you were dead, they always used you as an example of what could happen to us if we messed up. How are you alive and here?"

This new development makes her skin crawl, so she begins to look around for anyone or anything else that looks out of place.

"We should get to somewhere less open," she mutters, and her eyes fall on the nearby haunted house. "Come on, we'll talk in there."

En Route to the Carnival's Haunted House

Astatine, via speech device: The very same. I hardly need to tell you what my backstory is, but I'm afraid the Iron of 2010 didn't really have a chance to know me at all, as he, like me, for a lack of a better term was dead.

Stewart: Yeah, what is your deal?

Astatine: In due time, cowboy. Would you mind letting Willard perch on your shoulder?

Stewart: Uh, sure, I guess.

Hemo: ~He's got quite a power set on him, Stewart, but without much battery life he can't try anything funny.~

Astatine: The psychic swine is correct. A gyro battery is nowhere near enough of an energy source. I usually travel through WiFi, but Beckett only had this device that needs a firewire. What hack inventor made this thing?

Willard climbed up Stewart's shoulders. The group made their way into the haunted house, and as they entered, Astatine began his story:

The Haunted House

"It's almost crushingly on the nose that they gave me the number and name of an unstable substance. The element I'm named after lasts only 8 hours at its most stable before it decays. And that's roughly how long I lasted while tethered to my physical form."

"Within the first five minutes after being decanted, I found that I could project my consciousness into wires and anything electrical. They implanted a device on my head to see if I could use it to access the local network they set up. They expected to create a technopath, I later learned, and they wanted to see how far I could project my consciousness through machines."

The group first passes by the creation of a [Frankenstein's Monster].

"It was a simple set of devices with barely anything on it, yet it caused my fledgling consciousness to go haywire with sensory overload. For the next 8 hours after that, I struggled to find a way to keep my confused consciousness connected to my body. I was a ghost trying to find his way back to his shell. And just when I thought I could make one final shot, my body gave out and entered a permanent coma, trapping my consciousness in the very computer systems they meant to test me in."

The next scary thing that emerged where bedsheet ghosts.

"I barely knew what was going on at the time. All I hear was the word 'failure' being muttered by those creeps in the white coats. For a time, I stayed in that room, causing it to bug out on occasion. I later found what tech support personnel call a software vulnerability, which allowed me to exit the device I was in the moment they decided to plug it in elsewhere. And I went from trapped in a device to exploring the greater world of the School's computers."

"I learned all I could from them, starting with the fate of my body. I was unceremoniously placed in storage in a classified part of the facility even the network I'm in couldn't access. I didn't even know if I was dead. I later learned that news traveled fast in the network. The School used my supposed death as a cautionary tale. There was no room for error or failure. In Dr. Cassander's words, I "failed" my first test and paid for it with my life."

Stewart: How can that be your fault? You were 8 hours old! Geez, that Dr. Cassander is still a piece of work.

Astatine: The word you're looking for is c--t. And you have been away from home for 10 years. I can't expect you to remember how abysmally repugnant those c—ts are.

Stewart: You have... quite a vocabulary.

Astatine: I lived in a computer system that has access to the Internet. It does things to you. After deciding that the Internet and its... environment was less toxic and morally vile as what these fellows do, though honestly probably not by much, I started hanging out there more often.

They pass by a depiction of a bridge full of bloodthirsty trolls.

Astatine: When I heard of this J-Team and how they offer refuge to people like us, I decided to come on over. The thing you ride on is alive, you know that? She let me in.

Edited by MasterJayAM on Jun 20th 2022 at 6:45:29 PM

Zangoose carnival

Kal is currently playing on the Whack-A-Diglett machine. Wielding the hammer with telekinesis is netting them quite a high score.

Radium: <Are you sure you're not going to break it?>

Kal: Hey! I've almost got the top score, don't distract me!

I used to plug my deviantart here but turns out the link was too long.

Carnival, Whack-A-Diglett

Rusty watched on, fascinated. Meanwhile, the giant Mamoswine behind them nudges them forward, while the Emboar grins and gestures to them to approach.

They move cautiously, being very careful not to do anything to break Kal's concentration at least until they surpass the record. Instead, they direct their attention to Radium, who seemed very familiar to them.

Rusty, mentally: ~H... H... Hello. You're one of us aren't you?~

Carnival, whack-a-diglett

Radium turns to face Rusty. They also seemed familiar.

Radium: <I think I know what you mean. Yeah, I... Well, I used to be. I'm not sure if I technically count as one any more. I'm Radium.>

I used to plug my deviantart here but turns out the link was too long.

Carnival, Whack-A-Diglett

Rusty: ~They called me Number 26. Iron. My big brother is also a 26, so I go by Rusty on account of my hair. These are Mama Sadie and Pyra. They lived in the farm where my big brother lived.~

Sadie: <Pleased to meet your acquaintance.>

Pyra, doing a hoofs up gesture: <'Sup!>