ITT: We Have All Become Pokémon

Dana also taps Finley on the shoulder.

".. Uh yeah, what PJ said."

(I hear Dana and PJ's confused statements.)

Oh, that's Marsha. Her brother is the Ditto that Goob works with.

"That's Marsha. One of Goobert's friends..." She answers Marsha's question with a, "And yes, that's a big reason I'm worried. Could you please make sure he's safe? This place is so dangerous from what I've seen..."

You betcha. (Marsha says, shaking Finley's hand.)

Heya, thanks for all your help out here by the way. If not for you, I don't anyone here would be the wiser about the problems we got here and look to start fixin' them. Maybe eventually, our town will become a great place for everyone, and not just the tourists.

(Marsha reaches into hammerspace and hands Finley a fistful of Poké, amounting to about 15000.)

I know it ain't much, but it'll probably get you guys a good lunch wherever you're goin'. Y'all take care now and come back soon, ya hear?

(With this, Marsha turns and begins heading back toward the beach.)

edited 29th Jul '17 7:30:05 PM by kablammin45

(I watch Marsha turn back to the beach. I say to our group.)

So, at least we have some extra money for our journey.

edited 29th Jul '17 7:33:58 PM by Team42Larson

"Oh, I see..." Dana feels a little guilty about not knowing who Marsha is now.

"Thank you, Miss." Finley tells Marsha as she leaves. She takes the money and puts it by her side.

"Let's get going, then?" She says to the group.

Yes, lets.

"Hear, hear! Take care, now, Marsha! And see to it that Goobert stays safe, if you will!"

Noriaki nodded and said, "Time for departure."

"I'm ready to go."

Hold up, Nyquil did a horrible job catching me up. Where are we going?

"We're going to Hoard, that dragon town up north, to see if we can find where Jani's run off too. On the way I think we're stopping at the diner just to check in and see how they're holding up. We should be paying attention to the spread of the Viral Agression after all. If only we had some sort of map of when the infection popped up, we'd be able to find the source for the whole island..."

Mila starts walking down the road from Silversand now that everyone seems to be ready to get going. Feeling somewhat energized by the start of a new journey, as well as seeing Finley feeling much better, she decides to sing a more upbeat song while they travel.

"♬ Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for a while,"

"Tell me of a story never ever told in the past. ♪"

"Take me back to the land"

"Where my yearnings were born. ♫"

"The key to open the door is in your hand,"

"♩ Now fly me there!"

"That's a beautiful song, Mila." Finley looks at her smiling. "Thank you. That's just what I needed!" This was true. A lot happened since they reached Silversand. She and Jani almost died, PJ went nutso and vanished for a while, they were attacked by a mob, they went underwater, they fought a demon who killed himself...

In no particular order of course.

"How close are we, do we know?"

*as the party clears enough distance from Silversand, an Unown-L◊ floats down with a bunch of those brown baggies from earlier. It's clearly Voxno, but in a form the party hasn't seen before...or Voxno really...at least not in a long while*

That's...your world has such beautiful songs... *Voxno-L sniffles as it addresses Mila, clearly having been crying*

"T-thanks, guys. Oh, are you okay, Vox? You seem a bit different... more sad, I guess. I'm guessing there's a reason you came over here with us... though I suppose we are going to pass by Orichalcum on our way to Hoard anyways."

Mila seems flattered and somewhat embarrassed by the praise being given to her, but her mind is still focused on the task at hand. They'd have a long way to travel yet.

"Yeah, that was a nice song..."

*Voxno-L is at first confused by Mila's question, then realizes* Oh yeah...you were hospitalized at the time... *Voxno-L looks down and continues*

I...I'm kinda volunteered to do reconnaissance on you guys, but kinda not... *Vox struggles to explain* ...sorry, it's hard for me to gather my thoughts like this...I haven't had this form in years...it's just that...I failed them...

*clearly struggling to compose itself, Voxno continues* Normally when someone's infected by the plague but can be subdued, they're put into quarantine...which is just an abandoned manor in the forest that got turned into an asylum...

I mean, they try to cure them and all, but it's so sad...and lonely...I didn't want that to happen to PJ or Jani...not after you all saved the town... *Voxno looks Mila directly in the eyes, with tears welling up in the Unown's giant eye* ...but I still failed them! I put them in harm's way to protect myself! I should've never taken them to that bar...

Mila is struggling to put together the information that Voxno is expressing to them, partially due to a lack of background knowledge on what PJ and Jani were doing, and partially due to its current demeanor.

"Whoa, there. Just try to keep it together, Vox. Why don't you tell us about the bar and what happened there? Finley and I weren't around for whatever happened then."

"Yeah, just take it easy, oaky? Start from the beginning." Finley states.

Never saw this side of Vox before... kinda creeping me out.

*Voxno-L desperately tries to snap itself out of this funk, thinking to itself* (Mind over matter, mind over matter...) *though it remains in its current form, being overwhelmed by guilt* Sorry, I know, I know...the forms and emotions and all...it's kinda why I taught myself to bury certain emotions, but um...oh, right, you only thought that...kinda lose focus when in this form...sorry, I'll try to explain...

We met up at the bar, I couldn't really be seen with you guys elsewhere because I'm...kinda violating the guild's rules just by speaking to you...then, and now... *Voxno looks around for a moment* ...though I figure no one outside of Silversand really knows about my orders...

I thought we'd just chat privately, try to let the group know about PJ and try to get him to help you find the one who infected him, but then he and Jani showed up at the guild and... *looking onward as they travel down the road, Voxno tries to force a stable demeanor* ...I got the "bright" idea of having you all meet up at the bar.

*looking down with regret, Voxno continues* Then Lars came, looking for a fight. Then they went at it...then Jani somehow crushed Lars' windpipe...I don't think she meant to, she looked pretty horrified once Dana scared her straight, but...I think that really messed her up...

edited 29th Jul '17 10:59:07 PM by sarysa

"It's not your fault Vox, Lars coming in probably made things worse.." Dana looks at a spot on the ground guiltily. " I could've been quicker to stop them, too..."

*Voxno-L◊, who can actually kindasorta hug in that form, gives Dana a hug before saying* It's okay...you've only been a Vulpix for a few days and all... *though Voxno thinks on that, as it resumes "walking" (floating) down the road with the group* I...I guess maybe I need to accept I don't have all the answers. This plague, your...transition...both things we can't explain, things that turn our world upside-down...

*Voxno blushes and looks down* I'm not sure if that made any sense...

Bedtime for me.

"I didn't even do anything in that fight…" I whisper to myself.

(I re-iterate my earlier assumption.)

Goobert and I were able to slip away from the bar as soon as Lars swooped in: before this, Vox knew Jani would try to pull something, so they tabbed us to put preventative measures around the building. Once the Lars fight ended, however, she must have managed to slide away, just not understanding how much power she suddenly had.

edited 30th Jul '17 4:50:31 AM by Team42Larson