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Post by DataNinja on May 27, 2019 3:53:16 GMT
"Uh... er..." the Joltik seems to think before squirming and eventually nodding. "Okay. Uncle seems to trust you, so... I'll do it. Uh, where should I go?" she looks up at the Drapion.
He thinks. "Probably just go to the council chamber. If nobody's there, come back, and I'll think of who might still be around who would listen... but, there should be at least a handful there trapped in debate about something meaningless or another." The small spider nods, before webbing up to a small tunnel in another wall, and begins walking away.
As Mica heads back the way she came, Ari looks at Donovan. "So... why you? Why children? Things must have very much changed for you to not only be cooperating in that way, but being sent out instead of someone older. I know that there were always whispered tales of those who joined with another tribe member - not-so-discreetly jabbing at me - but those were always outcasts, walking off into the wilderness to live the rest of their lives alone, with each other. Not sent places on behalf of others. What causes the trust that I can see?"
Mica makes her way through the tunnels, before arriving back at the giant wall. Stepping through, she feels the chill of the wall, followed by the chill of the winter air. It seems to be about the same time as when they entered not long ago... but it could also be coincidentally timed and weathered a day or a hundred years or whatever in the future...
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Post by Breakthelevee on May 27, 2019 4:22:23 GMT
"Well, I guess I should begin by letting you know it's been tens of thousands of years since you all closed up these places. I think thats the timeline we figured out. I'm still not certain, we only recently talked with someone whos been outside for the entire time." Donovan starts, sitting down across from the Drapion "In addition, Mica and I aren't like you all. While we can take on these forms now, due to carrying the plates, originally it was only when we were inside the sealed structures, our people call them Temples because they thought they were religious in nature. Anyways, at first we only took these forms while inside the Temples."
"See, people have spent the last few decades studying them, and then this person came along, by the name of Axiom, and kidnapped someone I was travelling with. I had just started my journey and so, young dumb and headstrong, I took off after her along with the two others I was travelling with. We managed to get to the Temple she had went to just in time for an explosion to happen."
He gestured at himself "The result was us being able to enter into the Temples, the seals turning into something like water and parting before us. I woke up inside as a Budew, tiny and weak. And let's just say that the Fighting Tribe didn't take kindly to us. But that's where we learned how much of a monster Axiom was. She killed her way to the Plate and took it, leaving us to take the brunt of the blame. I'm not even sure she knew we had made it in at that time honestly."
He wiped away at his eyes, remembering the scene Axiom had left behind "The other two I went with couldn't handle it, and went away. I haven't heard from them since, but Mica was also caught in the explosion and so her and I decided to head to the other Temples and see what they were like"
"The Psychic Tribe was next and they explained much to us and willingly entrusted their Plate, their very lives, into our hands. Grass, Rock, Electric, Fairy, Poison. Each was visited and each granted us their Plates in turn. Before we came here we sensed a disturbance, it seems Axiom has taken the Fire tribe now. So we came here, to try and save you from her wrath."
"So I guess" He says with a bit of a laugh "Why us? Because we happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. And neither me or Mica can just stand by while so many are trapped and dying. We have life entrusted to us, and I promise I will free every single Tribe. I guess....I guess they can just see that? We are something totally different, tribeless completely. We fight for a united front, a future where everyone lives freely under the sun."
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Post by Robot on May 28, 2019 8:15:57 GMT
Mica squinted at the angle of the sun, then checked the clock on her Pokedex, trying to puzzle out how to determine this. She -could- call someone, but if there was a time gap they might get upset with her. She could ask one of her Pokemon but they would be fending for themselves. There weren't really a lot of good options.
Not that she didn't trust her companions to take care of themselves, she just didn't want them to worry. Maybe if she found a wild Pokemon to help her! Someone responsible. She trusted Donovan, as much as he doubted himself,and she knew she could do this.
Shifting back into a Bonsly, she hunted the nearby area for a Pokemon that might live near the temple.
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Post by DataNinja on May 29, 2019 0:31:23 GMT
Donovan
"I see..." says the arthropod. "How does that work out for you? Does being tribeless bring you closer together, or drive you further apart? Are you a unified people... or spread out colonies of outcasts? I assume that there is not true unity if there are those around who seek to kill and destroy... but are those the ordinary, or the desperate?"
"I would like to see a world where who you are did not matter, where you could be brother or sister with one who was different, and still be accepted... is that the kind of world that you live in?"
Mica
While the sun, having basically gone down, is not a very useful indication, her PokéDex does tell her that, in theory, it's about the same time as when she went in, on the same day... unfortunately, without a signal, that's not necessarily accurate, if it froze when being inside the Temple.
...it may have been a better idea to shift into the short-legged Rock Type at the bottom of the Temple, because the distance sure seems a lot longer.
Thankfully, it doesn't take too long to locate a nearby Pokémon, given the hooting noises coming from a bird high in the tree, fluffing itself. It's reeeaalllly high up there, though.
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Post by Robot on May 29, 2019 12:38:40 GMT
Mica -could- yell at it, but that probably wouldn't help anything and just upset the bird. Why did not having arms have to be so awful and complicated. Maybe she'd get lucky and it would stay put while she made her ascent. Returning to human form once more, she pulled herself into the lowest branches and began to climb despite the little scratches, the dirt and the sap clinging to her skin. This was her element, and had always been. Doing something so simple again brought a smile to her face.
The foliage obscured her view of the bird, but she kept her ears open as she made her way higher into the tree.
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Post by Breakthelevee on Jun 1, 2019 20:14:39 GMT
"I can't really explain how vast our society is. I think there's a few thousand people in each tribe or so? That's a small town for us. There are countless towns and cities dotted across the land and we can communicate with any of them in an instant." Donovan says
"You can go anywhere in the world, and while some might not accept you, the vast majority will. Like I myself am not from this land, I come from halfway across the world. And yet I've made the closest friend I've ever had in Mica. Who as you could see, is different enough from me in her very soul that we represent different Tribes. And yet I've never trusted another person as much as I trust her."
"We don't live for long when compared to what you're used to, since the plates no longer sustain us. But these shorter lifespans have helped us in the grand scheme of things I think. When you live forever you don't really want to see things change, you embrace tradition and how things have always been. But there's so much more to life then just doing the same thing in the same place. So many sights to see and things to experience."
The plant smiled at the Dark type "That is my world, and the one I want every member of every Tribe to have the chance to see for themselves"
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 1, 2019 22:24:27 GMT
Mica
The bird-sounds shuffle and cause the leaves to flutter as it seems to jump away... but it also sounds like it probably only went to the next tree. Which, Mica can indeed see is the case when she manages to get higher up, towards thinner branches.
Perched on the edge branches of the next tree over, staring at her, is a round owl perched on one leg. Does it even have a second leg? She can't tell. Tilting it's head (body?) in odd directions, it stares at her with unblinking eyes, letting out a curious sounding "hoo?" It doesn't seem very used to seeing humans in trees.
Donovan
"That... none of that seems even possible..." the Drapion says. "Even all but the very strongest Psychic types would have troubles communicating instantly with another of their kin at any vast distance. Let alone however far you say that you come from. You must be very well travelled then... and very tired."
"I... suppose I never thought about things that way, with regards to lifespan. But... when you don't have people who were there telling you things, sharing their experiences... yes, I can see how that might cause more change. Grudges might fade, as too might idols. The sands of time would wash much quicker, upon which new things would be shaped."
"I cannot say that I fully embrace that... history is valuable, and surely so much would be lost if you cannot ask those who were there about things. Surely progress could not be made if you have to keep re-learning the basics for each new generation of crafters. Pokémon do not build vast civilizations, after all... but, I suppose if you have, what do I know?"
"If the world has changed so much, though..." he asks wearily, "Is there even a place out there for us? Would it not be better just to leave us here, left to our own devices? It's not really our world anymore, is it..." The last part doesn't really seem to be a question so much as a statement.
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Post by Robot on Jun 3, 2019 18:25:08 GMT
"Heeeey!" Waving at the bird, she wriggled herself down into a crown of branches before reverting to the limbless ball of stone that was Bonsly. "Do you mind helping me for a little while! I need to know the time on something! Did you see me go into the big rock down there? Also, how come you only have one foot! Did someone take the other one?"
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Post by Breakthelevee on Jun 5, 2019 1:42:15 GMT
"I'll start with the history thing" Donovan says before scratching a few letters into the ground in front of him, spelling out his own name "We don't need to have lived history to learn from it. We have it all stored as information. Books, stories, songs. The past lives on, but we know to grow from it."
"As for how far away I come from, we've created machines that fly further and faster than Flying types, and machines for communication that can also access all of the knowledge of the past, as long as we're near a city." He realized just how impossible it sounded, but continued on nonetheless.
"And finally, of course theres a place for you all there. The world belongs to everyone, and your experiences and insight are invaluable. Besides, knowing what is out there, would you really damn the children of all of the tribes to live forever trapped in a place such as this? Never feeling the breeze, or seeing the sun or the moon? There's so much more to the world than what exists in these walls"
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 5, 2019 3:19:20 GMT
Mica
"Who you?" The bird asks, staring at the mini-tree in the big tree. "You who, hoo? Why you want time? Time is just before hunting, hoo." It hops, deftly switching from one foot to another. "One, two, hoo. Two feet are mine. And things don't go into rocks. Rocks hurt, hoo. Stay high."
Donovan
"If what all you say is true, then we are but insignificant specks compared to what lies out there," the Drapion says. "A disruption. A people with no true space. Histories with no purpose. It seems like your world out there works just fine... and we would simply be something that ruins the consensus. I do not understand how things could be as what you speak of, what 'machines' are, and I am sure that the same could be said for many. What you take for granted... it is a whole different world."
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Post by Breakthelevee on Jun 12, 2019 4:18:37 GMT
"You think I don't get that?" Donovan says brusquely "You think I don't understand how different things used to be compared to how they are now?"
"Just because things used to be a certain way. Just because some of you made some choices. That doesn't mean that things have to STAY that way. I said I was doing this so all of you could see the sun, and feel the breeze again. But that isn't really the truth"
The boy looks down the hall where the Joltik had went "I'm doing this because those born within these halls don't need to suffer because of the choices of those born before them. I plan on making it my lifes mission to help those who wish to integrate with modern society do just that, and those that don't? I'll help them find a way to live the way they wish."
He looked back at the Drapion "But I'll be damned before I stop trying to give those kids a chance"
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Post by Robot on Jun 15, 2019 11:40:24 GMT
"Umm... My name is Mica! I really want to go into the rock but I don't know how many hunts I will miss! I am very strong. Can you count them for me like you counted your feet?" She hadn't talked to very many natural born Pokemon. Drampa had been aged and experienced, but this bird didn't seem to be. "I can bring you a berry, or something shiny for your nest if you will help!" She offered.
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 15, 2019 18:03:48 GMT
Mica
"You strange, hoo." The bird says, ruffling its feathers. "But can count. One, two, three... counting is fun. No shinies. Harder to hide nest, hoo. Berries good. Will keep watch."
Donovan
"I see..." the Drapion says. "Very admirable. You have much conviction in what you say... it almost makes me feel a spark of hope myself." He chuckles. "Ah, the power of youth. Where a wise man might say something's impossible, a child will just try it anyways."
"Perhaps there is something in all of this, after all. Let's just wait and see who shows up, though."
The pair don't need to wait too long, though, as a nervous Joltik bounces back (through a much larger corridor), with a large purple spider, buzzing beehive, and very, very large dragonfly in tow.
"Three," Ari says, a little sarcastically, "more than I was expecting to come for a doddering old fool such as myself."
"Well, y'know," the Ariados says, chuckling, "we only wanted to try and kill you with shock. Any more and we might've succeeded. How've you been, you 'old fool'."
"Y'know, the usual... still an outcast, still tired. Could be worse though. Let me meet this guy." The Drapion gestures to Donovan before his tone takes a turn for the more serious. "But, much as I love pleasantries, I know it'll take ages to debate things, so I'll get to the point. He says that he, and another whom I met but who left to go outside, they have a way that we can get out of here. There are big changes, but those might be surpassable. The big thing is... they need the Plate."
There's a ripple of shock and muttering through the three newcomer bugs.
"That would be an awful big risk," the Vespiquen says, peering at Donovan. "Things have been workable so far. We live good lives in here. Safe."
"Indeed," the Yanmega adds, his buzzing deep. "too high a risk, probably. We could easily die. And then what would all of this have been for?"
"This isn't living, though," the Drapion says, glancing at Donovan, with a bit of a smile. "This is just surviving. I know that better than all of you. I see the same patters playing out again and again, as I just get more and more tired. If we don't take a risk, it will never change. Or... if it does, it will be for the worse. Because there's someone out there who doesn't want to free us. And would just take our lives and run. We have to decide on if we're so certain that outsiders can't get in, that we're willing to leave that as our hope." There's heavy sarcasm in his voice in the last line, as he stares at Donovan.
"...what does the child have to say?" the Ariados asks, looking at Donovan. "Do you think this will make things better if we go through with it?"
"Would you really have come here if you weren't hoping that yourself...?" Jolie asks, quietly, from the corner.
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Post by Breakthelevee on Jun 17, 2019 1:17:04 GMT
"I guess I'm gonna have to get used to repeating myself" Donovan says under his breath as he stands up and bows to the newcomers
With a deep breath, he smiles politely before beginning "I'm not here to say that this is an easy decision, or that the transition won't be hard. I'm not here to say that what you're doing now isn't a valid choice, even if I don't believe it is. BUT" He stops and looks at the ground "I am here to warn you of someone who will come here and take what they want by force. You've seen that I can come in here, I who share no common history with Bug. Yet here I am, and I came with another. Like he said, my entry is proof that the old wards are no longer a form of safety. No, now they're bars in a prison cell, keeping you trapped."
"But also like I told him, I'm not doing this for you. Most I've met from before the Sealing are stuck in there ways, sure that the past is right. I can't speak of that, having been born outside of the confines of.....well of anything. Times have changed, and most people don't hold to any illusion of tribal unity. Anyone can go anywhere and be anything they want. While that might not be something you are interested in, what of the children born within these walls? Can you truly consider it fair to them to keep them from ever seeing sunlight? From feeling the breeze across their faces?"
"In addition" He slashes a mark into the floor in front of him "There is the third person I spoke of. A monster of a person, she would come, she would kill, and she would leave with the plate and your destruction. She has already taken from the Fighting Tribe and the Fire Tribe. I don't want the Bug to be her next victims"
He bows once more "I know its a lot to take in, but time is somewhat of the essence. I don't know how it works here but it flows differently in each place that has been sealed and the longer I take, the closer she gets"
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Post by Robot on Jun 17, 2019 9:29:07 GMT
Progress at last! Sort of, climbing back down the tree (mostly using her large mouth and little bonsly legs), Mica puzzled out the temples and time. If it was a slow temple, then it will be like she never left, but if it was a fast temple it would also be like she never left, cause it was the outside that changed not the inside. It made her head hurt.
Still, she had a new owlfriend to help, and it had two feet, that was neat! She wondered if it had ever tried to take up dancing with how quickly it could move them, as she slipped into the temple, and barring interruption, back out again.
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 17, 2019 15:51:18 GMT
Donovan
"I see," The Ariados says, smiling. "That's what I needed to hear. That genuine hope, care. No mention of power, of guiding how we act. I will convene the others, and see if we can get them to listen."
"I must warn you, though," the Yanmega adds, "that we here may not move as fast as you expect. I understand that speed is of the essence, but going forth without a general consensus is not who we are. We who came here are the most receptive to change - there are many who will take longer to convince. You are welcome to stay here, or wander, while we hold conversations... though your safety is not guaranteed if you wander. There are many who might react... poorly to seeing a mysterious outsider."
Jolie shrinks back a little bit at that.
Mica
Stepping inside the Temple for a few minutes, then back out, Mica finds a whole city to have sprung up while she was inside! ...just kidding, it looks the exact same as when she talked to the owl beforehand.
"Hoo hoo," he says, having perched on the top of the temple in curiosity. And it seems that he was still there. "That was... uh, less than one hunt! No hunts. Not long."
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Post by Breakthelevee on Jun 20, 2019 18:56:48 GMT
"I'll wait here" Donovan says, before heading over towards the Joltik and sitting down.
He sighs as he slides down the wall before looking over at her "So, now that you know what it's like out there, what do you plan to do once we break the seals? Like I was telling them, people like you, those who haven't been outside these walls, you're the real reason we're working so hard to collect the Plates."
"It's something to think about. Whether you'll stay here where its safe and comfortable, or head out into the wider world. It's dangerous but I can't really put into words how extraordinary the world is. It's bigger than anyone could ever imagine"
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Post by Robot on Jun 29, 2019 10:11:56 GMT
Mica considered the owl for a moment, and the position of the Moon. It seemed like this one might have been slow, but it was hard to tell so she went back and forth a couple of times until she was satisfied and then nodded to herself. She could go find her helper a berry worry free now! She poked her way off into the trees in search of one.
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 29, 2019 17:29:32 GMT
Donovan
"I... I don't know," the Joltik says. "This place here, it's all so big... and yet, compared to outside, it's probably the size of me, while the world is the size of this place. It's... a scary thought." She chitters nervously. "I feel like I'd get lost in something like that. The being able to see things that nobody could imagine... that sounds amazing, but I don't know if I could bring myself to do it. Right now, I'm just... I'm scared that you try and do all of this for us... and that it turns out that all of us are like me. Too scared to take a leap, even if part of us thinks that we might want to."
"I'm sorry for running away at first seeing you," she adds, after a moment of silence.
Mica
The Bonsly-girl is able to find some berries not too far off from the Temple, within a bush that's rather spiky. It's no match for her stone body (though the lack of arms does make it a little hard to get it out), but others being put off by the spikes seem likely as to why that particular one went untouched as opposed to stripped clean like the outer branches.
The owl hoots happily in thanks, before silently flying off in search of other food.
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Post by Breakthelevee on Jul 4, 2019 15:20:17 GMT
"Even if none of you end up leaving here. Even if everyone in here hates me for bringing change. I won't regret any of my actions as long as it keeps you safe when Axiom comes." Donovan says softly "It's ok to be scared of change and new things, like a talking flower thats so unlike anything you've seen before."
"When I first turned into a Pokemon, I didn't think it was real so I've never really dealt with the emotions I should involving any of this. You....didn't have that luxury. If I was you I would have been scared too."
He stood up and stretched, wondering how long the others would be and how long it had actually been outside "But no matter what, people like myself and Mica have to press on through the fear. Because it isn't just about us anymore. That's what makes it just a little bit easier. Doing things for the people like you"
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