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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 5:19:44 GMT
"Doing something is better then not doing something in my book." They gave Ayah's hand a squeeze and moved from the handhold, gesturing for Orion to do the same. "You don't have anything on remote, or like a Pokemon shoved into this thing or anything?" Amaranth asked as they made for the bridge.
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 6:42:07 GMT
"Not here," he says, shaking his head. "PC connections aren't really possible once you cast off from land. So there was no real point in putting a storage in."
Coming out of the arena room, it's clear from looking out the too-far-away windows that something's wrong. Something's very wrong. The outside... isn't outside anymore. It's a weird black-purple nebula, with multicoloured various dots floating around.
"That's... not good. We've jumped already."
"Jumped? Where???"
"The space between space. The realm between dimensions. We... we think, anyways. What we were hoping to traverse with this vessel, since it's theoretically less power to reach other realms there. Just... much more dangerous." As if to punctuate, some of the dots in the distance get plotted out by silhouettes moving past them.
Hurrying down the corridor towards the three come Ruby, Evelyn, Kai, Maya, and Zach. "Oh, good. There you are. I'm glad to see you're safe," Maya says, relieved, before noticing Orion, and getting a frostier tone. "Oh. Well, I'm glad to see you're not causing trouble, but not glad to see you're safe."
"My, what a chilly greeting for family."
"Yeah, shut it," Zach states flatly. "We're done here with you. So you better tell us what's going on."
"I know as much as you do. The engines have been activated, so I'm hoping to get to the bridge to figure out what happened and hopefully return home."
"A likely story..."
"Are you both okay?" Evelyn asks Amaranth and Ayah. "You both wandered the farthest, and you didn't respond to us calling out..."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 18:50:01 GMT
"We got through our fight just fine Eve. Orion is... Probably the most gracious loser I have ever met? It's weird but not in a bad way? Anyway, he was with us when it all fired up. Unless you know how any of this stuff works, any of you, we might want to follow him topside and hope he can stop it."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 19:41:12 GMT
"Look. It's clear that the mantle of expansion and discovery is no longer mine. I laid the groundwork, but now it is my children who follow in my path... and who will forge yet further ahead."
"You can stop referring to people you essentially kidnapped and/or experimented on as family, you know," Maya mutters, bitterly, before speaking a bit louder. "I don't really think any of us who were regularly at the house did much in here. Sorry, won't be much help that way."
"If you would, I'd prefer to try and not let this go on too long. It could deplete the energy reserves, leaving us... well, stranded out here. I'd rather avoid that."
"...that'd be a fun thing to try and explain to Dad," Ruby says, dryly.
With that sort of hanging over the heads of everyone, they begin to head back the way they'd all come. The corridors seeming a lot longer now that it's not just casual walking. The nebula of outside rushing past the windows. Carrying them further from home.
After what seems like far longer than it actually was, the group reaches the bridge. It's a large room, with a lot of monitors, instruments, and controls... and a smoking panel that's had wiring torn out. It seems like a lot of lights are blinking, and not every monitor's displaying properly. Though they're doing their hardest.
"Well that's... that's not good," Orion states. Nonetheless, he moves to try some things, frowning more and more. "Yeah. That's what I was worried about. Drive's engaged, and... manually overridden to prevent fixing it quickly. Was a quick job, and should hopefully be fixable with enough time. But, we may have to try and access and cut the engines manually. Which... could be dangerous."
"Okay, and so what's the bad news?" Evelyn asks, sarcastically.
"Well, it looks like there's a disturbance on deck," Orion says, pointing to something flashing that he could apparently tell what it means.
"I didn't mean it!"
"Might be good to check it out. Maybe we could get some answers that way."
"Is it safe to be on deck?" Ayah asks, incredulously. "I saw what outside looked like!"
"Yes, perfectly. Well... theoretically."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 19:52:37 GMT
"I'll go give it a look, as an enhanced human it is theoretically more safe for me.". Amaranth rolled their eyes a little. "Someone wanted us to take this ride enough to not even bother expositing. If it ain't Orion, I'll be giving them some of my boot. Ruby, Eve, you mind keeping an eye on him? Don't think he'll try anything funny. Ayah... Keep safe okay?"
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 20:19:02 GMT
"Oh, no you don't!" Evelyn says. "You aren't going out there alone. And if whatever's out there is the reason for this, I'm wanting to give it a piece of my mind!"
"And I think that Mr. Orion here," Ruby says, prodding said person in the back, "should come along, too. In case he has any explaining to do. He doesn't have any Pokémon left, does he?" she asks Amaranth.
"No, they were quite skillful in defeati-"
"Waaasn't talking to you, buddy."
"Really?" Ayah asks Amaranth. "You think we've come all this way together, and I'm just going to let you run off on your own now? I can't tell if I should be insulted. I think so." She says the last bit teasingly, though.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 20:27:03 GMT
"Old habits you know.". Amaranth giggled sheepishly and gave Ayah a kiss. "Don't be too hard on me. As to Orion coming along, wouldn't you rather he fix our means of getting home before we lack the fuel to get back? I doubt he has spare plates and people to shove them into for more of the stuff. Either way, we should get moving. Before a disturbance on deck becomes a disturbance through the decks."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 21:19:00 GMT
"Now's not the time for that," Ayah says, laughing and playfully swatting at Amaranth.
"I'd rather he fix it, yeah, but if there's something dangerous, he's the best equipped to tell us how to deal with it," Ruby says. "I'd rather a two minute detour than people ending up dying. Doesn't matter if we return home if we lose everyone along the way," she says, dryly.
With that, the group heads up towards the deck, up a brief flight of stairs. Emerging once more from the vessel, it feels... weird.
There's very clearly no air, even when breathing in and out, but it doesn't seem to matter in the slightest. There's a bit of a nebulous haze in the surroundings, but it doesn't impair sight. And it feels like they could just... float away, yet gravity seems to keep working just fine.
The source of the commotion seems to be a pair of Pokémon who've alighted on the deck. One giant blue bat, with twilight wings, and the other a large alabaster lion. Neither of them seem to be actually causing any harm... instead they're watching a rip in space at the bow of the ship, with a curious air.
It seems to be like one of the prior portals that they'd gone through, or seen... except a little off. While the others felt like tunnels in space, this one seems to be more like a rip.
On the other side appears to be a dark and stormy realm, with two girls who're clearly not... entirely human. Much like Maya, really. There's a third person, a blonde woman who looks to be the one from the "family portrait" back in the house, who's in the process of walking back onto the ship. She seems surprised to see so many people and Pokémon waiting.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 21:41:47 GMT
"Well, there's your adoptive Mom. Can't say I recognize the rest, Pokemon or otherwise. Closest thing to Maya we've seen anywhere.". Amaranth hooks their thumbs in their pockets. "Guessing she knows how to break this thing in go. Still doesn't explain the critters."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 22:11:53 GMT
"She's no mother of mine," Ayah says, bitterly. "Always implying something might happen to my sister if I didn't do what was 'asked' of me."
"Julia? What's going on?" Orion asks, as the rift seems to fizzle out, before it seals shut behind the woman. "What are you doing? Explain yourself."
"What I've been working towards ever since I first set foot in that dimension," she says, icily, with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "You always cast your gaze too short. You simply wanted to spread humanity. Improve what was there. Why would you do that, when you could imagine the power to reshape everything."
She holds out a hand, clutched in it a long spear of darkened crystal, refracting light all wrong.
"Oh... oh no..." Maya whispers.
"You see... you couldn't truly listen. You didn't hear the words. But I did. I could hear her. But you were a useful pawn. I made sure that the machines wouldn't accept the coordinates to return them home, so that you would all gather me enough energy to do what I needed to. To link up with another time. Even then, I still needed to be here…" She gestures around. "And now I've done it. I can bring around a better world. Multiple better worlds. For I can access them all from here."
"Are you insane?"
"Pot, meet kettle," Zach mutters.
"No. I'm perfectly sane. I can see. I am the visionary here. Not you. You were too clouded by what is to truly think about what could be."
"...do you just expect us to stand by and let you do this?" Ruby asks. "Because, really, if for no other reason I want to punch you both in the faces for what you've done to us."
"What? But you're better now!"
"Well, I was hoping people would see it my way," Julia admits, "but, It's clear that not everybody has that vision."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 22:29:19 GMT
"Orion had a good vision he just did it without scruples and he was willing to at least give us an ear when we finished trouncing him. You want to hand over your weird crystal, and your Pokemon, so we can go home and put this nightmare away? Ayah and I stopped your buddy without much issue, and there's like... Seven of us now.". Amaranth took to the fore, settling a hand at his hip.
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 22:38:13 GMT
"Ahahahaha, oh, no no no," Julia says, laughing. It's an unsettling sound, the acoustics of the void here being... odd. "You won't have it. I was the one who worked for this, and it's mine. You won't take it from me. I've been waiting for so, so long."
"You don't exactly have a choice in this..." Evelyn says, exasperated.
"Oh... I do. There's always a choice," Julia says, with a wide grin. She looks at her sharp crystal... and then stabs it into her own chest. "I told you..." she says softly, as she slumps to the ground, "you won't take it... It'ssss all mine....."
There's a lot of unsettled looks between all that're assembled.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 22:47:13 GMT
"...Well. She wanted that some bad.". Is all Amaranth manages in the stunned silence, making his way slowly closer. "Don't spose any of y'all is a medical doctor? Probably go and pull it out but... dunno if that'll make it worse or not."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 22:53:51 GMT
Reluctantly, Maya steps forwards. "I... I should probably take care of it. It'll only hurt the rest of you. It's poison, from my world. Not Poison-poison, but..."
She abruptly steps back again though when it pulses. And shatters into nothing. Almost immediately, a crystalline surface seems to spread from the wound, covering Julia. "I... I told you..." the woman says, getting up as she's enveloped, the movement startling the bat and the lion off the deck into the void. "It's mine. It's power. And I will reshape what I choose with it. It feels like more myself than anything I've ever felt before..."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 23:03:44 GMT
"Uhhh... Maya? Does it do that normally?". Amaranth takes several steps back as the two large Pokemon bolt into the void. He releases Hyacinth on deck. "Not going to lie, that is kind of terrifying."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 23:20:16 GMT
"Not that I've ever seen!" Maya says, backing away. "Not that I'd ever heard of anyone stupid enough to do that."
"Oh," Julia says, her tone insulted. "You think I'm stupid? I've orchestrated this since you were children. Ever since you made the mistake of stepping into our world from yours. It's all been leading to this."
"It doesn't matter, though. Nothing will really matter anymore. I'm here. I have my power. And I can reach anywhere. I can just reach out and crush you." She laughs. "Wouldn't that be fun. You and your sister especially. You little brats, always pestering me. I had to put up with you, though. But not anymore. I can have some fun."
With a gesture, crystalline tendrils fly out of her arms, wrapping around the circling bat and lion. "Don't just stand there. Come play down here." Even if her face is no longer really discernable, there is absolutely a maniacal grin in her voice. The chains sink into the two void 'mon, causing what seems like the energy inside to be release as they glow, and crystal begins to grow over parts of them.
"Do you really want to play here? For me to show you what I'm capable of? Or do you just want to go off, and do whatever you want to do while I fix the universe."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 4, 2021 23:51:46 GMT
A moment of hesitation from Amaranth as Julia begins to consume the pair of void creatures. "And you'd just let us all leave? Just like that. Safe and free to go where we please?". There is a quaver in his voice as he rejoined the others, Hyacinth remaining at the fore, watching the proceedings with big eyes.
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 4, 2021 23:58:45 GMT
"Why not?" Julia asks, jovially. "You're all insignificant. I have so much work to do ahead of me. I can guarantee that you'll probably all be dead by the time it matters for you."
"Maybe not letting the brats go. They were just oh-so-infuriating to have to tolerate over the years," she says, thinking. "But, really... the rest of you, I don't even really care one jot about you. Many I don't know who you are."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 5, 2021 0:04:13 GMT
"Going to have to be all or nothing there. Ayah and I are finding ourselves with what the world put on us, and I'm not giving her up on anybody's say-so.". They took a deep breath and assumed a more combative stance.
"You can take your power and go, or it's a fight. Last offer."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 5, 2021 0:17:32 GMT
"Ahahahaha." It seems to be a genuine laugh. "You're going to entwine your life with hers? She's a lost little child with no manners or skills that isn't even entirely human. And not even non-human in a useful direction, too! Pathetic compared to what I crafted to use all of one's potential!"
"Anyone else want to tie themselves to those who wronged me?" Julia asks, giggling, swishing a hand and having 'her' Pokémon attend to either side. "Choose wisely, else I might have my pets rip this ship open. I don't need it anymore."
"Yeah, sorry, no. Not giving up on our friends," Ruby says.
"Not in the slightest. You seem to have an ego bigger than I ever tried to have, and that's saying something. I'm afraid we'll have to teach you something."
"That's all well and good, but, Ruby, I need you to come with me," Zach says. "I'm going to escort Orion down to the engines, and we're going to try and shut this off. Your Pokemon'll come in handy. Your skills too, maybe."
Maya releases her own Pokémon, and summons her blossom. "I'm going to want some help to make sure those Pokémon don't tear this thing apart."
"I'm one of the people that she wants. I have something to prove." Ayah looks at Amaranth. "We have something to prove."
"Kai, Evelyn. Make sure you help my sister ensure we still have a ship, okay? Everyone good with this?"
"...be careful."
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