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Post by DataNinja on Mar 7, 2021 23:37:43 GMT
"I know," Thel replies to Morty, nodding. "There are absolute monsters out there amongst humans. But... in general, from what I've experience, most people are willing to help. And improve, even."
Ophelia, for instance, seems like she might be able to at least improve. But then there are people like Patience's former Trainer...
"It's far different than the view I had as a Pokémon. Where humans were terrifying, coming into your life only to snatch away you or your family, or else fight you when you were only trying to survive..."
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Oct 25, 2024 20:52:23 GMT
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Post by birdy51 on Mar 8, 2021 1:54:01 GMT
"Got it." Muku says with an appreciative nod. It made perfect sense. Just like there were flocks of Starly in the north mountains, there were also Starly here in Johto. Perfectly sensible that the truth might be the same for humans and their weird quirks. She arrives back into the conversation to hear Thel. Of course, she had to get in on that business. She takes a deep breath and looks directly at Thel.
"It's good to hope, but we've still got people who want to snatch us away, or fight us when we're just trying to survive, or maybe even convert us into energy and destroy everything you are. Nothing's really changed. Until I've resolved this, we're not safe. There's gonna people who are going to take advantage of that nice, kind part about you. So. At least for your own sake, please make sure you're keeping an eye out."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 2:07:36 GMT
"I know, Muku," Thel says, nodding. "And I thank you for your concern. I have plenty of strong and wonderful people around me, and I do my best to keep my eye out. And my Pokémon do, too. Any moment that I hear something about Magma... or Aqua, too, I guess... I'll let someone know."
"It's... exhausting to be constantly on your guard. So... for your own sake, if you can... please try and find a safe place where you can rest. Where you don't have to be constantly looking over your shoulder. Having friends, and people you can trust around... it helps immeasurably. Even though I know that we'll never really be able to rest peacefully until the people out there who wish us harm are stopped." Him more literally than the others. The nightmares will just keep on coming.
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Post by birdy51 on Mar 8, 2021 2:16:32 GMT
"I've got a home base. Of sorts." Muku says with soft grin as she elbows Chuck once more in the ribs. "Besides. I've got a full team of friends on me. Mmip, Whoopie, Hornise, Talon. You haven't met Rat and Monolith yet, but I'm sure you would get along well with them. Rat especially. He is one chonky boi." She stops. Thinks on it a bit. "Monolith might take some doing. I uh... Need to work on his ability to fit in indoor places."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 2:24:30 GMT
"That's very impressive," Thel replies, nodding. "I have my hands full with my few. ...I can never really keep track, to be honest," he admits. "I don't know if Harmony counts as six or one for how much trouble they can get into and how much care they need…"
"Anyways, I'm glad you have a nest. Make sure to spend some time there between flights." He hopes he has those flying words right. "And please, give my regards to Terra. I... hope there's no hard feelings over the whale thing. I wasn't strong enough then. I... hope that I'm better now."
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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 Mar 8, 2021 2:54:45 GMT
Chuck grunts as Muku swats his belly again, and crooks his jaw to one side, watching her as she carries on her conversation with Thel. When it finishes, he dives on the girl. "I'll give you a place to call home alright! Headlock!" The pair roll about on the floor, until they hit the wall with the television and the link on Chuck's side goes dark, the sound of the man's bellylaugh and Muku's crowing dying out all at once.
"It seems like Muku is in good hands." Morty laughs. "Miranda always did want a family." "Bugsy, please keep us appraised, and either encourage Whitney to contact us, or give us an update when you reach Goldenrod. I will leave for Violet tonight, and meet with Falkner to see to the habitat issues with my few." "On it!" "I'll see you tonight, Thel. Going to rest awhile so I can observe your sleeping patterns."
A few at a time, the Gym Leaders left the call, until it was just Jasmine sitting beside Thel once more. "It's good to know your friend is alright, and that help is coming eventually... and in some form. If nothing else, we moved a united agenda forward to mitigate as much damage as we can cross region... and found out a few important pieces."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 3:04:14 GMT
Morty is coming here tonight? Huh, he was expecting that it would be longer. That feels very sudden. But... maybe they'll get something useful out of it. He isn't sure how to feel, all of a sudden.
"I'm glad that it's on the way, yeah," Thel says, nodding. "And that Muku's okay. It's... been a while since I've seen her."
"...I'm sorry if I ended up ruining things with Pryce." he says. "I... did what I could. But it wasn't helpful."
He looks at Jasmine, curiously. "What parts did you consider to be important?"
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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 Mar 8, 2021 3:11:38 GMT
"Pryce made up his mind before he ever joined the call. Had there been some benefit to him in the ongoings, he might have been more receptive. We all know he is our region's ice type specialist. His town being covered in snow is of little consequence to him. Clair antagonizing him didn't help." Pinching the bridge of her nose she sighed before composing herself. "That Magma made attempts on Muku previously, and their goals seem much counter to what Aqua desired. The officer Muku encountered from one faction let her go, with no strings... the other tried to kill her?"
There was the soft sound of a door closing, and Patience stood in the office with her back to it. Her expression was reticent, and she didn't look up from her feet.
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 3:14:32 GMT
"That is all very odd..." Thel agrees, before getting distracted by the door.
"Oh, Patience!" he says, smiling. "Good timing, we just finished up. ...are you okay?" The smile turns to concern.
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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 Mar 8, 2021 3:23:19 GMT
"I'm sorry for listening in... but... I can explain why my old Master let her go..." She fidgeted, painted nails lightly scratching at her forearm. "She's a chemist... and when dealing with large obstacles, prefers to sedate them and then re-assess her options. I was in an ambush position while her Vikavolt crushed Muku's slimy blue thing with the relaxed expression... She got Muku with one of her chemical pellets, but it didn't look like it would keep her under for long." Patience held herself with the recounting of it.
"My master took to the fire escape and ordered me to affix myself to Muku's bike... which was by the docks at the time, and I did. Only to watch Muku go sailing into the harbor and swim after a whale." There was a little laugh at that. "She was furious... it wasn't until that night that we met..."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 3:28:28 GMT
"Oh... Patience," he says, reaching over to hold her hands. "I'm so sorry you had to relive that..." He wants to hug her, just keep her safe, but... that's not what feeling safe is to her.
"And, it's okay, I imagine, for you listening in. This is your life too, now," he reassures her, smiling. "It's all okay. Is there anything I can do for you?"
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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 Mar 8, 2021 3:38:06 GMT
"I'll be okay." She replies dully. "I just wanted to volunteer what I knew...". She lightly taps at Thel's wrists, focusing on the sensations.
"Thank you for sharing that much. So Team Magma was interested in tracking the movements of any of their initially botched experiments?". Jasmine asked, to which the tiny blonde nodded, finding it hard to speak in the moment.
"Do you remember where their base of operations was located?". Another nod, and Jasmine's expression tightened. "Why didn't you say so?"
"I didn't want Thel to go there."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 3:43:44 GMT
"Thank you for your concern, Patience," he says, smiling, tapping her wrists back. "But, you don't have to worry. I wouldn't go there. I... don't have the strength to face something like that. Emotionally, or even physically with my friends. It's... too much."
"And... you don't have to keep talking about this if you don't want to. I see it's very hard for you. Many painful memories are involved. It doesn't matter what anyone else wants. If it hurts you, you don't have to share. I don't want my friend, my sister, hurt."
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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 Mar 8, 2021 3:50:00 GMT
"It's in Goldenrod, in the underground. The Master had me take recorded messages to the Games Corner sometimes too. A man with dark hair that shone like it was always wet was there sometimes. He wore all black and seemed really important. There was a symbol with a lot of colors on his top."
Jasmine sat quietly and didn't press further as Thel held his sister. Patience laid her head on his shoulder, and slowly pulled the boy into her arms and held him.
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 3:53:50 GMT
"It's okay... It'll be okay..." Thel says softly, shifting to run a hand through Patience's hair in a mimicking of the brushing that she enjoyed. He just keeps quiet otherwise, and lets the silence hang like a blanket. He doesn't have anywhere to be for a while, so he can just... comfort her for as long as she needs.
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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 Mar 8, 2021 3:59:18 GMT
Jasmine gestures to a couch nearby and sees herself out, leaving the pair alone to recuperate. Hot tears brush against Thel's neck, though Patience doesn't sob at all. "I did such bad things Thel... I watched people's private moments, I told the Master things that let her hurt them... I even almost put her in a position to...". Her fingers squeezed into his shoulders and she fought back a gasp.
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 4:16:45 GMT
"It's okay, Patience," he says, after letting her emotions spill out. "Nobody would blame you. It's the only life that you knew. There are things that I would have done without hesitation back when I was under the Lady that would be unthinkable to me now."
"Who we were is not who we are now. We are as much a product of our circumstances as anything. ...and if you'd refused, I have no doubt that you would have been severely punished, or... worse. And she would have found someone who was willing."
"You kept yourself alive... and when you had the chance, when she wouldn't find you, and hurt you... you left. I blame her for it all. Not you. She was the one who shaped you. Told you to do things. And would have punished you."
"I know you, Patience. You're not a bad person. You care. You want to help. And all those things mean I'm so proud of who you are as a person. Okay? I want you to know that." He holds her close. "There's nobody in the world that I'd rather have as a sister."
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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 Mar 8, 2021 18:50:35 GMT
"Would you have really done the same in my circumstances?". She sniffled, sagging against him. "Done whatever you could to make the pain stop? No matter what it cost other people?". Patience's breathing hitched in her chest. "I don't believe that Thel, not like this... I...if I ever see her again, I don't know what I'll do... She terrifies me still... It would be like... Like you having The Lady towering over you again. Not... Diva... The one you knew from your barrow..."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 8, 2021 19:13:25 GMT
"As I was then? Absolutely," Thel says, shaking his head. "Without question. I would have done whatever asked, with no care as to who was hurt. That was my whole life. Trying to avoid punishments and pain, at whatever cost."
"And... now? I genuinely don't know," he admits. "I'd like to think that I'm better than I was, but... I was going to give into Diva. I wasn't strong enough to handle even that. I needed your help there. And I'm ready to help you in turn if it ever comes up."
"Of all the humans in the world... I do think that I hate her the most. I don't hate easily. But... I think I hate her. For what she did to you, and so many others. For her callous disregard for life. Just... for everything."
"And it's true. Even - or perhaps because of - any of your flaws... there's nobody I'd rather have as a sister. I... really do feel a close kinship with you. It's... in a different way than with Em. A close support, rather than completion. But it's still a strong, good feeling. It makes me wonder if there are different types of love..."
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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 Mar 8, 2021 21:45:54 GMT
"Thank you Thel...". Patience relaxes against him and just lets herself breathe though the tears continue to flow. "This has been the best week of my life, and I want to have so much more time with you... I'm getting more and more scared. When I was in pain all the time I didn't have the energy for this, and it's awful either way..."
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