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Post by headlesskoko on Aug 3, 2017 8:01:52 GMT
Alright, now it was Iris's turn to be confused by new and sudden terms, spoken by the not-Pokemon. She was, luckily, spared from causing any further confusion by Layl who introduced a novel and yet familiar concept: world travel. Wasn't she told that before, actually? A while go? A minor, easily forgettable mention of worlds without Pokemon existing? She couldn't remember, but it felt like it, and that was probably more important. It certainly explained Yoko's bizarre insistence on fish not being able to breath as well as the lizardman's plethora of fantasy-like terms.
Iris rubbed her head. She felt like she was going to have a headache now that she was thinking about where everyone came from. Each person from a different world? Apparently so. Then, of course, from the question resurfaced that dreadful existential crisis Iris never fully shook off after having experienced it once. Who was to say that any of these worlds existed and that they had merely been created with memories by AL? The conductor of this game reminded Iris too much of the God Machine, even as she saw the differences that clearly defined the two. However, as with every other time the crisis poked its head into her mind, Iris resolved it by reminding herself that it was the present that mattered. She could do nothing if her past had been fabricated.
Having closed her eyes to organize her thoughts, Iris missed Shossk's smile, but she offered her sincere apologies to the lizardfolk, "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I... had not expected this to happen. I will try to not make that mistake again, Shossk," after Yoko finished her question.
Iris could have also answered Yoko's question. She had a plan already set out for beginning on the return home. However, Layl also seemed to have experience, and as Iris had only traveled to a different world once (or more like half), it wasn't terribly difficult for someone with any experience to have more experience than her. She wanted to hear what Layl's answer would be. After that, Iris might talk about Pokemon if the timing seemed right. She wanted to show, not tell, about the creatures that filled her home world.
In the meantime, she looked suspiciously over the still polite Zorua, who had been looking at her training this entire time, head buried in her furry tail and eyes just barely peeking out. Iris... couldn't bring herself to channel what could be a trap, and in an attempt to cover all of her bases and ease her worries, she went ahead and returned the tiny kit, an arc of light zapping the Pokemon back into her ball. With another press of the button, the ball shrunk and Iris hooked the storage unit to her belt without really thinking. Only after feeling the Pokeball click into place, did Iris realize that her belt might not have been the same and was therefore glad that she could still hook a Pokeball to it.
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Post by seraphflonne on Aug 3, 2017 8:18:01 GMT
Layl scratches the back of her head, sure she had traveled to worlds...technically, but the method of travel she used was out. Aha! Donald and Goofy used something else didn't they? what was it called again? "A Gummi Ship! That's how my friends travel around the worlds, so if we can just find or make one, we could get off this world and head to another....the only problem being...I don't know where your worlds will be" The last of it came out as a murmur, though it could still easily be heard since there really wasn't much in the way of her voice.
Layl glares at the ground, realizing just how defeatist she was sounding, that wasn't like her at all! "We just need to find Gummi Blocks and make a ship! How hard could that be?" She put on false bravado, trying to ignore what she had just said seconds before, putting her hands on her hips and nodding to herself to add to her facade. She also plastered another smile on her face, this one looking just a bit too wide to be real.
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Post by Staruniva on Aug 3, 2017 9:15:50 GMT
"Hang on, what? Gummy ships? Your friends traveled to different worlds in ships made out of candy?" Yoko asked with an incredulous look, seriously hoping that she had only misheard Layl.
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Post by headlesskoko on Aug 3, 2017 9:18:30 GMT
Nope. Iris sort of saw right through it, the facade that is. To be honest, she wasn't completely sold on the gummi ship idea in the first place. That being said, she couldn't completely deny it, <Let's keep my options open. What... um... whatever a gummi ship is.> Sure, Iris shared Yoko's disbelief, but Layl felt genuine. Iris went off these feelings of her's a lot, for better or for worse.
By this point, Iris had become self conscious of her dreariness. She was confused, sure, but so was everyone else. Really, Layl probably had the right idea with her smile, at the very least. Iris needed to help with that.
She gave her knuckles a good crack and then used the recently cracked hands to give herself a quick slap on both cheeks. Once. Twice. Thrice just in case. Unlike Layl, Iris didn't want false bravado. She just wanted the ability to smile back, and she hoped that the tingling pain would wake her up from this heavy tension. "Mmm," she breathed in and then out, her eyes closed from the slapping.
When she opened her eyes, Iris began saying actual words.
"Alright, so we've got one potential out from Layl, as much as I don't really understand it. Guess we gotta save up any gummy bears and worms we find from now on instead of eating them for rations, eh?"
The joke was weaker than a Happiny, but that was okay. Iris found her smile at this point and it appeared as a grin on her face. This was her turning point. For the rest of her monologue, Iris smiled when appropriate and was generally more expressive than the bland negativity she was showing before.
"But real talk. Let's start with what we know, or have to trust or else we'll go crazy. First, we're all from a different world and foreign to this world. Second, we are here to play a game for AL's enjoyment. Third, we have been equipped for this game, including being given a Pokemon and, in my case at least, having my powers scrambled. Fourth, AL has told us nothing that isn't related to this game, including any mention of being able to return home. The closest thing is a yet unnamed prize for finishing the game that could be allowing us to go back. Fifth, we absolutely need to work together. There's more, I'm sure, but this is what I figured was important,"
Iris had, sometime while talking, started to take a good, long look at the room. Indeed, there were just archways that looked like they led to the various zones and mysterious doors with symbols of some sort inscribed on them. Intuition told her that the doors didn't lead to anything that could be done to ignore the game. Besides, trying to ignore the game would probably just invite catatstrophe.
"I hate to admit it, but I'm inclined to believe that our fate is in AL's hands. Whatever powers you may have over Gummi Ships that could get us out of here might not even work under AL's rules. Like I said, he's messed with my powers. His game is hardly a lead, but it's the only thing we can do here. We can look for any of these gummy blocks while clearing the zones. "
Iris wasn't sure how much of what she said had been absorbed by everyone, so she stayed quiet for a bit to give everyone a chance to mull over what was just said. After waiting for a bit, she moved into what she really wanted to suggest.
"Having said all that, what I really want for everyone right now is to get familiar with Pokemon and Pokemon battles. I know you've already asked, but I want to show rather than tell. Aside from the arches, some of the doors look promising. We should look to see if there's any sort of open area we can train at and any indicators about how long we can stay here, like food and water. I mean, even if we can stay a long time, I don't think it's a good idea to. We need to keep our great and mighty overlord interested after all."
Iris ended by rolling her eyes, already finding a comfortable and casual way of thinking about her captor.
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Post by SuperVaderMan on Aug 3, 2017 14:27:12 GMT
Shossk simply nods at Iris to accept her apology. Apparently she had said something to offend. He knew it was appropriate to accept an apology, even if he didn't fully understand what it was for.
Then the humans start talking about ships made out of candy. That would be a very pleasant experience, Shossk notes, and he tastes the air reflexively. But... ships that can travel between worlds? He had heard of that before, something Lianna had once mentioned.
He lifted his head a few centimeters as it suddenly returned to him. "I have hearrd of these ships. Spelljammers, shipss used to travel betweenn the stars, sometimes betweenn the Planes." In truth he'd never heard of ships made out of candy, but it could be possible. Hopefully it was possible. "It may be farr more simple to find a scroll of Plane Shift, but I would not be ablle to cast it."
Iris gives her spiel, and Shossk nods again. "Thiss is likely a pocket dimension off the creature's design, and the creaturre seems powerful. Any mmeans of escape would likely be placed on purpose. We may alsso be dimensionally anchored. Playing the creaturres game may be our only option."
"You arre familiar with these creatures," Shossk addresses Iris directly. "If they will obey us, it willl be helpful to know of their strenngths and weaknesses."
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Post by seraphflonne on Aug 3, 2017 17:55:47 GMT
It took her a second to see the problem and when she did, Layl felt embarrassed. "G-gummi! With an I at the end!
N-not the candy!"She stumbled over her words for a second, a red tint coming to her cheeks. She glared at Yoko for a few moments as Iris started explaining her thoughts on the matter. It was a good point, and if Iris was right their powers were scrambled. Layl hadn't even thought to check yet. She quickly focused on Class and read the info over. It was clear they had limited her Keyblade greatly, and...Shade Caller?
Layl paled drastically, her hand coming up to right above her heart and grasping. It was still there, right? It had to be, she wasn't craving hearts and attacking people mindlessly. No, she was fine...but she shouldn't be fine. Her memories finally caught up to her. The war, countless keyblades clashing together, the rumble of spells and the final blow to herself. Layl brow began to sweat as she started breathing heavily for a moment. Then she stopped, she slid a mask over her face and hid all that away, she could deal with all of that later. Everything is fine, and that's what her companions needed to believe.
Layl walked over and picked up the fox, watching as it stared up at her with those eyes. She ran her hand through it's tufts of fur, and scratched behind it's ears. It made a sound of encouragement as it rubbed against her hand. She cradled it against her body and turned back towards the others. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's start learning!"
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Post by Staruniva on Aug 3, 2017 18:58:10 GMT
Yoko thought about pointing out that gummy spelled with either a 'y' or an 'i' still had the same meaning, but seeing Layl glaring at her was enough of a hint not to say anything else. In the face of such an intense glare, though, Yoko started feeling increasingly uncomfortable, and she started fidgeting nervously in response. Maybe i shouldn't have said anything, she thought as she averted eyes from Layl, looking down at her feet and meeting the eyes of her fish, which she had completely forgotten about (which is surprising considering this mess started with her panicking over it). In a bid to make herself look busy Yoko reached down and picked up her fish, then held it close to her chest like it was some kind of pillow. Since she didn't have anything constructive to add to the conversation, Yoko decided to stand back and listen quietly to what the others had to say.
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Post by headlesskoko on Aug 3, 2017 19:10:54 GMT
Iris hadn't wanted to boss anyone around too much, but as no one had moved an inch, she figured she had no choice to but to more exactly say what she wanted. "Well, like I said," she repeated, "We should take in our surroundings first. I want a good area for some practical exercises and an idea of how much food we have."
As she spoke, Iris belatedly looked over her equipment. It all seemed so familiar. The bag was the bag she used during her island adventures, she was sure of it. The contents within were not only almost exactly what she owned, they were also all placed the way she usually placed them. The only difference was that her Dragon Claw TM had been replaced by a TM for substitute instead. She even had the music box she had found and even her study materials: a notebook and writing tools. A quick glance through the notebook showed that it was filled with material she recalled writing. <Is this all my stuff?> she wondered incredulously, <Or are these all just exact replications?> but did not drop her guard. Still, seeing familiar items brought a smile to her face, partly sad to be reminded of the past and partly glad to see that she could at least believe she had something familiar on her.
While it was true that Iris wanted to teach practically rather than theoretically, while she flipped through her notebook, she figured that she might as well start explaining some things to the others. She placed herself in their shoes, <If I were them, I'd like to know at least a little bit by now.> At the very least, Iris needed to let them know why she thought it important to do practical over theoretical, "Um, I guess what I can say now is that the strengths and weaknesses of each Pokemon vary, from their types to the way that they've been trained. There's a lot of information that goes into it, which is why I want to let you guys use your Pokemon a bit instead of just telling you everything. I don't know what kind of experience you guys have or how well you'll take to battling, but one thing I want to stress is that no matter what kind of battle style you may adopt, Pokemon look to their trainers for orders. At least, most do, and of those that don't, it's very rare for even one to fight effectively alongside their trainer. That being said, I won't tolerate it if you just toss your Pokemon around without a care for their well being, even if they are just illusions." Iris had been smiling until the last sentence, when her smile transformed into a rare glare. Albeit, it was an ineffective glare coming from the shorty.
Only after donning her bag did Iris see that there was one more thing on her plinth, something she did not recall from before. A paper bag sat innocuously upon the now empty pillar. She'd finished talking about searching for food and the like by this point and had wanted to say something else, but the mystery of the bag stopped her from speaking. Iris looked inquisitively upon it as she carefully picked it up. She gave it a good shake to extract any clues from the sounds its contents made. From the sound it made, if any, she couldn't come to anything near a conclusion.
While trying to x-ray vision through the bag, Iris wrapped up what she wanted to say, "Let's check the computer things and see if any of these doors, not the arches mind you, open to anywhere useful. We should split the work and then come back to this room to share our discoveries." Sadly, she had not been given x-ray vision powers. Her only option was to open it, so after giving everyone a good luck smile, Iris did exactly that. As Iris walked towards the unmarked door to get the search started, she opened the paper bag and peeked into it.
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Post by SuperVaderMan on Aug 3, 2017 19:59:49 GMT
"They are bounnd to our will, then, as from a ssummoning spell," Shossk suggested. He tilts his head slightly at Iris' threat. "Will they nnot disappear when struck down and return to theirr home Plane?"
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Post by Vazad on Aug 3, 2017 22:22:37 GMT
The paper bag makes light crinkling noises as Iris handles it. it feels oddly light in her grasp and it retains its shape when handled. Upon opening it Iris sees that the inside is much larger than the outside, appearing to hold three meals worth of simple food and a days worth of water. The food appears to mostly be bland looking sandwiches in several flavors and the water is in plain bottles.
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Post by seraphflonne on Aug 3, 2017 22:51:29 GMT
Layl shrugged at Iris' decision to scout the rooms first, it makes sense, there might be something in one of the rooms that explains what is going on anyways. She gives Shossk a glance at his question, Pokemon were summons? Hm, she doubts that, she didn't feel the spark of magic she usually does when a summon was activated. "I don't think their magic, they don't feel like magic to me, at least."
She walked over to the door with a field on it, standing before it and giving it a once over before deciding to reach out and grasp the handle with her one free hand. "I guess I'll take this one, I'll yell if anything goes wrong!" And so she twisted the knob.
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Post by SuperVaderMan on Aug 3, 2017 23:06:43 GMT
Shossk turns to tilt his head at Layl now. "Thesse orbs summon the creatures onto this dimension. They arre clearly magical in their nature."
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Post by Vazad on Aug 4, 2017 1:13:52 GMT
As the door swings open a warm breeze whips up around Layl. Peering inside it appears to be a seemingly endless expanse covered in shallow hillocks broken by the occasional flat area or small lake. The entire plain appears to be free of any vegetation other than the thick soft blue green grass underfoot. The sky overhead is a pure striking light blue that contains nothing, not sun nor cloud. Looking to the right or left it can be seen that the door frame is standing free without any sort of building supporting it.
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Post by headlesskoko on Aug 4, 2017 2:11:04 GMT
<Enough for one day... if I stretch it,> Iris estimated how long the contents of the paper bag would last her, taking into consideration how much her starter would need to eat. If there wasn't any other food here, then there wasn't much time at all to familiarize everyone with their Pokemon. However, nothing to be done about that. Iris closed the bag and stashed it away carefully in her bag.
With hand on the door's handle, Iris turned to address the whole Pokemon as summons notion. "This isn't a game," she chastised, wanting to quickly clear away the notion that there were no lasting consequences for pushing a Pokemon to its limits, "Well, I mean, this is a game, in a sense, but my world, with Pokemon, was most definitely not a game. Pokemon are living, just like you and me, and just like us, they don't have any automated emergency escape system. The pokeball, which is technology in my world and not magic, can be to safely store a Pokemon, but it's really only as safe as you are, even then, and when the Pokemon are released from their pokeballs, they are just as injured as when they entered. Like our wounds, their wounds need to be treated and they need time to heal. As for Pokemon being magical... Some can be. Some are also technological. Some are animals of all types, other plants. Some are fairies. Others demons."
Letting the others mull over that as they wished, she attempted to open the unmarked door and see what was on the other side.
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Post by Vazad on Aug 4, 2017 2:13:55 GMT
The handle rattles on the unmarked door but it does not open.
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Post by SuperVaderMan on Aug 4, 2017 2:43:43 GMT
Shossk's eyes lingered on Iris for a moment. Then he inspected his engraved pokeball, which was apparently a storage device, not simply a means of extra-planar summoning. The others claimed it was not magical, but that was clearly impossible. How else could such a device store something many times its size? Perhaps it functioned as a teleport, either to a place in this dimension or to within its own pocket dimension.
In any case, the true nature of these spheres wasn't important, only that Shossk now understood their occupants were not temporary help. They would require care and food the same as any normal living creature.
Wordlessly Shossk turns to loot the plinth with the swiftness of a seasoned adventurer, quickly stowing away the supplies and donning the magical clothes. He checks his paper bag, same as the others, to discover that it was some form of Bag of Holding, only much more limited in space and with some small amount of provisions. He stows that away, too.
After that Shossk elects to inspect what's behind the door whose symbol he didn't recognize - the symbol being of some sort-of fattened chair that was different from the couch symbol. The dartrix hops off the plinth and waddles after him.
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Post by Vazad on Aug 4, 2017 3:12:11 GMT
Shossk opens the room to find several strange contraptions in a circular domed room. To his left is a large basin set into the floor, if he were to lay inside it he could easily spread his arms and legs to their full length in any direction without touching the edges. On the side nearest the wall a metal pipe stretches out of the floor with two smooth rods extending from either side, they appear to be jointed and swing in the opposite direction of one another. One is marked with red paint and the other with blue. On the other wall there are two devices near each other, one resembles the image on the door. A crystalline bowl with a lid that appears to only cover the edges with a large hole in the middle. There is a rounded square back connected to it by a pipe, it sits well above Shossk's head and has a beaded chain reaching down from it to dangle near the strange object. The other piece near it is a rounded basin sticking out from the wall, with another pipe similar to the array on the other side of the room sticking out of the wall. There is a patch of the wall that is completely smooth and mirrored, reflecting everything within.
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Post by headlesskoko on Aug 4, 2017 3:18:09 GMT
Iris's eyes narrowed at the stubborn door, but she knew that strength was not her strong point. She elected to try another method. Her eyes closed as she focused on a familiar, if fickle, power: scrying. The subject of her vision would be the door she touched, but rather than focusing on a time, she focused on a place she could not see, the other side of the door. If an unmarked door such as this was locked, then it was too suspicious to let it go unchecked... if she could help it, that is.
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Post by Staruniva on Aug 4, 2017 4:13:32 GMT
While the information Iris provided was quite intuitive, it only opened up more questions to Yoko. Type? Strengths? Weaknesses? Training? Wait, we have to train these things? Yoko glanced down at her fish then, wondering how in the world she was supposed to train a fish. The Remoraid, on the other hand, simply blinked at her, oblivious to his Trainer's issues, but still gave a happy cheep, happy to be noticed. Seeing that everyone else was investigating the doors with the symbols, Yoko turned her attention to them as well. The doors with the fork-and-knife and bed symbols seemed pretty self-explanatory to Yoko, and she could probably guess what's behind the Onsen door, so she left those three for now, which leaves the doors with the flexing arm and couch symbols. While the couch symbol was curious, the flexing arm symbol was even more so, and Yoko walked over to that door, nervously testing the handle before then opening the door and seeing what's behind it.
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Post by SuperVaderMan on Aug 4, 2017 4:15:14 GMT
Thankfully Shossk wasn't that out of touch with modern amenities as to have no idea where he was, he'd stayed many-a-night in taverns and other dwellings since beginning his adventuring career. True, it took him a few moments, but this was simply a much more extravagant form of bathhouse. There was the basin for bathing, there was the latrine that for some unknown reason already had water in it, there was the washing basin, and finally a simple mirror.
What Shossk didn't understand, however, was where one was to get the water to use all of these facilities. Was there a well to fetch water from in one of the other rooms, as well as a cauldron to heat it? What were these red and blue handles for?
"Don't you touch anything 'fore I had a chance to look at it, 'kay big guy?" Veska's voice echoes in Shossk's memory. "One: I'm trained in this. Two: I'm a kobold. Ain't nobody that knows traps better'n me, ya got that?"
Shosk's hand pauses, halfway towards reaching for the handle. Thinking better of it, Shossk presses himself up against the wall as far away from the handle as he can manage, then stretches out to turn the handle nearest to him.
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