Air Continent ~ Pokemon Square

[Negrek]

In the end the DarkWhite thing had turned out to be a pushover, and the lugia hardly much better. If not for the fucking air disappearing at the end, it would've been a fucking walk in the park. Even after all the swimming he'd done, Nate still had a visceral flare of panic when the air bubble began to collapse.

But, well. Here they all were. Or almost.

Nate wavered for a moment, fuming. Wasn't like he didn't fucking have better things to do than try and track down a couple people who could be literally anywhere on the entire planet. On the other hand, it wasn't like they were the ones who'd gotten themselves into this mess, and when it came to leaving people behind... Yeah, fuck it. Whatever.

"Yeah, whatever, I'll come along," he said to no one in particular, going over to stand near the edge of the forming rescue party. "You're probably gonna need me since I can, like, actually swim and breathe underwater and shit." He jabbed irritably at his badge. "Does this piece of shit show maps? Where the fuck are we, and where was that silvery place at?"

 

[Phoenixsong]

"I'd like to help, too," Skara offered. Not that she had the faintest idea where to start—whatever was going on with Maple's portals and that big portal-making Giratina shadow thing was nothing like back home—but she had to try, right? It was the least she could do given she still wasn't much cop in an actual fight (though this time she had managed to provide the frontliners with a proper substitute instead of "panic and fall off a wall directly in front of an attack").

 

[Namohysip]

"It does," Maple said, and then moved to Nate--surprisingly, despite having completely soaked a few moments ago, Maple was now completely dry and fluffy.

"This icon... that one... There. If you gesture or otherwise focus your mind on any of those dots, you will also be able to see who they are. You can only see those on your network, which we've added everyone on your team to, as well as--what is Soda doing?" Maple frowned, narrowing her eyes. "...He's at the theater. Now?" She growled, but then shook her head. "He better have finished his tasks..."

 

[Cresselia92]

“Well, golly! I’d be deviled if I’m not going to volunteer for the search!” exclaimed Icetales loud and clear, stepping toward the group with a determined look on his face. “Idling around is not in my nature, and my nose is fairly sensitive. If thou need someone to sniff around, thou can count on my olfactory talent.”

He studied the group, noticing that a lot of Pokémon were congregating. “Hmm… May I suggest to eventually split the search party in two? We would cover a wider area if we were to search two different locations in the same timeframe, as well as be far smaller targets from ambushes and threats.”

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Well, thanks guys, I'm kind of flattered that you're all pitching in."

“Hmm… May I suggest to eventually split the search party in two?

"Yeah, because that always works in stuff like horror movies, and this fits the bill for some cosmic horror kind of shit right here." She shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it would cover a wider area, but what if we came across more of those brainslugs? We could use as many hands on deck as possible with that in my opinion."

 

[Cresselia92]

"Yeah, because that always works in stuff like horror movies, and this fits the bill for some cosmic horror kind of shit right here." She shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it would cover a wider area, but what if we came across more of those brainslugs? We could use as many hands on deck as possible with that in my opinion."

Icetales flicked his ears, pondering about that new word.

‘Movies’? What were those? He knew what horror meant, but what were movies? Perhaps a contraction of ‘movements’? Horror movements? Horror moves? Horror monsters? Daemons?

…His head started hurting after a while, so he decided to shelve the matter for the time being, and focused on Curio.

“…Ah, yes, I see. Thou suggest the strength in numbers, then? Thou deem better to handle potential threats and hazards as one imposing army than as two less impressive scout parties?” He placed a paw under his chin and tilted his head, thinking about the proposal. “Hm. Well, that is still a valid approach, I suppose. Thy opinions, good comrades?”

 

[Adamhuarts]

The mention of those slugs sent a cold shiver down Cynthian's spine, and he subconsciously tensed up.

"I never want to go through that again..." He mumbled.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Skara clicked thoughtfully. "I guess that since we have portals, it's not like it would take us very long to get from one place to another. It might be best if we all stuck together, yeah."

She glanced at Cynthian as he spoke up. He'd actually seemed pretty brave during the fight, standing up to Darkwhite like that... but having a shade creature warping your emotions couldn't be something you got over right away, she reasoned. Still, at least he seemed to be doing better overall.

 

[Virgil134]

"I'll gladly join as well," Cabot offered. "I guess we'll start by looking around town here?"

 

[Negrek]

Nate about jumped out of his skin when Maple popped up next to him. Good Christ, personal space. With his heart still pounding, he tried to pay attention to what was on the map she pulled up. Not that she actually told him where they were, and it wasn't like he could read whatever the fucking runes were they used here. He stared helplessly at the unfamiliar continents without a clue where to start.

He grimaced when the cranidos spoke up. "We're in Town, and Diyem can see us. If he can't see them, they ain't here," he said. "So, what... are we gonna set out on foot? Head back... towards the ocean?" Wherever the hell that was. Which of these continents were they even on?

 

[Namohysip]

"Heading back to the ocean... Doubtful," Maple said.

"If they aren't right here... then..." Owen's flame dimmed. "Then maybe looking around would be pointless on foot. Diyem can cover more ground than all of us combined..." He sighed out a small flame. "If only I had my Perceive...!"

...Perhaps searching around would be more risk than it's worth, Diyem concluded. I do not know what use it will be.

 

[Virgil134]

"Oh okay..." Cabot said, sounding slightly disappointed. "What should we do then? Since we can't just do nothing while Starr and Brisa are missing."

 

[Tanuki]

"Well, we know where they aren't, right?" Zane finally spoke up. Tending to the more pressing matters of eating orans and acclimating to the eerily familiar surroundings first. "Couldn't Diyem just scan the world and tell us the places he isn't sure about?" That felt about like enough input from him, so he pulled out his comm-badge and continued his best run yet of Galladius. He'd make it on the leaderboard yet.

 

[NebulaDreams]

"I mean, that doesn't sound like a terrible idea," Curio said. She was surprised by Zane's insight. Then he whipped out his badge to play a game (did they have video games in Cibus?) and that ruined any ounce of respect she might've had for him. "So, enjoying your game, there? I'm sure Brisa and Starr would like to play too, yanno, if we ever find them. With your help."

 

[Cresselia92]

So, this was really it? All they could do was to wait? Wait for what? For how long? Would they be able to find the missing comrades before their weakened bodies failed them?

Icetales clawed at the ground and his tails quivered, fighting hard to suppress a frustrated growl. He hated staying still and do nothing for too long. He hated not being able to help someone in distress. He hated feeling so… so… so powerless…

Is it power thou seek, my son? Then thou know what thou can do to achieve the best and fastest results…

Icetales’ eyes widened in dread, his breathing quickened and his pupils darted in all directions. It was very faint, yes, but he could sense it from the many Pokémon that were around him.

Sense the pulsating energy of life, the oil that kept the machines working, the raw power of their souls. And it was starting to feel so… tantalizing…

Power that thou can take, if thou so desire. Power that will make thee almighty.

What?! No! He shook furiously his head, trying to mute his senses and that invasive voice.

No. He could not succumb! No! He didn’t want to become like him. No! He didn’t want to become an aberration!

Embrace the arts of witchcraft and the arcane arts. Do it, my son, and prove to be the great warlock thou are meant to be!

He was hyperventilating and letting out more frigid energy than he wished. He couldn’t handle it anymore. Not for too long. So, he did the only thing he could do.

…He fled.

 

[Tanuki]

"Heh?" Zane grumbled. He glanced up at her for a split second before looking back down. Another wave. It should give him the ten-thousand points needed for his next blaster upgrade. "Sure, yeah, why not?" So many ships, so many more bullets. "Can they even play? They don't—shit!" Three pixels lower and his ship—and position on the leaderboard—would be history. "Hold on, can't pause. Middle of a stage." He focused solely on the screen. Not a neuron noticed the icetails's retreat.

 

[NebulaDreams]

"Yeah, yeah, sounds really interestin'. Nice to hear you're so worried about their safety and all that."

 

[Namohysip]

"Know where they aren't, but somewhere Diyem can't..." Owen frowned at Zane, but felt it wasn't worth the effort to comment. Instead, he paced to Curio and held her shoulder to get her attention. "Curio, do you know anywhere that Diyem can't look? I can't think of anything." He then let go--it was mostly so she wouldn't focus on distractions--and then paced again, sighing.

 

[NebulaDreams]

“Aw, no, I can’t say I do.” She paced around at the same speed as Owen. “I mean, Diyem’s basically omniscient, right? Is there any chance Brisa and Starr are in a different world this time? Or maybe the signal is blocked somehow? Is this more of that mystery dungeon distortion crap?”

 

[Tanuki]

"Nice to hear you're so worried about their safety and all that."

Zane's ear twitched. "What's with the sarcasm?" This boss should take forever, but luckily he'd gotten the beam upgrade just in time for an exploit that downed it in seconds. "Hell yeah," he mumbled, pausing and tossing the comm-badge back in his bag. "Think I don't care or somethin'?" Did everyone really assume the worst of him at this point? "They'll be fine, all right? And they're at least alive. If they died, Diyem would have their souls back by now—wait a second."

Half a second of deliberation later, he decided not to offer up that idea. He focused back on Curio and crossed his arms. "Got something against me, shortstuff? What gives?" He didn't care what she thought, of course not, but she at least used to act friendly. Thinking back even gave him a bit of a chuckle. "Mad you're more a Blueberry than me, now?"