Fading Aria [KtK RP Thread: Mission 2]

[System Error]

Nori stares at everyone impulsively splitting up. "Hey, hey!" He flails his arms. "Stop being so impulsive!"

"Hey, anyone wanna come with me to go down the paths? Splitting up might let us go through this place quicker and Luni knows Teleport so if you're in trouble, I can have her go to you in a jiffy."

Nori turns to Rachel with a grumble, basically venting. "It would, but it'd be safest if it was two groups at most. Since what if multiple people get in trouble at the same time?" A lot of things could go wrong all at once, and then what? He shakes his head as he turns to some of the paths they took, putting his hands on his hips. "Guess that ship's sailed, though. Stupid morons..."

He eventually finds the path forward from some quick looking around. He guardedly creeps forward, especially as he passes through any narrow paths, letting the Demon lead. Somehow, things manage to avoid going wrong. He wasn't about to say that luck's on their side for once though. Those were famous last words.

There wasn't a great deal more to see nearby that the group hadn't already observed. A little farther down the path the group had arrived on, the garden opened up into a large central area with tiered stone seats arranged in a ring around a central statue, perhaps the largest in the garden. It depicted meloetta in both of their forms, posed as if performing for an invisible audience in the empty seats.

"Mmmm." He examines the statues and the seats. The thought of sitting down and seeing what happens comes to mind, but. Scaring happens.

...but answered Ichiro's question anyway. If we're loud, Meloetta may never want to come back.

Huh, non-hostile Pokemon. Nori turns back to any behind him and shrugs. "This is different," he muses. "Not unwelcome though." Well, someone had to step up. And he was not just fine, but more than capable of that.

"I apologize for my comrades' behavior. My name is Nori Carino." He bows to the little bug out of politeness; at his side, the Demon rolls her eyes, knowing exactly what is coming. The boy speaks a bit more formally than he has been up until now: "We have come here to investigate what happened to Meloetta, who we heard has been acting unusually as of late. It sounds to me as if they left this garden for the forest beyond. Is that correct, and can you please tell us what led to this? Anything unusual you noticed leading up to it?"

 

[Hanafuda]

If we're loud, Meloetta may never want to come back.

That comment and the look he got from the Kricketot made Joey cover his mouth in his hand. And now, he spoke with a hushed tone. "Sorry, little fella." He cleared his throat as he recomposed himself. Better avoid more embarrassment.

A little farther down the path the group had arrived on, the garden opened up into a large central area with tiered stone seats arranged in a ring around a central statue, perhaps the largest in the garden. It depicted meloetta in both of their forms, posed as if performing for an invisible audience in the empty seats.

"So, these are who we gotta help out?" Joey asked as he looked at the twin statues. "Huh. You sure these aren't weird-lookin' Kirlia?"

And seats. How convenient. Well, where else to take a moment to relax? He sat down at one of the stone seats and gazed up at the statues in thought. A pair of Pokémon he had never seen before. Fancy. He couldn't help but feel a small hint of a snobby air to them, though, and it bothered him. Did it have to do with the fact that he was in a hedge maze with all these statues? Probably. Rich Pokémon always loved to flex on the 'poor commoners' that they felt were beneath them. Well, if he had the chance, he would have shoved one of those bozos into a Mystery Dungeon to see if they'd eat some much-needed humble pie. Yeah, that would have shown them.

He looked around at the group. "Yo. How we feeling? Good?"

 

[Negrek]

"Mmmm." He examines the statues and the seats. The thought of sitting down and seeing what happens comes to mind, but. Scaring happens.

The statue and seats were as they appeared; pristine white stone. The ground around the seats was covered in footprints of all sizes and descriptions, but around the statue itself, they were largely the same, small and almost perfectly round. None of the footprints looked particularly fresh.

The ting-lu said in a quieter voice, "ARE WE TO FIGHT A POKEMON WHO DOES NOT WANT TO BE FOUGHT?" Its hoof scraped the ground thoughtfully, not particularly hesitant and not particularly eager upon hearing this information.

"I apologize for my comrades' behavior. My name is Nori Carino." He bows to the little bug out of politeness; at his side, the Demon rolls her eyes, knowing exactly what is coming. The boy speaks a bit more formally than he has been up until now: "We have come here to investigate what happened to Meloetta, who we heard has been acting unusually as of late. It sounds to me as if they left this garden for the forest beyond. Is that correct, and can you please tell us what led to this? Anything unusual you noticed leading up to it?"

That comment and the look he got from the Kricketot made Joey cover his mouth in his hand. And now, he spoke with a hushed tone. "Sorry, little fella." He cleared his throat as he recomposed himself. Better avoid more embarrassment.

Kricketot looked a bit overwhelmed by the attention, shrinking back from the people who were trying to speak with him. He nodded at Jo-Jo, antennae tinkling faintly; perhaps he appreciated the apology.

I'm sorry. I don't know much of anything, he said. No one knows where Meloetta is. There was a big fight... And Meloetta doesn't want us to fight anymore.

 

[System Error]

I'm sorry. I don't know much of anything, he said. No one knows where Meloetta is. There was a big fight... And Meloetta doesn't want us to fight anymore.

"I see. Thank you for your time." It didn't really tell them a lot, other than the fact that they seemed to be on edge because of Meloetta. One more bow before he turns to address the group.

"They have to be in the forest, right?" He glances to the side and slumps a little. "I don't really like the idea of going in there blind. Maybe there's something else around here who might know? At least a direction would help." But then, who? Where? "It'd be easy if we could somehow lure Meloetta to us, but..."

 

[Sinderella]

« ... eh, probably not worth the effort, considering...» he said, gesturing with his now free hand to the other people and Pokémon present.
« They probably would go unused most of the time anyway. »

He answered the man's nod with a slight bow, just barely moving his head, stiffer than the one he had given to Nori.
Polite enough to still be recognized as the same gesture.
But not so low as to show too much deference.

« Raiki Hirose. With who do I have the pleasure of speaking...?»

"You'd be surprised. I know plenty of 'mon who smoke," Corbeau said with a shrug.

Next to him, Bellamy gagged. Pokemon she did well not to associate with, of course. It was bad enough that Corbeau insisted on a pack a day; the smoke, even if it was pecha-laced, was so bad for her leaves. It pissed her off just thinking about it.

Corbeau's brow twitched upward. As much as he enjoyed lowlife groveling, he was also one to respect somebody who knew their worth. This guy, Raiki, seemed to be one of them. Johtonese? Kantonese? He couldn't quite tell yet.

"Corbeau," he said. "Lafrenière-Anshin."" He gestured to the scowling roserade at his hip. "This is my partner, Bellamy."

She peered up to size Raiki against whatever parameters she'd had set in her head, her pinched expression faltering just enough to soften her front. When she didn't immediately respond, Corbeau nudged her. We just got here, he wanted to bark. How are you already so snappish?

She soon relented, outstretching a rose as if to shake. "It's a pleasure," she said.

All in all the atmosphere was calm, giving the impression of a warm spring day. There was no sound but the gentle patter of water into the bowls of the fountains. Presumably Meloetta was somewhere nearby, or Clink's portal wouldn't have brought them there, but there was no clear sign of the legend. Or of any other life, for that matter, save for a few shadows flitting between the bushes.

They, unfortunately, didn't get very far into their newfound camaraderie before a whole new world opened up for them. This one, at first glance, was much less of an LSD trip than the current one was. That didn't stop Bellamy from perking up again.

"Thoughts, Bella?" he queried.

She didn't say anything. But her eyes slitted. Something occurred to her that his human senses couldn't quite grasp just yet.

"What the fuck did you drag me into?" she asked. Surely that couldn't have been a good sign. Nonetheless, he grinned.

"Father-daughter bonding time, of course."

To that, she scoffed.

"Next time, I want to go to a hot spring."

Corbeau did well not to let her see the way he rolled his eyes. That was a reaction he wasn't keen to deal with right now. Although, he supposed it could be worse. With the way Raiki's vulpix companion responded to him, he decided he'd take Bellamy's mild brattiness any day.

he'd be able to recognize them as squawkabilly. Rather than preparing to attack, the flock appeared to be fleeing from the newcomers.

The whole garden was quiet, although waiting, listening closely for a few minutes, it would be possible to discern other small noises. Rustling in the bushes, or the occasional whisper from one of the other garden paths. There were other pokémon nearby, although they did not seem eager to engage with the newcomers, either to welcome them or to try and drive them off.

A kricketot pushed his way out of a berry bush to stand on the path in front of the group. His antennae danced nervously, but the look he gave them all was stern. Shhh! Keep quiet! he hissed in a low voice.

...but answered Ichiro's question anyway. If we're loud, Meloetta may never want to come back.

I'm sorry. I don't know much of anything, he said. No one knows where Meloetta is. There was a big fight... And Meloetta doesn't want us to fight anymore.

Well. He decided rather quickly who he knew he didn't want to hang around for the trek going forward. The floatzel, who had no concept of volume. The apparent bug catcher, one in the same (he expected as much from children, of course, but still. He didn't recall ever being so loud at that age, especially when he clearly wasn't supposed to be...)

Yet, those were the least of his worries. Now he understood why Bellamy looked so perturbed just before they entered. It truly was too quiet. The Pokemon in the area; they looked far too wary, too stressed. No eagerness to greet or even challenge to a battle. It was exactly how prey looked and acted when a predator was present.

He'd never considered Meloetta any sort of predator, though. Just the goddess of song and dance, as far as he knew. An admirable domain; such pivotal parts of Kalosian culture. How could she have possibly rendered a realm of 'mon terrified shells of themselves? A fight? He was very much missing facts.

Fortunately, they were in a garden. If there was anything Bellamy could find information in, it was a garden. "Bella, can you--"

"Sh!" She'd already walked a few paces ahead, just before the entrance to the maze. Silent. Listening. Concentrating... @Negrek

« ... all right. Any idea where to go?» he asked, eyeing the maze with suspicion.

With a huff, Corbeau directed his attention back to Raiki. "I'll let the grass type take the lead for now. I trust her senses more than anything."

 

[ShiniGojira]

"Do we really have to split up?" Joey asked. He couldn't help but be annoyed by that suggestion. He groaned. "Sure, why not? But we better do the buddy system."

Nori turns to Rachel with a grumble, basically venting. "It would, but it'd be safest if it was two groups at most. Since what if multiple people get in trouble at the same time?" A lot of things could go wrong all at once, and then what?

Rachel turned to them with a raised brow. "It's not as if death's a problem now, is it? That Klefki earlier said as such. I can handle a bit of pain's as long as dying isn't a probability."

She understood their concern, really she did. She'd just rather have a couple minutes away from them to cool off.

"Guess that ship's sailed, though. Stupid morons...

The insult didn't slip by her and her eye twitched in irritation.

Why that little prick–

I'll go with you," Tomomichi said to the ralts' trainer. Being able to teleport away from danger sounded pretty good. Maybe there was another feeling underneath it, that he was in a new place and didn't want to be alone as well. "I've never met a ralts before. You can sense emotions?"

But she could fire off a scathing remark on her own, another kid came over to her. The one with that loud and annoying Taurus-like thing.

Great. She took in a breath through her nose, applying a technique she learned as a kid to chill her emotions and shove them to the side.

She faced the boy with a carefully neutral smile. "Alright, cool."

To his question, she balked internally. Right, everyone probably heard my convo with Mel.

She shook her head. "Not at the moment. Whatever special rules is in place makes me as normal as all of you guys." God, there's a lot of dudes here. She carefully did not let any discomfort show on her body. "Luni's the better empath between us now."

Which was ironic because Luni hated her emotion sense. Always did the bare minimum when training her empathy.

Rachel snorted at the thought, turning her attention back to the kid. "So what's the deal with that Taurus lookalike? Is it always this... exotic?"

Even after splitting up, it would take a few minutes to canvas the garden. It was large, with a number of winding paths and hidden crannies. The search party would find nothing out of the ordinary, though: plants, statues, and the paths themselves seemed normal enough. The large Meloetta statue at the center was the most noteworthy.

The garden as a whole was surrounded by a wall of tall, dense hedges, although even taller trees could be seen beyond. Three paths led out from the garden: one traveling north, one east, and one west. All disappeared into the deep forest beyond.

The garden's pokémon continued to avoid the group while they searched, although here and there a flash of feathers or scales or carapace could be seen.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, they say.

Welp, we ventured everywhere and gained nothing. Thank you, mister whoever made that quote. That was a waste of time.

She went over to the statue where some people were gathering up.

The statue and seats were as they appeared; pristine white stone. The ground around the seats was covered in footprints of all sizes and descriptions, but around the statue itself, they were largely the same, small and almost perfectly round. None of the footprints looked particularly fresh.

"Looks like Meloetta or whoever was walking around the statue really enjoyed the craftsmanship," Rachel mumbled. Either that or Corrupted Meloetta became a narcissist afterwards... or maybe they were dancing around here? She couldn't really tell.

Kricketot looked a bit overwhelmed by the attention, shrinking back from the people who were trying to speak with him. He nodded at Jo-Jo, antennae tinkling faintly; perhaps he appreciated the apology.

I'm sorry. I don't know much of anything, he said. No one knows where Meloetta is. There was a big fight... And Meloetta doesn't want us to fight anymore.

"A big fight? Could you tell us what it's about?" Luni used her telepathy to adhere to the Kricketot's warning. "Was Meloetta fighting something? Did you see what it was? Actually... can you tell us a bit of everything that happened before we arrived? It'd be real helpful for our investigation!"

 

[Negrek]

"What the @#&! did you drag me into?" she asked.

But somehow, the curse didn't want to leave Bellamy's lips. It was as though the word had gotten caught in her throat somehow. No matter how she tried, she couldn't make herself say it.

Fortunately, they were in a garden. If there was anything Bellamy could find information in, it was a garden. "Bella, can you--"

"Sh!" She'd already walked a few paces ahead, just before the entrance to the maze. Silent. Listening. Concentrating... @Negrek

When Bellamy extended her awareness out across the garden, she'd find it teeming with life. The dense hedges, the flowers all in bloom, the berry bushes heavy with fruit--they were all well-tended, and in perhaps magically good condition.

There was something else that didn't belong here, though. Some kind of poison was seeping into the garden's soil, toxins spreading underground. A close inspection of the flowerbeds would find small purple crystals growing in them, hidden beneath the leaves of plants. They looked as poisonous as the crystal that Clink had had to fracture to get them into Meloetta's realm in the first place, and there had to be hundreds of them in the garden--but all small, poking no more than an inch out of the earth, and concealed in obscure and shadowy places.

The plants were growing well for now, but surely that couldn't continue in the face of the corruption leaking from the crystals all around.

"A big fight? Could you tell us what it's about?" Luni used her telepathy to adhere to the Kricketot's warning. "Was Meloetta fighting something? Did you see what it was? Actually... can you tell us a bit of everything that happened before we arrived? It'd be real helpful for our investigation!"

No, no. Meloetta was trying to stop the fight. The kricketot rotated his body side to side like he was shaking his head, his antennae clattering back and forth. I don't remember what started it. People just got angry. But Meloetta didn't like it, and they haven't come to visit since.

Kricketot looked off towards the far end of the garden, seeming wistful. I wish that I could go look for them, but it's dangerous outside the garden. For someone small like me... I would never make it.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

The hedge maze got Melody's attention. That would be easy for her to search, although she'd have to be discreet about it. Now that Rachel was intimidated by her, whoever she ended up helping probably wouldn't know. That meant her secret was safe, in a way. At least for the moment.

Problem was the man in the dark suit sitting at the entrance to the maze. The logical, safe place to stash her electronics and privately transform was inside the maze. With him there, though, it opened up the risk of him following them. Of all the humans here, the man in the dark suit was the one that they wanted knowing what they were least of all. They were a force older than time. They were not afraid of a human. And most certainly had not developed a blanket phobia of well-groomed men in suits. He was probably just a businessman, not even a yakuza boss or anything like that.

 

[MegaAbsolOfDespair]

If we're loud, Meloetta may never want to come back.

"What happened to Meloetta? I know something's definitely up but can you tell me the details?" Volo asked, lowering his voice a little. The childlike enthusiasm faded from his voice almost completely, as his volume lowered to barely above a whisper.

 

[System Error]

Rachel turned to them with a raised brow. "It's not as if death's a problem now, is it? That Klefki earlier said as such. I can handle a bit of pain's as long as dying isn't a probability."

Ironically, the insult wasn't actually directed at her. But this does get him to roll his eyes; he was incidentally facing away so she wouldn't see. Couldn't she take this seriously? Just because there weren't going to be long-term consequences for them if they failed doesn't mean there wouldn't be any here. Getting hurt enough would eject them from the world, so they had to be careful if they wanted to keep helping.

As he patiently waits for Bellamy to do her thing, negative thoughts pervade his mind. They cause him to hang his head. So much having people his age to talk to, and he knew adults could be spotty with how they treated children just based on prejudices. He was hoping for just a little bit of respite from the real world while he was here.

He clenches a fist and looks up. "Nothing to do but do it," he says to himself under his breath with an arm pump. He'd come here to save a legend. "Just focus on the task for now, Nori."

Kricketot looked off towards the far end of the garden, seeming wistful. I wish that I could go look for her, but it's dangerous outside the garden. For someone small like me... I would never make it.

"We'll go," he promises with a steely nod and tone to match. "We'll bring her back."

 

[canisaries]

Kricketot looked a bit overwhelmed by the attention, shrinking back from the people who were trying to speak with him. He nodded at Jo-Jo, antennae tinkling faintly; perhaps he appreciated the apology.

I'm sorry. I don't know much of anything, he said. No one knows where Meloetta is. There was a big fight... And Meloetta doesn't want us to fight anymore.

No, no. Meloetta was trying to stop the fight. The kricketot rotated his body side to side like he was shaking his head, his antennae clattering back and forth. I don't remember what started it. People just got angry. But Meloetta didn't like it, and they haven't come to visit since.

Kricketot looked off towards the far end of the garden, seeming wistful. I wish that I could go look for them, but it's dangerous outside the garden. For someone small like me... I would never make it.

The garden as a whole was surrounded by a wall of tall, dense hedges, although even taller trees could be seen beyond. Three paths led out from the garden: one traveling north, one east, and one west. All disappeared into the deep forest beyond.

Ichiro hummed, looking between the three paths. "Well, looks like we gotta pick one of these paths and follow it, then." He turned to the others. "Which way?"

 

[ShiniGojira]

No, no. Meloetta was trying to stop the fight. The kricketot rotated his body side to side like he was shaking his head, his antennae clattering back and forth. I don't remember what started it. People just got angry. But Meloetta didn't like it, and they haven't come to visit since.

Kricketot looked off towards the far end of the garden, seeming wistful. I wish that I could go look for them, but it's dangerous outside the garden. For someone small like me... I would never make it.

"Aw, don't look down on yourself like that," Luni said, pointing at herself with a reassuring smile. "Just look at me, I'm barely bigger than you and I'm still going. You just gotta believe in yourself, Kricketot. There's a lot of things you can do if you grasp it and believe in it with all your heart."

Ichiro hummed, looking between the three paths. "Well, looks like we gotta pick one of these paths and follow it, then." He turned to the others. "Which way?"

"I'm picking east. Whoever wants to have Luni to bail them out can come with." Rachel immediately spoke up, walking forward before stopping to glance back for a moment, in case anybody wanted to object or join her.

 

[Hanafuda]

I wish that I could go look for them, but it's dangerous outside the garden. For someone small like me... I would never make it.

Joey stood up and put his hand on the Kricketot's head with a reassuring smile. "Hey. We gotchu, little fella. You can come with us." He pointed a thumb at himself while he continued to speak. "Been to them Mystery Dungeons a bunch before. You want someone to lean on? You got Jo-Jo and the gang right here." He grinned and jabbed his thumb behind him to point and look at the group. "Right, guys?"

"Well, looks like we gotta pick one of these paths and follow it, then." He turned to the others. "Which way?"

He joined up with the Houndoom just like before. "Buddy system! You good with me? 'Cuz I'll be right behind ya." He squinted his eyes at the three paths before he pointed north. "So, uh, you wanna go there?"

He easily could have joined the Ralts, or Nori and Demon, but it looked like everyone was in good company already. So a loner like that Houndoom needed someone to watch over him. They were all a gang, and again, they all needed to help each other.

 

[canisaries]

He joined up with the Houndoom just like before. "Buddy system! You good with me? 'Cuz I'll be right behind ya." He squinted his eyes at the three paths before he pointed north. "So, uh, you wanna go there?"

Ichiro let out an inaudible sigh. This floatzel really wasn't his favorite person of the group, acting all buddy-buddy when none of them actually knew each other. "Sure, why not," he said. "Anyone else wanna come along with us? I see there are plenty of you to go around."

He hoped he wouldn't have to spend the next whatever minutes alone in the woods with the guy.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Ichiro let out an inaudible sigh. This floatzel really wasn't his favorite person of the group, acting all buddy-buddy when none of them actually knew each other. "Sure, why not," he said. "Anyone else wanna come along with us? I see there are plenty of you to go around."

A perfect distraction from having to slip past the suited man: It had been one of her goals to talk to Ichiro, and it felt wise not to saddle any one adult with taking care of one of the kids. Unless they were cool with it, but Ichiro wasn't exactly screaming strong paternal instincts to her right now. She heeded his cry for reinforcements and walked over.

"Yeah, sure. Got no better plans. It's woods time, let's go."