[Town victory] Vanilla Mafia!

[Sinderella]

Actually…did he? Perhaps he should have thought about that before saying anything. Then again, he had his knife on him still, and even the snag machine—that damn machine. Even in his dreams it was haunting him, apparently, always glued to his person as though it was a part of him, despite how much he resented it…

Wes shoved the thoughts from his mind with a shake of his head and dug through his coat. As luck would have it, it was still there. He offered it to the stranger.

What am I doing. This wasn’t like him, striking up conversations and offering a light. Perhaps he was subconsciously trying to make allies even in spite of his earlier decision not to. Hell, he’d already made enemies, so he might as well make some sort of effort to mitigate that. Although…he spared another glance at this guy. He didn’t exactly look like he’d be much help in hand-to-hand combat…

Well. He supposed he could give it a shot.

Thank fucking gods.

Clovis sighed with relief as he approached Wes and took the lighter. He ignited the cigarette and wasted no time in sucking in the deepest drag he could. His head cleared as he exhaled the smoke toward the sky.

“Fantastique,” he huffed, handing the lighter back. “You’re a lifesaver.”

As Wes was stealing glances, Clovis decided to do the same. A game of ally-ship…so of course, he’d need to be sizing people up. Deciding who was worth trusting, who he needed to steer clear of. He owed it to this guy for the lighter, but that didn’t automatically mean he was cohort material. He certainly looked like somebody who’d be good to have in a fight, but looks could always be deceiving right?

He offered a smirk, and held the cigarette back to his lips. “I know what you’re thinking—what the fuck is he doing in a suit? Was under the impression this would be an indoor thing, so that’s what I dressed for,” he explained. “Feel free to make fun, I can take the jokes.”

He inhaled another drag, then exhaled it after a moment. “Can I offer you a cigarette to say thanks, or will the verbage do?”

 

[IFBench]

PNS-NT's movements stuttered more and more as Diyem went on, until their body was just two frames repeating.

"Anyon-yon-yone need any supp-upp-upport?" they asked, floating towards the neatest people, Steven Stone and Altair.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Thank fucking gods.

Clovis sighed with relief as he approached Wes and took the lighter. He ignited the cigarette and wasted no time in sucking in the deepest drag he could. His head cleared as he exhaled the smoke toward the sky.

“Fantastique,” he huffed, handing the lighter back. “You’re a lifesaver.”

As Wes was stealing glances, Clovis decided to do the same. A game of ally-ship…so of course, he’d need to be sizing people up. Deciding who was worth trusting, who he needed to steer clear of. He owed it to this guy for the lighter, but that didn’t automatically mean he was cohort material. He certainly looked like somebody who’d be good to have in a fight, but looks could always be deceiving right?

He offered a smirk, and held the cigarette back to his lips. “I know what you’re thinking—what the fuck is he doing in a suit? Was under the impression this would be an indoor thing, so that’s what I dressed for,” he explained. “Feel free to make fun, I can take the jokes.”

He inhaled another drag, then exhaled it after a moment. “Can I offer you a cigarette to say thanks, or will the verbage do?”

Ah, he was Kalosian. That explained…a lot, actually.

He seemed easygoing enough, if his light attempt at humor was anything to go by. Perhaps he wasn’t as stuffy as Wes originally thought. This notion was strengthened further as the stranger offered him a cigarette.

Smoking had never really been Wes’ thing. The only reason he kept a lighter was for nights out on the desert, or for…other…reasons. He much preferred whiskey for calming his nerves, but seeing as there wasn’t any of that on hand, and considering the ominous announcements that Charizard was making…well. He certainly wasn’t about to say no.

He accepted the offer and lit his own with a grateful nod. He took a long drag and exhaled, feeling at least somewhat more at ease as the smoke left his lips.

“Thanks.” He shot the man another sideways glance. “Don’t think I ever caught your name.”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Anyon-yon-yone need any supp-upp-upport?" they asked, floating towards the neatest people

Another movement caught Steven's eye, and from over the girl's shoulder, he saw the stuttering form of a Porygon-Z approach.

"A-any-yon?" they asked again, digital voice surprisingly clear for a pokemon Steven assumed couldn't communicate in a spoken language. He briefly wondered if perhaps they were also a part of this ritual, an assistant to the Charizard entity that was able to talk by some unexplained magic. But the porygon-Z glitched again, and Steven realized they had to be just as rattled as everyone else by the turn of events. Asking them if they knew anything about what was going on seemed rather moot, so instead he tried to calm the frazzled pokemon.

"Hello there," he said with an easy smile. "I'm not sure about support, but you're welcome to join us if you like."

He made room for the porygon-Z to join their growing group at the edge of the assembled crowd. Nearby, a rather-incensed-looking yamask floated, though different than any of the yamask he'd seen on his travels to Unova. Steven marveled at the strange menagerie that he'd suddenly become a part of. It was odd, despite having known these people for a few minutes at most, a wave of protectiveness came over him. If nothing else, it was very clear: it was them versus the mastermind.

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmph. Then I suppose that means there are no more questions." Diyem turned around. "I will be leaving. Expect night to fall sooner than you think. After that... your powers will immediately reveal themselves... and those who have powers at night, you will be able to take action immediately. Good luck. Soon, you will all be enemies."

He waved his spear skyward. He dissolved into a dark cloud that faded completely.

 

[Sinderella]

He accepted the offer and lit his own with a grateful nod. He took a long drag and exhaled, feeling at least somewhat more at ease as the smoke left his lips.

“Thanks.” He shot the man another sideways glance. “Don’t think I ever caught your name.”

“De rien,” he replied.

He exchanged looks with Wes again as he took another drag. “Clovis. Yours?”

 

[Flyg0n]

I don't mean to alarm you, but whatever this is, it doesn't seem good."

"uh sure, Steven," she said.

Hana nodded in agreement as she listened to the terrifying and strange black Charizard. She'd never seen anything of the sort back home. Could it be a Mega evolution? No, not even mega Charizard looked like that.

But even as terrifying as the situation sounded she couldn't help be curious as well. Talking pokemon? Strange beings?

"Some kind of game, I guess," she mused. She side-eyed Steven. She hoped she could ally with him. And maybe a few other trainers here....

 

[IFBench]

"Thank-ank-ank you, human!" PNS-NT said, as they floated towards the spot Steven made room for.

 

[Dragonfree]

"I'm Salem," she said, finding that the words flowed with unusual ease, "and though I was born a purrloin, I became part-human by choice."

She paused, intensely curious for a moment over why and how she was able to articulate herself so well. This was... She was lucid dreaming, maybe? It was something to think about later. She needed at least one other person to stick to, and the only other morph around seemed as good a pick as any.

"What do I call you?" she asked.

"I... I don't know how to explain it. It was possible with human technology."

She gestured to thePerihelion badge on her vest. "Humans with this symbol. But I don't—"

Jean gasped. "You were a Pokémon first? Not a human? They took you and..." No, she said by choice. "You got them to make you a morph?" She grinned. "Did you want to be a hero?"

Hazel was in luck! The odd human was not afraid of her! She seemed nice, too. "I... do not need help. It is heavy, but I am resilient enough to carry it."

That made sense. Type: Null was supposed to be really strong! "But don't you want to get it off? With the right kind of friend I'm sure you can break off that mask!" She gave her an eager look. "Do you have a name yet? Or should I give you a nickname?"

Ebony closed her eyes and leaned into the pats. This was nice. It took her a few seconds to process what the Vulpix-human had said. "Your dad made you? Not Team Rocket?" Or maybe he was part of Team Rocket. But it sounded like she liked him, so he had to be nice. Maybe he ran away from them, like the one human who was friends with her trainer's friend!

She whirled back around to Ebony. "Team Rocket! You know Team Rocket?!" It didn't sound like Team Rocket were the ones who made Salem, but Ebony had just been talking about experiments. Were there cool Rocket experiments, too?

She was distracted by the appearance of the dark Charizard, the big weird ominous clock, the dark void that they'd be cast into if they died in the game! This was awesome. Most games didn't have special effects.

"Fuck," [Salem] said, quietly.

Jean giggled. Her dad wasn't even here to tell her that was a word for grown-ups! She could say it if she wanted and nobody was going to stop her. "Fuck!" she agreed.

 

[AbraPunk]

It seemed that Kent had zoned out for quite a bit. He wasn't even aware of what was going on right now, but came to his senses just in time to catch the tail-end of a... Devidramon thing explaining something.

"Soon, you will all be enemies."

Kent huffed. "Great. Like I don't already have enough of those where I'm from."

He turned his attention to where Wes and another human were conversing. "You two are smoking? You know that shit kills you, right?" He paused briefly. "...Eh, I don't think it matters here." Kent shrugged and walked away.

He just needed to be by himself for a few minutes, and maybe see if he could find out what all this meant.

 

[Fusion]

"Hmph. Then I suppose that means there are no more questions." Diyem turned around. "I will be leaving. Expect night to fall sooner than you think. After that... your powers will immediately reveal themselves... and those who have powers at night, you will be able to take action immediately. Good luck. Soon, you will all be enemies."

He waved his spear skyward. He dissolved into a dark cloud that faded completely.

Whatever that Charizard was on about was interesting, to say the least. All of these people getting powers, suddenly everyone being enemies... Vanishing into an ominous dark cloud. For everything that proved to Reme she wasn't home, there was always something to remind her of it.

While she wasn't one for all the commotion and talk among the others, she did listen in from time to time from the spot she sat on. Although, it was starting to sound like she'd have to pay more attention to the others pretty soon. Assuming that Charizard's word was to be trusted; Humans gaining powers might be common, but Pokemon? That'll be the day.

 

[Bluwiikoon]

I don't wanna be anyone's enemy!!!! This is so meeeean-!!!!!!

[Don't ask why the machine has tear glands apparently, but they are profusely sobbing into Wes' coat. Pls help.]

 

[HelloYellow17]

“De rien,” he replied.

He exchanged looks with Wes again as he took another drag. “Clovis. Yours?”

Clovis? Gods, even his name sounded frilly. Not that Wes was going to say anything about it. He simply nodded and replied, “Wes.”

I don't wanna be anyone's enemy!!!! This is so meeeean-!!!!!!

[Don't ask why the machine has tear glands apparently, but they are profusely sobbing into Wes' coat. Pls help.]

He was wondering what on earth to say next when suddenly a…computer? On wheels?? A something sped over and nearly plowed into him.

“What the hell—”

It took him a second to realize what sounds it was making. It was…crying? Mew have mercy. He didn’t have the slightest idea how to comfort a regular human, let alone a…computer pokemon like this one. He awkwardly patted their head (head?) and hoped it was at least somewhat helpful.

 

[Sinderella]

He simply nodded and replied, “Wes.”

“I have an inkling of a feeling that’s short for something,” he cracked. “But I won’t press.”

[Don't ask why the machine has tear glands apparently, but they are profusely sobbing into Wes' coat. Pls help.]

He opened his mouth to make more idle conversation, when they were suddenly interrupted by this…computer thing. He wouldn’t say he was entirely taken aback by it, he’d surely seen weirder shit back home at the lab.

“Looks like my gir—“ He paused and cleared his throat. “Partner’s RotomPhone,” he said. He inhaled another drag, before kneeling to the Poryfriend’s height.

“Why the long face little guy?” he asked. “If somebody’s being mean, your best bet is to just kick them in the shin and let them know who’s boss.”

 

[Bluwiikoon]

He was wondering what on earth to say next when suddenly a…computer? On wheels?? A something sped over and nearly plowed into him.

“What the hell—”

It took him a second to realize what sounds it was making. It was…crying? Mew have mercy. He didn’t have the slightest idea how to comfort a regular human, let alone a…computer pokemon like this one. He awkwardly patted their head (head?) and hoped it was at least somewhat helpful.

(sniffle) Thank you so much...! I just... I just...!

(sniffle sniffle)

I

WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


[Porygon wheels to the center of the groups, skidding to a halt and turning to address everyone.]

LISTEN UP!!!! We can't let that horrible mean guy do stuff like this!!!! I've only known you all for 20 minutes, but it feels like two days! Maybe even... a year, or more! You're my FRIENDS now!!!

Maybe we have no choice but to play the mean guy's game, but you're still gonna be my friends! Because I haven't seen the sky in like a BILLION YEARS and I'm tired of being sad and alone!!!! (ok maybe not a billion years but IT FELT LIKE IT!!!!!!)

And if you have to hurt me because of the mean game... that's ok. Because, I think you all probably want to get out of here and go home. But we can still be friends! And as long as we're friends, the mean dragon guy will never win!

And if we all go to the scary evil death place together, at least we WILL be together!!! And we can figure something out to get out of there!

We can't give up now!!!! Because I believe in you all and I know we can do it! So don't ever give up or I'll be mad at you and you'll be in trouble!

 

[Sinderella]

(sniffle) Thank you so much...! I just... I just...!

(sniffle sniffle)

I

WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


[Porygon wheels to the center of the groups, skidding to a halt and turning to address everyone.]

LISTEN UP!!!! We can't let that horrible mean guy do stuff like this!!!! I've only known you all for 20 minutes, but it feels like two days! Maybe even... a year, or more! You're my FRIENDS now!!!

Maybe we have no choice but to play the mean guy's game, but you're still gonna be my friends! Because I haven't seen the sky in like a BILLION YEARS and I'm tired of being sad and alone!!!! (ok maybe not a billion years but IT FELT LIKE IT!!!!!!)

And if you have to hurt me because of the mean game... that's ok. Because, I think you all probably want to get out of here and go home. But we can still be friends! And as long as we're friends, the mean dragon guy will never win!

And if we all go to the scary evil death place together, at least we WILL be together!!! And we can figure something out to get out of there!

We can't give up now!!!! Because I believe in you all and I know we can do it! So don't ever give up or I'll be mad at you and you'll be in trouble!

Clovis blinked. “Alright, that was a fast reboot.”

 

[Fusion]

LISTEN UP!!!! We can't let that horrible mean guy do stuff like this!!!! I've only known you all for 20 minutes, but it feels like two days! Maybe even... a year, or more! You're my FRIENDS now!!!

Maybe we have no choice but to play the mean guy's game, but you're still gonna be my friends! Because I haven't seen the sky in like a BILLION YEARS and I'm tired of being sad and alone!!!! (ok maybe not a billion years but IT FELT LIKE IT!!!!!!)

And if you have to hurt me because of the mean game... that's ok. Because, I think you all probably want to get out of here and go home. But we can still be friends! And as long as we're friends, the mean dragon guy will never win!

And if we all go to the scary evil death place together, at least we WILL be together!!! And we can figure something out to get out of there!

We can't give up now!!!! Because I believe in you all and I know we can do it! So don't ever give up or I'll be mad at you and you'll be in trouble!

Reme blinked, not entirely sure how ducks were able to express their emotions so... expressively. At least, ones that didn't seem faulty. And this one was so... pathetically cheery? That didn't feel right, but that was the only thing to come to mind. It was probably enough to make someone feel bad for the poor thing.

"...What an odd duck," Reme muttered, absentmindedly.

 

[AbraPunk]

Kent stood alone for a few minutes.

He didn't think of anything. He just stood there, facing away from everyone else.

Eventually, though, he realized he'd have to talk to the others if he was going to have a good chance of getting out of this hellscape.

He turned around and scanned the various groups.

He was wondering what on earth to say next when suddenly a…computer? On wheels??

Oh, that guy was still around. And that box was there??

...Might as well.

Kent walked back over to Wes. "Hey." He paused, before he cleared his throat and continued, "It's pretty clear that I missed some things while I was sorta... spacing out, so it's probably best if I stick around someone who actually knows what's going on."

He was silent for a few more seconds.

"And..." He shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Sorry for all the hostility earlier."

 

[Homestar!]

Mike marveled at the detail of it all. The sheer volume of volume that Robin was fitting in; every person and thing felt like another plate the poor Chandelure was spinning, and all of this for whatever game or another she had decided to play for that evening. He made a mental note to thank her.

And yet he couldn't help but pick at the seams a bit. The scenery was sparse, for one. And the hodge-podge of ideas was nothing short of a 'Stone Stew': every person pouring whatever they had into a pot. In this case, any little strange snippet that had ever seemed to float through his mind. And some --- especially the creature inside of the "Substitute Teacher's TV Cart" rolling up to a pile of mostly human, mostly iconic figures --- seemed to come from nowhere he could recall.

He recoiled at the break in the ground, almost reflexively. The fire and brimstone was a nice touch. Then again, was it? Everything else here felt so inspired and lively, but hell being the punishment? A little 'on the nose'.

He allowed the conversations to flit in and out of his ears, save for the Dungeon Master's words. That was still a puzzle worth puzzling over 'til his puzzler was sore. He knew that this was a game, and it was a game he played in... College, perhaps?

We can't give up now!!!! Because I believe in you all and I know we can do it! So don't ever give up or I'll be mad at you and you'll be in trouble!

Mike snorted, stifled it, cleared his throat to (poorly) cover it, then gave an appreciative little round of applause to the talking Teachy-TV. That wonderfully adorable, saccharine sweet speech was well out of Robin's wheelhouse but beautifully executed all the same.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Kent stood alone for a few minutes.

He didn't think of anything. He just stood there, facing away from everyone else.

Eventually, though, he realized he'd have to talk to the others if he was going to have a good chance of getting out of this hellscape.

He turned around and scanned the various groups.



Oh, that guy was still around. And that box was there??

...Might as well.

Kent walked back over to Wes. "Hey." He paused, before he cleared his throat and continued, "It's pretty clear that I missed some things while I was sorta... spacing out, so it's probably best if I stick around someone who actually knows what's going on."

He was silent for a few more seconds.

"And..." He shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Sorry for all the hostility earlier."

Wes shot the creature a withering look. How could he possibly trust this to be a sincere apology? What was he playing at? His arm, still smarting from their earlier scuffle, was a solid reminder of what this little gremlin was capable of.

Still…it was quite the contrast to his angry and violent behavior earlier. With his head bowed and shuffling feet, he almost looked like a bashful child. It reminded Wes of Neo and Novo whenever they were in trouble.

He pinched his nose and let out a sigh. “Right. Okay. I’m probably an idiot for doing this, but I’ll accept your apology. And…I guess I should apologize, too. For the…knife and everything. So let’s call it even.” He lifted his head again to give Kent a hard glare. “But if you shoot missiles at me ever again, I’ll make you wish you’d eaten my knife for breakfast. Got it?”