[TOWN WINS] Third Anniversary Fanfic Mafia - Game Thread

[Negrek]

Third Anniversary Fanfic Mafia

Player List

Sinderella (Dorien Bonhomme)
windskull (Muse)
AbraPunk (Antares)
Inkedust (Altair)
Virgil134 (Kichiro)
IFBench (Burhalla)
Sike Saner (Ekunasic Karo)
Starlight Aurate (Archie)
Panoramic_Vacuum (Steven Stone)
DawningWinds (Nefari)
HelloYellow17/unrepentantAuthor (Lurosa/Neo)
Namohysip (Qitlan)
Chibi Pika (Jet)
Flyg0n (Rascal)
Dragonfree (May Victoria Wallace)
​

The transition is sudden: at first, no light at all, and then a blinding white brilliance, switched on as abruptly as though by a switch. The nothing-space is suddenly alive with confused and disoriented people, humans and pokémon both. They've come from far-flung worlds, yanked unceremoniously out of lives in progress, and brought to this vast, empty space--why? Some may recognize this bland, seemingly endless space, but the majority are perhaps more lost than they've ever been in their lives.

At this point, there's only one thing to do: figure out where this place is, why they're here, and who their unlucky fellows are. One way or another, they'll need to work together to get out of this--or at least that's what the more hopeful among them might believe. It's on those who've visited this place before whether they want to reveal the bitter truth.

This is the "Day Zero" phase. At this point, no one knows anything about their role or alignment fo the game, so please don't base any later gameplay decisions on people's posts during this phase. This is purely a "for fun" opportunity to do some roleplay if desired. All player roles will be distributed when the Night Zero phase begins, and from there normal mechanical play will commence. Night Zero begins in forty-eight hours: countdown here.

Good luck, everyone, and I hope you enjoy the game!

@Dragonfree @Flyg0n @Chibi Pika @Namohysip @HelloYellow17 @unrepentantAuthor @DawningWinds @Panoramic_Vacuum @Starlight Aurate @Sike Saner @IFBench @Virgil134 @AbraPunk @windskull @Sinderella

 

[Sike Saner]

"Joke's on that aggron, though. All I needed was... eh?"

Gone was Karo's audience, unless they'd somehow transformed into the motley bunch now situated before him. Which was conceivable, he supposed; he'd been speaking to shapeshifters just moments prior. But then, he'd only ever seen them turn into different forms of the same species. And there'd been fewer people in his presence when he'd first started telling the story.

Yeah no, these were probably different people. And a different location. No walls like dull pewter, no veinlike cables (cablelike veins?) snaking over the surroundings that had replaced them. Not much of anything at all, really. Just him and some randos suddenly together in an unfamiliar space.

Or... His brow might've furrowed if it weren't solid, static stone. Mostly unfamiliar? Kind of unfamiliar? Something was itching in his head, as if vying for attention, but when he gave it some, it shrunk away. Weird.

He stood, his legs extending from beneath him, as he tried to make sense of things. Where was he, and why? The possibility of the ship or one of its crew maybe... sneezing or something and teleporting him away by accident as a result did cross his mind, but that didn't explain everyone else here.

"Hi," he said. "Name's Karo. Anybody here have any clue what's going on? Because..." His arms swiveled in a pseudo-shrug. "I kinda got nothin'."

 

[Sinderella]

He'd been laughing. He'd been laughing, and carrying on, and drinking champagne, and all around having a good time. All had been well in the moment he reached out to clink flutes with his beloved mentor.

Then suddenly, nobody was there. Well, that was false. There were others around, but nobody he had any real joy in seeing. And to make matters more perplexing, it seemed as if...they were just...in a white space? Was that even possible?

Dorien knit his brows together as he held his glass to his chest, darting his bright green eyes around frantically, as if he'd eventually land on an answer to at least one of the questions now swirling about in his head. But, when he found none, he allowed the tension to leave him. With a resigned sigh, he just sipped some of his beverage.

"Eh bien, quelqu'un ferait mieux d'avoir une bonne explication pour cela," he scoffed as he adjusted the lapels of his expensive looking suit.

 

[Namohysip]

There was a lone Inteleon near the edge of the crowd, gently placing cards on a conjured table. "Alexander said he had a curious dream like this in the distant past," he hummed. "I suppose now it's my turn to have the same dream. Hello."

 

[Starlight Aurate]

Archie blinked his eyes several times as rainbow spots slowly faded away. He swiveled his head around.

"What is this...?"

A blank white void stared at him. The smell of salt, the sound of crashing waves, and the glare of the sun all died in an instant. He saw about a dozen others, most of them looking as confused as he felt.

"Does anyone know what's going on?"

 

[AbraPunk]

Antares glanced around at his surroundings, and at everyone else that was present.

It seemed that he, along with all others, was in a featureless white void.

To anyone else, this would have been a cause for concern. For him, though, this was no reason for panic. He knew exactly what this was.

"Clearly, this is a test from the gods! A trial by combat." He smirked. "This is what the gods decree, and so, I shall relish in the glory of combat, and emerge victorious!"

 

[Virgil134]

"H-Huh?!"

Kichiro looked around in confusion. One moment he was back at the ship, but now he suddenly in some strange void. How did he get here?

He noticed several others nearby, both Pokémon and humans alike. A memory flashed back to him when he met humans for the first time. It was when he and others from different worlds had been gathered to play... Truth or Dare. Was something similar going on here?

Kichiro paused when he noticed a familiar Garchomp among the crowd, one that he remembered being present last time. He narrowed his eyes into a sharp glare, before flying over towards Antares.

"Oi, Gaburias! Where the hell are we?!" the Ledian demanded. "Don't tell me this is more of that Truth or Dare nonsense! I already told that Hoopa to buzz off and leave me alone!"

 

[IFBench]

Burhalla wasn't sure where he was. He didn't know why he was here, or who any of these people were.

What he did know, though, was that if he didn't speak up and dissuade that Garchomp, things would likely end very badly.

"We're not fighting anyone!" Burhalla shouted, looking over at the Garchomp. "Let's settle down, and we can figure out a way out of here together."

 

[AbraPunk]

He narrowed his eyes into a sharp glare, before flying over towards Antares.

"Oi, Gaburias! Where the hell are we?!" the Ledian demanded. "Don't tell me this is more of that Truth or Dare nonsense! I already told that Hoopa to buzz off and leave me alone!"

"Fret not, my insectoid acquaintance! This is clearly not a game of Truth or Dare. Though, I must say, I am having a fair bit of trouble deciphering where we are--"

"We're not fighting anyone!" Burhalla shouted, looking over at the Garchomp. "Let's settle down, and we can figure out a way out of here together."

His attention was drawn to a Charmander. "Ah, you must not be aware of the gods' intentions. Well, you needn't worry! I'm certain the great pantheon will take pity on one such as yourself."

It was only now that he realized he did not feel Zygarde's presence in his mind. This was a cause for concern.

 

[Virgil134]

Kichiro eyed Antares skeptically. "Hmph, for someone who claims to have no idea where we are, you sure seem to know a lot. What intentions are you talking about and who is this 'pantheon'?"

 

[AbraPunk]

"Hmph, for someone who claims to have no idea where we are, you sure seem to know a lot. What intentions are you talking about and who is this 'pantheon'?"

"Questions that are easily answered! The gods do not truly wish to harm us. This is simply a test of our mettle!" He laughed heartily. "As for your second question, the pantheon of gods consists of those you may otherwise know as 'legendary Pokémon'... beings such as Zygarde, Zekrom, Mew, Arceus, Dialga, and Palkia. Those are only some of the all-powerful rulers of the world."

 

[Virgil134]

Kichiro stared at Antares blanky for a moment, before throwing one of his hands over his face with an audible grumble.

"You're just as clueless as everyone else, aren't you?"

 

[AbraPunk]

"You're just as clueless as everyone else, aren't you?"

"I am far from clueless! This is simply a rare occurrence. It is not often the gods interact with those who are not their chosen..."

However, even as he spoke, he found himself growing less confident in his answers. Was this truly a test from the gods? The gods he knew?

 

[Dragonfree]

May blinked. A strange, featureless void. A crowd of confused people. A bunch of Pokémon that she could understand in a different way than usual.

A weird, prickling sensation in her head telling her she'd done something like this before. It'd been different, a big mansion, turning into a Meowstic, but...

Who were all these people? A Nosepass and some pirate-looking man were asking if anyone knew what was going on. A Garchomp yelling about his gods. A Charmander talking about how to get out of here.

"Hold on. I'm pretty sure this is... a game." She rubbed her forehead. Last time she'd... died? And yet she was still here. So not dead, really. Just a stupid game. "We're going to get told what teams we're playing on and so on later. Just... hold on."

And then what? Last time she'd at least gotten some kind of invitation. She didn't remember signing up for this. Why was it happening?

 

[Sike Saner]

So far the answers ranged from plausible, he supposed (though wow, if this was a trial by combat, somebody seriously skimped on the arena), to kind of unlikely (more barebones than any dream he could remember) to pretty darn unlikely (which was a shame, since truth or dare legit sounded kind of fun, especially the dares). Nothing explained yet, but he supposed there was no rush in getting an explanation anyway. He or someone else would figure it out eventually. Or maybe he'd get poofed back to where he came from first. Either way, he'd be fine.

(Unless they came in the night, and everything went dark.)

Karo gave a confused little grumble. What was with the intrusive thoughts all of a sudden? Maybe he'd been right the first time. Maybe this really was just the result of someone's psychic oopsie.

In the absence of understanding, he found himself seeking familiarity. It was good to see human faces again. Comforting. And one of them had spoken a language he hadn't heard in a while, one that Ren spoke from time to time. A lot more before he came to Convergence, as he recalled. It was nostalgic, in a way.

So Karo waddled up to the sharp-dressed, possibly-Kalosian guy, peering up at him through deepset eyes. "Hi."

 

[Namohysip]

As everyone did their introductions, the Inteleon gave a formal and lanky bow. "You may call me Inteleon Qitlan, right hand to Hydreigon Alexander and main advisor to the Cipher City complex." After a beat, he smiled a little and said, "Among other things, of course."

He knew it was meaningless. But he wanted to see how they reacted to any sense of credentials, relevant or not.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

The sudden bright light was jarring, but not as jarring as if he'd been in a cave just prior. While grateful, it was still uncomfortable, so Steven shielded his eyes and blinked, trying to form a clearer picture of just where exactly he was. Except there was nothing to actually see. The white void extended in all directions, so flat and uniform it was almost impossible to tell where the horizon ended and the sky began; if there was even a sky at all.

The only thing there was to see in all this nothingness made his heart skip a beat, and then it sunk to the pit of his stomach. A hand flew to his belt to confirm it. Metagross's pokeball was gone. He grimaced.

Of course. This again.

Tentatively, he made his way over to the group of figures scattered about in the nothingness. The make up of their group reminded him of that accursed visit to a sleepy little town in a sleepy little vale... ...A mix of humans and pokemon, and from the snippets of subdued conversation (though perhaps not so much in the Garchomp's case) he could understand all of them (even if his Kalosian was a bit rusty.)

He felt a pang of pity for the Charmander who was trying to rally the group with optimistic fervor. There wasn't anything they could do to leave this place... At least not of their own choice. They were here, wherever here was, and they'd have to play--

"Hold on. I'm pretty sure this is... a game. We're going to get told what teams we're playing on and so on later. Just... hold on."

Ah, another one who'd been here before.

Steven regarded the young lady who'd spoken. She wasn't familiar, but it was clear she knew what she was talking about. He found himself frowning... Just how many of these games had happened, and to how many people? Either way, he decided it was time to speak up.

"She's right, you know," he said to the group, giving a nod in her direction. "There's nothing much to do except wait for whoever brought us here to show themselves. We're not going anywhere otherwise."

Slowly, he scanned the group. No one stood out to him as the game master behind all this. Not that he really knew who or what he was looking for. They could be anyone, from a giant Charizard, to a skeleton wearing a hoodie. Then, the Inteleon stepped forward with a bow and a flourish.

"You may call me Inteleon Qitlan, right hand to Hydreigon Alexander and main advisor to the Cipher City complex." After a beat, he smiled a little and said, "Among other things, of course."

Steven felt his brow furrow into a scowl; he didn't recognize any of the names the Qitlan said, nor did he know what 'other things' the Inteleon was referring to. He glanced around the group again, and unlike the rest of them, the Inteleon seemed rather indifferent that he'd been brought here. Mentally, Steven shrugged. If no one else was going to ask...

"Pardon me, but you wouldn't happen to be our host, would you?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Unfortunately," Qitlan replied, "I am only another participant in this strange little game."

 

[Virgil134]

As everyone did their introductions, the Inteleon gave a formal and lanky bow. "You may call me Inteleon Qitlan, right hand to Hydreigon Alexander and main advisor to the Cipher City complex." After a beat, he smiled a little and said, "Among other things, of course."

He knew it was meaningless. But he wanted to see how they reacted to any sense of credentials, relevant or not.

Kichiro turned to Qitlan with a wary look. The Inteleon seemed… sleezy to the least, and hardly the type that seemed worth trusting. Still, if he was gonna get out of here it probably made sense to get to know the others, which also meant introducing himself.

"Hmph, it's Keiichiro."

 

[windskull]

From a distance, an absol watched the interactions, her expression pensive. While it could be interesting to find out more about these strangers, all these odd pokemon (especially the weird... mutated simipours that looked like they'd been stretched out under a rolling pin?), she felt she would do better to be quiet and listen than to interject and make all attention turn to her.