Truth or Dare Crossroads

[Navar]

"T-That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

Shiron gulped. He reached for his neck, but remembered the scarf wasn't there.

"Uh... I don't think I did anything horrible."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Wasn't talking to you," Nova said to Shiron. "That's the Phantom." He pointed a right foreleg at Arctozolt. "A zicklezolt head and arctoveil rear reeks of mutation. A corroded soul that—"

The type: full staggered back. No, no, no, no. Why was he doing this? Trying to make everyone fear him like...

Like when I served it.

Nova looked down at the floor. Wiggled his gold, chitinous talons. It felt wrong. Wrong in a way he couldn't quite peg. Is that what humans called an out of body experience? He didn't like it.

"I have done... too many horrible things." He shook his head. His cybernetics dimmed. "Most of it regretted. But some of it... was to give people freedom. Nothing to regret about that."

 

[Seren]

Whatever this place was, it sure was noisy! Which was weird, because it looked like some sort of outer-space party, and Lillia didn't think anything could breathe in space, much less talk. The fact that they seemed to be mostly talking pokemon was interesting, too. (Well, she assumed they all were pokemon; she only recognized a couple of them besides herself so far; an espeon and a marshtomp, and she planned to stay faaaar away from the water/ground-type.) She herself had become one upon arrival, and while she was enjoying getting used to having paws, she hadn't felt the need to get involved in whatever petty bickering was going on between the others.

She took a deep breath and blasted a stream of flames into the starry sky for a few seconds before letting it fizzle out. Her eyes lit up with excitement, realizing she indeed could do what any other growlithe could do. And of course, the fire was the most important skill of note there.

It seemed none of the other gathered guests found it very impressive, however. Well, I guess it's not like it's a big surprise... she thought to herself. A fire-type that could breathe fire? Yeah, probably normal to them. No matter, though, she was excited for it!

Satisfied with her experimentation for the moment, she looked around the starry setting. It seemed the location could morph its own appearance, as the espeon and the weird looking typhlosion (?) had been demonstrating. That aside, she'd been to better parties, if this could even be called one, as there was no food about that she could see. Ignoring the other guests, Lillia trotted over to the funky tower thing. Apparently it was supposed to be some sort of game; answer a question and you could go home, should you choose to. Easy enough, but...

"No dares yet?" she said, testing her voice. (Yup, still human-sounding enough.) Two truth questions to answer, but that was it. All talk, no action. "Borrrrring!"

Lillia trotted around the pillar a couple times before sitting down next to it, waiting for someone to come along and offer something more interesting; after all, she couldn't dare herself!

 

[Sinderella]

Opening his eyes, Armel stood stark still for god new how long. This wasn’t his room. Or Club Extrasensory. Or even one of Father’s awful gatherings. This was…unnatural. Unfamiliar.

“Bizarre,” he said under his breath before tonguing the inside of his cheek. A cursory glance around showed him that he might have been the only human, which wasn't exactly ideal.

He took a second to rack his mind for any memory of what he might have been doing before he got here. He didn’t recall falling asleep, but he didn’t quite remember being awake either. Was he…testing a new ritual? Or something in that wheelhouse? That pillar looked odd enough to come out of something blood-type related.

Avareed, he thought. Care to catch me up?

One second, two seconds, three. No response. He furrowed his brow.

Avareed?

Dead silence.

For the smallest moment, a bolt of panic shot up Armel’s spine as he realized he was indeed by his lonesome. A very childlike fear that he’d sworn he’d gotten over. Nonetheless, he came back to his senses and began to rub his forehead as he sighed in exasperation.

Alone. Dreamlike space. Unfamiliar Pokemon. Unfamiliar human. No blatant task at hand.

Perhaps this was a ritual, and there was some hidden point that he was meant to find out on his own. There wasn’t much else to go off of, what with what little he had in his memory banks, and the lack of the presence of the Greed Pokemon to remind him. Fortunately, nothing looked imminently dangerous, save for a sudden blast of fire he caught from the corner of his eye. But, he could handle that if it meant getting back to wherever he’d been.

Surely that pillar was a key part of what he was supposed to do. So, he relaxed his shoulders, adjusted the collar on his shirt, and made his way over to it.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Multiple paths phased into being in quick succession, each of them joining with the existing crossroads until a complex nexus had formed, the Whispering Pillar growing more and more solid with each new soul's arrival.

"So many arrivals, and all at once," Lurosa gasped, eyes wide with intrigue. "Is this normal?"

Alioth was busily pouring several more cups of tea (the tea set definitely had more cups now than it had minutes ago). He took a contented sip from one and thoughtfully replied, "Not in the slightest."

This was a very, very unusual day indeed.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Arrivals?" Nova narrowed his eyes. "So, you two are behind this?"

Was this some sort of kidnapping? "Explain yourselves."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Alioth waved a paw airily while beckoning for the others to partake in some dandelion tea, if they liked. "Oh, I don't have the power to call anyone here. Normally souls drift in and out of the crossroads as the boundaries between worlds wax and wane. But this many all at once..." He closed his eyes, ghostly flames flickering gently. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if someone were behind it."

 

[Forestoak]

"WAAHHH!"
Fake (Bonsly from The Journal Of Hisui) dropped onto the ground.
Ow, everything hurt. What was going on? What were the voices? And what was that pillar over there?
Dare? What...?

Well, he was supposed to stand on his head so...

 

[Hanafuda]

Seb opened his eyes. He was surprised to see stars all around him. “Huh? Am I dreaming?”

He was able to hear his own voice clearly. That meant he wasn’t in space and he had to have been dreaming lucidly. It was rather strange. Nonetheless, he stood up on his feet. The first thing he noticed was his body being covered in black feathers with a blue hue. He looked up and saw the rim of a hat on his head. “Oh, still a Murkrow, it looks like.”

He was thankful to have retained his humanoid body, at least.

He looked around and saw the huge gathering of Pokémon amidst the stars. It was a bit relieving to him to know he wasn’t alone. He approached the purple Typhlosion with the tea set, a bit confused by his looks. “Uh, hi. Where are we?”

Unbeknownst to him, a soft breeze emanated from beneath his feet. A platform of clouds grew as he moved around.

 

[Navar]

"Talk about weird..."

Shiron frowned. "And playing truth or dare? I mean, i-it could be fun."

 

[Seren]

Dare: Stand upside down.

...That was it? Really? Lillia stared at the ducklett, disappointed, as she tried to make sense of the dare. Stand... upside-down? Like... a handstand?

She watched as a bonsly she hadn't noticed before (were people still filing in?) attempted (?) the dare, with minimal success. Her attention shifted to the ducklett again when she spoke; at least she was encouraging. And on second thought... well, she was a duck. She probably would struggle to flip upside-down on her little wings, so perhaps it made sense as a dare in her mind.

Well, gotta start somewhere. Might as well get this one over with. Lillia stood up and pushed off her hind paws, flipping onto her front two easily... and immediately flipping over. Her paws gave out and she landed awkwardly on her side.

Right... she wasn't human at the moment. That mattered. "Okay, maybe that one's a little harder than I thought..."

She sat for a moment, pondering, but she just wasn't sure how exactly she was supposed to manage a handstand in her new form. Growlithe just weren't build for it.

Well, whatever. She'd do the next one, for sure!

Alioth waved a paw airily while beckoning for the others to partake in some dandelion tea, if they liked. "Oh, I don't have the power to call anyone here. Normally souls drift in and out of the crossroads as the boundaries between worlds wax and wane. But this many all at once..." He closed his eyes, ghostly flames flickering gently. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if someone were behind it."

Her heightened sense of smell caught a whiff of something in the... air? Well, there was a scent. Lillia turned to see the weird typhlosion setting out teacups. That would do for now. Forgetting the dare entirely for the moment (she'd keep an eye out for any good ones), she bounded over and sniffed at the teacups.

As she sat down, deciding which cup she wanted (as if it mattered), something the weird typhlosion said caught her attention. Something about crossroads and boundaries between worlds... Apparently it wasn't uncommon for 'souls' to flit in and out of here, but the sheer number of them was unusual, was it? Well, she didn't feel dead, but then again, how would she know? "Makes sense that we've been brought here intentionally, then," she said without looking up, somewhat distracted. "Sounds like something big is about to happen."

With that settled... how was she supposed to pick up her teacup with paws?

 

[neirdae]

(Basically my first time doing RP, and first time playing with this character. Let me know if I'm not quite doing this right. Also, I'm on my phone, please forgive any typos or formatting weirdness)

"Wow, this place is weird!" Clover giggled to herself. Maybe she was dreaming? The stars looked weird from here. But there were a lot of other Pokémon here, but they were a lot more interesting than normal dreams.
Her horn tingled. Lots of fear, confusion, and that really weird Pokémon had some really violent thoughts. Lots of yummy food for her, and they'd feel better!
Was that Ducklett happy about being a bird? Maybe she wasn't one outside of this place. Clover flipped in the air. Yep, she was still a Shuppet! Perfect for fixing all those nasty memories and feeling over there.
Clover floated to the pillar and read the lines on it.
Truth: What is the truth that you seek most?
Truth: Is there anything that you've done that many would call horrible, but that you don't regret at all?
Dare: stand on your head.
Clover saw the Bonsly crying on the ground, his stem slightly crushed from trying to stand on his head. She spun upside down, "standing" on her head, and said, "Aw, let me help you feel better."
A cloud of grey smoke streamed from Fake into Clover as she consumed his fear and sadness.
"I'm Clover the Shuppet. What's your name?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

The place Lillie found herself was odd. Dreamlike, yes, but at the same time it felt crisp, like the balcony late on a winter night. It didn't have the whimsy of her usual dreams, nor was she a lucid dreamer- being self-aware would just be a waste of a good dream, after all. And so, despite the unreality of it all, it wasn't something she could write off.

The first difference she noticed was the emotions. They felt almost like her own emotions, but disconnected from her. Like an empathetic phantom limb, not connected to her despite how it... also felt as if it was. She could even tell where the disembodied sensations were coming from.

The second thing she noticed was her body. Instead of human hands, she had soft, pale... well, she could almost call them claws, if not for how fleshy they were. Instead of her usual clothes, she had a ring of lamellea around her waist. She still felt more exposed than usual, but hardly indecent. She recognized this species. A Kirlia. Except... it was her.

She stared at her hand, moving and examining it like a feline seeing its own reflection for the first time. She felt something buzzing in her stomach. She was nervous, yes, but she wasn't sure this was bad yet. It was just different, and in the end that was all she'd ever asked for, was it not? Maybe it would be alright. Maybe it could even be good? She'd be lying if she told herself that she wasn't a little bit excited at the thought that something fantastical could happen- was happening to her.

She noticed a table with both tea set and a strange Typhlosion with a neck ringed by spectral flame who was explaining something. Speaking aloud, though in this context perhaps that wasn't as surreal as it would usually be. Tea and understanding what was happening to her were two things she was quite fond of, and completely lacking.

Alioth waved a paw airily while beckoning for the others to partake in some dandelion tea, if they liked. "Oh, I don't have the power to call anyone here. Normally souls drift in and out of the crossroads as the boundaries between worlds wax and wane. But this many all at once..." He closed his eyes, ghostly flames flickering gently. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if someone were behind it."

Lillie took up a cup. (She still had some form of hands, at least.) It wasn't any sort of tea she was familiar with. It was... kind of bitter, honestly, but not enough to be unpleasant, so she just appreciated it for what it was.

"Souls?" she asked, "Does that make me dead?"

Humans weren't supposed to have souls in the conventional energetic sense, but it didn't stop the idea from cropping up in mythos across the world. She recalled that old Alphaic mythology believed that all life in the world belonged to a cycle of reincarnation, governed by Ho-oh. From the smallest insects to the greatest dragons, any of them could find themselves as anything in their next life. Was that what had happened to her? Mother would be so furious if she had gone and died, too... She giggled at the thought. At least it would be someone else's problem!

A second question occurred to her, a way to test her train of thought: "And is it normal for us to end up-" She glanced down at her body. "-different?"

 

[Sinderella]

Alioth was busily pouring several more cups of tea (the tea set definitely had more cups now than it had minutes ago). He took a contented sip from one and thoughtfully replied, "Not in the slightest."

It was like his Galarian senses were tingling--he damn well knew there was tea before he saw it being poured into numerous cups. His autopilot attempted to take over, and he took a single step in the direction of Alioth and the tea party, but he caught himself and angled back toward the pillar.

Find out what's going on first, then tea.

"Oh, I don't have the power to call anyone here. Normally souls drift in and out of the crossroads as the boundaries between worlds wax and wane. But this many all at once..." He closed his eyes, ghostly flames flickering gently. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if someone were behind it."

Still, Armel found himself perking at the sound of the explanation. So, none of the present Pokemon had done him in here, but there was something about a "crossroads between worlds"...yes, he must have done this to himself. But why do a ritual that was going to leave him without Avareed's assistance AND with his amnesia flaring at the same time? Maybe it wasn't a ritual, and a client of his put something in his drink. There was a first time for everything, and something about that made him...uneasy.

No, he never drank anything clients offered him. Had to be a ritual.

"And playing truth or dare? I mean, i-it could be fun."

As he reached the pillar and eyed it, he heard whispers of...truth or dare? "What...?" he muttered, craning his neck to look over his shoulder, trying to find who thought such an asinine thing would happen in a place like this.

Well, gotta start somewhere. Might as well get this one over with. Lillia stood up and pushed off her hind paws, flipping onto her front two easily... and immediately flipping over. Her paws gave out and she landed awkwardly on her side.

Dare: Stand upside down.

But, he needn't have bothered because he got his answer. A dare on the pillar, and a growlithe...trying and absolutely failing to do the dare. He couldn't understand what the problem was, he'd definitely seen growlithe do handstands before. But, it wasn't his place to make a comment. In fact, he'd prefer to have as little conversation with anyone here as possible. Not that he wasn't around Pokemon all the time, but being the lone human was starting to make him minutely uncomfortable.

When the growlithe gave up, he took it upon himself to peer at the dare again. "Stand upside dow--what?" he said. "Why not just say 'do a handstand' what kind of ridiculous wording..."

He stopped himself before he could go on a tangent. That was beside the point. If he'd done a ritual just to end up in a distant world-hopping realm in order to play truth or dare of all things, then the wording of said truths or dares surely didn't matter. Asinine was asinine was asinine.

He supposed, though, he could be dared to do much worse. Because he could do a handstand. And the faster he did something, maybe the faster he'd be out.

With a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he gathered the will to shed his shame. There was no specified time frame, so he could be as quick about it as he wanted, so as long as it was done. He stepped back, allowing himself the room, and taking a breath, he leaned down and effortlessly kicked himself into a handstand. His shoulder and arm strength training had really paid off, because it felt like nothing. Truthfully, he felt like he could have held it for a few minutes, but...not here. When he felt an adequate amount of seconds had passed, he dropped back down, stood up, and took a moment to allow the blood to flow out of his head.

"Simple."

But, now what? How did these games go again?

Oh, right. He was supposed to ask something now, wasn't he?

He could offer an equally absurd dare, but that was hardly his style. He could ask a deeply unsettling truth, but...that might lead to unnecessary protest. Or conversation, even. So, maybe something generic would be the way...

Truth: What's your biggest regret?

"And is it normal for us to end up-" She glanced down at her body. "-different?"

When nothing else happened, Armel decided he could stand to go indulge himself in the tea, now that he'd done what he (thought he) was supposed to do. Maybe the tea would just round everything off, and he'd be on his way.

He approached just in time and silently sat down and helped himself to an empty cup, seeing as how there was no time to formally introduce himself, as there was a conversation in progress that he didn't want to interrupt. And he was quite glad he didn't, because the kirlia speaking caught his attention, and he suddenly felt inclined to interject out of sheer curiosity.

"Define different," he spoke. "Are you not a kirlia?”

 

[Sinderella]

"'Handstand', talk about ridiculous wording... It sounds like you're replacing feet with hands..."

Armel stopped mid-sip of his tea to eye the female-sounding bird quizzically.

“You…” he started to say. “When you ‘stand upside down’…you put your hands on the ground and hold your body upright with your hands, right? Therefore, it’s a handstand. You technically are replacing your feet with your hands because you’re literally standing on your—“

He cut himself off by taking a sip. Nope, he said minimal conversation, and that was not going to be one he broke his rule with. Besides, it was pretty good tea, so he’d much rather be drinking anyway.

"I regret not being born as a Ducklett. The human body was made for the land, not the sky."

He stared at her for a long while. Figures the first being he spoke more than a few words to was as dumb as they came. “I’m sorry,” he managed, trying to mask the dumbfounded tone that threatened to break through on his words. “You’re quite obviously a ducklett, so I don’t understand how—“

The latter part of her sentence finally dawned on him. “Wait, did you say human?”

 

[IFBench]

Arctozolt, upon hearing the Ducklett's words, immediately leaned towards her. Well, at least its top half did, its bottom half simply flicked its tail.

"You were human?" it asked.

 

[canisaries]

The first thing Andre noticed upon arriving was his hands on the ground. No, not hands. Hooves. Oh, it was another one of these things, and he was a deer again this time - though this time, it seems he was only a deerling, not a sawsbuck.

He looked around the starry landscape, noticing a large tower-like structure made of mist and a group of mon gathered before it - and one human. Those must have been the other players. He trotted closer and noticed the table with tea cups. There seemed to be plenty for everyone.

"Hello, everyone," Andre greeted, then pointed a hoof at one unattended cup. "May I join you all for tea?"

 

[Seren]

Others were joining the tea party now, and Lillia still hadn't figured out how to pick up her teacup. There was only one way she could think of short of asking someone to pour it into her mouth - and she was not doing that. She settled for tilting her head and biting the handle to pull it close; if she was going to have to act the part, the least she could do was to not lean over everyone else's cups to do it.

Meanwhile, thanks to the only human-who-was-still-a-human, the conversation had finally taken an interesting turn. Apparently she wasn't the only human-turned-'mon here, which at least explained how they were talking. Well, okay, no, it didn't, but it was a minor detail that she was happy to ignore.

"Hello, everyone," Andre greeted, then pointed a hoof at one unattended cup. "May I join you all for tea?"

A deerling had appeared at the gathering, now - the typhlosion (?) really wasn't kidding about souls or whatever coming and going. Still, this one wasn't water - in fact, she had the advantage here. Not that she expected to be fighting anyone, but who knew?

"Sure, if you dare," she teased.

 

[Namohysip]

Tap, tap, tap.

A Treecko stepped through the little campgrounds, looking around with a slight interest in her eyes. She moved with a practiced sort of grace despite her size, but it was almost mechanical and rehearsed. Something she couldn't quite break the habit of doing, too used to the movements after years of it being her obligations. Not royalty, but perhaps a servant. The defiant glint in her eye suggested she did not follow it voluntarily.

Tap, tap, tap.

She carried with her a simple blade of green light. Grass energy in its basic, elemental form. She liked having something to hold, something in her hands, but anything basic would make her look like a fidgeting mess. A blade suggested power and meaning. Nobody had to know she only kept it for comfort in this unfamiliar place.

She'd been informed of the details. A safe place for souls to come and go freely. She'd never been in a place like this before, and certainly she'd never been able to trust a signpost that said they were 'free to leave.' Those were never true, in her experience. It was limited, but the one time it failed on her, it had cost her a lifetime.

Tap, tap, tap. Her blade hit the dirt. Nervous. Was she nervous?

No need. She just observed the idle chatter and offered a little, wry smile. "It seems I've also wandered here," she said. "My name is Treecko Mhynt, of Kilo. And, yes, I'm named after my natural smell."

 

[neirdae]

No need. She just observed the idle chatter and offered a little, wry smile. "It seems I've also wandered here," she said. "My name is Treecko Mhynt, of Kilo. And, yes, I'm named after my natural smell."

Clover sees the newcomer and senses her restrained anxiety. She floats over to Mhynt, still upside down.
"Wow, there are a lot of really weird Pokémon here! Are you gonna stand on your head too? It might make you feel better!"