Truth or Dare Crossroads

[Dragonfree]

He called Nova a good boy. There was a protocol for that.

... Tail wagging!

As the strange chimera creature's fishlike tail wagged eagerly, Gabriel grinned. "Aw, big guy, you seem sweet. What's your name?" He lifted a hand as if to pet him, but hesitated - was that weird for a sapient, talking Pokémon?

"Ideals, I was going to say, before I was RUDELY INTERRUPTED!" the chimera said, screeching those last two words at its tail.

"Ideals, huh? What sorts of ideals are those?" A knot of discomfort was forming in his stomach. This guy sounded like some kind of zealot. Unsettling even if it was a dream.

Mhynt hummed again at Gabriel, but nodded. "Did they do something else to warrant your attack?" she said. "How old were you at the time?"

He turned back to the Treecko. "Ten. Or, I mean, age is a bit complicated for us, biological clocks kind of wonky. I was more like a thirteen-year-old with ten years of experience." He paused. "They kidnapped me, and shot several other people, and he was pointing a gun at my friend. I had to do something. But then I just... kept going, until he was dead. I could've stopped."

 

[ShiniGojira]

"Lots of new faces..." Shiron muttered.

And there's an actual human, like me! But let's not get ahead of ourselves... Shiron, stop talking to yourself.

He waved. "H-Hi!"

Taking A nearby empty, Alluhmieh floated a cup and some biscuits over to herself, dipping the biscuits in said tea and chewing on the soggy confectionary. Of course, it wasn't as if she needed to drink or eat (well not after her first few purges that was) but it did always feel nice to have something sweet to bite on.

As she did so, she noticed a Marshtomp making its way towards her. She scrutinized the Pokémon for a moment before ultimately deciding that it wasn't a threat and wasn't worth copying.

"Hello," she said, taking note of the nervous tone in the Pokémon's voice. She knew it wasn't because of her current form that was making the mon nervous as after all her forms were always perfect to a T. No, it was obvious that it was because she was currently human. Many of the worlds she'd purged had contained humans as its primary threat so it was probable that this creature was afraid of this form's species. Nevertheless, she tried to make herself look less intimidating, flashing a toothy grin at the mon. "Nice to meet ya, the name's Alluhmieh but you can call me Ally if you want."

She even added a little wink as further proof of her friendliness.

"Another human," he remarked and looked to the human already present. "You won't be as lonely anymore. Although I do have to wonder why some of us turn into mon while some remain human. Shrugging it off as cross-universe weirdness doesn't quite cut it anymore."

Loneliness? She hid a snort. As if all the souls within her would even give her a moment to her lonesome. Honestly, this place was a lovely respite from all the screams of vengeance and her constant reassuring promises to avenge them.

She turned towards the deerling, stretching her arms. "Well, I wouldn't say loneliness is a problem for me. I always have loads of friends with me even when I have to travel from world to world." She took a sip from her cup of tea, brows furrowing at the Deerling's latter musing. "Oh? Are you saying you're a human?" Taking a moment to analyse the Pokémon, she decided to play the ignorant card with a shrug. "Well, maybe there's some kind of deity out there that thinks it's funny to turn someone into something they're not. I wouldn't really be surprised if that was the case. Lots of beings in the multiverse absolutely love doing these sorts of things," she hissed out the last part with a bit more venom that she would've liked.

 

[Forestoak]

"Well, maybe there's some kind of deity out there that thinks it's funny to turn someone into something they're not.

[guilty look]

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fake knew humans were always friendly...for now, he left the zorua's side to see what was going on between the blue thingy thingy and the human.
"Burhh?"

 

[Hanafuda]

Seb saw with amazement how the world changed around him. It now became a desert of sorts, bright and glowing, even without a clear light source. Perhaps it was only him, but he was able to feel a soft breeze coating him from the heat.

Another whisper reached him. It sent a soft chill down his spine, his tail feathers shaking.

Truth: Is there anything or anyone you would kill for?

Seb shuddered more at the mention of ‘kill’ than the whisper itself. Nonetheless, he gave his answer.

“Um… I wouldn’t kill anyone, but I’d do my best to protect the world. I’ve seen enough to know how beautiful everything is, especially nature. The blue sky, the lush trees, the colors that flowers can give to otherwise dull environments and the people and Pokémon that live everywhere and with us. If you ask me, my favorite thing about nature is the wind.”

Seb extended his arms, arched his back, closed his eyes and raised his head, a smile creeping up on his beak. His feathers moved with the breeze over him.

“That clean air we breathe every day. The currents that push the leaves and grass to other places where children play, the propulsion birds rely upon to fly, the fresh summer breeze that soothes the face in hot days… But to me, the wind reminds me of that feeling of freedom birds enjoy as they soar above the cities. It reminds me of my dream of freedom. I’m sure I’ll achieve it once I graduate.”

He took a deep breath before speaking once more.

“That is something worth protecting to me.”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"I burned a man to death," he said. "He was the guy that killed my dad. And he was going to kill my best friend. And it felt good to do it. I know it was bad. I just..." He looked away. "I don't really feel that way. Some part of me, the Slugma part I guess, is just, 'You won, you beat him.'"

There. He'd said it. In a dream. And now what? The whispers nudged him to give a question or dare of his own.

"Ten. Or, I mean, age is a bit complicated for us, biological clocks kind of wonky. I was more like a thirteen-year-old with ten years of experience." He paused. "They kidnapped me, and shot several other people, and he was pointing a gun at my friend. I had to do something. But then I just... kept going, until he was dead. I could've stopped."

Lillie's voice stuck in her throat. What do you say to that? She... didn't want to offer empty condolences. Or, empty-sounding ones anyways. She just clammed up instead. She had no idea what the right thing to say in a situation like this, only a lot of wrong things.

"I... uhh... It's g- I mean, it's not-" She sighed and restarted. "That sounds like an okay reaction to me. It's a pretty human thing, to... you know... not stopping? It would be kind of strange if you had. So... I guess..."

She took a sip of her tea to stall for time out of force of habit, before realizing that trick probably didn't actually make any sense in this context and she'd probably just made herself look stupid.

"Your friend was lucky to have you there. That's all, I guess..."

Truth: Is there anything or anyone you would kill for?

The words echoed in Lillie's head. She had a hunch she knew whose they were. "Could I...? I..." She took a deep breath. "I... don't think I could. But in a bad way? I feel like I would just give up before being able to really hurt anyone. Even if it was the right thing to do. I feel like a worse person because... Well, because I don't have anything I would stand up for in general? I mean, maybe..."

She glanced at the... Null? Did that count as a Null? She didn't have any other name for it- for them. It was strange for one of them to be here. Was there a reason for that? Then again, why was anything here? It... was probably best not to think about it. But it did remind her of one thing...

"Maybe I'd just be a better person if I could do the right thing when it mattered. Maybe that's why I'm... this. Like, in my last life I closed myself off to the world and ignored everyone, so now I have to be something that has to feel what everyone else does. And that needs other people. I mean, maybe I'd not dead dead but I still can't go home like this or anything."

She sighed...

Truth: If you could change anything about yourself for... a "next life" or something like that, I guess, then what would it be?

 

[Inkedust]

Zorua waited with bated breath for an answer but when none came, her expression shifted from one of cautious curiosity to disapproval, ear flicking as it did. She didn't like being ignored. She didn't like being left in the dark but at the very least, she had seen just enough to get a good idea of what was going on. The kirlia's question would've been more than enough for her but, like a sixth sense, she seemed to be privy to every other question asked.

Was that how it was? A sort of limbo that would only react if she partook in a game of Truth or Dare? Rather infantile if Zorua was being honest but if it were the only way to get answers...

1: What is the truth that you seek most?

2: Is there anything that you've done that many would call horrible, but that you don't regret at all?

4: What's your biggest regret?

7: What is your happiest memory?

"Such odd questions to ask for someone who has had their memories rudely taken from them," Zorua said, an exasperated sigh encroaching on the very edge of her voice. "Those memories and the truth of my situation were what I desired most of all when I lived, or will continue to strive for if this is just a dream and not some strange afterlife."

14: If you could change anything about yourself for... a "next life" or something like that, I guess, then what would it be?

Zorua gave the kirlia an indignant look, the powers that be were really trying to rub it in, weren't they? "There is no choice when it comes to a next life," she huffed, straightening her back and closing her eyes. "If there was, I wouldn't be like this, scrambling for answers that should feel obvious, in the first place."

Zorua's answer then turned to the shimmering pillar. "I suppose that should be a good enough answer for you then?" she asked, raising her voice to ensure that it heard her. After a few seconds, when it was apparently obvious that no answer would come from the pillar she sighed.

A few truths answered without a dare in sight. If she was forced to humour the realm then why wouldn't she be forced to go all the way in? None of the dares so far were anything appropriate for her (it was always her least favourite part of these games) but if she had to choose just one...

8: Can you sing?

A very deep sigh. "If I must...

"The seasons they turn, winter to spring
Dulling the pain and erasing the sting
The seasons turn, summer to fall
Time's warm embrace begins to heal all

On the wild at first light
The jasper lion will run
Hark an anthem he drums, can you hear?

The people fresh from the night
Rise and listen as one
The land that they were promised is near"

Though young, Zorua's voice carried beauty and the lyrics came naturally to her, like they were buried deep, deep within. She spared a glance to everyone else before her attention turned back to the pillar. "Never make me do that again."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"There is no choice when it comes to a next life," she huffed, straightening her back and closing her eyes. "If there was, I wouldn't be like this, scrambling for answers that should feel obvious, in the first place."

Zorua's answer then turned to the shimmering pillar. "I suppose that should be a good enough answer for you then?"

Lillie scoffed. “I know! I’m not stupid. Is ‘that can’t happen’ how you answer every hypothetical question? I guess if I assume wanting to change the answers thing is what you’d want, then I guess you answered the question properly by accident, so… fine, I guess? It’s all the same to…”

"The seasons they turn, winter to spring
Dulling the pain and erasing the sting
The seasons turn, summer to fall
Time's warm embrace begins to heal all

On the wild at first light
The jasper lion will run
Hark an anthem he drums, can you hear?

The people fresh from the night
Rise and listen as one
The land that they were promised is near"

“Oh. Um. That was good.” Part of her wanted to say it was a shame the Zorua(?) didn’t like singing more, but she felt it was wiser to leave well enough alone.

 

[Namohysip]

He turned back to the Treecko. "Ten. Or, I mean, age is a bit complicated for us, biological clocks kind of wonky. I was more like a thirteen-year-old with ten years of experience." He paused. "They kidnapped me, and shot several other people, and he was pointing a gun at my friend. I had to do something. But then I just... kept going, until he was dead. I could've stopped."

Mhynt nodded again, her body language even as she took a seat. "I knew someone like that once," she said. "For different reasons than you, but someone who had been set off and went on an attack against someone, killing them. He regretted it for a very long time, and in some ways, he still does. But now, he's come to understand that about himself, and finds ways to control it and find better outlets. I hope you have that, where you're from. He didn't. It took him a long time."

 

[neirdae]

Dare: make a sandcastle
Clover dives into the ground, sending up a puff of sand. She phases into it, using her body to make a perfect replica of her body. She sticks hers (and the sand sculpture's) tongue out.
She separates from the sand.
"Ta da!" She cheers. No longer supported by her power, the tongue falls off the sand sculpture. This only bothers her a little.

Dare: can you sing?

"Short steps, deep breath
Everything is alright Chin up, I can't
Step into the spotlight
She said, "I'm sad, "
Somehow without any words
I just stood there
Searching for an answer"
"I heard this song once when someone was dying. Lots of ghosts want to fester and cultivate pain, but I always found it better to eat it away. Means I always have to keep moving on when everyone's problems are healed."

 

[Seren]

Dare: Try to down a full cup of piping hot tea in one gulp.

Lillia growled quietly at the luxray's dare. An easy one, at that... if she had proper hands!

Well... might as well give it a shot. She took a deep breath and shoved her muzzle as far into the cup as it would go, splashing half the contents out of the cup. The temeprature didn't bother her in the slightest. She managed to drain the tea from the cup easily - at least, the half that remained.

Dare: Can you sing?

Whoa... the murkrow (?) sure got deep and dark there for a moment. Lillia just sat and stared at him, at a loss for what to say to that.

At least his dare was cheerful enough, so it seemed he'd gotten over it on his own. That was good. What wasn't was the dare itself. "That's... more of a question than a dare, but alright. And I'm more of a drummer, usually leave the singing to my mates, but I've joined in a chorus or two before."

She stood up and paced for a second, then cleared her throat , took a deep breath, and prayed her growlithe form could still perform.

"Follow me through the night
We are sisters of the light
We are daughters of sin
We are laughter in the wind
Follow me through the night
We are sisters of the light
We are wild, we are free
Through the darkness follow me"

She nodded in satisfaction. "Yep, still got it!"

The Whispering Pillar shifted and swirled... and changed. The surroundings of the Spirit Nexus changed with it, blurring before the eyes as if watching night turn to dawn, then day, in mere seconds. The paths that made up the crossroads remained, though it was becoming hard to distinguish them up close. Around them, though, a bright, broiling heat shimmer made sand dunes dance before the spirits' eyes. Golden peaks lit by no sun, and purple shadows cast by no sunlight. The idea of the desert, but only that. An idea.

The Whispering Pillar itself was no longer a tower of mist, but of intense heat-shimmer, so strong as to seem almost opaque. Despite the sense that it should be scalding to be near, the temperature remained... normal? It was hard to tell if the air had any temperature at all...

Suddenly, the scene shifted before her eyes. The starry sky brightened, and the pillar seemed to almost be ablaze with heat - but much to Lillia's disappointment, the heat seemed to be a mere illusion, like that of the desert that now spanned the horizon around the party.

"I didn't do that!" she exclaimed defensively.

Dare: Construct a sand castle as a symbolic self-portrait.

Well, the desert sure showed up at the right time for this one. While she wasn't sure how the sand was sticking together, Lillia sculpted a respectable approximation of a sand castle. But it wasn't good enough, not yet. She built up the center tower higher, packing it tight until it was over her head. She carved a tiny drawbridge into the sand to carry imaginary travelers over the molten lava moat (a circle in the sand around the castle) she drew around the sculpture.

"Bet no one here can make a better replica of Bowser's castle!" She was tempted to make that her dare, but thought better of it. No one would pass that.

Dare: I dare you to go through with a battle with someone else here.

Now that was a dare! She rounded on Nova. "You. I like you. I'll take on anyone here, come on, have at me!" And then she turned to the marshtomp. "Anyone but you. Gotta keep it fair, r-right?" Instead, she glanced at the deerling from the corner of her eye.

Dare: Act like a dog.

"Woof woof, motherfucker!" Lillia barked at the slugma (?). Whatever he was. Cool, but kinda freaky at the same time. Maybe it was the 'burning a guy to death' thing. Still, it sounded like he had a decent enough reason for wanting to, so she wasn't gonna hound him over the details. Still, she grinned at him instead, trying to ignore how much cooler his sand castle was than her own.

Truth: Is there anything or anyone you would kill for?

"Oh yeah, if it came down to that, sure!" Maybe her own carefree admission would help him relax. "Almost have, in fact! Almost, though. Not yet. But if I catch him before my mates do, well. I know how to make it look like an accident."

He winced, looking away. "Well... thing is I didn't know it was him when I did it."

....oh. "Ah well, it's fine, right? You did it to protect someone important to you. Not out of like, spite or anything." Right? She almost added that to the end, but found she was a little afraid of the answer.

Though young, Zorua's voice carried beauty and the lyrics came naturally to her, like they were buried deep, deep within. She spared a glance to everyone else before her attention turned back to the pillar. "Never make me do that again."

Her ears perked up at the sound of someone else singing. She turned to the... zorua (?). Yeah, she thought that's what they were called. ""Holy shit, that was amazing! I gotta hear more! I dare you," she said with a grin.


It was probably about time she offered one of her own, too. But what could that be? Impending battle aside, there just wasn't anything happening here! Not enough chaos!

Wait, that gave her an idea...

Dare: Let's start a food fight! Dump your tea on someone!

 

[lisianthus]

(lucia is my ORAS!lisia, mikuri is my fem!wallace)

Lucia could only see... well, nothing, really. Wherever she was, the lighting was... not very ideal at all.

If only there was a light... even something like the spotlights that shone during Contests would do just fine.

Don.

How dramatic. As if on cue, a spotlight shone, illuminating Lucia and her immediate surroundings.

'Wow..."

Lucia seemed to be standing on some sort of stage.

'There's gotta be an audience if there's a stage here, right?' Lucia wondered out loud.

'Riiiiiiight...?' she said, making an effort to get someone's, anyone's attention. It couldn't only be her... or so she hoped.

Biiiiin.

Something seemed to be shining from where an audience normally would be. It was... maybe a sign? It had writing on it, and was rectangular and long, and... it was coming towards Lucia!?

'Is there, anything you wo-' Lucia was interrupted by the brightly shining... thing (rudely) careening into her.

She picked herself up from the floor, and began her secondary attempt to read the possibly hostile entity in front of her.

Truth: Is there anything or anyone you would kill for?

'That's... REALLY dark. Is this some prank on, like, a variety show...?'

Lucia took a few minutes to think—this was absolutely, certainly, not an everyday, normal question. As such, it merited a lot of thought.

'...I gues... if I HAD to kill for anything or anyone, it'd have to be Mikuri, right...? I don't know what I'd do without her... she's basically my world, iu noga chotto hazukashii kedo ne.' (even if it's a little embarrassing to say)

Nothing happened. Lucia was sort of expecting something to... so it was time to try pressing the button... or box, rather?

Click.

The spotlight turned off!

And a new, blank message...box? joined the original one at Lucia's side. It was simply titled, 'Truth or Dare Box'.

'What should I say...?' Lucia wondered.

'How about... a truth! And it'll be... uhmm, what would make you REALLY happy right now, like... enough to make you SPARKLE with joy!? There's gotta be something, right...?'

TRUTH: What would make you REALLY happy right now?

Lucia watched as her message flew off into the distance, a little proud that she was able to come up with a good question.

And suddenly, as soon as she saw her message wink away, she dropped into a well-lit room full of people, Pokémon, and who knew what else.

 

[canisaries]

He took a deep breath. "I burned a man to death," he said. "He was the guy that killed my dad. And he was going to kill my best friend. And it felt good to do it. I know it was bad. I just..." He looked away. "I don't really feel that way. Some part of me, the Slugma part I guess, is just, 'You won, you beat him.'"

Andre's ear flicked. That... hybrid had just admitted to murder so lightly, and not regretting it, and feeling good doing it. How would the others respond?

He listened for the others, and was shocked to hear more people talk about killing so openly. They must have come from pretty different worlds. At least the Treecko had healthy advice about it.

She took a sip from her cup of tea, brows furrowing at the Deerling's latter musing. "Oh? Are you saying you're a human?" Taking a moment to analyse the Pokémon, she decided to play the ignorant card with a shrug. "Well, maybe there's some kind of deity out there that thinks it's funny to turn someone into something they're not. I wouldn't really be surprised if that was the case. Lots of beings in the multiverse absolutely love doing these sorts of things," she hissed out the last part with a bit more venom that she would've liked.

"Maybe," Andre replied, shrugging.

The landscape had transformed from a starry night to a scorching desert, which wasn't actually scorching now that Andre thought about it. What a weird place, but that was to be expected for a multiverse meeting spot.

The misty tower - now shimmering - finally spoke to him after having spoken to so many different people.

"Is there anything that you've done that many would call horrible, but that you don't regret at all?"

He shuddered. No, not that one. He couldn't have the others find out. Even if... even if they seemed to talk about killing so lightly. Andre was still a citizen of a civilized world... and his crimes were still brutal, sadistic.

Is there anything or anyone you would kill for?

Another one he would have to skip. He couldn't say he would kill, even if it was for someone dear.

What's your biggest regret?

What about this one? What was his biggest regret? He didn't regret the murders, that much was clear. But...

"My biggest regret is not having been there to stop my sister from ending up in an abusive relationship," he said. "I was away at the time with no way to know, but that doesn't mean I don't regret it."

Of course, a couple thousand Galarish pounds had solved that problem for him and reduced the abuser to a charred corpse, but the others didn't have to know that.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt eyed Andre. "People cannot be everywhere," she agreed. "There are lots of times when I wish I had the power to always guard those I cared about... but unfortunately, from what I've seen, even gods have trouble keeping up with their allies."

 

[IFBench]

Dare: Let's start a food fight! Dump your tea on someone!

The chimera immediately knew who they were targeting with this one. ...unfortunately, their arms were far too unwieldy for this.

...smack that tea into the bastard who threatened us, and I'll relay one message for you.

Oh, gladly.

And with that, Arctozolt smacked their teacup with their tail, right towards Nova.

 

[UnknownUser55]

Truth: What would make you REALLY happy right now?

Among the questions that have been presented, somehow, this was the first to catch Eco's attention. The Vikavolt's eyes lit up like a bulb, and she straightened upwards to speak.

"...A berry smoothie would make me happy, I-I suppose," Eco said. "The way the sweet taste dissolves into your mouth while bringing that soothing chill down into you, I-I find them to be a... er, a good refresher of sorts."

 

[Navar]

Truth: What would make you REALLY happy right now?

Shiron, before even answering, felt his stomach grumble. He could use some food, like a pie, two cakes, a milkshake...

All being presented to him by that dork that he called a friend.

"Hm... I'd love some chocolate cake. My friend, Magnus, makes the best one I've ever had!"

 

[MysteryDungeonlover1]

A Charizard awakens in this white void, wearing a scarf that's half pink, half yellow. "Ugh... where am I?" the Charizard asks himself. He gets up, looking around for anyone else. "...where's anyone I can fight?" he asks to no one in particular.

 

[IFBench]

Arctozolt freezes at seeing the fire-type raring for a fight. This...was bad. They were still so uncoordinated, and weak to fire. If this Charizard was to attack them...

...pshah. Just had to keep it cool. They turned their neck away from the Charizard, trying to ignore him.

 

[MysteryDungeonlover1]

"Y'know what? No. I've matured since then, but... I still want to get stronger!" the Charizard says. He walks up to the Arctozolt, though he chooses not to battle them. "Hey. Think we got off on the wrong foot. Name's NEO!" NEO introduces himself.

 

[kyeugh]

Prim's hand was a goddamn leaf.

"What the hell?"

She willed it to unfurl and it straightened out smoothly—jointlessly, almost without sensation—like a carpet unrolling. Well, that wasn't weird or unsettling at all.

"Great," she muttered, lowering her arm back to her side. Well, stranger things had happened. No sense in dwelling on it. Leaf-hand or no, she just needed to find a way to get out of this purgatory and back home.

After a bit of watching and waiting, she thought she gleaned the gist. Truth or dare dimension, huh? Alright. Maybe this was a dream, maybe it was a spiritual experience, maybe it was something else. Regardless, Prim the wandersword didn't have much patience for children's games, least of all as instructed by a fucking dream pillar.

As the others sat in their circles sharing tea and doing somersaults, Prim stomped across the ethereal plain, approached the wispy whispering column at the center of the field, and gave it a nice wallop with her weird little leaf-hand, end curled into a membrane-thin leaf-fist.

"Send me back."

Spoiler: ooc

prim is a hisuian liligant