Truth or Dare Crossroads

[MintyMimix]

"I am not embarrassed!" Roya protested as her tail struck the ground as though it were a hammer. With a huff, she raised her neck up and said, "I just figured the one tryin' to goad me so much ought to put her money where her mouth is." On hers. The Luxray flashed her fang as declared, "Ya want my best? Then I'll give ya my best!"

She dashed forward as though she were about to pounce onto the Espeon, but skidded on her paws just inches away from Lurosa's face. "This is for the dare. Got it? Don't get any funny ideas." Roya placed her paw onto Lurosa's back as she slowly pulled the other cat in. From that close of a view, Lurosa could see the darting of her gaze betraying any semblance of confidence she claimed.

Once their lips met, however, the trepidation washed away as Roya relaxed into the kiss. She wasn't enjoying it. It was just for the dare. She wasn't. Roya wrapped her tail around the strange, lovely Espeon as the Luxray escalated the smooch into something that lasted far longer than necessary. She was going to put her best foot forward into it. She was going to make sure it was something that Lurosa would remember, so that way no one would protest that she "didn't do it right".

Roya wrapped her other front paw around the Espeon as her heartbeat rung in her ears. The jeers and jabs of everyone around her faded in background noise. On any other day, they would've crawled into her skin and controlled her thoughts as she would've roared out denial of the accusations and meet them with a challenge of her own. But this time, they didn't bother her for a reason she couldn't understand.

Whatever. It was just a dream. It was fine. Her mind was just trying to test her mettle. That was all. She wasn't into lovey-dovey stuff in the least bit. She was a proud fighter and scholar! There was absolutely nothing further that could've been inferred from the situation.

 

[Navar]

The small talk about humans and their role in saving the world got his attention, but Shiron ignored that, since... well, the one who summoned him never mentioned something like that. Besides, there was the dare thing. About kissing.

I'd never do it! Maybe with him... haha, no, of course not why would I wanna do that with him haha...

He shook his head; Magnus was far away. But it did give him ideas for a prompt.

Truth: What is your best friend's most prominent quality?

 

[UnknownUser55]

"I've seen many strange things in my line of work..." Eco began, her mandibles clasping together. The orange in her eyes appeared somewhat duller, too. "But..."

"..."

"W-WHAT ON-"

 

[Fusion]

Lee didn't stare too much this time, at that point it would've just been weird even if it is a part of the game. Although he sort of felt an odd sense of pride in the Luxray, as if watching her do something she wanted to but couldn't for internal reasons.

He hoped he wasn't getting too attached to anyone because of a game of truth or dare...

 

[Inkedust]

"They're not worth reading," Eco dismissed, landing back onto her original spot. "Saves you a good amount of time to not drown yourself in fantasies."

[...]
Eco's mandibles twitched a bit. "Excuse me? I had not heard you, there."

"It's of little concern to me," Zorua replied evenly, taking another sip of her tea. She liked this one, perhaps she was the only other sensible individual in the area but at her next question, she simply tilted her head upwards. "Nothing important. Just something I was handling before I came here."

She spared no attention at the espeon and luxray being very good friends.

 

[UnknownUser55]

"It's of little concern to me," Zorua replied evenly, taking another sip of her tea. She liked this one, perhaps she was the only other sensible individual in the area but at her next question, she simply tilted her head upwards. "Nothing important. Just something I was handling before I came here."

Thankfully, Zorua's words again made her attention shift away from the current topic, the Vikavolt excusing herself before she turned with an accepting nod. "I suppose, then." Eco shrugged. "Also, don't believe I caught your name, yet. I'm Vikavolt Eco."

 

[FauxFox]

A Vulpix groaned as she opened her eyes. "Five... five more minutes..." She muttered, before realizing that something was off. She groggily stood up, unsure if she was awake or dreaming, as she saw a multitude of unfamiliar people, and a very unfamiliar place, in front of her. "Now I know how he feels..." She sighed to herself, thinking about one of her friends from her home. "I seem to be a little late to this, what exactly is going on here?"

 

[lichhen]

Porygon wandered forward, drawn in by the vikavolt's electric field.

Dare: Race to the pillar and back. Whoever is last must drink their hot tea cold.

Porygon projected the information from the Pillar to Vikavolt. Then, they invited themself to Vikavolt's back, hauling their weight clumsily in an attempt to board the robotic bug. They exploded with a burst of verdant electricity.

WHO WILL RACE US?

THE WINNER CAN GO HOME!

THE LOSER MUST

Dare: kiss a stranger

or maybe something worse?

The porygon, although not speaking verbally, transmitted the messages through energetic movements and expressions, as well as with the help of the Pillar.

 

[Fusion]

"Oh right, the game," Lee clicked his tongue. On one hand, it would be good to stretch his legs with a race, on the others...

He'd simply have to not lose, is all.

He walked up to the angular duck sparking electricity, which frazzled his fur but didn't seem to effect him all that much. "I suppose I can take you up on that challenge," he said. "I hope this does not come off as taunting, but I am quite confident in my speed, you know."

 

[ShiniGojira]

As she continued to enjoy herself, newcomers arrived and with each, she took a moment to fully assessed them.

Not one she saw could really pose a threat to her and so she decided it was probably fine if she let loose a little and answer a prompt or two.

She allowed her mind to ponder on the prompts that were thrown about before settling on something relatively simple.

Dare: Transform. Or evolve, at the very least. Maybe if I can see the process in detail…

It was certainly an odd dare. If she hadn't known better, she would've thought it was directed at her and stranger yet, the creature who suggested this wanted to see it in full detail.

She stood up from her seat and moved to an open spot, allowing her body to undergo the process of transformation. Of course, she didn't let it linger longer than needed — she only allowed that to be truly seen for the most despicable beings of the multiverse — she wasn't trying to scar anyone here after all.

With a lazy motion, they glanced down at the creatures below, speaking in a deeper, echoey voice, an eerie aura accentuating their every word, "Does this satisfy your curiosity?"

They looked around before changing back to the woman they were just a moment ago and went back to their seat, acting like they hadn't just transformed into these creatures' version of an eldritch horror. She then took a bunch of sugar cubes and downed them whole, licking her lips as a neutral smile crept onto her face.

Truth: If you had the power to do anything you'd ever wanted, what is the first thing you'll do with said power?

Spoiler

btw, for those who are wondering, she just became Giratina.

 

[Fusion]

With a lazy motion, they glanced down at the creatures below, speaking in a deeper, echoey voice, an eerie aura accentuating their every word, "Does this satisfy your curiosity?"

Lee gave the transformation a glance, then an impressed nod. "Color me surprised, seeing another shapeshifter, and one who can take that form no less," he said. "What a coincidence."

 

[Hanafuda]

"Does this satisfy your curiosity?"

“Y-Yes…”

Seb’s feathers puffed up for a brief moment after witnessing the transformation. It was simply fascinating to him, seeing shapeshifters at work. It was enticing, even daring to call it ‘eye candy’.

“Seriously, though, I didn’t expect to see Giratina. That Legend is really scary, and seeing that up close felt like death itself staring into my soul.”

 

[ShiniGojira]

Lee gave the transformation a glance, then an impressed nod. "Color me surprised, seeing another shapeshifter, and one who can take that form no less," he said. "What a coincidence."

Turning towards the wolf with a raised brow, she said. "You speak of it as if you've met one before... or were you referring to that 'de-evolution' as your own shifter abilities?"

“Y-Yes…”

Seb’s feathers puffed up for a brief moment after witnessing the transformation. It was simply fascinating to him, seeing shapeshifters at work. It was enticing, even daring to call it ‘eye candy’.

“Seriously, though, I didn’t expect to see Giratina. That Legend is really scary, and seeing that up close felt like death itself staring into my soul.”

"I suppose seeing a being like Gira would be akin to seeing death itself but unfortunately, there are many beings out there in the multiverse that makes Gira look like a kitten. I could show you one of them but I'd rather not cause anyone's heads to explode," she said, taking a sip of her tea.

 

[lisianthus]

'Wh-huuuh!!?'

Lucia was shocked. One moment, she was basically stuck in what seemed to be her very own liminal space, and now...

There were a lot of things going on in the area.

A lot.

Lucia scanned the area for any friendly (human) faces she knew—but her cursory glance to every direction in the vicinity came up empty.

This wasn't exactly a problem, though—Lucia was an idol, and that meant that she wasn't the worst ever at talking to strangers, even if she didn't particularly enjoy it too much.

Pinpointing someone who looked vaguely familiar... a Trainer she had seen somewhere, probably on TV, she started walking in their direction.

But suddenly...

'Quack!'

Lucia stopped dead in her tracks. She had almost ran into something much shorter than she was.

'OHMYGOD... oh-emm-gee, a cute little DUCKLETT! Hello, baby...' she excitedly said, immediately picking up the bird Pokémon, placing it into her arms.

(@Torchic W. Pip thanks!!)

 

[lisianthus]

Lucia was halfway through lifting her newly found bird friend into the air, Lion King-style, when she heard... a voice? Coming from the Ducklet?

"Lutti?! What are you doing here?!?!?!"

'EUNSONG!!? how are you a pokémon... ohhhhh my goooood........ how do i explain this to mikuri how did this happen why are you a ducklett'

Lucia continued rambling to herself as she carefully set her friend down, kneeling down to face-level with her.

'Uhmmm... oh yeah! I don't know why I'm here. I thought it was like, a TV show, but I don't think... they can turn you into... a duck?' Lucia was still trying to process the fact that her de facto sister-in-law and good friend, had been turned into a bird.

A cute bird, of course! But not... definitely not her normal Eunsong. How did this happen?! Would Lucia turn into a Swablu next...!?

'So I don't know... it seems like we all have to play some Truth or Dare game, though... do you want to try one out? I want to do more!!' she invited her companion.

 

[canisaries]

Alioth glanced at the bespectacled Deerling. "Hisui, mm? I've heard whispers of it amongst the spirits from a world of humans." He tapped a claw to his cup, a distant look in his eyes. "It's a curious thing to think about, extinction. Certainly more common in the worlds where all mon live by the rules of nature. In my home, well... I'd say there's more danger of cultures coming to ruin than species."

Fittingly the pillar of now water had a prompt just for this. Mercifully easy, Zorua took another sip of her tea. "I came here from a world inhabited only by pokémon, not a human in sight. Kythra is its name," she began. "It's primitive, most technology is found by salvaging what was once lost and the pokémon very faithfully worship the moon and stars. They place more faith in that silly old legend than anything important," she added, rolling her eyes. "There's also a lot of Guilds to navigate around these things called 'Mystery Dungeons' where scientific laws are more a suggestion than anything else. I'm rather certain that this sounds fairly standard to a few of you here."

Thankfully, though, whoever this was had made great work in shifting her attention to something more worth talking about than this. Eco settled her eyes on her, next, as she hummed curiously. "Sounds like the kind of world I live in, except that there, the legends they're all into are about this collection of stories talking about a human 'fated' to visit our world as a Pokemon themselves to save our world from a crisis, along with some human partner, too. I don't believe any of them, myself, of course."

"Oh, this is all very interesting. Maybe someday I'll get to visit one of these pokemon-populated worlds."

A brief hail began. Andre didn't mind - or he thought he didn't mind until one hailstone pelted him. It burned. "Get it off, get it off, get it off," he panicked, bucking back and thrashing his head. Once the shard of ice was off, he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Must be a grass-type thing."

At the two kissing felines, he wanted to clap, but really couldn't, being a deer and all. "Good show," he settled on saying. Love was always a pleasure to see.

They looked around before changing back to the woman they were just a moment ago and went back to their seat, acting like they hadn't just transformed into these creatures' version of an eldritch horror. She then took a bunch of sugar cubes and downed them whole, licking her lips as a neutral smile crept onto her face.

Andre's jaw dropped. "Well, I'll be," he said. "Now I can say I've met the Violent One."

 

[TheGOAT]

Twice now her surroundings had changed radically, like magic. But this was no nightmare.

Amelia sucked in the air — now moist with rich springwater — and then exhaled a weak flame. It felt hot. She pawed at the moss below her feet and tasted the humidity; it felt cold. This was no dream to begin with, she thought. She was here.

“Well,” the Vulpix said to no one even as she settled a skeptical eye upon the Pillar, “That’s a sobering thought. Wasn’t here ten seconds before being told how to escape a kidnapping. Maybe I want to stick around?”

She marched forward.

Truth: What scares you more: forever or finite?

“Forever,” Amelia answered immediately, rolling her eyes. “Because one moment I’m chilling and the next I’m in a place like this.”

Probably not good enough. She sighed. “Because… as time passes, the weight of every little thing you’ve done decreases. With enough time, I’d become someone completely new. That’s scary. I’d like to die while still being myself, thanks.”

Her tails thrummed against the air for a long moment before she added, “Finite’s scary too, in a different way, I guess.”

Her turn. Unfortunately, there was no instructions manual, and she’d forgotten most of the initial speech. “How do I even get this thing to, uhm… hmm.” She squinted harder before closing her eyes altogether.

‘If you were to die, what would you want your sacrifice to represent or accomplish?’

Truth: If you were to die, what would you want your sacrifice to represent or accomplish?

“Oh shit.” One blink. “Cool.”

 

[IFBench]

Finally, it's gone.

Arctozolt proceeded to glare at their tail.

 

[UnknownUser55]

Porygon projected the information from the Pillar to Vikavolt. Then, they invited themself to Vikavolt's back, hauling their weight clumsily in an attempt to board the robotic bug.

Boarding her was easy to do, given the short stature of Eco's species. The Vikavolt's mandibles snapped together as the Porygon mounted her, though she allowed him to remain there, as reluctant as she was. "...E-excuse me?" Eco nervously stuttered. "W-w-what are you—W-why?!"

Dare: Race to the pillar and back. Whoever is last must drink their hot tea cold.

"O' whoever is in charge of this dang place, please enlighten me with your knowledge; I don't have to do any of what this kid is trying to get me to do, right?" Eco's voice was hard to discern whether or not she was being sarcastic, there.

 

[Hanafuda]

“So, uh, sorry, but how long are we gonna be here?” Seb asked, looking worried. “I kinda need to go back and help at a café.”

Another whisper reached him. Something about the world he came from? Well, that was easy to answer.

“Oh, okay, guess I have time for another Truth. I just come from your average world with Pokémon and Trainers. We use these round capsule things called Poké Balls to catch and tame them and we send them out to battle. There’s even tournaments involving Pokémon battles, but I’m not really interested in that.” He turned his gaze towards Eco. “Pretty sure it’s way different from that guild stuff you mentioned, right?”