Truth or Dare Crossroads

[Navar]

"H-Huh? Neat, I come from that kinda world too. I mean, I was a human, then I died..."

Shiron gulped. "But I got better! X-Xerneas gave me a second chance. Before that, I was a human. I don't really wanna come back, though. Being a Marshtomp feels... right."

 

[lichhen]

Porygon twitched and jerked around happily when Lee accepted the challenge.

At Vikavolt's protest, although Porygon did not quite understand the words, they wilted slightly.

Vikavolt fast? Vikavolt like race?

They tried to communicate in a way the others would understand.

 

[Hanafuda]

"H-Huh? Neat, I come from that kinda world too. I mean, I was a human, then I died..."

Shiron gulped. "But I got better! X-Xerneas gave me a second chance. Before that, I was a human. I don't really wanna come back, though. Being a Marshtomp feels... right."

“Oh no, you died? Well, at least it’s good to know you were revived.”

Seb held his wings onto his shoulders, looking a bit hesitant as he spoke to Shiron.

“Your name kinda gave you away for me, Shiron. And now that we’re talking about it, I was human myself, too. I like being a Murkrow. It almost feels like I can be my true self when I’m in this form.”

 

[canisaries]

“Your name kinda gave you away for me, Shiron. And now that we’re talking about it, I was human myself, too. I like being a Murkrow. It almost feels like I can be my true self when I’m in this form.”

"If only I could've ended up with a more fitting body," sighed Andre. "A smeargle, perhaps, as I am an artist. Though I would have been fine with anything that had hands."

 

[IFBench]

"Tell us about it..." Arctozolt grumbled, looking down at themselves.

 

[Hanafuda]

"Tell us about it..." Arctozolt grumbled, looking down at themselves.

“Oh, hey.” Seb waved at Arctozolt. “I didn’t notice you before. What sorta Pokémon are you?” He tilted his head, confused by the conjoined Pokémon. “A fusion? I mean, you don’t look right…”

 

[IFBench]

"An abomination that shouldn't exist," they said, tail beginning to lash again. Though...there was...pity in their voice? For who or what, though?

 

[Hanafuda]

“Don’t say that!” Seb shouted. There was a bit of red in his face. “Don’t be so harsh on yourself. I demand that you stop being sad right now! It’s not good for anyone!”

 

[IFBench]

"Fuck off."

 

[lichhen]

Porygon, distracted by Arctozolt, shuffled over to the half-electric creature and started butting their head against the chimera repeatedly.

Their voice came to them, memory stirred by Arctozolt's words.

"FUCK!"

 

[Hanafuda]

"Fuck off."

“Oh. Okay.”

Seb calmed down after his small outburst, the red on his face fading out. He sighed and walked away from Arctozolt. The harshness in their tone made him feel down.

 

[IFBench]

Arctozolt looked down at the Porygon. A small bit of pride stirred within them.

Pet them again.

Fine...

The chimera's tail pet Porygon again, a bit more gently this time.

 

[lichhen]

The patting reminded Porygon of how temporary this body was. The shell-like feeling of it, as if Arctozolt was petting a box in which Porygon was trapped. Was Porygon actually Porygon? He remembered he was also something else.

And they felt Seb's warmth fade, the feeling of something going missing.

Something was missing.

They could no longer remember how to speak, however, and instead made use of the Pillar's mysterious ways of communication.

Porygon pulled a directive already existing within the Pillar, and nudged the message at Arctozolt:

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

 

[IFBench]

"..."

Arctozolt didn't respond.

There were so many things they wanted to do. Split off from the idiot who made up their lower half, but also to free Pokemon from the tyranny of trainers, to form an equal, better world.

And for their other half, they also wanted to split, but just as much as that, they desperately wanted someone from Spikemuth to be champion of Galar. Something, anything to give their hometown enough prestige to prevent it from being bulldozed.

And so, they said nothing.

 

[Fusion]

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?"

"Both, actually," Lee nodded. "The host my spirit is bound to is, lets say, a Giratina at heart, and is also a shapeshifter. That devolution I performed is some of his abilities running off on me." He waved a paw, trailing black cubic sparks behind it as it shifted into a Zoroark's paw, then back to his own. "While I choose not to do more than devolution and partial transformation, I never bothered to see if I could shift into anything else. I have no reason to be anyone other than me."

“Oh. Okay.”

Seb calmed down after his small outburst, the red on his face fading out. He sighed and walked away from Arctozolt. The harshness in their tone made him feel down.

Lee's ears flicked, and he turned to Seb. He frowned slightly, walking over to the small avian and patting him on his head. Then shot a fiercely cold stare at Arctozolt, but said nothing.

 

[lichhen]

Porygon stared up at Arctozolt expectantly. They did not move for a while.

They noticed Lee's glare towards the Arctozolt, and cocked their head towards Lee. Porygon snorted a tendril of electricity towards him.

Porygon insistently broadcast an echo from the Pillar:

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

 

[Fusion]

They noticed Lee's glare towards the Arctozolt, and cocked their head towards Lee. Porygon snorted a tendril of electricity towards him.

Lee didn't even flinch, and in return shot a dollop of dark aura at Porygon. "Do you still insist on racing?" he asked. "Where do we start from?"

 

[lichhen]

At Lee's lurching shadow, Porygon reared backwards with a startled cry, triangle-wheels spinning until Porygon tipped over onto their back. They rolled over and jerked their body around until they finally righted themself.

They shook in fear, wide eyes on Lee.

Despite their trepidation, Porygon suddenly took hold of the energy of the setting's light, and blasted it in a wild tangle of lightning at Lee.

Then they turned towards the Pillar and started slowly and chunkily wheeling themselves towards it through the wild grasses.

 

[MysteryDungeonlover1]

NEO flies towards the Pillar, ready to race.

 

[SparklingEspeon]

Espurr could have laughed. If it happened to annoy the one who'd dumped her here, she might have let a few slip. Instead, lying on her back in the middle of the fuzzy, vaguely green stuff she hoped was just grass, she just sighed, frustrated. Why did stuffy higher powers insist on yanking her out of her bed at night without asking nicely first? She was put out and ready to give this one a piece of her mind.

And what was the ratio for people who got cosmically kidnapped compared to people who didn't, anyway? Even if it was just once, which, by the way, it hadn't been! Anger stirred in the back of her head, making her floppy ears rustle with latent energy. She felt a sinking pit in her stomach as she realised that she was getting used to the concept. It didn't even seem to rattle her anymore beyond annoyance. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Repeat after her: this - was - not - normal.

But then, what about her life had really been normal for the past few months... at least she got to skip the first step.

Pulling herself to her feet, she stretched and dusted off her fur and waited expectantly for the fancy entrance beings like these always made. Nothing happened. Unenthusiasm was replaced with curiosity as she realised she wasn't the only one here - in the distance, what looked like two halves of entirely separate creatures glued together argued with another human (!), and she spied both a fox with several different tails and a floating duck thing that was coloured almost like it had come from a 3D-printer.

A disembodied voice suddenly boomed into her head, startling her:

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

"...card games?" she sighed, her irritation growing. She liked a nice card game, but she'd also been having a nice dream! Which had been interrupted! For card games! "You brought us all here for card games?"

No answer from the sky voice. Espurr wished she had a chair, and with the sudden sound of air whooshing there was suddenly a small stump. That was useful.

She plopped herself onto the stump, folded her arms, and reluctantly decided to answer the question. The quicker they got through this...

"Fine. If I died, and it represented something, I'd rather it be the end of something--bad. Something bad. The last thing I'd want is for people to start fighting each other or give up on something because of me."

Was that good enough? The voice was quiet, so Espurr assumed it had to be. Now what?

Dusty memories of playing the game leaked up into the surface--right. She had to pass it on.

"Truth," she announced to the voice. "What is the thing you desire the most?"

Truth: What is the thing you desire the most?

The voice rumbled out across the plains, the force of it blowing back her fur a little. Espurr yawned a bit as she fixed her coat up again. She felt too awake to sleep now. What else was going on around here?