bravenewworld | Another time, another place...

Entry tags:

!plot

Another time, another place...

As you descend into the newly formed tunnels, a strange feeling surrounds you. Driving deeper, a strange green light encircles you, pushing you unconsciously deeper and deeper into the swirling mists. There’s a power here, ancient and unfathomable. And then, light. But when you emerge, things have suddenly changed.

Any vestige of your Enlightened powers are gone. Your clothes are different, your equipment is different, even your Warp Band is gone! Any changes the process may have brought upon your body is also gone, you are now, fully and truly human. In its place, strapped securely to your belt, are a collection of red-and-white balls. You know instinctively what these are. The heretical tools of the lost age. Pokeballs…

[OOC Notes: ALL Enlightened powers, form changes, and other associated abilities will be gone for the duration of this log. Shifters may choose either to enter as a human, retaining their Pokemon team, or as a speech-capable Pokemon, although speaking in front of other humans may cause alarm and suspicion. Any Enhanced equipment is also altered, it is now entirely technological and may appear quite advanced. Unless specified in the intro log, your clothes will likely be reflective of more modern US attire or army combat gear, depending on the situation.

As always, we will be progressing the log at least once every 24 hours to keep things moving. If you have any further questions, please ask here.

When making your first comment in a thread, please list your character's Pokémon team.]

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After remaining silent the whole way down, Asemu finally spoke up.

"Before that, ma'am. Can we get a sit-rep? They rushed our briefing, so we're kind of short on intel."

Though Asemu didn't show it, he was very alarmed. He couldn't fly, he had Poké Balls on his belt, and he found himself wearing the uniform of a US Air Force pilot.

But this setting? Not quite as bad. Sometimes growing up under a militaristic father had its advantages, and then there was his ranger training. If nothing else, he knew plenty enough to blend into their surroundings to a certain degree.

[[Talonflame, Aggron, Shiftry, Gyarados, Noivern.]]

Fortunately for Fei the loss of strength wasn't enormously disorienting, he didn't much notice his strength was diminished. He did however notice the Pokeballs and the general change in attire. Seeing Haruka and Asemu at least looked like they knew what they were doing, he deferred to them - for now.

[Fei has Snorlax, Blaziken, Blastoise, Sceptile and Gardevoir]

The situation was alarming to be sure, but somehow the familiarity of the battlefield managed to snap her to her senses, fast. While they had been commonplace for her only months before, the pokéballs felt heavy on her hip.

A hand went toward each pokéball, as if adjusting them. She was sorry. She was so, so sorry that she ever felt this was right, that this was okay. She would make it up to all of you, when she had a chance.

Falling in tow, she gave her partner a glance, before looking toward the others. Follow her, Fei. Stay close. Act as she does. He was likely keenly aware that neither had their powers, judging from his reaction, and the others would need support should something happen--which seemed to be the case, given the commanding officer's reaction.

But what was she so afraid of?

"Ma'am?"

[[Team is Ampharos (55), Whimsicott (55), Gallade (55), Avalugg (55), Tyrantrum (55)]]

"My plans?!"

The woman looks incredulous - around them, the battered soldiers yell unintelligibly as they scatter about the battlefield, some running for the trenches, others hefting weaponry of all sorts. Pokéballs flash by the dozens as their inhabitants appear with weary cries. There is a definitely observable theme here of bulky Water types and large Fliers...

"My plans are to survive until sunset! We're not ready for another attack!"

Her eyes scan the far end of the battlefield, flickering rapidly back and forth.

"We only retreated to this position a few hours ago. We were crushed by their forces; this is our final line of defense. Look at us - look what we've got left; you've never seen a more pathetic lot. But we're miles from the shore here. There's no chance they c... -- "

And she lets out a harsh hiss as she fumbles for the rifle strapped to her back.

"What is that? What is that?!"

On the far edge of the horizon, a thin streak has been painted a picturesque blue. ...A thin streak that broadens steadily, a thin streak that churns and froths as it ripples forward, roaring dully as it expands across the land...

She lets loose with a few choice words that ought not be repeated in polite company.

"Fall back! Fall back now! Fliers and Surfers; go, you idiots!"

Before them, the inexorable tidal wave sweeps forward, destroying everything in its path...

No time to think. Either listen to that advice or find higher ground. Michiru automatically chooses a Pokeball, releasing a Vaporeon in a flash of light.

"Martelé."

And she's glancing over to Haruka.

Rise unfreezes as she sees the oncoming wave. No time to worry about what's happening or why just now, trouble was obviously coming.

She fumbles with the Pokéballs for a second before figuring out which one Peng is trapped in, then hesitantly tosses it, getting more sure of herself when the Altaria pops free.

"Sorry about that, girl," she says, "but we need to get in the air."

She looks over at Asemu, hoping rather illogically that even if her powers aren't working, his are. When she sees and feels a lack of that characteristic heat (the physical kind - he always looks good in a uniform), though, she starts worrying for a second. "Uh, Asemu, you brought Kou, right?"

Haruka meets Michiru's eyes, remembers the team Michiru had selected for this excursion, and nods. She lets her instinct guide her hand to the right Poké Ball, shoves a sense of the wrongness of her own Pokémon being stuck in these things to the back of her head, and tosses Sky the Beartic onto the field.

"Freeze that!" she orders out loud, jerking her head at the water Martelé's generating - the Beartic snaps to attention and blows an Icy Wind on the growing puddle. Without a Surfer, they'll have to improvise. Hopefully they can build a raft in time.

Though that ice is forming quickly - so maybe the really tricky part is up ahead.

Blastoise bursts forth from Fei's Pokeball as he jumps onto its shell, grabbing Elly and pulling her along with him.

"C'mon! We gotta move!"

Before she had time to act, Elly was swept off her feet, landing atop Blastoise's shell. Her hand instinctively going to one of the pokéballs, a Whimsicott flew out, quickly jumping and latching itself to her shoulders.

"Chu-Chu, give us a Tailwind!"

Hopefully that would improve their chances of avoiding the wave.

Asemu immediately sent out his Talonflame, Gyarados, and Noivern. He immediately climbed onto his Talonflame's back and ordered it to take off.

"Anyone who doesn't have a ride, take one of mine!"

Once airborne, Asemu attempted to see where the source of the water was -- and what it was.

The wave sweeps quickly towards them, even as they attempt an escape. Panicked shouts arise from all corners - the soldiers had been expecting to fight mobile Water types, not the advancing ocean itself...

And as Asemu rises into the air, he will see clearly that the ocean is exactly what it is. The shore, once miles away, recedes further and further with each passing moment as the wave engulfs the entire landscape. The sight of such a vast quantity of water is so impossible as to be breathtaking - a quite literal sentiment in a few moments. And teeming upon the water, leaping within the froth and the tide, are hundreds and thousands of indistinct figures... too innumerable to count.

The soldiers of the sea have come to ring the death knell for humanity.

Beside Asemu comes a low and shuddering breath - the woman they had spoken to is perched atop a Fearow beside him.

"This is it. We're done for..." A soft sigh. "If you lot've got any sense, you'll fly right on out of here and tell 'em you arrived too late."

With a nod, she dives low to the ground and gives a sharp whistle.

"Don't you cowards bail now! Form a line! I don't care if you sop up that tide with a wet paper towel; it stops before it hits the city!"

...The response is less than enthusiastic. But even as inevitable death approaches, the stragglers of the human army form ranks with their Pokémon - the earthbound on the bottom, and the Fliers forming two layers above. Even still, they are dwarfed by the wave, rising several stories into the sky...

"Protect!"

A brilliant light flashes from the Fearow, sparking a chain reaction that bounces from soldier to soldier down the line. Those who do not know Protect contribute what they can - Barrier, Reflect, Light Screen, even an Aegislash's King's Shield. For a few moments, the collected efforts of the Pokémon form a shimmering barrier between the land and the sea...

And then the mighty wave engulfs them all.

Decision time. Vaporeon gets returned to her Pokeball despite her protests, and Michiru gives Asemu a nod even as she reaches for his Gyarados. She'll have to return the favor later. And apologize to her Vaporeon.

Either way, it looks like they'll have to ride out whatever this is.

Haruka abandons the raft idea as well, joining Michiru on the Gyarados and recalling Sky, who is staring at the failed Protect with an intensity a lady really shouldn't cultivate, both paws clapped over her mouth. She doesn't even seem to notice the recall until she disappears.

"So much for spelunking," Haruka mutters to her partner, then braces herself. They'll take this catastrophe one step at a time.

"What? No..."

Peng is fortunately a smart Pokémon who flies upward while her trainer panics with her Pokéballs, trying to save people who are almost certainly doomed. Rise takes a brief moment of prayer and chucks Himiko's Pokéball at Kou's head, aiming to release the Gardevoir onto a platform that could hold her.

"Himiko!" she shouts, unable to focus on one strategy. This isn't right, she can't see things properly, it's like she was before...

"Dual Screens! Or...or levitate them out of there! Do something please!"

The Gardevoir's confused for a second, but starts putting up a Reflect and then a Light Screen, trying to at least protect the people aboard Kou.

Edited 2015-04-17 03:01 (UTC)

"If all of that can't stop it, what are we going to do?"

Blastoise, meanwhile, is churning water around it as it moves to get out of the way.

This looked a bit too familiar to Asemu. He was instantly reminded of the vision he had seen that Cresselia had shown him, of the village being wiped out by the rising sea...

...But this was on a completely different scale. In spite of knowing how futile it must be, he decided to try something.

"Bullet, use Sunny Day!"

The Talonflame immediately complied, and the sunlight on the area turned harsh. He didn't expect it to change much, but if even one life could be saved, it would be worth it.

"What could be causing this? If we can find the source, we might be able to do something, even if it's damage control! But where could it be?"

"Chu-chu, help Bullet!"

Attempting her own Sunny Day, Elly tried her best to think of something. They needed to get people out, although what Asemu said stuck with her. She shouted over the roaring waves. "Fei, send out Snorlax and have him use Odor Sleuth! See if we can find what's causing this storm!"

"Right!"

Another Pokeball bursts open and Snorlax emerges, sniffing at the air to see if it can get a wiff of the source.

How very odd! Even as the sun bursts forth from behind the clouds, the storm, in the next moment, regroups and angrily swirls around the sky, blotting out the sunshine once again. It seems that changing the weather here will be ineffective...

As if threatened by this attempt, the storm increases in intensity now, changing from a steady drizzle to an utter downpour.

The wave washes by underneath the Fliers, and dozens of dark masses can be seen shooting by. The majority are Pokemon - Water-types riding the wave towards the unseen city in the distance. Other times, a human hand protrudes from the waters or a screeching Flying type beats its wings hard enough to escape the floodtide, pulling up a gasping soldier with them. Here and there, others pop to the surface to clamber aboard their faithful servants, still prepared to do battle even to the last.

Odor Sleuth may be slightly ineffective given the dozens of bodies in close proximity, but it seems it will be unnecessary, regardless. Almost the moment Snorlax appears, a great roar echoes across the land...

And something gargantuan erupts from the waters, leaping high into the sky. For a moment, it seems to hang in the air, its markings glowing vividly in the darkness of the storm, before it splashes down again, sending a shockwave ripping through the water.

Looks like they've found their source. Whether or not they take the soldier's advice to flee... or whether they attempt to salvage what they can from this disaster, one thing's for certain. There's no stopping this water.

Rise's seen a god before. Once. It was the most terrifying experience of her life.

This one is worse. It wasn't the overwhelming psychic pressure Heatran had given her, it's a fear that skips past the brain and goes straight to the base of the spine. The knowledge that you're in the presense of something way beyond yourself, and it's about to belly-flop on your head.

She stares at it, swallows hard, then starts yelling. "We're not going to be able to fight it!" she screams over the noise of the waves and the storm. "Everyone, get as many people out of the water as you can!"

Rise's own Pokémon respond immediately, Peng swooping down with a cry to try and drag people (and non-aquatic Pokémon) out of the water with her claws and Himiko focusing her telekinetic powers on lifting them out of the maelstrom and onto Asemu's Gyarados.

"Oh, Savior..."

This was the one, all right. It's the same one that Asemu saw in Cresselia's vision. Only this close, it was more awe-inspiring -- and terrifying -- than before.

Part of him wanted to fight it. It was clearly a Water-type, and he had Typhoon with him, so it would have a type advantage...

...But at the same time, it felt like he'd be trying to destroy a building with a flamethrower.

Deep down, he knew Rise was right. As much as he wanted to rebel against a force of destruction, he just didn't have the power to do so.

"You heard her! Get going!" he shouted to his Pokémon, and they got to work rescuing as many people as they could.

[Gyarados gets an almost absentminded pet - whether Michiru is trying to reassure herself or the Gyarados is up to interpretation.

The sight of the Pokemon had sent a shiver through her, and she's not sure she'll be able to shake it off anytime soon. So that's what sleeping beneath the waves.

A murmur to her partner:] Are you feeling particularly enlightened?

[whatever they're supposed to learn here. Her face is carefully blank as she watches the shades of long dead humans and Pokemon.]

Haruka doesn't try to help anyone, either: they're either figments of the illusion or doomed already, so why expend the energy. Besides - what could she even do? The only Pokémon she has with her that won't sink Gyarados is Gold. She doesn't even have her own powers. And all the desire to help in the world, all the pretty words and strong convictions, can't beat....

Gritting her teeth, Haruka turns her head away without taking her eyes off where the creature had disappeared. This was what happened? When they spout old legends about the end of the world - when they glimpse tiny moments, enough to send chills up their spines and convince Haruka that she has to do something, shoulder anything she has to, to prevent that outcome - this was what was meant?

The world is cruel. She'd known that. So is this a warning? Or....

"We knew from the start," she mutters. "It was punishment."

And maybe when it happens for real, in her world, in her time, she'll be helpless to stop it again. Does that mean she should give up now? She doesn't know. That in and of itself is troubling.

"Does this satisfy you?!" Haruka yells into the storm, not really expecting a reply, not even trying to steer Gyarados as the water tosses them. The gods are trying to make contact. That's something.

That their contact is this.....she's not sure what to think about that.

"...Dear Savior."

She wasn't a religious woman, going so far as to even doubt the existence of a single woman that guaranteed everyone's salvation. But in this moment, Elly didn't know quite what to think. All her training, her experience, none of it seemed to matter in this instance. The arm wrapped around Fei gripping him a bit tighter, she looked on in awe at what would likely be their death.

But there was something else too, nagging at her. Not her own self-preservation, but something that told her she had to protect not only the people with her, but the man next to her. Especially him. If anything were to happen...

Cursing herself for not bringing anyone else suitable for this, she sent the Whimsicott back, pulling out another Pokéball. "Beaumont!" Summoning the Avalugg, she worked quickly. "Grab as many as you can, and try to stay above water!"

Watching Haruka, she barked back at the woman. "Yelling at it isn't going to help! We need to get as many people out of here as possible! Come on, hold it together!"

"Sceptile! Gardevoir! You help too!"

Fei releases two more Pokemon as they join Blastoise and Snorlax in the frantic evacuation effort.

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