Tenth Dream: In Review [Action/Video]

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Video:

[Today's broadcast blinks on to show Yuuna out at the gate, standing there in a different outfit than usual. No Ranger's jacket, but a beat up looking traveler's outfit of good, sturdy make. She's got an oddly reflective look about her.]

Anyone ever stopped to think about how life was before all the recent upheaval? I don't mean all the fighting and the strange things the gods have been throwing at us, though. I mean before Union really opened up to the outside. Back when we thought that we were the only humans left alive. So much has changed, and hell...it's like the world we grew up in changed overnight.

[Beside her, something shimmers, and a near exact copy of Yuuna seemingly flows into view. It's eyes are just a bit off though, lighter than hers, and it waggles a finger.]

I don't mean all the new Pokemon we've discovered, or the new people we've encountered. But that's definitely a big shift if this guy is any indication. I mean, it's been a whole year as of today since I left Union for the first time...and I was one of the later trainers to really go out on my own.

[She huffs a laugh at the Ditto-Yuuna and shakes her head.]

I never thought I'd fight a god, or in a war. I definitely never thought I'd spend a week in the body of a man, or that I'd find a whole new species of Pokemon that die if they stop bouncing. And heh...I'm not even going to start trying to describe meeting the Savior. But it's been a hell of a year.

[The Ditto makes a face, wiggling it's tongue.]

Anyway. I've been uselessly nostalgic long enough. But indulge me, folks. What are some things you thought you'd do that got turned on their heads this last year?


Action, Verdant Forest

[And just like she'd done a year ago, Yuuna takes a trip through the Verdant Forest, walking down those old familiar paths. This time, though, she's got a trio of very different Pokemon. A Magnezone, Politoed, and Hitmonchan. They'd evolved, all three of her oldest friends, and the wilds all around them didn't seem quite so mysterious anymore. She's got an arm hooked around the Hitmonchan's shoulders, walking casually, the two of them pointing to various things and sharing a quiet joke here and there.

If they happen to meet someone, they'll get a friendly wave.]

Heya, out for a walk too? Care for company?

Action, The Coastal Ruins (For Merrill)

[Yuuna'd decided to go down that way with Merrill later on, a little bit of an outing to give the place another once over, see if there was much of interest there. She had some of her stronger types on the warp band, but the only one she had out? Was the newbie. A little Zorua who'd yet to prove herself, simply named Shinko, trotted along ahead of the two explorers, snuffling the ground while they talk quietly.]

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[What a question. He can't answer that truthfully, not entirely.]

I thought I'd still be in Caldera, doing what I was doing before the war.

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[She smiles somewhat vaguely, a stray thought here and there.]

Yeah, I can understand that. That war was...well, hell. That changed everything. Sort of...why I left, honestly.

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Mm. [Agreement. He doesn't want to stick to such a heavy topic, though.]

It's kind of funny how life can throw such a Gyro Ball at you. I guess if it's anything we could learn from this, it's that life is never set in stone.

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Yeah. Seriously.

[She laughs, hoarsely, and rubs the back of her head.]

It's been...a hell of a year. The Savior, the Gods...I even had two friends return from the dead.

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Meeting the Savior is something I still don't know what to think of. So much for not being religious.

[A small joke before he zones in on that last part.]

Back from the dead?

[A pause as he considers those implications.]

Were they in Sanctuary? [Because that's where he knows of people coming back from the dead. That whole business with the homunculi hit way too close to home for his taste.]

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Back from the dead.

[She shakes her head, smiling awkwardly.]

Martin is...a ghost? Sort of. He was killed and somehow just...wasn't dead anymore.

[And then she swallows.]

And Takeshi? He wasn't actually dead, just MIA.

[And she is still processing this.]

[expertonshutters]

[Ghost types sure were mysterious. He nods a bit in understanding and then kind of stops when she mentions Takeshi.]

Takeshi? Takeshi Hongo? You're a friend of his?

[It hasn't quite occurred to him what it might imply by knowing him at all. He's too busy being curious about someone that might have known Takeshi before the Gigan labs.]

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Yeah, we went to school together. Practically grew up together.

[Wait. Wait just a second.

Yuuna stops and raises an eyebrow, details coming back to her as she thinks on it. Because Takeshi had been missing since around the time of the war. And Hayato was Calderan. And had said before that he wasn't a fighter. Which...begs the question]

How do you know him?

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[It takes a second for it to catch up with him. When it does, she can probably see the moment he realizes he fucked up. The warp bands don't lend well to showing the color draining out of his face, but he definitely looks like he was caught.]

Me? We-

[Fuck. This was exactly the reason they got together to figure out a cover story. It would only be a matter of time before someone knew them both. He finally offers a smile, which might be a little resigned. Yuuna might also remember Hayato saying back when they first met that he'd been out of commission for several months after the war.]

We met during the war, I guess you could say. In less than favorable circumstances.

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Right.

[Yuuna is not only someone possessed of a perfect memory, her real gift...but she's experienced at reading people. To perform martial arts on the level she's performed them, it's almost impossible not to have that skill. She sees the instant he realizes what happened. The "Right" is accompanied by immediately making the feed private, to give the appearance that that was the end of the call. But...with that finished?

Her own face drains, becoming waxen, wan, almost worried. She could put up a good act, but her hand clearly shakes as she touches her lips.]

You...know that I know you're lying. He was...taken before the war started in earnest, he told me. And you were missing yourself. You told me that before.

You know him from Gigas. From...I'm going to guess...you know him from a lab.

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[expertonshutters]

[Welp.]

[He can't even be that upset by her figuring it out so quickly. His look of resignation continues and then he just kind of smiles back at her.]

A photographer should always have a keen eye and a keen mind. You're pretty sharp, Yuuna. I guess I'm not all that surprised, given the magnitude of that slip up just now. I must be losing my touch.

[And there's a pause. Yuuna probably hasn't seen him look anything but full of energy. He's hesitating now.]

He must really trust you for him to have told you that much- or maybe you really did figure all of that out on your own.

[He's being roundabout- not quite willing to just give up the whole ghost. This wasn't just his secret, after all. However that should probably tell Yuuna enough.]

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Where are you? This isn't a conversation for the Warp Band. These things are hackable.

[She's confident in her locks, but not taking chances with his privacy. Or Hongo's.]

As for my intellect and perception, I was top in my class after Takeshi. I don't forget anything, even if I want to. A lot of little things just fell into place, all at once.

[Her lips twitch a bit, slightly taken aback by him trying to be obtuse. That wouldn't work...]

As for the trust? I don't know, we've been friends since we were young. Schoolmates. I know him. And he knows me. There's nothing I'd hide from him or Martin. We...I figured it out. And the confirmed it.

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[expertonshutters]

Fair enough.

[A beat, before he's glancing around him.]

I'm always moving, so I can meet you anywhere you want to. You probably know this city a lot better than I do. Somewhere quiet would be nice.

[So that made three. Three and Yuuna was someone that ...he didn't know all that well at all, honestly, but the fact that she knew Takeshi made him feel less like jumping out of his own skin.]

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The Southern Gate then. I was going to talk a walk in the forest, and my Pokemon can keep people away while we walk.

[That's an easy enough thing. She was a Ranger, and she had an assortment of powerful Pokemon that could easily sweep an area clear of threats or prying eyes. And frogs.]

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The Southern Gate it is!

[He ponders for half a minute, just not showing up. He always has to force down that kneejerk reaction to hide or disappear when it came to this topic. It wasn't something he liked talking about- it wasn't something he liked people knowing, but it was starting to be more and more difficult to keep the stories straight.]

[That was probably the one hang up with he and Takeshi in the same city. People were going to start connecting dots.]

[When he reaches the gate he's trying not to look fidgety but he always had a habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve. Yuuna might come up on him when his Marowak wacks him over the head with his bone for being jittery.]

Ow. That one actually hurt you little-

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[There's no waiting, Yuuna's already there. She'd made the broadcast from the gate, after all. And spotting the photographer, Yuuna trots over with a Hitmonchan, Politoed, and Magnezone floating behind her.]

Someone likes you. But you don't have to be nervous you know. Relax.

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"Like" is a term I'd use loosly. [Only it isn't. That's just the way they were. Goro cared about his trainer and usually showed it with tough love. He wouldn't trade the little monster for anything. He reaches up to grab him around the middle and tuck him under his arm like a sack of potatoes. Goro was kind of runty even for a Marowak and otherwise usually just hung out on Hayato's shoulders.]

[He offers her a smile, even if the edges were a little tinged with nerves.]

Heh. That's a lot easier said than done.

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Would it help if I told you that what happened doesn't change my opinion of you? Because it doesn't. I like you, you're good people. So don't worry about that.

[She stops in front, and smiles as warmly as a summer day.]

You see, you're you, and you don't have to be nervous about me. I'm harmless, and in no position to judge anyone.

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[There's a pause before it looks like he's finally relaxing.]

...It does. Thanks. And I guess it kind of goes without saying that I don't usually make a habit of outing myself. If you wouldn't ...mind keeping that detail on the low, I'd be really grateful.

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Do you really think I would do that?

[There may be a bit of amusement in her words, but she has a serious gleam in her eye.]

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[He sees that look and he almost puts his hands up. He wasn't trying to insinuate anything, but ...]

I don't- not really, but I had to cover my bases.

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Okay, just so we're clear there.

[Her teasing demeanor returns, naturally, and she starts walking towards the forest, tapping her Warp Band to call out her whole team. A Dragonite, Tyranitar, Hitmonchan, and several others fan out into the forest around them as they walk, a screen for privacy.]

Now, I don't wanna pry too much, because it's not my place. But that's how you know Takeshi, yeah?

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[That was quite the entourage. Hayato tentatively let's Goro back on his shoulder with a look pointedly daring him to hit him again.]

...Yeah.

[He decides to look out into the forest, sliding his hands in his pockets.]

If it wasn't for him, I'd still be stuck in that place.

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[She was...after all...a Ranger squad lead. She had to have some tricks...]

Really now? He organized your escape?

[She doesn't sound surprised at all, given what she knows about her oldest friend.]

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[A humorless smile.]

I don't know if I'd say 'organized', but yeah. I remember being strapped down to a table and then suddenly there was this mess of hair standing over me. He asked me what my name was. It took me a second to remember, but once I did we gave that place hell.