PTU: Divided Age (Day Four - Arrival at Aytmos)

[Nioca]

Grace pointedly ignores Han's questioning of her age and parentage; in fact, her whole demeanor seems to change slightly, becoming more rigid and sullen.

This continues until they reach the center. Being introduced to Chris, she simply nods. Before she follows her into the office though, she stops over by a nearby coffee pot, grabbing a stack of three cups and filling the top one with coffee.

"He seemed to be more concerned with who the hell I was, and why I had a gun trained on 'im." Grace replies, unstacking her cups and filling two of them with pokekibble, before setting it down before her two hungry 'mons. "His own damn fault anyway, but I guess it didn't quite get us off on the right foot."

"Anyway, he explained the basics to me, but when it came to what had happened, he was a bit vague. So I guess there's a couple of things I'd like to know. First, what the hell was that place, before it turned into a slaughterhouse? Second, why am I here, and what gives you the right to remove me from my home? And third, who are those Terra Firma thugs, and why do they want me dead?"

[Dusk9]

Han and Grace

"He seemed to be more concerned with who the hell I was, and why I had a gun trained on 'im. His own damn fault anyway, but I guess it didn't quite get us off on the right foot."

"You pointed a gun at him? Hah! Damn, wish I'd been there to see that..."

"Anyway, he explained the basics to me, but when it came to what had happened, he was a bit vague. So I guess there's a couple of things I'd like to know. First, what the hell was that place, before it turned into a slaughterhouse? Second, why am I here, and what gives you the right to remove me from my home? And third, who are those Terra Firma thugs, and why do they want me dead?"

"Ah, right. Well....hmm, where to start..."

"Okay, I'm not sure how much Han already told you, but...the place you woke up in was our research facility. Emphasis on the was. We were...attempting to understand why these time-space anomalies - like the rift you fell into - kept popping up. From what we were able to figure out, they seem to have no limits in time or space, appearing wherever and whenever pretty much at random. But because they were so random, we didn't really have a lot of data to work with. So, we started trying to recreate them. Only we didn't just make them....we reversed them, somehow."

"Sorry, but I want to be clear here - we didn't take you from your home. That would've happened regardless of whether we interfered. I'd say it had already happened, but...well, non-linear time stuff. Anyway, what our experiments actually did was pull you out of...wherever it was you ended up. Some kind of alternate dimension or something, I think? Our end goal was to send you all back, and fix whatever problem was causing the anomalies in the first place. Of course, that was before Terra Firma happened."

"They're a terrorist group. Plain and simple. I don't claim to understand their motives, but they probably attacked us because we were League funded. In fact, I doubt they even knew what we were actually doing there! All they saw was a loosely guarded League site they could raid to show off their strength, or some bullshit like that. We were all just in the wrong place at the wrong time..."

[M0rtimer]

"Hmm... Why don't you like them? They seem to be quite happy just chilling down there by themselves..." Percival says, only seeming to have passing interest in the large boulders.

"They... Didn't try to eat you by accident, did they..?"

[Natrivv]

"I think the might be eating the rocks that make the best homes. Is that it, or are they doing something else?"

[Dusk9]

Nuligan

As Nul carefully stands and bows back, the wild 'mon nods slowly - judging from the fact it hasn't become aggressive, it seems he did the right thing. Tilting its head, the cautious Meditite regards him for a little longer. Eventually, seemingly satisfied that he isn't a threat, the Pokemon lowers its guard slightly and beckons him to come closer. Sitting back down, it leaves enough space for Nul, patting the stone surface beside it in invitation. It still looks a little tense, though.

The other two Meditite are still meditating, for the most part. One of them is watching Nul now, but it seems much calmer about the situation. While the third one is apparently daydreaming or something?

April and Percy

"Hmm... Why don't you like them? They seem to be quite happy just chilling down there by themselves..."

"They... Didn't try to eat you by accident, did they..?"

"I think the might be eating the rocks that make the best homes. Is that it, or are they doing something else?"

Judging from the way the bug bursts into angry chittering, it seems like April guessed right. And as if to emphasize the point, the Dwebble twists around and points to its backside, displaying a large crack that runs across its shell. In fact, now that they look closer, the insect seems almost too large for its rock shell. As if its outgrown it at some point, and been unable to find a new one to replace it.

Looking between the bugs and the floating rocks, Jess rubs her chin thoughtfully. Then an idea strikes her, and she calls over to Buck.

"Hmm....hey, Bug! You wanna beat the crap out of some rocks?"

"...what? Uh, why?"

"Cause they've been fucking with your new friends, that's why. And if we help the bugs out with this, we'll be in their good books, right? There's only a couple of 'em to take care of too. Should be pretty easy if we all go down together."

"Erm....I guess? What do you guys think?"

[Arch Lich Burns]

Nul looks at the rock and carefully gets on, sitting on said rock before bracing himself to try to go into a lotus position, or at least something resembling it as he uses his arms as support.

[Natrivv]

April will call out and pick up Bubbles "Yeah home is important, and would it really be that hard to not eat certain rocks? Let's help them." April bends down to pick up Bubbles before realizing she already had a fair amount of weight on her. Reaching up, she'll coax the spritzee onto her arm so she can see him when she talks to him. "Hey, as you probably heard I'm going to help this dwebble, and I don't want you getting hurt, so would you mind going into a pokeball? Also what do you think of the name Enchant, since your like an enchanter?" Enchant makes a dramatic slumping motion before shrugging, and entering one of the pokeballs.

"Umm I guess he likes it? Mr. Whiskers why don't you return as well?" With both of her other pokemon returned she picks up Bubbles, and starts making her way down the narrow ledge to where the drop would be closer to two meters instead of three. April acrobatics check [4d6] = 12

[M0rtimer]

"Are we sure that's the best idea..? I mean... Karmic revenge is nice to an extent, but will it help them in the long run?"

"Then again... I suppose it is rather rude. I mean, surely these creatures if they survive on eating rocks would have no issue finding food- And while I'm sure they consider some rocks delicacies, it really shouldn't be an issue at least making sure these critters can get a new home..." Percival says. Not outright agreeing with the others, but not seeming to disagree completely with their tactics either. Letting out a small sigh as he pats the cottonee, who by now had once again taken residence atop Percival's hat.

"Alright little one, I think you'd be able to handle these quite well... Don't worry- I'll make sure you won't get too hurt, and once we get back to the city you'll be taken fully care off."

"And you can help too Flare. I think some of your punches will help greatly against these guys... You'd just have to be careful of any ground attacks." Percival says... Keeping a look out around the area for any kind of rocks the dwebble might find interesting. You never know!

Percival Perception: 4D6 = [2, 3, 3, 4] = 12

► Show Spoiler

I'd prefer getting Mell up to level 15 first, but I'm not pitting him against a rock type.
:
And yes, how far down is the ledge? Percival would probably have to go around, but Flare (and maybe even Gust) could maybe/probably jump down to surprise them?

Hmm... Makes me half tempted to have Moot try and get a guaranteed flinch from astonish...

[Nioca]

As Chris's explanation goes on, Grace's brow furrows as she processes what she hears. "So what you're basically saying is... I'm not just in the future, I might not even be in my future?"

"...holy fucking hell." Grace wearily rubs her eyes with her good hand, her pokemon obliviously munching away in their improvised food cups, before exasperatedly firing up. "...so, what exactly am I supposed to do now?!? I don't know where I am, I've got no real contacts or friends, no tradeskills or education to speak of... I... I..."

At a loss, she falls silent. Her jaw seems primed at an angle like she wants to say something else, but can't find the words for it; at the same times, her eyes have a burning, shimmering quality to them, as she can't figure out whether to scream in frustration or break down in tears, as the weight of her experience in Teraz thusfar came crashing down on her.

[SuperVaderMan]

Han places a hand on Grace's shoulder.
"You are not alone, Grace. There are others like us - you and myself - all with our own worlds we were taken from. You need not worry for friends," he says, giving a soft smile up at the young but still slightly taller girl.
"Besides," he continues, taking his hand off, "your situation is not so dire. You are a Trainer, yes, with certification? The government here is so kind as to provide funds to Trainers on a regular basis, enough to afford room and board as well as some supplies. You will have to raise your own funds for more than the basics, but survival should not be so much a concern."

"And there is yet hope that we may return to our worlds. As I have mentioned, Chris has expertise in these... anomalies, Chris?"
"I also have relevant expertise. My floating friend comes from a 'world between worlds', and perhaps the same one that we fell into. I summoned it here with my own power, and Chris has told me that when she witnessed me do so, it greatly resembled how it appeared when we were pulled onto this world. So, I will aid Chris in her research by summoning more of my friends, when I am able - I haven't built the strength to do so again, yet."

"Until we discover a way back to our homes, I would ask myself 'what do I wish to accomplish while I am here?' Some of us wish to return, like myself, and others are content to continue their lives here. If you can decide on what you wish to do with yourself, I would be more than happy to help you where I can," Han says, offering another small smile of comfort.

[Dusk9]

Han and Grace

"So what you're basically saying is... I'm not just in the future, I might not even be in my future?"

"Sigh...yeah, pretty much."

"...holy fucking hell....so, what exactly am I supposed to do now?!? I don't know where I am, I've got no real contacts or friends, no tradeskills or education to speak of... I... I..."

As Grace stammers into silence, plainly on the verge of tears, Chris watches on in sympathy. Part of her looks like it wants to hug the poor girl, to hold her close and tell her everything will be alright. But that's clearly in conflict with her professional side, as she ends up just sort of awkwardly standing there instead. Luckily, Han has no such reservations, moving to comfort Grace with a pat to the shoulder.

"You are not alone, Grace. There are others like us - you and myself - all with our own worlds we were taken from. You need not worry for friends,"
"Besides, your situation is not so dire. You are a Trainer, yes, with certification? The government here is so kind as to provide funds to Trainers on a regular basis, enough to afford room and board as well as some supplies. You will have to raise your own funds for more than the basics, but survival should not be so much a concern."

"And there is yet hope that we may return to our worlds. As I have mentioned, Chris has expertise in these... anomalies, Chris?"

"That's right. I'm working on getting the experiments restarted. It's not going to be easy - most of the experts in this field were on the old site when it was attacked, and the League bureaucrats aren't exactly keen to spend any more resources - but I'm not going to stop trying until you're back home. You have my word on that."

"I also have relevant expertise. My floating friend comes from a 'world between worlds', and perhaps the same one that we fell into. I summoned it here with my own power, and Chris has told me that when she witnessed me do so, it greatly resembled how it appeared when we were pulled onto this world. So, I will aid Chris in her research by summoning more of my friends, when I am able - I haven't built the strength to do so again, yet."

"Until we discover a way back to our homes, I would ask myself 'what do I wish to accomplish while I am here?' Some of us wish to return, like myself, and others are content to continue their lives here. If you can decide on what you wish to do with yourself, I would be more than happy to help you where I can."

[Nioca]

"Great, that's just... bloody wonderful, really." Grace snaps back, her voice suddenly shifting to anger. Turning, she starts pacing back and forth. "We might be able to get the experiments back up, we might be able to reverse it and send you home, not that it even matters in my case... Oh, but while yer here, here's a shitty sum to keep you breathing and the friendship of a bunch of fucking strangers you've never even met, who'll prolly all get gunned down by some shady terrorist group we know nothing about that's hunting us for Arceus-only-knows-why. Fan-fucking-tastic."

"Any other comforting tidbits in there that I missed, or does that about sum it up?"

► Show Spoiler

Grace is the world's worst optimist.

[SuperVaderMan]

Han raises his eyebrows, smile fading at Grace's tirade.
"Would you have rather not known your situation? To be cast into a strange land, alone and naive?"

"Of course the situation isn't ideal, and there is much that is uncertain."
"What is certain is that you have many resources at your disposal. Both the local government and the others who were brought here understand what you and I have gone through, and I and the others have a variety of skills to help one another. Keep in mind that we also had to escape armed individuals, using force, mind you. Not all of us are so helpless as you may believe."

"Now, I would suggest you take some time to collect yourself. Breathe, slowly. A calm mind will let you see the all of the details more clearly."

[Dusk9]

Nuligan

As Nul climbs onto the rock and assumes an awkward lotus position, the Meditite nods at him and does the same. Minus the awkward part, as it moves with a grace that Nul can't even hope to match. It's face is expressionless, but the other Meditite seem to be smiling to themselves as they meditate....that's probably a good sign?

Roll Focus.

Percy and April

"Are we sure that's the best idea..? I mean... Karmic revenge is nice to an extent, but will it help them in the long run?"

"Well...I suppose all we really have to do is encourage them to move away, and give the Dwebble some breathing room. And if the only way we can do that is by fighting them...yeah, I say we go for it!

"Yeah home is important, and would it really be that hard to not eat certain rocks? Let's help them."

"What they said. Plus, it'll be a blast! Come on, don't be a pansy."

Reluctantly agreeing to go along with the plan, Percy instructs Flare to wait above and jump down when the rest of them are in position. April recalls most of her Pokemon, and picks up Bubbles for the walk down. Jess also gets ready for a fight, releasing a monkey which she calls "Bruiser", while Bug seems to decide on Cassie the Sewaddle being his best choice. Though he also sends out another bug - a small orange caterpillar that perches on his shoulder.

Preparations done, the group moves over to the start of the ledge and carefully begin to move down. The path is narrow, but solid, so they aren't really in any danger of slipping off. As they approach, the floating rock take notice, clumping up and watching the humans with guarded expressions. Now that they're closer, Percival does spot two more of the rock Pokemon blending into the ground. And on top of that, he sees a couple of other blueish-brown rocks that also seem out of place on the grey hillside...

Flare (15), Above ledge
Bruiser (15)
April (13)
Jess (12/10)
Percy (10)
Bubbles (5)
3 Floating Rocks (4)

Blueish-Brown Rocks (???)
Dormant Rocks (???)


Grace and Han

Chris seems pretty calm, despite Grace's little outburst. After waiting for her to vent, and Han to speak some words of calming, she nods in agreement.

"Han's right. I know things don't look brilliant right now. But, it isn't as bad as it might seem. You're alive, and you're safe."

"And if it makes you feel any better, I'm almost 95% sure that Terma Firma aren't going to be a problem. As long as we don't do anything to attract their attention, that is. For whatever reason, they're main aim was the facility, not us personally. From what I could tell, we were just....in the wrong place at the wrong time. The League reports I've seen seem to support this - there's been no sign of them even attempting to track us. In fact, after the attack, they pretty much disappeared off the face of the planet. Add that to the fact that the League are keeping your existence top secret, and if we're lucky, they'll think we all died in the chaos at the facility. Arceus knows, we could use a little luck after all the crap we've been through already...."

[Arch Lich Burns]

Nul gives a small grin as he focuses.
PbP Forum code: Focus [2d6] = 7

[Natrivv]

Seeing she has the rocks attention April jumps down splashing a bit on her way down, but landing unharmed.
Using Splash gives +1 high jump, and +2 speed evasion

"Hello, I know this might have already been discussed, but would you consider letting the pokemon up there mark certain rocks that they could reserve for there home?" April charm check [4d6] = 13

If things turn violent immediately Bubbles will retaliate with a water gun. Directed towards the one who initiated violence.

Bubbles uses water gun [1d20] = 8 [2d6+11] = 5+11 = 16

[M0rtimer]

"Careful now... We got more company..." Percival says, carefully pointing out the two dormant rocks and the blueish rocks- Scanning the latter to find out more about them.

Besides this, for once Percival hangs to the back, offering the rocks a friendly smile, but not keeping up too much hope of resolving this peacefully... If only because, for a part, he's expecting a certain course of actions of a certain someone. So should combat break out, he quickly commands Gust to try and start by paralyzing one of the bigger rocks.

Gust stun spore: 1D20 = [5] = 5

Hmm... Technically I can't have given it training yet, so that's just +1 AC from commands. I'll spend 1 AP if the rock's speed is below 10.

[Nioca]

"I can see things crystal clear, thank you very much." Grace growls. "Enough to know there's more goin' on than either yer saying or you know. The whole point of terrorism is to make a big show, to make people cower in fear of you and whatever fucked up message or ideal you've got going. Striking a top-secret facility no one's heard of doesn't do that; so it doesn't make sense for Terra Firma to go after it, if they're just terrorists."

Meanwhile, her two pokemon were finishing up their meal, with Auri having shoved his head all the way down the cup just to get the last morsels.

[SuperVaderMan]

"Perhaps... there is room for reasonable doubt," Han admits, with a thoughtful frown. "If their only goal was to create fear, then your point is valid. However, from my understanding they believe themselves to be revolutionaries intent on laying low the established government. Destroying an expensive target like the facility could also help them reach their goal."

"But perhaps we are too quick to allay your fears. You said you believe you were followed, yes? That someone asked for you at the Center, and so you fled to the forest below?"

[Nioca]

"I think so; That Ryall fellow had picked me up in the forest afterwards, and dropped me off right at the center for treatment. He had called ahead for 'em to prep, since, y'know, bullet holes are a bit serious, and had contacted... I'm guessin' Johnson? Or someone connected to him. In hindsight, he must've run into your group, 'cause he seemed to know more than I did at the time." Grace shrugs. "Doesn't matter, only a few people knew ahead of time I was comin', yet I hadn't been there for more than three minutes before I had a nurse come in saying someone was pokin' around. And it wasn't Johnson, 'cause that jackass just burst into the room."

"...prolly learned a thing or two about bustin' in with a metal object on someone who's just been in multiple firefights in the process, too."

"But I wasn't interested in stickin' 'round after that, no. 'Sides, these two needed some downtime," Grace says, motioning to both Auri (who's head at this point seemed entirely replaced by a foam cup) and Mort.

► Show Spoiler

Of course, we both know in reality who was asking after Grace at the center.

[SuperVaderMan]

"Hmm... then perhaps we should question this nurse and ask her to describe this person? We could ask the authorities to keep watch for him, yes?"

[Dusk9]

Nul

Taking a deep breath, Nul tries again to do the meditating thing. While he isn't any better than last time, he's at least not worse. Though the location certainly helps - the only sounds he can really hear are that of the blowing wind and the faint chirping of birds in the forest below. Sitting with his eyes closed, he quickly loses track of time, lost in the peacefulness of meditation.

Oh wait no, he's actually just straight up fallen asleep.

Eventually though, he gets awoken from his impromptu slumber by a light tap on his knee. Starting awake, he sees the Meditite standing in front of him - now looking a lot less skittish than it did earlier. Seeing that he's awake again, it gives another bow, then starts making gestures with its hands. The language barrier makes it kinda difficult, but Nul thinks they're asking why he's here on this hill..?

April and Percy

As the others approach down the ledge, April makes a grand entrance, dropping down and landing a couple of meters in front of the rocks.

"Hello, I know this might have already been discussed, but would you consider letting the pokemon up there mark certain rocks that they could reserve for there home?"

Narrowing their eyes the Pokemon stare at her with open hostility. It seems they don't like her meddling in their affairs. They're quickly joined by the other two floating rocks, as well as the blue rocks - Roggenrola, according to the dex. One of the new rocks also seems noticeably faster than the others, the stones on its shell polished to a shine.

Seeing that they aren't going to back down anytime soon, Jess decides to take initiative.

"Alright Bruiser, fuck 'em up!"

Leaping forward, the monkey goes for one of the floating rocks, delivering a devastating karate chop that knocks the stone out in a single hit! Jess herself is a little more cautious, staying on the outskirts and stretching her leg muscles to boost her Agility. The faster rock then angrily retaliates against Bruiser, slamming the ground and causing a mini earthquake that does moderate damage. Gust then tosses some stunning spores at the rock, slowing it back down a bit. Bubbles follows it up with a blast of water, badly hurting the rock.

But then the other rocks finally join in the fight. While one curls up defensively, another goes for April and Bubbles, slamming the ground and causing it to shake violently. April trips over, taking 36(24) damage, while Bubbles falls out of her arms and takes 36(22) damage. The last floating rock aims for them too, but ends up rolling right past the pair.

Meanwhile, the Roggenrola don't really seem to know what's going on. One kicks sand at Bruiser halfheartedly and misses, while the other two harden defensively.

Flare (15), Above ledge
Bruiser (15), Injured
April (13), 37/61Hp
Jess (16/10), +3SPD
Percy (10)
Gust (7)
Bubbles (5), 44/66Hp
1 Floating Rock (5/6), -2SPD, Paralyzed, Injured
4 Floating Rocks (4), #1 [Curled Up], #4 [KO]
3 Roggenrola (2), #2 [+1Def], #3 [+1Def]

Han and Grace

"I can see things crystal clear, thank you very much. Enough to know there's more goin' on than either yer saying or you know. The whole point of terrorism is to make a big show, to make people cower in fear of you and whatever fucked up message or ideal you've got going. Striking a top-secret facility no one's heard of doesn't do that; so it doesn't make sense for Terra Firma to go after it, if they're just terrorists."

"Perhaps... there is room for reasonable doubt. If their only goal was to create fear, then your point is valid. However, from my understanding they believe themselves to be revolutionaries intent on laying low the established government. Destroying an expensive target like the facility could also help them reach their goal."

"...Han's right. Part of Terra Firma's aim - at least, their public aim - is to overthrow the League. Fear tactics are actually counterproductive, if they want to try and get the public to support them. If they can convince enough people that the League is the bad guy, and get them to revolt, then their job gets even easier. Scaring people just isn't going to do that."

Pausing for a second, Chris frowns heavily. Then, she continues on, voicing whatever seems to be troubling her.

"But...you're right, too. There's definitely something screwy about all this. The more I think about it, the more holes come up. First, if they knew where the facility was, they must have had some idea of what we were doing. Second, they haven't tried to claim responsibility yet. Every attack so far they've made some kind of announcement about. Then there's location - pretty much every attack so far has targeted supply chains in the east. Having them turn up at a research facility this far west is...not normal....."

Then, as the conversation turns to what happened at the Center, Chris' brow furrows even deeper.

"Hmm... then perhaps we should question this nurse and ask her to describe this person? We could ask the authorities to keep watch for him, yes?"

"...I'll send a message to Madame Brisbane, see what she thinks. It's possible it was just a curious bystander or reporter. I mean, your arrival wasn't exactly subtle, let's be honest here. But even so, it's worth making sure."

[Arch Lich Burns]

Nul bows back. "Uhh...well I am exploring with some other people, looking around, and trying to find anything interesting and or awesome, like you guys."

► Show Spoiler

isn't geodude ground type and hence unable to be paralyzed via thunderwave?

[M0rtimer]

Percival lets out a minor sigh as things immediately devolve. Turning towards one of the rocks, he throws a lovely kiss, some nice words... Allowing it to doze off and put it out of the battle for a little while.

Percival lovely kiss: 1D20 = [11] = 11

While he's at it, he scans the rock that seems to be so much faster than the others- Just to make sure nothing is "off" about it.

Flare meanwhile, is far from passive- Jumping down from above with Grace, landing straight next to one of the rocks to deliver a devastating set of double kicks.

Flare double kick ac: 1D20 = [7] = 7
1D20 = [16] = 16

Flare double kick damage: 2D8+26 = [5, 2]+26 = 33

[Natrivv]

April groans as recovers her balance glaring at the floating rocks, she shifts a little to line them up, and then proceeds to run pass them using them as stepping stones as she passes them. "Bubbles, show them they're all washed up; use bubble." Bubbles even more annoyed at being dropped, goes walks to where she can hit the most, and envelopes the entire area with a thick coating of bubbles.

April aerial ace [2d6+15] = 5+15 = 20 Flip out gives aerial ace pass keyword.
Bubbles uses bubble accuracy [1d20] = 19 attack [2d6+11] = 10+11 = 21 all targets have their speed lowered 1 spd combat stage