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 Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:06 pm
 KeiranBlue seas.
Keiran struggled against the riptide, fighting to keep his head above water as he gasped in the heated air above the waves. The salt water soaked through his bandages, stinging as it seeped through to the wounds beneath. It took a lot of effort to ignore the sensation, for the pain seemed to draw his attention more quickly than anything else about his situation. He could hear himself yelling, his throat raw from screaming as he tried to find someone, anyone that could help him. His legs thrashed uselessly against the waved, thin and strong, but not at all useful for swimming. He didn't even know how to swim, really. His tribe lived on the mainland, so far from the coastal area that there wasn't much point in learning to swim. Even the rivers had been rather shallow. Only those with the instinctive knowledge of their species ever really learned to swim.
He felt the waters try to pull him under, almost succeeding more than once. He just had to keep trying, to keep fighting the current. It was a difficult task, though. For an inexperienced swimmer, it was exhausting to continue to fight this current. For the first time in his life, Keiran recognized the need to stop fighting. With a deep gulp of air, he surrendered himself to the water, and the ocean pulled him under.
He was curled tight into a ball, trying to keep his eyes open through the sting of the salty water. The current carried him onward, and it was all he could do to hold onto what little air he had left. The pressure of the current, of the water above; it was crushing, and eventually he had to give again. Aura pressed outward, forming a bubble around him. He was actually surprised that he hadn't thought of it, sooner, when everything was rightfully considered. Panic was no excuse, he had to start thinking more quickly.
Finally able to breathe again, Keiran crossed his legs, bobbing inside a bubble of aura, deep beneath the surface of the waves. He would just have to focus on keeping himself afloat, from this point onward. Nothing else mattered; he just had to survive, and hopefully meet land.
- - - - -
When the bubble finally met the surface again, Keiran was exhausted. He was more than a little lucky to have found a piece of driftwood, floating in the waves. With the little strength he had left, he clung to it. Teal eyes were dull with the weariness of his situation, he didn't react as a Wingull dropped down onto the plank next to him. It shifted, bounding the tiny piece of driftwood, and leaving it to bob up and down in the force of the waves. Keiran didn't release the driftwood.
"Let go," it chirped, hopping closer. It pecked lightly at his arm, trying to encourage him to release the strip of driftwood to which he'd dug his fingers into.
Keiran didn't move, but dark eyes shifted to stare coldly at the Wingull. "...What do you want?"
It bounced lightly, dropping onto his head with a flutter of its long, narrow wings. Yet again the male failed to flinch, instead just staring upward into the eyes of the Wingull. Its face was upsidedown, from his point of view. And very annoying. He had a thing against things that flew, just on principle. Era was alright, being who she was, but birds... A bird could fly away from their troubles. They could leave everything behind and start anew. The sky was the ultimate freedom, and for that joy he'd never have, he wasn't overly fond of being stepped on by said blessed avian.
"...I want you to let go." The bird had been so slow to respond, her words kind, despite the aggression that Keiran showed now. He moved to claw at her, but his weakness instead just brought his paw sliding uselessly down the bird's wing. She just continued to gaze down at him, blinking rapidly as he hastily drew his hand back to the driftwood.
The Riolu's voice was scratchy and pained, staring back up at the Wingull. "...Why? Why would I let go... of the only thing I have left?" He had to know. What good was there in letting go? Why did it have to be him?
"Because it isn't. There are more. But you must let go to find them. Let go, Keiran."
He looked down at his paws, and stayed that way for a long time. The Wingull moved on, blue-striped wings disappearing over the horizon. He didn't watch her go, still staring at his paws, and thinking of the situation he'd gotten himself into. Eventually, he lifted his fingers. One by one. His paws slipped from the driftwood, and he slipped into the ocean. He was tired of everything, but he didn't have to swim. He was lying on solid ground, curled up against the cool earth beneath his paws. A faint smile graced his features, and he twisted to rest his chin on the rock in front of him. He could see the peak of the mountain high above him, and he had to climb it. There was a long way left to go.
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:08 pm
Stage Two
The mountain's fog clears, revealing four paths in various directions. Two on either side of the mountain and one going straight through it. The last is a hole in the ground, just before the entrance to the central path.
Before each path is a stone inscribed with text...
Death around you.
"He did look far. Into the service of the time, and was Discipled of the bravest; he lasted long, but on us both did haggish age steal on and wore us out of act."
-Shakespearow. "All's well that ends well."
Death above you.
"In the afternoon they came unto a land in which it seemed always afternoon. All round the coast the languid air did swoon, breathing like one that hath a weary dream."
-Tennyson, the Lotus-Eaters
Death behind you.
"It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable."
-Moliere
No escape. There is no escape.
"Cry havoc! and let slip the dogs of war!"
-Shakespear "Julius Caesar"
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 7:59 pm
 Oliver
Of course, it hadn't been nearly this easy the first time. The first time he'd brought a veritable platoon of mercenaries and spent months assembling his gear; even so, if the enemy had tried any strategy besides simply suicide rushing him, he would have been crushed. Nevertheless, he'd won, and thus he'd be hard-pressed to lose in this scenario taken from his memory, especially after his time in the Guild. There were, however, some key similarities between the first time and this one: one, he took this exact passage to his destination; two, he was careful not to leave survivors; three, the enemy continued to attack without any semblance of basic tactics.
Despite the utter ineffectiveness of the enemy's assault, there was no end in sight to all the deaths. More soldiers continued to commit suicide at the end of Oliver's blades, despite the fact that their attempts meant nothing to him. The mob boss, Oliver happened to know, was a coward. He knew that he was ordering dozens of people to die, relying on the hope that perhaps one soldier might score a lucky hit and thus he himself would be protected from the threat. Oliver despised him all the more for it.
And so Oliver made his way through the compound, leaving a dead body or six every step of the way. The last challengers, the boss's personal bodyguards, were before him. Three Gallades and a Dragonite charged at the same time. He dodged to the side as they sped towards him; this way only one was able to reach him right now. He ducked that Gallade's first strike, parried the second, and used his other blade to cut off the Gallade's leg. The other two turned to face him just as he impaled the first of his foes; the Dragonite, not being as agile, flew past. Another thrown blade, this one becoming an arrow, pierced the second Gallade in the eye. That one howled in pain just before he was cut in two. By the time the third one charged, the Dragonite was on its way back and was about to reach him. The third Gallade swiped at him twice; both attacks missed before Oliver ducked in past his reach and shoved him directly into the Dragonite's attack. As the Dragonite passed again, Oliver fired a burst of water downward. The water pushed him up just enough that he was able to grab hold of the Dragonite's wing. He swung himself up, cut the Dragonite's throat, and used a jet of water to land right in front of the boss, a Weavile.
The Weavile's last words were "Please, no...I can give you whatev--" There was a scream, and then silence.
"Thanks, that'll do."
Leaving the Weavile's body behind, Oliver continued through the now-empty building until he arrived at a particular room, the bar. He took a bottle of brandy off the shelf, assembled a firebomb, lit it, and threw it at the rest of the bar's storage. Knowing that there wasn't much time before the building went up in flames, Oliver left.
That had been the main hideout, but there were other nests to purge. In a few short hours, those would be gone too.
There was no escape from Oliver Lancaster.
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Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:08 pm
Deadline GET!: Tomorrow at 7-8EST. :< Post you whores.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:05 am
Victor
After what he had just been through, it was rather needless to say that Victor was a little shaken up. Even though ending lives was part of his job description, the Scyther tended to prefer ending conflict with words. Another thing that had him rather uncomfortable was when he actually looked back on what he had just done. He had ended three lives calmly, brutally, and without remorse at the time. Most decent Pokemon couldn't do such a thing, but Victor was a Scyther. It was in his nature to make clean, but bloody kills. As hard as he tried, when Victor was in a tough spot like the one he had just been in, the Scyther couldn't go against his natural instinct. If those other Scyther's had families, well... It wouldn't be easy to perform any burials.
Victor sighed a bit as he moved his joints, dried blood crusting off of them. He sincerely hoped there was a non-deadly pond or something somewhere in this mountain. He didn't want to go back to the Guild looking like he'd just come from a party at Nico Bongiovi's house. His own wounds had begun to scab over. None of them were too deep or serious to cause noticeable scars, but they still ******** hurt. The Scyther soon found himself exiting the tunnel he had been traveling in, into a small open space of the mountain. Before him lay three paths and a hole just big enough to be crawled down. Each of them had a stone, inscribed with a sort of message.
Victor cracked his neck from side to side before reading each of the stones. "... I'd much rather have death around me than confronting me..." He muttered before he turned and took one of the paths that led around the mountain. As he walked, Victor idly scratched some of the crusty blood off his scythes. "Good thing Miss Harumi didn't see that..." The Eevee was already still a bit pissed at Victor, he didn't need her being deathly afraid of him as well.
Victor kept walking the path until it seemed to curve inward toward the mountain, running between two spires. "... Well, that looks safe," The Scyther muttered. Sarcasm was most unbecoming of Victor. Sighing and shaking his head, the Scyther trekked on. As Tolin passed in between the two spires of rock, the space before him seemed to change instantaneously. Victor found himself walking through a small field, flowering trees standing all around him. The Scyther paused, looking around at all of the trees. They were all the same species of tree... intriguing.
He approached one of the trees, leaning up to one of the lower branches. Victor looked at one of the flowers, inspecting it before having a sniff. "... Lily... The flower of death... heh..." Death was all around him, just as the stone had said. It seemed the mountain was going to take it a little easy on him this time, rather than force him to murder. Victor closed his eyes and took in the refreshing scent before letting out another sigh. "Thank you..." He muttered before moving on.
As the Scyther moved on, he eventually came across a small pool. Victor stared at the small body of water, his eyebrow cocked. There had to be some sort of catch to this. Like, if he tried to clean himself in this water, he would be eaten by a Gyarados or something. However, to Victor, it seemed the risk was worth the reward of not looking like a chainsaw murderer. Victor first put his foot forward, gently dipping it into the water. Nothing, no reaction. Just a ripple in the water. Stepping into the pond triggered no exciting reactions as well. Soon enough, Victor was submersed in the warm water, using the tips of his scythes to clean all the blood off of his body. The flakes of dried crimson floated to the surface as Victor remained under water. Another odd thing seemed to be happening, as well. The wounds on Victor's face had begun to close and heal. It seemed this was some sort of miracle pool.
Victor let out a gasp of air as he emerged at the surface, leaning against the side of the pool while remaining in the water. He felt revitalized, full of energy. He would have remained happy if he hadn't noticed one particular detail. All of the flakes of blood had drifted toward the center of the pool in a circle, and they were slowly rotating. The speed of the rotation kept increasing until there was actually a small whirlpool form. "... Oh, son of a bi-" Victor couldn't even finish his vulgarity before the floor of the pool expanded greatly, flushing the water and Victor down into the mountain.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:40 am
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Waifu Trashu Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:44 am
 HestiaHestia gulped as she tried once again to get the blood out of her hair and clothes, dammit, she couldn't.
She honestly hated when things stained, and blood was the worst stain to have on you. The nun idly wondered what Heimdall would think of what she looked like now, "...Scary thought...Very very scary thought."
She then noticed the fog she walked into clear up as she noticed the path ahead split, "So, I guess everyone is still separated? Is anyone even here?"
Hestia hoped the others were here, just hopefully a bit further and she'd meet them, she didn't want to be stuck at a mountain, spire thing.
Shaking off the shiver of fear she felt, she walked forward and began to read the signs, "The next trial I guess..."
Death sign, more death signs...even more death signs, was this whole path dealing with death?
She then noticed a sign pointing out the no escape path, "Seems better to take than a sign pointing towards death..."
Walking down that path Hestia smiled at the scenery, there seemed to be fresh colorful flowers, green grass...even the sky was blue and had fluffy clouds, "I...guess I was right~ This path seems nice!"
Hestia then noticed a Togepi wearing priest clothes ahead of her, along with a scarf wearing Mismagius and a green haired Jynx...a zombie Feebas...a vampire Magikarp, that odd looking Snivy, It was her team!
Even Anubis seemed to be there!
Running to the team she giggled, "How did all of you get here?"
As she reached her team mates, she then frowned as she slowed to a walk, something seemed off about them...she couldn't quite tell though, "...Guys?"
Just as Hestia was about to tap Eros' shoulder...somehow, the ghost turned around, as did everyone else on the team.
Hestia just stared in shock at what she saw...she wanted to scream, but her mouth wouldn't co-operate, so she urged herself to run...but again her body wouldn't co-operate.
She couldn't move, she wanted to, but she couldn't!
The rotting looking faces of her team mates just stared at her, the faces then started to peel away, as the team now looked at her with blood and muscle tissue, "...Gu-guys..."
She then shivered, did she have to kill them too?
Hestia knew they weren't her team...but even with the skin peeling a part, they had so much of the features...so much.
As if steeling herself for the inevitable, Hestia let out a few breaths as she tried calming herself, before letting a Blizzard blow out of her mouth...though, nothing came out.
She then tried an Avalanche attack, again nothing would come out.
She couldn't use any of her moves at all...none.
Hestia then tried to run away again, but she couldn't, it was as if she was frozen in her spot.
She couldn't escape this.
Hestia then remembered the sign on the path she took, "...Is this what it meant?"
No escape...so she couldn't escape, at all.
Not at all.
Hestia then noticed her team get closer, and closer until they surrounded her, the rotting faces now pressed very close to her...
Just piles of rotting flesh, as the team started to tear apart even more, as their conditions got worse, "...Leave me...a-a-alone...pl-please..." Hestia could feel tears fall down her face, "Pl-please? I...don't know what I di-did wrong...but...please just let me g-go..."
She then let out a gargled cry as the team was now nearly unrecognizable...just a mass moving pile of flesh, blood and bones with some muscle tissue.
Hestia was already breaking down, as she fell onto the floor, sobbing, "Enough....no more...please...enough..."
She then cried harder, "NO MORE!"
At the shout of 'no more' she felt her body respond, as she almost choked on her sobs, "I-I'm s-orry....guys...pl-please fo-forgive me....please..."
Hestia then blew a large Blizzard attack at the moving remains of her team mates and cried even more as she watched them freeze over...reform in the ice to look exactly like her beloved team...they then shattered into small pieces.
Hestia just stumbled backwards, before some more tears ran down her face...her throat feeling raw from the crying and screaming, "...Sorry...So-sor-sorry...Just....Sorry."
Hestia then ran down the path, as she ran passed a blue energy shield looking thing and found herself finished with the path she was on, looking behind her she let out another sob.
All that was there was the gravestones of her team...blocking her path behind her, so she could no longer escape the mountain, she had to continue it.
On the gravestones there was the inscription 'There is never any escape from the inevitable'.
Hestia just cried more.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:58 am
 Hiro
Finally he made it to a platform on the midway point of the staircase. Birds surrounded the platform as a Fearow landed in front of him and whacked him with Drill Peck! Hiro was blown back but he wasn't out. Puling his fist back he used his signature move: Bullet Punch on the Fearow's beak. It cawed angrily as it blew him backwards with a Gust attack. Getting up Hiro slammed his hand into the bird's side with Karate Chop. Putting both fists in the air he waited for the Fearow to make a move. However the Machop would find none as the Fearow flew away, laughter in the air. Then the birds gave chase once more.
"Cra-a-a-a-ap!" Hiro yelled as the large mob of birds chased him further up the stairs. That wasn't cowardly. He just didn't want to get the chop in Machop beaten out of him by 50 birds. Like any sane Pokemon. Then the birds started falling in front of him. Dead. Hiro soon watched as their bodies rapidly rotting. Feeling that if he touched them he started to rush up the stairway. Then the dead Fearow fellin front of him, as he neared the end of the stairway. It stood up and cawed angrily. Hiro jumped around him as he soon got away, now feeling lead in his throat from all of that running.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 1:01 pm
 Ein drifted along apathetically; words could not even begin to describe the void state he was in right now. He couldn't recall what exactly the motivation was that got him off of the ground and not wallowing in self pity in a stagnant fashion; it probably had something to do with his pride not allowing him to be seen in such a state, but he honestly couldn't recall for sure or care. His wings fluttered with what barely met the necessary beats per second to keep his body airborne and moving forward. Well, forward wasn't the best description; he was actually veering a bit to the right at the moment without a destination in mind anymore, but at least now he was undoubtedly alone. It hadn't occurred to him until a good few minutes after that he recently passed a sign post detailing something to do with "behind" and "death". He almost managed to facially express his reaction to this much as he thought of how appropriate it was for death to remain as something of the past as the sign suggested. He was in a cave now, a straight tunnel with no end in sight, but at least nothing happening that could pose as a threat against him other than his bleak surroundings allowing his mind to wander. How he wished to forget about those days, but he was in too deep now not to let his past catch up with him. His only necessary focus was to keep in line with the ever twisting tunnel ahead of him and not end up bee lining into a wall; other than that his attention was able to drift off elsewhere bringing foremost to his mind a time of death and despair that was still, yet somehow dear to him. These clashing emotions of agonizing remorse and underlying joy kept him spinning deeper and deeper into his memories until it was as if they were being played out once more right before him; long lost and forcibly forgotten tales from the past.
 "Daddy? What happened to mommy?"
A childish voice rang out accompanied by an equally petite figure which both belonged to the same Buneary that was plaguing Ein in his last daydream of sorts. However, under these new settings, the rodent was clearly a ways younger than what he was seen as earlier even; a good few years difference separating the two memories.
"She's dead. I killed her."
Ein watched on as his past self responded without emotion in his voice and without making eye contact with the child. This much was a bit awkward considering their tight living quarters that consisted of a decorated shrine of sorts made from the hollowed out base of a tree. Roomy enough for one, but not quite spacious to accommodate to the two that it was now. The Celebi's words weren't at all without truth either. It would have been a few days ago now that Ein had found himself with a trespasser on his lands. Back and those days, even though not even a full fledged legendary, he was still revered by many of the surrounding townships as the keeper of the forest. Granted he wasn't deserving of his title and kept it for all the wrong reasons. Whichever way, a Lopunny arrived, in tears, at his humble shrine, requesting that he give his blessing and aid in the finding of her child that was lost in the woods. He honestly couldn't put reason to why, perhaps her words came across as irreverent or he was just having a bad day, but it was fact that in response he was kind enough to put the grieving mother out of her misery. It wasn't long after, maybe a day or so, that a Buneary toddler stumbled his way into his life. Once again, he wasn't sure to why he didn't just dispose of the child as a nuisance also, but it just so happened now that he found himself living and raising the albino rodent as if he was his own.
"Oh. Okay. I forgive you~."
It was clear that the Buneary did not have the slightest understanding of the gravity of the statement presented to him through his innocent response.
"Thanks."
At the time, his statement was insincere and sarcastic, but now, thinking back on it, he truly wished he had Ace's forgiveness...
The fork in the road ahead of him undoubtedly lead to another obstacle like his last which he now recognized as a psychically enhanced illusion of some sort after the fog broke revealing more solid surroundings.
"Death above you?..."
He studied each signpost for a moment before coming to a conclusion to which one would be best suited for him. Having some electric attacks at his, and even though still in shock from his last experience on this mountain, he was willing to assume death from above included some sort of avian enemy that he would easily be able to take out need be. He made a note of not taking victim to the practical pitfall of a path that stood directly before the center one which he instead chose. The mouth of the path opened up into a wide cavern, lit for the most part until it narrowed into a straighter tunnel-like tube. Sure his eyesight was rather excellent when considering his heritage, but it wasn't long before his ability to see what was in front of him died off completely. Nonetheless, he felt safe; he had his acute hearing to hell him if anything were to go awry. He continued onward with his extended paw guiding him along one wall for quite a ways. This pattern wasn't broken until a sudden shuffling noise of shifting ground underneath his feet caught his ear along with the strangest of sensations.
"I'm...falling?"
He honestly had to question out loud as still the lack of light threw off his senses. His experience was comparable to a constant feeling of that moment where you wake up from a dream and you feel like you're returning to your body rapidly. After a few short moments, his inquisitive statement was answered; the occasional light of a torch or some other light source on the walls around him starting from below him and whizzing by providing very little more insight then that. Soon enough, either he was picking up speed, or the light fixtures were increasing in frequency because the dizzying flashes were repeating enough to practically light up his entire surroundings. He noted from here that yes, in fact, he was falling, for quite a long time now at that. Not only with torches, but also with vines, the walls were lined; Blight give an attempt at reaching out and grabbing onto anything that would support him and stop his decent but the walls all seemed just out of his reach whenever he tried. Dammit all; he purposely tried to avoid the creepy drop-into-the-ground pathway too. He wasn't in the slightest afraid of heights, though this moment was truly worth concern. He seemed to have had the time so he contemplated if what he was experiencing was an actual drop to his death or yet another illusion. His train of thought was broken by a sudden shock of fierce light and a wet sensation... He was alive and he seemed to have hit water. Let the rabbit-hole jokes ensue now.
(Will edit Mikhail in later~)
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 4:22 pm
Erinn It took some time for the Paras to recover from his breakdown; he lay miserably on the ground by himself and there were no helpful visions to soothe his sorrows now. Erinn gasped for breath through his strangled sobs, wishing desperately that whatever the twisted voice that had spoken to him wanted was complete. He'd done the work of his entire Team all on his own-he'd left a Pokemon to die within a hellish inferno of fire. Wasn't it enough? There wasn't a single thing he'd done in that place that he didn't now regret, and yet he still was alone and stranded on the side of a mountain. It wasn't over: looking up the side of the mountain the Bug Type felt its enormity loom over top of him and that made him feel very small indeed. The stone pierced the sky and disappeared into the clouds above, likely still continuing even beyond as far as he could see. To look up the mountain was to see the obvious hopelessness of his task.
Shivering from a fit of cold that came over him, Erinn picked himself up off the ground and walked carefully over to the edge of the path he was on. As he looked down over the side he spotted a bit a green a long way down, likely the bottom of the mountain, and he realized what a fruitless effort turning back would be. It was either trek back down through the destruction that he’d wrought in the place before or continue upward into the mysterious unknown that he would prefer to leave a mystery. Either way he chose he was doomed to lose, so the Bug Type resigned himself to that fact and turned his gaze upward toward the clouds. Better to die a hero than live a coward; if he turned his back on this mission he’d never be able to show his face back at the Guild. He would either make it to the top of this mountain or die trying.
His resolve gathered, the Paras turned away from the side of the mountain and looked back to the area before him. The mist from before had fallen away, making it quite obvious what the mountain looked like here, though that didn’t help much since seeing the mountain didn’t have any direct influence on helping him get up it; at least he didn’t think so considering where he’d been and how he was suddenly part-way up the Spire without having climbed any mountain to the extent of his knowledge. Thinking about what had happened brought on the uncontrollable shaking again; the Bug Type noticed it beginning in his claws and so quickly proceeded to block the events from his memory. Save it for another day Erinn. Some day when it’s nothing more than a story you can tell the others. Was this how the rest of his Team felt after their missions? The Paras felt his heart sink a little as he thought of his Teammates, really appreciating what they did regularly for perhaps the first time. They always managed to keep smiling at him and everyone else, even though what they did was likely worse than his last mis-adventure and a hundred times over. Any Pokemon that had to go through this deserved more than a medal; if work like this went unappreciated then what purpose would these heroes have for living? That thought in mind, the Bug Type continued onward, up the now-clear path and around the bend to where the next challenge awaited him.
Erinn walked for a time without incident, there was nothing particularly menacing or treacherous about the mountain now. Nothing was particularly different from the way that such landforms usually were: aside from the side of the path, which one didn’t want to fall off of if he valued his life, there wasn’t anything remotely disturbing. There were obvious signs of life here and the wind whistled comfortingly in his ears, helping the Paras to move on from his last experience and fully appreciate the small niceties of life. Everything seemed a little sweeter now thanks to his dance with death, and he felt the need to fully appreciate it while he could: Erinn had little belief that he would leave from this mountain alive. At least it was comforting, to his timid thoughts, that he might have a few good moments before death came to take him away from all he loved.
After a time, when the Bug Type was feeling much better about the task at hand (or had, rather, reconciled himself to it), he came to a peculiarity of the mountain that he’d not encountered before. Three paths ringed an unexpected peak in the mountain, one to the left, one to the right, and one straight through the middle of the peak itself. Odder still, there were four tablets, one at each road and an extra one in the middle of the split in the path for no good reason. With some hesitance, Erinn made his way forward to each of the three roads and read the tablets beside them as he went: death around you, death behind you, death above you. The Paras halted in his tracks and a hysterical laugh escaped him as he looked incredulously from path to path. ”I was right then, wasn’t I?!” the Bug Type called out to no one in particular, his voice cracking with the self-same hysterics that his laugh had held, ”I am going to die. You sent me here just to laugh while I walk straight to my own death!” It was all because of that damned voice that had been in his head: that sent him here. Now he was standing at the crossroads of his life just to choose which way he wanted to die.
He looked about with an expression that could only qualify as half-sane, laughing at himself and his foolish pride that had gotten him here. It would have been better to die a hero’s death back in the fire than to play puppet to this madman who found it amusing to lead Pokemon to their deaths. As he laughed uncontrollably, tears of mirth and misery mixing in his eyes, he spotted the last of the four tablets in the center of the road. There was still one more inscription to read, likely informing him of eminence of his untimely demise, but still Erinn moved forward to read it, forestalling the inevitable. The Paras had paid such little attention to the oddly out-of-place stone that he hadn’t noticed why it was there to begin with. The hole in the ground had evaded his notice when he’d first skimmed over his options and now, with bleary eyes from his breakdown, he still didn’t notice its presence as he read the stone from afar and continued to approach it. No escape, there is no escape. The moment the Bug Type had read the final line, he felt a peculiar sensation in his stomach and found to his astonishment and dismay, that he was teetering on the edge of a sizeable hole. With a gasp he fought to steady himself, but it was too late; before he knew it he was falling head-first down the hole to what would likely be his own end. Even as he fell his thoughts were grim in their nature rather than panicked: he had been right. This stone had told him that running from the death was impossible, and now that he’d fallen down this unexplained path he was certain to find it lying in wait for him wherever this fall ended.
When at last he hit the ground, the Paras landed with a soft thud. Dazed, he simply lay there upon the ground for several long moments before venturing to get up. He got to his feet slowly but surely and found that, despite the laws of physics that he’d been taught, his bones were not shattered from the fall and his head seemed to still be in working order. Nothing was broken at all actually; he was perfectly fine aside from the initial shock of it all. Probably just so that they can kill me some other way. Erinn thought scornfully, his pessimistic nature getting the better of him. Truly though, all signs did point to that being the truth.
As Erinn raised his head from where he was staring at the ground, he found himself to be standing alone in a place of undefined properties. It was all gray and blotchy and shifted out of focus as he laid eye any one part, while the parts out of his focus shifted maddeningly into focus. There wasn’t anything really certain about the scenery except that which was out of reach and it bothered Erinn a great deal. Why couldn’t everything make sense just once? Even as he looked out among the gray he could feel himself slipping. This trip up the Spire would drive him to madness if it didn’t kill him. Perhaps it would do both.
While he stood, lost within his thoughts, the area around the Paras took on a mind of its own. It shifted and twisted in a grotesquely beautiful manner, the way that wax melts from a flame or the way acid eats away at everything in its path. Erinn noticed nothing of this until he was roused from his thoughts by a sudden shaking that caught him off balance and sent him reeling back. As he looked up he found himself surrounded by thick hedges on both sides, with only a path wide enough to accommodate him stretching on both before him and, so he found when he turned back, behind him as well. The Bug Type stared numbly up at the hedges, at least ten times his size and covered in thorns that would doubtless hurt a good deal if they were touched. The Paras glanced about for any other way to get out of here but it didn’t seem like there was any other way than traversing the maze. With an exasperated sigh, he turned toward the front and began to walk forward without further hesitation; Erinn didn’t have the patience for this torture but, given no other option, he may as well get it over with.
As he wandered along the featureless hedges, Erinn began to have the distinct impression that he wasn’t alone in this place. Every now and then murmurs would brush against his ears, familiar murmurs that would cause him to start in surprise only to fade away the moment he listened for them. Everything in this place seemed to be designed to keep him from finding out anything about it, every time he grew curious it would seem completely normal, but the moment he believed as such it would prove him wrong. The uncertainty kept Erinn on his guard as he crept about the maze, taking forks and turns in stride and not providing them with much thought at all.
He came, rather suddenly, upon an end to his path when the maze opened up into a small clearing of sorts; he was certainly still in the maze, for the clearing was ringed with the self-same hedges that kept him confined on the path, but there was a lovely meadow of flowers here that differed so greatly from the rest of the maze that it drew him to pause for a time. The flowers were designed into patterns that complemented one another in color and possibly type, though Erinn didn’t know enough about flora to tell the latter bit. A Pokemon was in the center of the clearing, floating among the flowers casually it didn’t seem to notice the Paras that had joined it at first. The Pokemon was a Drifloon, bobbing up and down on the breeze and the Bug Type stared up at it with tentative curiosity, afraid to disturb it. Cautiously Erinn begain to creep around the edge of the clearing, trying not to disturb the Dual Type as it floated about.
”You over there,” a voice as airy as the summer breeze drifted to him, and the Paras froze where he stood, tensing and slowly turning his head to find the Drifloon regarding him closely. ”Do you know where we are?” The other Pokemon stared at him, waiting for a response, and a silence was maintained between the two for a long time until Erinn finally dared to shake his head in a negative. The Balloon Pokemon furrowed its brow slightly and let out a sigh that caused it to drop a few feet down. ”That’s a sad thing indeed. I’ve been hoping someone would come along who did know where we are. I’ve been waiting here for hours you see…” He looked wistfully back to the flowers without another word, leaving the Bug Type with more questions than answers.
”How long have you been here?” Erinn asked, wondering nervously what constituted hours in a Ghost Type’s mind. They lived forever, right? So their sense of time could be a little different from his. Receiving no response, the Paras crept closer to the Drifloon and pulled at one of its hands before shrinking back as though expecting to be struck.
Contrary to his belief, the Dual Type simply looked up in surprise and then seemed to realize that he’d been asked a question. ”Oh I’m not sure,” he said lightly, looking at the Paras with some curiosity, ”I’ve been here through a very cold spell and then there was the earthquake and after that there was the time when the sky turned red and it grew very hot. After that it grew cold again for a long time and started to rain, then it became clear again and if I recall it was almost pleasant for a few moments, then everything turned gray all around for just a moment before I ended up here in this patch of flowers.”
Erinn tried to keep up with the explanation, but it was a bit too much for his thoughts to process all at once, he did notice one key point however. ”I thought you said you’d been here for hours,” he said suspisciously, jumping slightly as the thorns began to rustle out of nowhere when he spoke, ”But you said you just ended up here.”
”That’s the odd part,” his Drifloon companion assented, ”I have been here the whole time. Not once did I move from this spot because I was told to stay put, but my surroundings have changed more than you could possibly imagine.” Even as he said these strange things, the Dual Type seemed quite unfazed, as though he was used to it almost. With a pleasant glance at Erinn, the Pokemon began to hum softly to himself and floated up a little higher again.
Once again the Bug Type found more questions than answers in his companion’s odd comments: none of what the Balloon Pokemon said made any sense at all. Places didn’t change, people changed the places that they were in! The more he considered that thought though, the more he realized that this mountain was living testimony against that statement. Perhaps this Drifloon was just as lost as he was trying to reach the top of this Arceus-foresaken place. As he ran over what the Dual Type had said once more, trying to confirm his thought to himself, Erinn realized there was another something odd about the other Pokemon’s statement again. ”Hold on,” he said, ”Who told you to stay put?”
”That would be me!” a cheerful voice rang out through the clearing, and a crack announced the arrival of a Pokemon by Teleport. A Mime Jr. cheerfully waved as he hopped over to the Drifloon with a bright smile on his face, grabbing onto the Balloon Pokemon’s “strings” and swinging from them for a moment before jumping down in front of an astonished Erinn. ”Pleased to meetcha friend! I’m Id and my friend here’s called Ego!” The Psychic extended a hand with a bright smile and shook the Paras’ claw enthusiastically, ”We’ve been caught in this weird place for a while now. One minute we’re walking up the Twisted Spire, next thing you know the ground swallows us up! It was the strangest thing! How about you? How’d you get here? What’s your name?”
The rapid fire stream of words that erupted from the Mime Jr.’s mouth seemed to affect Erinn like a physical assault would. He cringed back from the constant chatter and stared at the claw that the Psychic had shaken as though it were covered in spots. ”Uhh…I’m, ah, Erinn…” he said hesitantly, his uncertainty only encouraged as he thought he heard more footsteps in the distance, ”I fell down a hole too.” The Bug Type’s tone made it evident that he was uncomfortable with the situation, but neither of the other two Pokemon seemed to take any notice.
Id spun around delightedly clapping his hands. ”Sounds like we’re all in the same situation then!” he sang out, ”You should stick with us Erinn! We’ll get out of here together no problem! With the three of us-” Whatever he had been going to say was cut off midsentence as he suddenly noticed the flowers. ”Oh look! Flowers! This place can’t be all bad if it has flowers right? Ego, why didn’t you tell me?” The Mime Jr. whined at his friend before leaping over in the manner of a ballet dancer to pluck a few of the flowers from the ground and smell their sweet scent. ”Oh wow! I’ve never smelled something more beautiful in my life! You guys it’s so awesome, check it out!”
Erinn closed his eyes against the endless stream of words and rubbed his temples: this Mime Jr. was giving him a terrible headache. No sooner did he open his eyes than he noticed that the walls of the clearing seemed to be growing more enclosed. He rubbed his eyes and stared at them, certain that he was making a mistake, but no-they were definitely getting closer and their nettles looked very sharp. ”The walls are getting closer!” he squeaked, repeating it much louder when he received no reaction from either of his companions, ”The walls are closing in!”
”Whatcha say-“ the Mime Jr. began, turning around only to notice what Erinn had seen all along. ”THE WALLS!” the little Pokemon shrieked, ”Whatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedo?!”
The Drifloon glanced about at the enclosing walls and breathed an airy sigh which sent him down toward the ground. ”Grab on you two, I think I can carry you both,” he said in his calm and peaceable manner. Even as Erinn and Id both grabbed onto his “strings” tighter than could possibly have been comfortable he didn’t show a sign of discomfit, simply breathing in deeply to send them all higher until they reached a level that was comfortably above the thorns and watched them clash together over the spot the trio had been before. ”It’s a good thing we weren’t in there,” Ego observed as he floated along; anyone would think he wasn’t even aware of his passengers.
Erinn clung with all his might to the thin string that separated him from being up here and down amidst the thorns. Was that their attempt to kill him? Well they’d have to do better than that if they wanted to kill him! Needless to say, Erinn was quite pleased with himself as, apparently, was Id. ”We’re flying!” he sang, ”We’re flyyyyyingggg!” The Mime Jr. hardly seemed to care that he was precariously dangling from extremely high heights, he was swinging about back and forth from his friend’s legs like they were rope swings, even above Erinn’s head he jumped about. ”Take us higher Ego! Higher!”
As the Drifloon complied, the Paras looked down from his perch high above to the thorn covered ground far below them. With a gasp, the Bug Type realized just how high they were going and he clung more tightly. ”E-E-Ego…Can you take us down?” he said nervously, his voice scarcely above a whisper. The Drifloon didn’t seem to hear him beneath Id’s singing and Erinn gulped as he looked down. The ground looked so so far away, and now it was…spinning. ”Oh Arceus,” he muttered, feeling like he was going to be sick. The ground spun into what almost looked to be a black hole, and he squeezed his eyes shut wishing that it would all go away, his headache replaced with irrational panic.
Just then a violent gust of wind stirred the air, hitting the Drifloon fiercely and sending the entire group plummeting toward the ground. Erinn didn’t see any of the fall but he felt the swooping sensation in his stomach and he heard Id’s strangled shriek as they all shot toward the ground as gravity pulled them. They careened helplessly from the highest of heights and the world spun and flashed bright colors all around them before suddenly-there was nothing. Not even impact, just nothingness surrounding them. The Paras didn’t dare open his eyes, but he was still coiled tightly around something and he didn’t plan to uncurl any time soon. ”You may want to let go now,” a familiar voice said slowly, barely louder than the wind whispered, ”Both of you, we’ve arrived.” Timidly, one eye at a time, the Bug Type opened his eyes to look around. On the other leg of Ego, Id still clung firmly and unmoving but below them was blessed ground. ”It’s a good thing that I have an agreement with gravity,” Ego said idly, ”Or we all would have been pounded into the ground. Fortunately you two held on tight enough that we all made it to safety.”
Safety was one way of putting it, though as Erinn looked around after sliding down the Drifloon’s leg to the ground he wasn’t reassured that it was any safer here than it was up there in the air where they had been. The ground was made of a hard and rough stone that almost hurt to even touch, and there was nothing but large dark shapes around them. The whole area had an ominous feeling to it as though it was out to get them, and it did nothing but feed the Paras’ fear. ”I don’t like the looks of this place…” the Bug Type murmured to his companions. They may have gotten away from the maze but this place was even more eerie than the first.
Id gradually peaked up from his grip on his friend’s leg and carefully slid down it like one would slide down a fireman’s pole. Contrary to before, the little Pokemon had no trace of joy in his expression now: he looked somewhat terrified by the whole situation. ”I don’t like this place…” the Mime Jr. said, jumping down to cling to Erinn instead. ”Make it go away!”
The Bug Type gave his cling-on an odd look before glancing up at the surroundings with anxiety evident upon his face. The shadows seemed to move about like they were living creatures-maybe some of them were living creatures-and they circled the unsuspecting group with a frenzied dance. Erinn shuddered somewhat and shrugged out of the Psychic’s grip. ”We just have to keep moving forward I guess,” he said, ”The sooner we get out of this place, the better.” Even as he said the words his voice shook and the shadows seemed to close in around them. And as the Paras led the way forward he didn’t notice the look that Id and Ego exchanged behind him before following.
They made their careful way further into the shadows, penetrating through the darkness with nothing but their eyes to guide them. There was light originating from some undetermined source that allowed them to see, but outside the small ring of vision that they possess there was nothing but dark shadows that prowled through the depths of the black. Erinn eyed the creeping shadows warily, his two companions both following his lead and watching them as well. All of them were thoroughly unsettled by the whole affair but, rather than getting better the further they progressed, things only grew worse. The trio could sense things all about them: the sound of hurried footsteps and whispers that burst into uncontrollable laughter, bright bursts of light that erupted through the dark and revealed startling silhouettes, even the air began to smell of something unpleasant and decaying. The three stuck close together, Erinn sweating profusely at the brow while Id clung to Ego’s strings and the Drifloon perused the area without a word although he too seemed somewhat off put by the whole thing.
It wasn’t long until things grew truly bad. Id stopped in place and the Mime Jr. sniffled. ”I don’t like this Erinn, please make it go away,” the Psychic said eyes shining with his plea, ”We’ve played with you long enough now, haven’t we? This game isn’t fun anymore.” The little Psychic looked askance at the Paras, and his Drifloon companion looked to the Bug Type as well although he chose to remain mum on the matter.
”What are you talking about?” Erinn said in bewilderment, beginning to grow a little frightened of the company he was keeping as well. ”I’m not doing any-“ The Paras’ voice was cut off in a yelp as a Night Slash suddenly cut at his throat, and a Zoroark of purest black stared him down with evil red eyes and gave a barking laugh as the Bug Type numbly touched a claw to his bleeding throat. It was terribly painful, but too shallow to be deadly, the Pokemon was just making him suffer. With a deft movement the Zoroark began to deliberately use Hone Claws where they shone in the non-existent light for all three watching Pokemon to see. With a grin it flicked its wrist and three Purrloin that matched the larger Pokemon’s color lithely slipped out of the shadows and regarded them with bright red eyes like their companion. ”Oh man, we’ve got trouble!” Erinn said with dismay and then the darklings attacked.
Erinn was met with the three Purrloin as the Zoroark shifted its attention to Id and ego. As the cat-like Pokemon pounced, the Paras instinctively brought his claws up and sliced them across the first offending Purrloin with an X-Scissor. Whether it was fed by fear or only his own strength, the attack was strong than the Bug Type had expected and the Dark Type hissed as it dematerialized into nothing but darkness once more. Erinn let out a laugh of stunned surprise at how well he had done, but his celebration was quite short lived as the other two Purrloin pounced with a vengeance upon him after what he’d done to their companion. The Paras stumbled back as he was covered in Fury Swipes in such a quick succession he could hardly prevent them. One of the two Purrloin stumbled and Erinn seized the chance to slash at it with a Fury Cutter. Soon the battle tumbled into a hectic game of who could strike first. Erinn struck devastating blows to the Dark Types, leaving gashes of darkness wide open across their sides, but they returned the favor several times over by scratching him enough to pepper him over with wounds that spilled his precious blood all too freely. When the end came to the battle though, it was Erinn who still stood as he sucked the precious energy from the remaining pair with Leech Life and sent them after their first companion, falling back to nothing more than wisps of shadow. The Bug Type stood their panting for just a moment, savoring the feel of victory before the air was rest asunder by a blood-curdling shriek that caused him to jump.
Across the field Id and Ego were being forced into a very hard time as the Zoroark toyed with them. Both of them were very vulnerable to the Dark Type’s attacks, and he exploited that to his best advantage. Even now he stood with his paw pressed against Id’s throat as the Mime Jr. thrashed about on the ground and Ego desperately tried to deter it, pulling with all his might as he wrapped his strings about the Zoroark. Erinn’s eyes widened in dismay and he scuttled across as fast as he could, using X-Scissor on the back of the Zoroark and causing it to leap back snarling. The Paras desperately turned his attentions to Id who was black and blue with bruises and whose throat bore a cut similar to Erinn’s own, and the Bug Type channeled a Synthesis, sending it coursing through the little Psychic’s body. ”Come on Id, come on!” As he focused his attentions on the other Pokemon though, he didn’t think to look out for himself, and thus got an unpleasant shock as he was barreled into by the Zoroark and sent flying back by its Punishment. As the Bug Type scrambled to get back to his feet the Dark Type advanced threateningly, licking his lips and coming closer. Erinn didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but the evil creature seemed to be growing larger every step he took.
”Erinn! You have to stop this!” Ego’s normally calm voice now registered a tone of panic as the Balloon Pokemon pulled back on the Zoroark but achieved no success, ”Id is right, this isn’t good for you! You have to make it stop!” The Drifloon grunted with the effort, his words a soft moan as he forced the air out while straining all the while. The Dual Type was unnaturally pale with the effort, and as Erinn looked he saw that Ego too had been dealt some heavy blows. Without some help soon the Paras wasn’t sure that the Balloon Pokemon could make it, just like his Psychic friend. ”Come on Erinn!” the other Pokemon said, ”We need you to! For all our sakes!”
The Paras pulled himself up to his feet and backed away from the ever advancing predator in terror. ”I don’t know what you’re talking about!” the Bug Type called back, desperation in his tone, ”I didn’t do anything!”
”You can change it!” Ego called back, his voice fading by the moment, along with his strength, ”This place only exists because of you! Will it and it will be so!” With that, the Balloon Pokemon gave up his attempts at halting the Dark Type and simply hung entangled about the beast in exhaustion. Erinn, meanwhile, stared at the Drifloon like he was crazy. This place existed because of him!? What was the Dual Type saying? He didn’t have anything to do with this place, did he? The Paras looked up at the area around him and found it to be no longer black but also tinged with a red that matched the blood trickling from his wounds. It was crazy that he had anything to do with this, crazy! Yet as the Zoroark prowled ever closer, the Bug Type found himself finding the idea more and more appealing. If he controlled this place then he could wish it all away and never have to see this nightmarish Pokemon again. Taking in a deep breath, Erinn closed his eyes and wished with all his might that the darkness would vanish and that they would all be safe, but when he opened them again he found the spiteful eyes of the Dark Type glaring into his own, and was flung across the room again, this time by a Night Daze.
The Paras moaned as he lay on the ground in agony from all his wounds, wishing for the end. That was what this all was after all. He’d been heading for death this whole time and now it was finally here to greet him. The Bug Type didn’t wish for death though, even as he pressed his claws into the dirt to wearily prop himself up he wondered if there could be another way. But no: the stone had said it best. No escape. There is no escape. And so there wasn’t; he could do nothing but watch as the Zoroark crept closer and prepared to deliver him to his demise. ”Hey, don’t give up…” Erinn looked over to find Id upon the ground beside him, still cringing in agony from his wounds, ”It’s not real until you believe it’s real. You took care of those Purrloin remember? And remember how you took down that Froslass? And the Furret back at the Guild too. You’re strong Erinn, Ego and I know it. You just have to believe it yourself.” Id fell into a fit of coughing after he finished, unable to catch his breath, and Erinn gaped at the Mime Jr. in surprise. How did he know about all that? They weren’t there for those things. He’d just met them so how…?
A growl alerted him to the Zoroark’s presence, but this time Erinn was ready for the Night Slash when it came and parried it with a Fury Cutter. The Dark Type huffed in anger but before he could react Erinn was upon him with another Fury Cutter, this one stronger than the first and possessing enough power to push the Zoroark back a pace. The larger Pokemon’s red eyes widened with fear, and the Paras’ gleamed with determination: he could win-he knew he could. Again the Dark Type raised a Night Slash and again Erinn blocked it with a Fury Cutter and struck when the other Pokemon’s defenses were down, this time with a smile on his face. As his confidence grew the Zoroark seemed to falter, becoming more clumsy and susceptible to harm, which Erinn only took advantage of. Id and Ego both rose up from their weary states, seeming to draw strength from the courage that the Paras felt and cheering him on as he fought slash for slash against the Dark Type. Finally the Zoroark fell down to one knee, panting with effort, and Erinn seized his chance to finish the fight, slicing an X-Scissor across the chest of the other Pokemon and sending him back to the darkness with the others. As the Dark Type disintegrated, a brilliant light overtook the area, and all were forced to close their eyes, lest they be blinded by it. When the lights cleared they found themselves in a very different place.
Erinn, Id, and Ego stood on the side of a mountain, the self-same mountain that Erinn had been on before he’d fallen down the hole. By some twisted logic that the Paras didn’t even bother to try and comprehend, it seemed that they were higher up than they’d been before although they’d fallen down a hole. Id and Ego were back to normal, all their wounds fully healed although the Paras’ weren’t, and the duo smiled at their Bug Type friend. ”You did it!” Id said with delight, spinning around in a pirouette. ”I admit, you have me worried there but you pulled through after all.” The Psychic pranced about upon the path, hardly mindful of the ledge though he never did fall off.
”Excellently well done!” Ego said warmly, floating above them on the lower mountain’s breeze. ”I knew you’d figure it out.” His tone was that of the newly warmed breezes of springtime and if it were possible for a Drifloon to beam he would have been doing so. Instead the Dual Type’s eyes simply sparkled with gratitude and appreciation almost as he would have had he been truly smiling. ”You could stand to have a little bit more faith in yourself I’d say,” the Balloon Pokemon said in a reassuring tone, his strings brushing over Erinn like a pat on the back.
The Bug Type looked about at the mountain in wonderment, and at the newly restored Id and Ego before him, wondering how to react; it had all been so strange and so fast. ”H-How did we get back up here?” he managed to splutter out, looking back and forth between the two and hoping for some sort of answer.
The two shared a glance and Id giggled slightly as Ego spoke up, ”We always were here Erinn, we just had to get out of your head.” Erinn raised his claw to tap his head in confusion and the Drifloon continued. ”Not your actual head. It’s more figurative than that. Your thoughts, as it were. We were trapped inside a world that your thoughts had created.”
”Well actually, you were!” Id put in with a cheerful grin, ”Ego and I belong there!”
Erinn looked at the Mime Jr. as though he’d just told him the sky was pink. ”You belong…in my head?” he said incredulously, not understanding what these two were playing at.
Id nodded with delight, bouncing up and down with limbs full of energy. ”That’s right!” the Psychic asserted, ”Technically we shouldn’t even be out here but you were nice enough to let us wish you well before saying goodbye!” The Mime Jr. chortled happily at the Paras’ confusion and turned a cartwheel before grabbing onto Ego’s legs and swinging back and forth as he spoke again. ”You see, we’re a part of you!” he explained, ”I’m you, Ego’s you, you’re you! You see? Together we make Erinn!”
The Drifloon looked down at Erinn curiously to see how the Bug Type would take this news. ”We took on physical forms so that we could help you get out of your own head and back to the task at hand,” the Dual Type said with words like a soothing breeze, ”You couldn’t understand what we are if we didn’t assume the figures of something familiar.” The Balloon Pokemon looked to the sky for a moment and sighed a deep sigh, sinking down more to the land-confined Pokemon’s level. ”I’m certain you have more questions than we could possibly answer, but it’s time for us to go.” Ego began to fade from Erinn’s view even as he spoke the words, the nonexistent smile easy to detect in his eyes even as he vanished. ”I wish you luck Erinn. Know that we’ll always be around, if ever you need us…”
The Psychic watched his friend fade away before turned back to Erinn with a somewhat jaded smile. ”He’s right you know,” the Mime Jr. said regretfully, ”We do have to leave you by yourself again.” Id’s smile brightened again though as he looked at the Paras, and he took the Bug Type’s claw in his two hands. ”It was really fun to meet you. Ego thinks so too though he’s too shy to say it.” The Psychic giggled at the mention of his Drifloon friend before piping up again, ”Anyway, I really do have to go. Don’t forget about us, ‘kay? We’ll always be around whenever you call!”
”Wait!” the Paras said, grabbing the fading Mime Jr. with his claw and looking the Psychic straight in the eye as he spoke. ”At least answer one question! The sign when I fell down that hole, it said there was no escape but-!”
Id giggled again with a wink at Erinn. ”And it was right silly!” the Mime Jr. said with a final twirl, ”Nobody can escape himself!” With that, the little Psychic faded completely, his laughter echoing throughout the area and leaving the Paras alone, his claw clutching at nothing more than air. A rather bemused look settled upon the Bug Type’s face and he looked around pondering what had just occurred for only a moment before moving on, a new confidence in his stride as he continued his ascension of the mountain.
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Dark_Hunter-Angelic_Tears Crew
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:48 pm
 Tolin
Four paths. Or, rather, three paths and a hole, though it seemed to widen and expand as it went down. It would probably be a suitable tunnel if he were to climb down, not that he had any desire. His arms weren't exactly suited for such navigation... If he had to turn around, he probably wouldn't be able to get back out. The potential of being trapped wasn't exactly one he wanted to have to deal with, which left three paths with nearly identical phrases. The only choice was "around", "above" or "behind"...
...That wasn't something he felt like facing. If it was that, there was only one path he could take. Tolin took to the path as it began to cut into the mountain side. It was wide enough. It was a few meters across, giving him plenty of room to walk in the middle with a comfortable amount of distance from both the sheer drop to his left and the rocky wall to his right. He trudged on and up against the gentle incline of the path below him. The soft padding of his feet against the soft dirt trail was the only noise to accompany him on his journey. There was no wind. A faint fog obscured the sun, leaving the world grey and colourless. It was... simply there. It was a seemingly endless walk up a path. No stones, no sounds, no light... there was nothing to mark the passage of time and nothing to deter the ceaseless wandering of his mind except for the soft patting that became his focus. He was used to it, so it was fine. This kind of simple, monotonous walk wasn't a problem for him.
The problems only began as details began to fill in the path. As small, tiny things began to add colour to the landscape and break the monotonous, unchanging path. Small splotches of reddish-brown began to dot the path. Tolin's steps stopped as he looked down at it before he continued on. It didn't take long for the first and there were many after.
An Arcanine, of deep blue colour. A Lucario, freshly born anew yet briefly. A Vulpix of the faintest blues. A puddle of goo, yet so much more. A Dratini, laying out straight across the road. A Flareon of the brightest reds. A Glaceon, frail and tiny. A Manectric, once a leader. A Raichu, in all his foolishness. A Gardevoir with only one arm. A Mewtwo. A Leafeon, old beyond his years and brave beyond his strength. Corpses lined the road as he walked, and walk he did. He knew this. He knew there were more than this. Many more. And that was fine. There wasn't time for this. He could deal with it once everything else was done and gone. There would be time for it all later. When everything else was done, only then would he stop and look back at what had happened.
Another pause as he passed the dead. One last mark against the path, yet not a corpse. A simple orb. A sphere. A pendant, light blue in colour and with the emblem of a wing on it's front. Tolin turned it over lightly with his scythe before knocking it off the edge with a gentle tap. "Sorry, Desmond."
 Charles
Much as Tolin did, Charles found four paths. Unlike him, however, there wasn't a choice to make before it presented itself. Down the middle. The shadows stirred. Psychic energy drifted from the Mew's hand in an instant in an effort to contain what lay within, but to no avail. It was... repelled. He frowned at the stirring darkness. He didn't get repelled. Not even dark types normally had the audacity or the capability to stop him. They were difficult to handle, to be sure, but far from impossible. It was never worth the effort to enter one's mind or use psychic attacks on them on a battle, but their intense resistance wasn't the same as immunity.
A golden ring appeared in the shadows of a tall rock, followed shortly by a pair of golden eyes. A huge smile rose from the darkness as they gleamed. "You~ want to know about this place! Of course you do. If you want to know, catch me!"
The figure began to rise from the darkness. A pair of ears with golden bands. The head took form as the front paws slipped out of the darkness and pulled the rest of the body out, as if the creature rose from the water. It was an Umbreon, normal in all ways save for the smile and eyes. Charles merely stared at it, silently, as it strutted out of the darkness. The creature's existence grated on Charles ears; it's mocking tone was little more than an insult. "I know what you're thinking~! It's so obvious. 'He isn't real. Why would he know anything?' Well that's precisely why, hahaha! I'm not real! So where do I come from!?"
Charles remained silent. The Umbreon was right. He was an apparition of the mountain which meant he wasn't real, but at the same time it meant he was an extension of the land below him. If anyone knew anything, the land itself would. It wasn't a claim to be taken lightly even if there was the possibility that the Umbreon was merely feigning sapience or understanding. Charles directed his psychic once more, though not in such a direct manner. Psychic energies wouldn't affect the Umbreon, but as he dug it into the earth below the creature and forced it to rise to trap him he knew it would be effective. The apparition, one way or another, had other plans; it slipped out of the restraints that shot from (and of) the earth as it danced around laughing. "Chase me, chase me! As quick as you can! The tide is coming, and if you aren't quick you'll be swallowed!"
The Umbreon took off up the mountain and Charles was quick to follow. This wasn't his... favourite of circumstances. It was rare for something to be able to escape his grasp at all, it was even more rare for it to be able to mock him. He could potentially kill it outright by burning it to a crisp from some thirty-odd feet away, but that wouldn't help either. He needed to capture it alive, or at least as alive as it could be all things considered.
So, he flew. Charles flew as fast as he could after the Umbreon, who matched pace with him perfectly as he let out rancorous laughter that only served to further taunt the mew. Dark ripples spawned from its feet that stretched across the ground, but Charles couldn't stop to look back. A minute passed and, curious, the Mew slowed down briefly. The Umbreon slowed down to match his pace which only served to aggravate the Mew, not that he had the time to act on it. "Are you sure you should be slowing down? The tide is coming~"
He blinked as he flew after the Umbreon. It was faint. He could hear it, behind him. Knowing the Umbreon wouldn't escape, he turned in midair and looked back. "The tide is coming"... It was literal. Shadows had amassed into a physical form and they were chasing after the pair like a tidal wave. With a clenched hand, the Mew raised a psychic barrier behind him. It was of little use as it dissolved under the force of the tide. A barrier of raised earth was his next attempt but it too proved fruitless as the darkness simply slipped through the cracks and holes without protest. It ignored his efforts and it seemed to be gaining in both speed and mass. It was disconcerting because it wasn't real, but that presented a greater problem in the fact that it wasn't bound by conventional logic. In all likelihood it would continue gaining speed and mass indefinitely.
"Catch me if you can~ But watch out, don't get swallowed up! You might not come out~"
It was an ominous warning but even as the Mew sped up, it seemed to come more and more true. If he stayed as he was he would, inevitably, get caught. He trusted his ability to exert his force over this psuedo-reality, but at the same time he wasn't willing to risk it. It would be a lot of effort and it would potentially leave him injured which wasn't something he would stand for.
The Mew, instead, simply glared at the Umbreon before breaking off his pursuit and flying up into the air to land on a cliff. The Umbreon stopped to let out a loud, barking laugh as the tide of darkness swallowed him. In spite of it his voice still rang out loud and clear. "Good decision! We can't always win, can we?"
Charles glared down. "I'm going to find the miserable little piece of psychic energy that spawned you and rip it out of existence."
The only response he received was yet another endless laugh.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:51 pm
 Andrew
The pupitar continued to make his way up the mountain, going through many turns and over obstructions, but the direction always seemed to be the same, a strange upward spiral. It wasn't too long until he was met with another fork in the road. After reading each sign, he found himself easing backwards, memories starting to flood his mind.
"Can't you see them, swarming in lines? They're all over the place!" Her arms were flying everywhere in the back of their home. She kept on shuffling away from her point of focus until she hit the back of the wall. She slid down, falling the ground, her body trembling. "I swear to God! Don't you see them?!"
Andrew stood there a few feet away from his mother with wide and wary eyes, once he again, he was a small silver larvitar; He couldn't be older then a couple of years at the time, the only child to his two tyranitar parents. Nervously, he gripped onto the foot of his father. Her thrashing was shaking the entire home, made for even pokemon of their power, it threatened to crumble above them. It scared him. "What's wrong with her?"
He said nothing, though, and little Andrew was forced to watch his mother slip out of sanity. It wasn't the first time he had seen it, and the feeling grew everyday that it wouldn't be the last.
"Those small creatures! Black and disgusting!" She wailed, breaking to tears. "I mean it! They're there! Don't you see them?" The ground-type wanted to walk over and comfort her, give her some sort of reassurance, but he had tried before. He knew there was nothing that could be done to make her illusions go away. He felt his father starting to move gently away from him, shaking his leg until Andrew took the hint and let go, only to see him walk away from them both and out of the room.
'Where are you going? Come back...' Andrew thought.
"Son." His head snapped around, hearing his mother's voice. "You see that edge of the wall, right there?" The larvitar gently pointed to the spot questioningly. "Yes, there. Run your hand along it..." Obeying her, he quietly walked over and reached up onto his toes, dragging his fingers from the point and down to the ground.
"There's nothing there..."
"No - No, there is!" she shouted, drawing herself into loose ball. "I'm not crazy... I'm not..." The whole scene was bringing the young pokemon to tears as well. He crawled up to his mother, wishing that he could do something; Do what she used to to do him, his her gently and make her feel all better. This happened every so often; She would buy drugs off a few the local dealers and take so much to the point she hallucinated. It freaked the hell out of Andrew and his father didn't even bother trying to stop her anymore. She'd then pass out for a few days, screaming non-sense in her sleep, and finally waking a few days later with no memory of what had ever happened.
She refused to stop, never knowing what it did to her, always saying it simply 'put her mind at ease'.
These things, they were killing her slowly, and all he could do was sit there and watch slowly, unaware of what was happening and always betting on if the worst had yet to come.
Andrew hated it, he wanted to help, so much...
Brought back to reality, the pupitar that he had been walking on the entire time, he let out a deep sigh. He wished he could help her, but her life, his family; It all came crashing down and there wasn't a thing to do about it. He still wanted to help. If only to make things a little better, he wanted to help others. He had to join a rescue team and help save the world, right? In a way, somewhere in the run his closest friend had died, and even though he didn't witness it, he did see her dead body.
He should have been there for her too.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:48 pm
Ailleen
Ailleen screamed.
It had all started when she had shook herself out of the nightmare.
It was horrible alone just to be pulled out in such a jerky manner, let alone out into the middle of nowhere. One minute she had been lying on her back looking at the silver sun that had taunted her, and then she was at a crossroads. She found it funny how life acted. How some jerks who didn't deserve to breathe got all the good luck while the people who were trying to save the planet got stuck at a crossroads in the middle of nowhere looking at four paths and four tablets. Oh. She had better look at those hadn't she?
Ailleen scrambled back upon reading the first tablet. She cautiously approached the other three to read them.
"All.... They're all about death." Shivers went down her spine as she recalled the ghost infestation at Algendars. The Vulpix sighed, and twirled around in a circle with her eyes closed till she fell over from sheer dizzyness. The Vulpix opened her eyes, to find her staring at the tablet marked 'Death around you'. Well, crap.
Ailleen trudged forward like a mourner to her own funeral. The path appeared to be the most solemn to Ailleen, but maybe that was because she was making herself walk down the path. Of course, she could have just walked right back and sat down at the center of the crossroads till someone found her, but heaven knew how long that would take.
The rainbow tailed Vulpix trudged down the path until she spotted a tree with the most beautiful and extrordinary fruit she had ever seen. She pawed toward the tree, all thoughts of the omen behind her. What she didn't see was a hole in front of the tree. What she fell down was the abformentioned tree.
As Ailleen fell down the hole, she was instantly reminded of her team's name. "If I freakin see one single freakin Buneary, I am killing myself with fire." Which was redundant and pointless, because her ability was flash fire. As she fell, she recited the few lines of the epic Beatrice had written about Wonderland.
When Ailleen finally touched down to the ground, she looked around. What she saw made her gasp. It was eerily similar to the arena from Algendars. The other thing she saw that made her gasp was a Ninetales dressed in armor in front of her. The fire fox was beautiful, exactly how Ailleen would have imagened herself when she evolved. Her tail was a solid black, and what was seen of her main fur was pure white.
The warrior advanced at Ailleen, battle ready. Was Ailleen supposed to fight this beautiful warrior? The Vulpix barely had enough time to escape a Solarbeam. "Why are you trying to kill me?" "Because I can." Ailleen gasped, rattled by the sound of the warriors voice. It was her own, but mixed with all the people she had ever met. Ailleen had to jump to avoid a Hyper Beam. Normally, a regular Ninetales would be exhausted from the Hyper Beam, but not this one. She kept on at it. Ailleen had to jump around almost every two seconds to avoid being blasted into oblivion.
Then, the Ninetales jumped forward and tagged Ailleen on the head. Instantly the Vulpix collapsed. The Ninetales leaped backwards. From the ground... Rose the undead. Zombies, mummies, and all their kin rose from the ground, all walking towards Ailleen. What scared her most was the fact that they were all her friends. Team MistMelody, Beatrice, Ailleen, her father..... All of her trusted friends were trying to kill her. Ailleen stumbled backwards, dragging her mangled leg. The cruel warrior sat on a risen podium, watching the undead converge on Ailleen.
The Vulpix was pressed up against the side of the arena, heart pounding. She had already tried using all of her arsenal of fire type moves, but the Ninetales only absorbed them. Ailleen thought of all of her moves she had ever learned. Then she thought of how she had escaped from the arena with Emily. The arena! What had Emily said that they were going to do? Ah yes, Hex! If she remembered correctly, she could use that move. If not, she was dead.
The Vulpix thought. She thought about the incantation that the ghosts had recited before Emily rescued them. If witchcraft was required to get herself out of this problem, witchcraft it was. She began chanting. Her eyes turned a horrible white. A cloud of purple energy envoloped the Vulpix as she chanted. The chant spead up. The undead cowered before her. That was right! They would cower before her! The supreme ruler of darkness. The chant ended with a beautiful explosion of fire, consuming all in the arena besides herself. The warrior was gone, leaving behind nothing besides her armor.
The Vulpix's eyes returned to normal. Ailleen gasped for breath as she pulled herself out of the trance. It had been so horrible.... Only a strong Psychic or dark type was meant to hold that sort of power. Ailleen dragged herself towards the path that lead to the exit of the arena in the hole. She shuddered as she recalled the undead converging on her, the smirk upon the cruel Ninetales. She swore to herself right then that she would never be like that.
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:01 pm
KeiranNo escape. There is no escape.
"Cry havoc! and let slip the dogs of war!"
-Shakespear "Julius Caesar"
- - - - -
Keiran could feel the beast's heated breath on his fur, the stench of sulphur sweeping over him as he struggled to climb the loose, dry rock. He choked on the scent of it, coughing as he fought to clear his lungs. No fresh air met his face, and the heat only continued to build as the fiery, molten being drew closer. The stones began to melt around him, he could see the orange tint to the stones at his feet. He couldn't pause, he couldn't fail. If he were to die here, today... There was too much that he'd yet to experience, too much he wanted to do before he'd succumb to even the likes of a legendary Pokemon.
Heatran's eyes were glowing with an unnatural rage, and Keiran felt a stab of real, true fear slip through him. It was near to agony, watching the once-pure being succumb to such a primal hatred. It wasn't right. Everything about this world, this illusion... it felt wrong. He desperately hoped it to be an illusion, anyway. With such a massive... thing (Had the Original One even designed for it to take a specific gender?) following him, he really hoped that it was not to be deemed real.
He couldn't even imagine what sort of evil, what sort of cruelty, had sunk into the Legend's form. He'd not imagined anything so insane as this, when he'd caught rumours of Heatran, passed down as legend through the generations of his tribe. The high elders had taught all of the prowess of the gods, but Heatran had been mentioned very little. His place was in the world's beginning, and seldom spoken of, in favour of the greater, more approved Legendary Pokemon. From what he'd heard around the guild, he'd come to understand just how odd and restricting their method of teaching really was. Whatever was said by elders to the young... it was strictly monitored. Stories were told as they were approved by the great king of all. Only those within the highest of ranks were ever told the full story.
A blast of flame broke through the mountain-side beside him, and the little Riolu struggled to stay ahead of the searing heat that was closing ever nearer behind him. To meet the legend, the bringer of fire was to mean his death. None could withstand such temperatures, surely? Even a Slugma, a slimy creation of molten rock, would likely have difficulty in trying to endure the wrath of Heatran.
His feet finally caught a grip, the rocks here becoming larger and denser. His paws gripped the rock, aided by the aura that now swirled protectively around him. He needed the shield, to defend him from the heat. Close as he was now.... He feared the idea of being baked alive all the more. He'd always imagined the great Heatran to be more of an ancient myth than a tried and true monster of the modern world.
He was running. All he could think to do was run, for the fear of being caught by so powerful a being seemed a disastrous fate. The shadows seemed to lengthen, darkening his path as he tried to scramble ever closer to the peak of the mountain above him. Rock turned to dust, melting under the extreme heat and softening as his aura-cloaked paws fought to get a grip. His self-made shield was quickly breaking down under the extreme heat, baring his thick black fur to the elements.
The heat was building, like the pressure of the world was fighting to come crashing downward. Rocks were sliding, loosened by the heat. They tumbled downward, merging into a molten sludge that cascaded in a waterfall down the volcano's side. It was no longer a mountain, but a ridge of melting flame.
The whole world was set aglow, and the pain was only growing with the light in which he bathed. Smoke spiralled from the earth, and from himself, the rock beneath his feet too thick and searing to douse the flames. And still he fell, rolling out of desperation as he tried to fight away the fire that had set into his pelt.
He hissed in pain, beginning to thrash as the flames continued to burn along his spine. He could feel the searing sensation spread quickly across his body. The molten rock was sliding toward him, now, as if the very earth beneath him sunk downward. It was swirling, in a spiral of cascading heat and death. He couldn't so much as scream, the fire burning in his throat as he fought to stay alive.
There was no escape. Not from this.
{{ Very short post for Keiran. I apologize; Skye's should be longer, I just have to finish it. /:
Also, he's still alive; Heatran and all the rest were mere illusions. }}
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Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:02 pm
 Violet Dawn In Clouded SkiesDeath above you.
"In the afternoon they came unto a land in which it seemed always afternoon. All round the coast the languid air did swoon, breathing like one that hath a weary dream."
-Tennyson, the Lotus-Eaters
Skye could hear their screeching cries above her, the fearsome noise of it all making her shake and tremble in her hiding place amongst the brambles. They could not see her, so long as she lay still.
They were odd, horrific-looking creatures. They were very much similar to the carrion-eating birds of the Five Islands that she'd studied previously in the library. They alone were massive birds, but these... The odd, angry eyes of a Fearow, and that strong, sharp beak... Their wings were black as the veil of night, their shadows great upon the ground. She didn't even think that they were Pokemon; simply shadows of nameless cruelty that sought to steal the very life from her chest.
She flattened her ears nervously, dark eyes wide with fear as she watched them circle ever lower. She didn't know if she'd been spotted, in all honesty. Telling herself to hide, to stay still... she didn't know if they were just biding their time, or if she was truly safe within her hiding spot in the thorny branches of the bramble bushes.
The twigs caught at her fur, breaking off whenever she shifted and tugging painfully at every strange of matted, filthy violet. Her whole body was caked with mud, making it all the more unbearable to sit still and wait. She would give nearly anything to be free of this, to be clean and safe at home again. She knew, however, that to return home would take far longer than this. She'd have to make her way through uncharted lands on foot, and worse; she'd have abandoned her guild in their time of need... if she'd even be able to find them in the first place. She'd been caught by the Teleport on mere chance; she suspected that they didn't even recognize her as having been there... there would be no rescue for the likes of her, were she to be killed or injured. Even getting lost in such a place would bring about more misfortune than she'd intended to get herself into.
The Eevee let out a sharp squeal of shock and fear, suddenly ducking low as one of the massive, shadowed birds struck the thorny barrier above her. She could see the darkness that swept over her, massive wings blotting out the sun like great pools of ink. Thorns fell from the canopy, falling across her face and threatening to stab at her eyes and nose. She instinctively tucked her face beneath her torso, squinting to protect her large, delicate eyes. To survive the attack, and find herself blinded by debris? So many things to her now meant death and panic.
The sound of their cries was so loud that it seemed almost inaudible. It was an unceasing stream of agony that tore through her head and ears, shaking the world around her. Many pairs of dark wings beat and thrashed against the brambles, great talons tearing into the thick grasses that weaved between the branches.
Instinct drove her forth like a frightened hare, her small and untrained muscles already beginning to burn as she tried to escape the relentless avians above her. They were everywhere. How could she turn in any direction, when the great birds circled all around her. She couldn't think straight with all the noise, and in truth she felt unsure of whether or not she herself was screaming along with them. It just made little sense, as if the sound was-
She froze, suddenly drawing herself into a tiny, protective ball. Her paws were swept over her long ears, pulling them down and forward over her face. She screamed as loud as she could, trying to drown out the noise. If she could drown out the noise, she could deal with the rest of it.
She felt the air around her growing very cold, Frost Breath spilling from her throat and freezing into sharpened points that rose up among the brambles. How she managed to grow so strong in that moment, she did not know. She didn't particularly care, either. There was no thought in what she did next, only the sudden urge to do what came naturally.
She sprang up from the brambles, breaking through the thorny branches in an eruption of ice and hail. Shards of frozen water, so cold that they became solid as the stone beneath the sand.
The screaming changed to cries of fear and confusion as the tiny Eevee lashed out, the spears of ice sticking into the beating wings of the avians, and clawing upward around their talons. It pinned them helplessly to the earth, and buried them ever deeper into the tomb of ice that so quickly formed around them.
Skye suddenly found herself sitting atop a mountain of ice, shivering from fear and the sheer cold of the mound beneath her paws. ...Had she really done that? She didn't want to think about it. This had to be a trick, an illusion of some sort. Considering the last vision, and the true destination that the guilds had intended to reach... She could very well be beside her companions right now, and she'd never know for sure!
This thought brought her faith and heart, her renewed sense of strength carrying her onward as she hurriedly continued the ascent up the side of the mountain. In the far distance, she could see the shadows of more screaming-beasts, still circling deeply like the bringers of death that they were. Now, though, she felt no fear. Death today would come not from the claws and wings above, but instead the fearsome grip of ice from below. In this illusion, the meek and mild would rate supreme.
Her dark eyes shone with pride, suddenly realizing just what a powerful display she'd put on. There was certainly no doubt that ordinarily she'd not have been able to do such a thing... but it was exciting to imagine. It was all an illusion, she knew, and yet the tales she could spin to Harumi about the visions she'd received atop this mountain... She would probably think that she was just crazy, if she even dared to tell about this false world. Harumi knew as well as Skye that an illusion was only that. What happened here meant nothing as to the true strength within Skye's frail little body. Someday, though... someday she'd be able to make her family proud of her.
Tiny violet paws scratched and clawed at a boulder, trying to draw their owner up and onto the solid surface. The rock was cold under her paws, slick with the freezing mist that still fanned from her breath. It would be difficult to climb like this, when every breath she took seemed only to hinder her efforts. It wasn't as if she could climb without breathing, after all. Her body still craved the oxygen, regardless of whatever joined the air on each exhale. As long as it didn't become too icy, and she didn't run out of energy, she would be alright. She was about halfway up... wasn't she? It looked more like an endless slope. The screaming was growing again, and she knew that the birds would once again draw nearer to make their kill. Either that, or perhaps they sought revenge for fallen comrades? She'd never know. They weren't real, they weren't alive. It didn't matter to her, what happened to the shadowed freaks that tried to maul her to death. She was much more determined just to keep moving up the slope.
A pained, dying screech was heard as a burst of icy winds tore clean through a section of the mountain, sending pieces of frozen... things... everywhere. Shards of ice shattered against the frozen rock, tumbling swiftly over the cliff's edge in a shower of frost and snow.
Definitely an odd illusion, for her power to grow so exponentially in this circumstance. She didn't much desire to find the next one, but she decided in the end that it would be much better to not be freezing everything solid with every breath she took. It would only bring pain, to carry such strength without experience, she realized. She didn't want to hurt others by accident...
Ears flattened against her head, the lithe little Eevee watched in silence as the ice ran in deadly rivers of spikes and spears. Illusions... She'd do well to be rid of places like this for a very long time. Having one's sense of reality skewed too frequently was likely not to do her very much good.
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