Welcome to Gaia! ::

((I'm so excited, I switched genders. Beat that.))

((Bah gawd, it's back! Or...it's coming back! I...I don't quite have the words for this.))

((Ready, go.))

One theory of dreaming is that dreams are our brains’ way of interpreting neural static sent from a structure near the spinal cord called the reticulating activating system (RAS). This static comes in the form of random signals sent from the RAS and is given meaning; this is why dreams are often so incoherent. Imagine, though, that much like atoms shifting in and out of phase, and theoretically allowing matter to pass through itself at a subatomic level at random intervals, that occasionally these neural impulses would all occur at once. The brain would be over-stimulated; it would stop, recover, and reboot.

That happened to the mew. That is why this RP stopped for six months or whatever. Onward!



Talia continued running, unaffected by the ghost’s attack while the creature in her shadow fell out of its hiding place and onto solid ground, revealing itself as a sneasel. It’s small, bladed body swiftly got to its feet and rushed Jeremiah, leaping towards his motorcycle and his chest with its claws extended to swipe and no apparent concern for its safety, or the fact that it was missing one claw. The girl hauled back with her curved, ivory blade, which up close suspiciously resembled a sneasel’s claw, and slashed at Ulysses.



The three children – Lexi, Alex, and Gerard – finally managed to sort out transportation, and began making their way back to Glenville. Their path was rather smooth – after all, the members of the Exterminant that had been left to take care of the Howards had all been defeated. The late afternoon sun beat down on them as they went and the air was stifling, rising in waves from the pavement. Now and then, a pokémon moved along the side of the road, but for the most part, the silence of the world following the Pack’s attack and retreat was preternatural and… almost eerie. Possibly eerier was the fact that Alex, sweating like the rest of them, didn’t take any verbal notice of the calm or the heat. In fact, she almost seemed at peace in it.

Along the way, they once again passed by the same place as before, with the organ, odd leaves, and conductor’s baton. Alex glanced at it, but other than that paid it no heed.



The Haven dwellers came pouring towards Paul, but not one of them was wielding a weapon. Seeing McFadden’s body, they howled out even louder, blood suffusing their faces as they surged forward. At the mention of Terrian, though, the nearest ceased their advance, blinking, and were tripped over by those behind them. In short order, no fewer than a dozen were sporting broken bones and crying out in pain as the front edges of the tide collapsed on itself and heaved slowly to a halt. Confusion was rampant, as those in back insisted that those in front had been attacked by the alakazam and those at the now-leading edge began hearing his message. Whether there had been any deaths was unknown, so tightly pressed were the bodies in the pathway.

This was not as intelligent a crowd when angered as when peaceful; had they been aware of how close they were to approximating the conditions of the stadium in Dallas or had the presence of mind to notice that some of the oldest and youngest head developed inexplicable nosebleeds, they might have backed off. As it stood, only Zoidberg was properly aware, in that he felt a tightening of his skull, as though his brain were expanding against it.

Paul… we have to get them out of here…

Ignorant of the situation, a woman picked her way forward until she was blocked and somewhat horrified by the tangled mess of limbs in front of her, and addressed McCulloch. “Whether protecting the girl or not, and no matter who told you to,” she insisted, her voice and features a forced sort of stern stoicness, “you have no right to abuse our hospitality in such a way, nor to enforce your filthy, hedonist violence on our peaceful Haven.” A low grumbling of approval for her words and disapproval for Paul rippled through the crowd. “We must seize you for judgment by the Light of the World and tend to this boy. You can either come on your own, or we’ll make you. Regardless, you will not be harmed. This is the way of the Haven.” A great amount of nodding made the people gathered seem like grass in the wind.



Jñan casually let Raj out of his pokéball as she walked with Juno. The little drowzee bumbled along next to them, seemingly perpetually intoxicated. “Underground tunnels,” the Light explained to her new charge. “Sewers that have been mostly cleaned and a few true caves, as well as new tunnels the Haven created.” She said this last proudly while they passed the shrines in the tremendous room. Jñan was serenely seeking a particular pathway, though the casual observer might have merely seen a woman taking a girl on a stroll. The sounds of the crowds had died down, and were mostly silent.

Finally, the Indian woman found the archway she was seeking, took a flashlight from a small, decorated box, indicated that Juno should take one as well, and began leading at a very short distance down the pathway. Before she had even made the first few steps, though, Raj’s stumbling path suddenly took him crashing into Juno’s legs. The blow was surprisingly hard, and while it didn’t throw the girl off her feet, it pushed her to the side while Raj held himself up with a hand on the outside of her thigh and hiccupped. He seemed to be almost uncomfortable.

Tutting her lips at him, Jñan gave a beleaguered smile and tried to pull her little follower away. Immediately, he overbalanced in her direction and, flailing at her skirts for support, somehow snatched them and her arm in such a way that she tripped and lost a layer of clothing. Though not indecent, she was infuriated with him, if only for a moment while he lay heavily on top of her and giggled. All her efforts to kick him off seemed to slide off his roly-poly body, such that she couldn’t seem to quite get the leverage to get up. “Oh, Raj,” she chuckled through a tight grin, "you really need to lay off that drink sometimes. Would you mind getting off me?”

He gave a weird, grunting guffaw and started rolling himself back and forth spastically, but rhythmically, clearly entertained by himself. He snorted in time with his somehow even tempo of rolling, his trunk of a nose letting out a “hic, hoc, hic, hoc” until it was all too clear – he was stalling for time. Raj knew something he wasn’t letting on.



“As you wish, m’lady,” Terrian said with a slow, worried smirk. He reached a hand up as though to brush her cheek, but theatrically let his image begin to fade before it reached its apparent target. “I told you you always were my favorite.”

With very little warning, Elian and Aislin both felt tugs, as though someone was pulling at their collars, but all over their bodies, and in every direction at once. Painful shocks pulsed through them as the grip “slipped” once, twice, and started to a third time before intensifying and shooting them through a region of black cold that slipped right through their fur, skin, and clothing, and into reality.

Reality was shockingly warm and situated on black pavement surrounded by dark, fire-blasted earth, with a road stretching behind them to the south-east and an intense feeling of darkness and dread from the north-west. Solomon stood by Elian’s side, silently, psychically supporting her and Aislin. Besides that, they were alone.



Three miles west, Dr. Alex Terrian knelt on the ground and coughed blood. “******** as the King was explaining to Abe that he had actually expended a great deal of energy in service of Glenville and would need time to regain the entirety of his strength, a loud commotion came from down the hall.

“Don’t you call Elian that!”

“Sigmund!”

“He can’t talk about her that way!”

“Control yourself!”

“But-!” The younger brother cut himself off. Out of Abe’s sight, Ed watched Sigmund until the man calmed down, and then turned his attention back to Richard. “We’ll heal them. Hand me your pokéballs.” He hardened his gaze. “All of them, that is, if you don’t want them electrocuted by a sudden malfunction.” Sigmund stared at his brother. He knew that as the younger, he had always been the less commanding, but… threatening to murder pokémon?

It was clear that Edward was intimating Richard should hand over the pokéball containing the legendary pokémon. “And while they’re healing, and before you get them back, I will require an explanation about how you know of Elian Joss and where she is.”

"Poor girl," Ulysses Shonevsky muttered to himself, watching as Talia plowed onward, even threatening to strike him with a makeshift blade. The geezer raised his shotgun, gripping the stock and barrel, and swung it in an arc that would hopefully catch the blade's curve and pull it free of the young girl's grasp. It perhaps wasn't the smartest of plans, but he couldn't very well be expected to play the part of genius every minute of his life.

Djinn was also in a bad way, finding himself confronted by a dastardly dark-type: sneasel. But the critter ignored him and took a liking for Jeremiah instead. The purple ghost didn't appreciate being ignored. At all. He flew full speed at the sneasel from behind, cocking back one stubby arm to bop on the little rat's skull while shouting in his raspy voice, "GRAH!"

Paul noticed it slowly.

His first warning came when he brought the handgun up to aim at the advancing wave of people.

His eye traced a line down the two posts on the rear of the slide, through the one on the front, and to a point somewhere - anywhere - in the crowd. He prepared to take a shot, but beyond the sights...

He brought the gun down. Nosebleeds, spontaneous nosebleeds. Everywhere. That made sense, really; sometimes people got nosebleeds. But in masse, at the same time...? But when Zoidberg told Paul "We have to get them out of here," it struck him.

Oh, no. No, no no, not now, not with me here.

Zoidberg, priority one, we get out of here. Priority two, we get the girl. Priority three, we get the masses. That being settled - there would be no counter-argument, and Zoidberg knew it - Paul began to wonder how, how he was going to be able to get the people out of here. His thoughts were muddled, he was developing a headache. Panic only seemed to make it worse, so he tried to relax, to clear his mind to think about his options.

Number one, he started shooting. But there were too many people to gun down to get clear; practically impossible, morally very wrong. No, that wouldn't do at all. Two, he could turn himself in. He wouldn't be harmed, they'd said, and they'd get what they wanted... and maybe he could direct them out. Three would be teleporting, but that was impossible under the circumstances. The strain would either be too much for Zoidberg, or it might kill him. Four... what was four? There was no four. Not that he could think of, not under the circumstances, not while pinning down a rising wave of panic. First, though, he had to inform them... had to let them know what had happened here. Part of it. He couldn't tell them about Jñan, about McFadden trying to kill him. Well, that he could say... that would make sense.

"Alright, you win. I'll come. But first, listen to me," he demanded, trying to control the panic in his voice and completely failing. "This man - boy - William, whatever - see this gun I'm holding? This is his, I stole it, he tried to kill me. And listen - feel that? I..." He had to choose his words carefully. If they didn't believe him, they'd all die. If he made them panic, they'd all die. How to make it clear without creating a bigger panic? "We need to split up," Paul tried at last. "We need to split up and get out of this mob setup. I'll come with you, you can have the gun." To prove he wasn't lying, he bent down, placed it on the ground and slide it away from both himself and the mob. "Just... just split up, okay? Just calm down. You've got people hurt in the stampede, we need to calm down, and you really, really need to listen to me."

Terrian decided to waste no more time and it seemed that Elian would get her wish to escape. The woman's fierceness broke when Terrian started to reach out for her, a familiar blush crossing her cheeks which only faded into confusion as Terrian started to fade away. If she had thought about it she might have scoffed at how "showy" the man was trying to be, but such a thought would never cross her mind as she narrowed her eyes at the disappearing Cheshire Cat.

"Your favorite what, Terrian?" Elian spoke rather flatly, knowing fully she would receive no answer to such a question. It seemed to everyone, maybe even Andrej, she was anything but who she was; "Elian Joss" was just a title for an Oracle, an experiment, a victim. Yet all of these titles, these responsibilities, mattered little; nothing she could ever do no matter who she was would change anything. More than ever Elian felt a slave to destiny and all freedom had been sacrificed the second she woke up in that hospital. A dead woman walking the earth, a puppet for the universe to direct, for Terrian to direct.

"I'm not a toy..." The woman told herself but even she didn't believe it. Unfortunately, any chance of brooding washed from her as wave after wave of pain rushed through her like lightning. Elian felt as if someone had managed to take hold of every cell of her body and rip them in different directions. Not knowing when the torture would end, Elian screamed as the third rush of pain felt as if her unseen executioners had finally torn her apart; however, the sensation that followed the agony was that of diving into ice and stole the breath from Elian's lungs. It felt as if warmth had never existed, that cold gripped every part of her being even through the purpose of the robes she wore. Fortunately, such a sensation was followed by a slow warmth that slipped its way into her core. It even felt as if she were breathing real air, that the dark realm Terrian had pulled her into had vanished behind her. Was such a thing possible?

Aisln had also endured the same ordeal as Elian, and like her master she felt disoriented as reality presented herself and looked upon Solomon once it was clear they were back in reality. Pushing herself from Solomon's hold, the Espeon shook itself and stretched out its body, removing the chill that seemed to linger before looking up to the suspended Elian with a concerned mewl.

"Aislin?" The woman breathed once she felt the ice leave her lungs, but even her own words felt disconnected. Although she knew they must have been out of the Exterminant's stronghold and out of Terrian's... Universe... Nothing felt as it should. Waves and pulses of energy fluxed within her mind that spread through her core, Elian drifting in and out of consciousness as if she were going into shock. One side demanded she awaken, while the other tried to pull her back into unconsciousness. Such a struggle wouldn't even allow her vision, everything was within the dark void of her useless eyes or resting within her slipping consciousness as she struggled to simply function.

"Help..." The word left her after a long struggle, she wanted answers and to feel safe again, but above all she wanted the swimming of her brain to cease. Elian felt as if she might vomit and at the same time, fly into the air. Nothing would come together, she couldn't wake up and yet... She felt that she could, however, she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

"So if you wake up, you will experience a great deal of unpleasantness"

The words resonated through her, though her body demanded she awaken lest she sleep and remain asleep forever. Perhaps she didn't simply call for help, Elian called for someone to help her before she would be unable to.

A part of her felt a presence, one that sank deep into her core and lingered there, and it was heading her way. Mentally screaming at herself, Elian's body twitched slightly until she suddenly forced her eyes open.

~

Richard didn't jump, he didn't balk, nor did he really move at all as Sigmund had his little outburst. The man simply moved his unfeeling gaze from Edward over to the younger, as if listening to a conversation rather than realize he was being yelled at. Richard only seemed to move as Edward calmed the situation and addressed him once more, the man shifting his weight on to his other leg in an impatient manner yet his face revealed no signs of such a thing. Even under Edward's stern look, Richard never faltered, he had received much more terrifying looks from bigger people and he would give them no fear or uncertainty and surely Edward was not to be the first. Richard did raise an eyebrow however, as Edward spoke rather darkly about his pokemon enduring a "malfunction" if they were not all handed over. Richard admitted to hismelf that the little science peon had some balls to spare, but men with too big a mouth and not a lot of muscle to back usually ended up dead.

"Tell you what..." Richard spoke after a few silent moments, shifting to unclip the pokeballs from his belt and gather them in a hand. "I'll tell you everything you want to know about the girl but, if any of them-" The man slipped the pokeballs between his fingers, balancing them there and presenting them before letting them drop back into his palm. "- Come back with so much as a headache, this place will burn." Of course the tone never changed from that of a flat and uninterested drone, but any man who knew anything about Richard, would know the truth behind his words.

"You threaten, I threaten, only I have much less to lose than you. You ignore my warning, this place and all of your little experiments go up in smoke and your little girlfriend does too. If we can't be civil, we can't help nobody." Carefully, Richard placed the pokeballs in Edward's palm, the hand then turning to rest in his pocket as he moved to lean on his other leg.

"So then... Lets get started."

((Okay, I'll get to those of you not mentioned tomorrow. There's some AP that needs to be granted in places... I'm fixing it tonight. If by tomorrow you think your AP needs to be adjusted, tell me and I'll investigate it ^^ Also, I'm changing the rules on weekly AP. AP will now be granted at arbitrary times, to the people who earn it. This is to prevent the massive AP overflow that was on its way to occurring before the hiatus. Send me any questions, comments, or concerns.))

The people still crowded in front of Paul seemed to be slowly waking up to the situation as his words sunk in, although those in back, unable to hear and only able to watch facial expressions, were giving one another pats on the back for successfully intimidating the clearly agitated man. It was a very slow process, but those wounded in the rush were finally being noticed and helped to their feet. The woman who had approached Paul looked at him in concern, and at Zoidberg’s anxious expressions. Something clicked, and a look of understanding horror began to slide over her face.

She nodded and picked up the gun, holding it with distaste. “I understand.” She turned to her people and began calling out names, organizing three to carry Willam and four to surround Paul and make sure he didn’t try anything violent. Those listening to her didn’t question her orders; they simply obeyed. Finally, word got passed to the back of the line to thin out and head back to the main room of the Haven. Slowly, lethargically, but with a mounting sense of urgency as those with nosebleeds realized they did not seem to be slowing. It took a while, but eventually they all wound their way back down the twisting pathways and to the open room, where Jñan and Juno were found, the former still underneath her drowzee, who got up as soon as he heard them enter, gave Juno’s hand a gentle squeeze, and went to lean drunkenly against a table.

Jñan, seeing her followers and the captured Paul, very quickly regained her feet and brushed down her skirts, sending a questioning glare out to Raj before addressing the assembled and quickly quieted masses, who had once again adopted their customary spacing. “Thank you, thank you all for bringing us this vagabond – ensure someone tends to Willam’s wounds, if you would. Bring me Mr. McCulloch so we can pass judgment. What has he done?”

“He attacked Willam!” “He murdered one of us!” “He betrayed the Haven!”

Wild accusations were shouted out as Paul was brought towards her and Juno, who seemed to be ignored at this point while Jñan asserted her control. “Is this true, Mr. McCulloch? I hope not, because if it is, I swear on the continuation of our beloved Haven that I myself will accompany you to the edge of our domain and exile you.” Her tone was wrought with authority, but her face communicated that this would likely work in both their favors.



The sneasel’s eyes widened comically as Djinn bashed its head in, and the creature missed its mark, falling to the ground disoriented, but still dangerous as it whipped its claws around to protect itself in its confusion. Talia was surprisingly thrown wide by Ulysses’ strike, but only because she held onto her weapon with an iron grip. She was slower getting up the second time than the first, but silently and determinedly, she rushed Ulysses yet again, holding the blade wide to her side almost like it was her own claw.



Marcus was left to stare at Andrej. “What… happened…” He looked at his pokémon. The rapidash, though it had thrashed, bucked, and screamed, was reduced to a flaming corpse underneath Vuk, who was weakened by the drainage, but nonetheless victorious. One ponyta was on its side and likely would not rise for a very long time, while the second, having seen its fallen fellows, was driven further and further back, then bolted into the distance, bloodied. Ptica was quite definitely the least damaged of the three, having only suffered minor burns, and the other two, while sorely wounded, would recover.

“I… I… it’s just a job. It’s something to pass the time in this… in this hell.” He started getting to his feet, eying his gun on the ground and measuring the distance between himself and Andrej. Maybe… maybe he could steal the car, get back to Beati… make this work somehow. His fingers twitched. He dove for his gun.

((+2 AP: Caleidah. Epic dispatch.))