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 Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 11:18 am
He took the knife and began chopping; it came naturally, having had practice since the Calamity. "We were friends and peers," he answered. "And I was born in Riverdale, but moved to Glenville for my field of study. I am- or, rather, was- an etherologist, studying the effects ether has on... well, everything really. My primary focus, however, was pokémon-ether interaction. About the time things started going wrong, I had been studying pokémon to find out what made it possible for them to use ether so freely." He sighed as his mind recalled various instances around the year or two before the Calamity; talking about then mostly reminded him of all he'd given up just to survive for Professor Oak's insane scheme.
His family. "We must go! Things are not well, can't you see it? Feel it?"
His father had answered, "Son, the world has its cycles, and this is just another low. The hardy will pull through, and we'll see another high yet. Don't go on this fool's errand for that woman. She's losing her touch with reality, spending all her time around her pokémon."
"Why won't you trust me? BELIEVE me?"
"People have been talking about the end of the world since its beginning. It's the fear of death, son, and it can have an ugly effect on people. Your mother and I, we aren't going anywhere."
His friends & peers, like his partner, Doctor Klein. "You just want to stop everything we've been doing just because she said so? We're this close to learning how to manipulate ether! No, no, you don't have to answer. I know where this is going. Goodbye, Shonevsky, and don't you come back."
His fiancee. "What nonsense is that? Ulysses, no, that's ridiculous."
A weak attempt at placation. "No! Ulysses, that's absurd! Listen to yourself: you want to go run off into the woods because that Beatrice Oak thinks the world is going to end! I've put up with your fawning and adoration for that woman for this long, but not anymore! I'm done. You can go elope with that loon off in the woods for all I care. I'm staying, and that's that."
He had given up so much that for a time he had nothing but disdain for himself for trusting so wholly in Beatrice... and yet, here he was.
Ulysses had stopped cutting, had zoned out. Upon realization, he shook his head and smiled with mild embarrassment. "Sorry. Please don't let me bore you with my talk of ether."
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Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 2:46 pm
Gerard watched the hologram in silence, absorbing it into his memory until it stopped playing. Then, he returned Justice to his Pokeball and pulled on his helmet.
"Let's get rolling, then," he said, grabbing his new TM and striding outside. He strapped it to the back of the motorcycle and climbed aboard, gunning the engine and making it roar powerfully.
Lexi liked to talk more than he did. She could probably do the explaining, and then Gerard would fill in any blanks.
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Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:47 pm
[[Sorry Isa-Sama, I've been delinquent about thanking you for the compliment, so thank you, and I'm sure you'll do fine, Juno has been fun to watch too!
Joe, how did you know Lexi would love to talk about that? mrgreen ]]
Lexi watched as her two human travel partners headed out and got back on their bikes. “O-kay then…” She let out a breath before following suit, putting her discoveries away in her backpack and getting on her bike next to Alex. Maybe, someday when the bodies had been taken away or eaten, she wasn’t being hunted and she had the freedom to explore again she could come back and mess around with what she had seen in there, but now there was just too many things…everything was just too chaotic. She pulled on her helmet and took the bike back out onto the road.
She had not been looking forward to the ride, not wanting to be left alone with the thoughts that would inevitably sneak back into her head, so she was glad that Alex asked about Dr. Oak and their adventures before she had attacked Lexi, and gladly explained as best she could. “That woman was Dr Beatrice Oak, a respected scientist, at least for most of her life, and one of the first people to predict the Calamity. She died in the prison she was put in when the governments didn’t want people to listen to what she and a few others at the time were saying about the potential for a catastrophe. The people found the truth out anyways a few years later, but we all know where that went.” Lexi grimaced as she thought about that mess, but then chuckled when another idea occurred to her. “The curious thing about her though is she didn’t seem to stay dead very well. You saw that other recording, the one on the pokedex?…well, I was six when she died, yet she knew my name. I have no idea how that happened…I wasn’t even old enough to know who she was back then, and I don’t think Mom or Dad knew her…This whole adventure has been full of stuff like that though…people knowing me when I’ve never thought I was anything worth knowing.”
She would have laughed if she knew Gerard thought she liked to talk. Normally it was her sister who got that moniker, though today, she would have had to admit he was right. Maybe she talked because she finally had people to talk to…most of her friends could care less about ether, mew dreams, adventure, or new discoveries. Now she was surrounded by people who were up to their necks in all four.
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Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:43 pm
((S'what I do. blaugh ))
Gerard stirred on his bike; his hand went up and he opened his helmet's visor.
Holy God was Gerard actually voluntarily speaking what is this I don't even
"I agree," he said, loud enough to be heard but only if they listened and focused. It seemed he still wasn't quite used to speaking in front of them, especially not when they were cruising down the road on motorcycles. "She knew who I was, though I was slightly older when she died. And she knew several other young men and women from my area. Justice - my larvitar - she had him prepared in advance with what she called "third-type abilities;" that was the fire you saw him use."
He was quiet again for a few moments. Then a minute. Then two. They thought he was done speaking when he shook his head. "I don't get it. I don't understand it at all. There's something major going on here, and I do not like being in the dark." They realized, even though his tone remained almost perfectly even and he was speaking mildly, beneath his calm facade, unrest and maybe even fear were beginning to grow. It was impressive that he could remain so calm in their situation, given that.
"I hope it all starts to make sense when we get back home," he said, though he doubted it silently to himself. "We did what we were asked, so maybe someone can tell us what's happening..."
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Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 11:30 pm
Alex never lost her faraway look as she heard the other two speak. It was as if she were more interested in the scenery than focusing on the road. "Oh. So that was what the famous Beatriz Oak looked like..." I've heard the stories and rumors about her, but never have I ever seen a picture of her. Funny how I got to see AND hear the late Dr. Oak. Funnier now that she got involved with the woman's plans.
She looked at Gerard from the corner of her eye. "A third type, eh? That must have been a difficult thing to create. I'm guessing you have a specialized pokemon as well Lexi?" It was a subtle way of asking about her pokemon's second (or would it be third?) type ability. Gerard mentioned that the woman knew more people in his area...would that mean she made more of these special pokemon? That would be something she'd have to ask later. And what if Glenville is filled with these things? Surprise type pokemon means not knowing what their full capabilities are and I don't want to have to deal with that not to mention the fact that I'm already going to be facing a lot of heat for attacking Lexi and the added fact that I came from the Exterminant on top of being an assassin and oh what if they figure I'm not worth it and I have to run away from both the Exterminant AND Glenville--
Stop. Breath. Panicking was not the right thing to do. No more fear. No more inner weakness. I said I wouldn't be a coward any longer, and I'm not going to go back on that. She wasn't even sure if there were any more of those powerful pokemon out there. Better wait to get all the facts.
Lexi stared at Gerard from the corner of her eyes. "You're afraid, aren't you?" People in general feared what they didn't know or didn't understand. "That's okay. Fear is a part of life you know. And it makes us appreciate life all the more."
- Red. Terror. Death. Screams. -
"And perhaps you won't see it like that at all. But once you've gained experience...you'll realize that you're incredibly lucky to have what you got. Knowledge doesn't always fix things." She gave Gerard a very hard stare. "Mourning the dead changes nothing," she continued. This time her eyes were dead set on Lexi.
The serious expression disappeared from her face moments after. "Thinking of the past changes nothing. Worrying for the future prevents nothing. Looking at the present means not letting anything slip by you. And that's why...I'm going to help you." She wore a sad smile on her lips. "I understand the fear of not knowing anything. If the ones in charge don't explain anything to you...I'll get you that information." She promised them that. Before we are forced to split ways, I promise to help you however I can. "And if you ever feel overwhelmed...by chaos or guilt or whatnot...well, I know what it's like. And I know you shouldn't keep it bottled - only bad things will happen. So if you want to talk, I'll listen. I'll help. I happen to have a lot of experience when it comes to that."
She grew silent after that. She wondered if she was just jabbering or if her words helped either of them in any way. I don't think I've ever spoken so much before. That was good. That meant she was growing as a person. She would become more than what the Exterminant made her be. She'd make sure of it.
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Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 11:59 pm
Gerard listened to Alex's words in silence, not even nodding to acknowledge that he heard - but he did, and the words touched him very deeply. From that point onward, he had a much stronger understanding of the type of person that Alex was; what she stood for; and he began to trust her more for it. He had a feeling that she wouldn't let them down.
Weighed down with such long thoughts, Gerard retreated into silently riding along. It wasn't much farther to Glenville now.
And that was what led them up to the present...
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 4:53 pm
Lexi had moved her bike to parallel Gerard’s more closely, and she tilted her head when he mentioned that the doctor had known other kids from Glenville… “So, wait…the message on the pokedex wasn’t the first you’d seen of her? What did she say the first time?” Lexi nodded at Alex’s first question and rubbed her neck, thinking about a side effect of the answer. “Yeah, Phoenix has been zapping my neck all afternoon and it couldn’t all have been feather static.” She wondered if the bird could hear her slight annoyance inside her pokeball. “Though It’s kinda cool actually that her third type is one she would otherwise…”…be weak too. Lexi cut herself off when she saw Alex getting nervous, but then the woman took a deep breath and seemed to drop it. It had really only been that morning that the woman had tried to kill her, so she could understand why Alex still could consider them a threat…heck, it probably would be fair to consider Alex still a threat, but she couldn’t look at her that way. Not with everything that had happened since. To Lexi, it seemed clear the woman had attacked a lie, a demon created from a few small facts blown out of proportion to fuel a war.
But were they blown out of proportion? When Gerard spoke up again, the girl was already chewing her lip under her helmet, and she couldn’t agree more that this puzzle was more full of holes than the Woodmount guard shacks. It wasn’t even being kept in the dark that bugged her the most: it was that everything she knew about the project she was trying so hard to help out with, she had heard first from a creep who had tried to kill her and her friends. She was glad to be out doing something, not just sitting around doing the same old chores that changed nothing, but… she had told Alex that she didn’t want to hurt anybody if she could help it. Was she inadvertently running all of humanity off a cliff? This whole day had felt like riding a motorcycle at the natural speed limit of the road: no time to think about the biggest choices. She wasn’t surprised he was nervous, so was she. Riding a bike was natural and familiar to her, saving the world wasn’t.
A sad smile flickered across her face when Alex looked pointedly at her. The fact about mourning changing nothing wasn’t new, but it was never a fact she liked. The smile became real though at the woman’s next few statements. She was glad to know that whatever direction she took, she wouldn’t be alone. It was becoming increasingly concerning that once she got to Glenville, she was going to be surrounded by people who expected her to follow along, people who could quickly become powerful enemies if she chose to follow a different trail than the one they laid out. She was happy that to know at least one person she knew, possibly two, were with her regardless, especially since they were almost there.
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 8:45 pm
Nayana gave Ulysses occasional sideways glances as she did her own work, alternately stripping kernels from cobs of corn or dumping them from cans into a vat. This was a man who had lost very nearly more than the dead had to the Calamity, she was realizing. And he was a man who, while the world was crumbling around him, was not troubled by a request for help with something as mundane as food.
He was impressive. "Ain't boredom, hun, but a mind without schoolin'. I got a child or two interested in that kin'a science life, though. Ah asked ya 'bout where you grew up 'cuz I done heard sumpin' 'spicious 'bout old Missus Oak's home, down south side of the river. Mostly got raided, but you know ain't a street bum sees the same value an educated man like you does. More'n that, woman had a thing for roses, and don't you know ain't no one been keepin' up her house, but they still bloom every year? Sumpin' up about that, lemme tell you. If you got time on yo' hands, I wouldn't blame you none at all if you up and gave it a look; Lord knows her boys ain't touched the place since she passed. But if you stayin' here, I got about twenty pounds of tomatoes those ladies in the back'd be mighty happy to have off they hands." She gave Ulysses a softer grin and went back to her work. Maybe she'd finally shed some light on how that woman had a green thumb even when she was dead. Humph. Some people. Takin' secrets to they grave.
---
"Lemme get something ready real quick." The boy, having made his theatrical entrance, vanished into the darkness of a side alley, from which a series of loud and unnecessary noises quickly sounded.
Jñan's gracious smile and nod to Juno as she relinquished the vial was swiftly and briefly interrupted by a smirk. Whatever he was preparing, it would do him no good. All of the wiring out this far had been cut years ago to discourage wandering. And besides, if Willam hadn't gotten Juno's bike, then there was no way all three of them were getting out - the Haven didn't keep that kind of transportation on ha...
With a monstrous roar, made even more so by the amplifying tunnels, a premium Harley Davidson chopper tore into the main passage, banked too hard to avoid running into the wall, skidded to the ground, puttered for a bit before Willam could shift it to neutral, and then was slowly righted as the deflated boy attempted to salvage some machismo by flicking his hair out of his face. His voice a little shaky after the fall, he grinned triumphantly at Juno and said, "You can ride with me, babe."
There was nothing Jñan could do. She knew Willam would no longer listen to her. She recalled the snorlax to its pokéball, folded her arms, and gazed calmly at the other three as she waited for them to depart. It was time to start wondering who needed to be informed of what. At least one thing had worked.
---
On the readouts in the Oaks' lab, a sudden spike in power first blacked, then whited out the entire section of the screen that had presumably contained Elian and the Oblivion. The arctic debate that had been going on between Edward and Richard abruptly ended as they stared at the Oracle's apparently awesome power. The professor blinked in shivering silence for a few moments while even Richard showed vague signs of concern, then fumbled with a phone, licked his lips, and began ordering that a small team of motorcyclists investigate the tiny white blip that remained. Richard snatched his pokémon, having given up their identities, and left, meeting Benjamin Halloway on the way. A few moments after they were gone, Edward found Sigmund, pulled him into the lab, and locked the door behind him.
"Two things, Sig. First, where in God's name is Jacob Thatcher?"
"I- I don't-"
"Second, you need to fix this." He pulled a tiny, silver piece of paper out of his pocket and slammed it into his brother's chest. "She's your project; you figure out what the hell that madman was doing in the Haven. I don't know why I even let myself get involved." With that, he turned back to managing his screens and attempting to decipher their mother's codes in stony silence, letting his brother read the message that had been sent to him with trembling lips and an ashen face.
"Everything is falling apart..." he whispered. "Talia... Jacob... the Light... the Oracle..."
"Everything is falling apart and we are the only God damn people on this God damn planet who can fix it so shut your God damn mouth and do your part! Sigmund," he said more quietly, catching his breath after his tirade and noticing his brother's crumbling features, "we can do this. That's why we have backup plans, remember?" He put a hand on Sigmund's shoulder. "Mom gave us all the tools we need. Let's use them."
After a short moment of silence, while they both returned to a more relaxed state, the Oak brothers went about their newest tasks, as always keeping Glenville on its feet and their mother from falling entirely into her grave.
((I'll get the rest of you later; got tuckered out tonight. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow! Bee-tee-dubs, I'm seeing some awesome character development/interaction going on - AP for everyone.))
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:33 pm
"Oh, hell," Paul muttered under his breath as Willam cruised out like an idiot. Sheesh. There had been no reason to be afraid of him. Paul probably could've dropped him with a little CQC, he hadn't needed Zoidberg to do anything. Would've kept the psychic going a little longer, too. Hindsight was always 20:20, though, and Paul couldn't forget the boy might have reclaimed his Glock, which was as threatening in inexperienced hands as any weapon ever was.
"Nice drifting," Paul told Willam. "I'm always willing to take you, Juno," Paul added, smirking slightly. He then grew serious again. "We're wasting time here. Juno, mount up wherever you're riding and let's get moving. Willam, you lead the way. Jñan, I would apologize for wrecking your pokémon, but I'm not actually sorry since you tried to kill me, so forget that. They'll get better." Paul revved his motorcycle's engine, and released the clutch just enough to slide forward an inch or two. "Let's move, folks."
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Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:00 pm
((While on the OoC topic of compliments, I've always enjoyed following those confident, unrepentant and self-assured characters- like Paul. Always manage to amuse me for some reason.))
Beatrice's place? That sent a bit of a shiver down his spine, but he did his best not to show it. Instead he raised his eyes to meet hers, curiosity simply brimming. An empty home with perfectly blooming flowers was an oddity, but if they were Beatrice's...
Well it was hard to tell just exactly what that could mean. All sorts of questions flitted through his mind. The chopping was finished.
"I don't mean to revoke my offer so quickly, ma'am, but I think I will go take a look. If ever there's a moment to spare, though, you can be sure I'll do what I can to help. I'm sure Sigmund and Edward would have been down with scurvy by now if it weren't for you and company, and any help to them is a help to us all." He paused to add emphasis to what came next, and approached.
Gently gripping her shoulders, offering warm words and displaying a soft smile, he said, "And thank you, honestly, ma'am. I greatly appreciate what you do here, and the burden you've taken by putting the precious young in harm's way. I promise I won't let it get them- any of them. You have my word."
Then he left, pulling on his jacket, slinging his shotgun over one shoulder, and double-checking all three of his pokémon were present within their etheric containers; they were and so he left, headed for the abandoned Oak house, still filled to the brim with memories and mysteries no doubt.
Silently he hoped that there was nothing particularly special about those roses- because if there was it could only mean more hard work for him and his special friends.
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 8:17 am
((You would think he'd never been wrong in his life. That would not be true, at all. it is just infrequent enough that he doesn't worry much about it.
And thank you. XD))
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 1:15 pm
As Alex, Lexi, and Gerard got to know one another better, the bright sun overhead had begun to fall slowly towards the horizon, the blazing heat of the day finally through. Their travels took them again past the place where a small organ still stood, a baton once more beside it, and the odd patterns of leaves still rustling faintly in the wind nearby. Gerard, a spark of curiosity lighting his eye, called for a halt, and the three stepped off their motorcycles. As soon as they did and the dust had settled down, three notes played on the organ, in a major chord: "Baaa, ba-baah!" And then there was silence again. Clearly, the youths were expected to do something.
((The solfége and count for that, for the musically-inclined, are:
Dooo mi-sooooo!
1 + 2 + 3 + 4
Ask if that is unclear ^^))
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 1:38 pm
After waiting for a few moments to see if anything else happened, Gerard determined that whatever happened next would be of their own doing. He signaled for the girls to stay back as he strode into the clearing.
Picking up the baton, Gerard tapped it four times against the organ pipes of the instrument next to him. Keeping the beat of what they had just heard, he tried experimentally conducting the piece that had played.
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 1:49 pm
Gerard's attempt, while valiant, was met with no response at all.
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Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 4:11 pm
[[*Shaula walks over to the piano and starts trying to find 'do'*
Could that be...[ the main pokemon theme ] the organ's playing to us?
I put my guess in white so the rest of you can figure it out for yourselves and come up with your own answers if you desire.
I'm not that musically literate, but I can understand 'Do, Rei, Mi' and your beat system...I think...]]
Here’s that place again… Lexi thought as the caravan pulled towards the musical clearing. She had wanted to stop when she had passed it earlier, but last time there had been someone waiting on her, and this time too, since they seemed to be expected back in Glenville. She took a deep breath that was destined to become another sigh at having to pass the place up in favor of time. However, this time, the oddity of the place didn’t seem to be as lost on Gerard as it had been before and he called for a stop. When Lexi pulled off her helmet, it was obvious to anyone who bothered looking that she was glad for the chance to stop there.
Her ears perked up at the notes that came from the organ…she wasn’t sure, but they almost sounded familiar. Unfortunately the sound died before her uncertainty and she was left to wonder in the silence. She started to wander up to the organ, but froze at Gerard’s signal, her confusion deepening as his swishing of the baton through the air failed to induce any further reaction. When it was clear his idea wasn’t going anywhere, she walked up and began to study the organ, looking all around it before settling on its bench, not having seen anything that could have produced its self-playing capabilities. She had to agree with him, that it felt like there was some action that they were supposed to perform. This place was waiting, it was something she could just feel, like trapped energy…
She began tapping on the keys, trying to find the combination that the organ had played on its own. When she found the first note, she used it to try to find the second and then the third by mimicking the rhythm she had heard. Then one set rang true, and her ears shifted again in the same recognition. She had heard that pattern before…but where?
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