Test 9.

[azumods]

SPACE The base in Eterna City is neither as large nor imposing as the Veilstone building; however, you've likely noticed by now that it's just as odd-looking, if not moreso. Located in the northwestern portion of town, it stands at the epicenter of the spatial disturbances plaguing the city; it doesn't seem unaffected by them - there are parts of it that seem...out of place, the building itself just as patchwork as the rest of the surrounding area - but it still seems structurally sound and the door is still in place and looks like it belongs to the original building. So it'll probably take you where you want to go upon walking through it. Probably. That said, while it's not the best idea to kick down the front doors and hope no one notices, it doesn't seem that you have much of a choice; unlike the Veilstone base, there doesn't seem to be another entrance. So it's either front doors or nothing; hopefully there isn't anything too hostile immediately inside. There don't seem to be any guards stationed outside the building, at least - it seems that they're staying inside just as much as the locals are. Either that or they have other reasons for not being around. On the one hand, Dialga may have given you some idea of what you're likely in for eventually; on the other, Palkia is an entirely different creature, holding dominion over another aspect of the universe entirely. Hopefully you've steeled yourselves, either way; best of luck to you.

Comments

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael...turns immediately to Emmeryn, because he knows his strengths and showing the appropriate amount of empathy for tiny living things isn't one of those!]

[radiantflame]

There are only three Lake Guardians, correct?

[Is this a bonus Guardian??]

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah. Three Lake Guardians, Palkia and Dialga, Cresselia and Darkrai...

[Well, he only knows of so many gods.]

No way that's Arceus, right?

[takestheblame]

It could be another deity, unrelated to them. This world seems to have a lot of deities.

[He can kind of understand that. The average person from Japan knows shintoism and Japanese myths have quite the amount of deities, too]

[semistableman]

This place has quite the pantheon.

[divinedescendant]

Oh, my...

[AH, YES, HER AREA OF EXPERTISE; GOOD CALL...... She keeps her hands folded neat in front of her instead of just grabbing and getting fingerprints all over the weird bubble this creature lives in or whatEVER is going on here, but she is going to get close enough to try peering in there to get a better look—if it's lower than eye level she'll even crouch to meet it so she isn't looming over it.]

Hello? Can you hear me?

[Oblivious to the gravity of the situation, Duma shuffles around in the sand behind her, making a mess and trying to figure out if he likes this or not.]

[azumods]

[It doesn't speak, though after a while you'll definitely get the feeling that it can hear you perfectly well; it's not something that's told to you, it's not even an idea - it's just something you know, as simply as one knows their name.]

[divinedescendant]

[......weird. but all right. she'll take it.

CONTINUING ON AS THOUGH SHE ISN'T JUST CROUCHED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BEACH TALKING TO AN ORB WHILE THE SQUAD JUST WATCHES AND HER STUPID ORB SON THROWS SAND AROUND, THEN]

My name is Emmeryn. My friends and I are passing through; we mean no harm, but you have my apologies if we have disturbed you. Are you all right in there?

[azumods]

[And when the answer comes it's once again not something you hear, but rather something you're aware of - not a thought or something you know this time, but something you feel, a tiredness that seeps in through your entire body, the pull of gravity seeming to have an almost irresistible drag through your core and down your limbs, the sort of exhaustion that makes you just want to lie down in the sand and close your eyes for an indeterminate period of time.]

[eudaimonikos]

Big mood.

[divinedescendant]

What?

[eudaimonikos]

Don't sweat it, dudette.

[divinedescendant]

[SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT DUDETTE MEANS EITHER]

[divinedescendant]

[that's just kind of her lowkey all the time

But her voice does come quieter, if ever soft and gentle, and she shifts her weight just so like she means to keep herself steady.]

What can we do for you, dearest?

[azumods]

[There's a pause, before another one of those odd feelings trickles into your head.

It wants to see you. Can it see you?]

[divinedescendant]

Of course, love. I am right here. Is there anything you need me to do?

[azumods]

[Apparently all it needed is the confirmation, because the answer to that question seems to be "no."

...The resulting action seems to be a sudden burst of light beaming directly into Emmeryn's goddamn chest.

It's pink and soft, flowing back and forth in what's definitely a connecting thread between Emmeryn and the creature, and what happens next is between Emmeryn and Manaphy alone - Emmeryn will find that she quite suddenly knows things, rather intimately and incredibly intensely. The biting coldness of the deep seas, the feeling of being perpetually adrift and at peace with the world, what it's like to communicate with the leviathans and the common fish alike that populate the waters, what happens in the minds of the adventurers trying to find themselves again by taking on the waves. The sense that something is coming, but not understanding or knowing what or why; the fear that comes with watching the seaside city to the east being completely unmade.

What it's like to watch the world end, again and again, to be unable to connect with the hearts of people and Pokémon anymore and the frightening, all-consuming despair that comes with the sudden realization, the crushing knowledge that you're cut off from the rest.

Emmeryn won't feel anything strange happening to her own memories; those are entirely intact. But with all of this from Manaphy also comes the notion that it knows just as much about her as she does about it.

The thread remains unbroken for a long moment, during which she won't be able to move or respond to very much, but eventually it will fade and movement will be restored.]

[niceoppai]

Whoa... D'you need something, little guy?

[Rolly, left unsupervised for the moment, starts rolling again, down the beach and probably into someone.]

[azumods]

[The answer isn't exactly in words, or anything that can be described as individually coherent; it's just something that you know, something that you experience and feel rather than an active thought.

It isn't sure if it needs something. It doesn't know what it needs right now.]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael crouches down in front of the barrier, presses his hands together in front of his mouth in a moment of deep thought, and:]

I have some of that coffee you can buy in bottles. The caramel latte ones.

[niceoppai]

Yeah, and -- and we got food! I mean, we're sorta lost right now, we're trying to fix the whole space thing an' save Palkia.

[semistableman]

Sorry if we spooked you.

Kinda got spooked myself.

[azumods]

[The answer comes in the form of an awareness, a sudden sense of just knowing and understanding rather than anything that's expressed in words, it's just a feeling you have.

It's okay. It knows you're not here to hurt it. It can tell.]

[takestheblame]

We won't hurt you, don't worry.

[Reassurances come first when meeting deities, he figures]

[azumods]

[The answer isn't in words, nor is it in ideas or even thoughts, really; it's just knowledge that one knows, thoroughly and innately.

It knows that you're not here to harm it. It appreciates the gesture, though.]