azume | Test 4.

KNOWLEDGE

Compared to the frigid chamber you've just left, the cavern you enter now is warm.

It isn't difficult to see why; while there's still a fair amount of space in here, it's far smaller, and there's a source of heat and light in here - a small fire going near a corner of the room, tucked away behind the wall and difficult to see as you enter, but fairly obvious once you're inside, the light from the flames bouncing off the corner of the chamber and making it decidely easier to see.

There thankfully aren't any more of Froslass' "sculptures" in here; there is, however, a person. Candice is in the corner near the fire, pressed back against the wall and watching you as you enter; it's likely obvious from the start that there's something wrong with her, though it's difficult to say what just from looking at her. Her eyes aren't fixed in the same sort of dull, blank stare that the people affected by Team Galactic tend to display, but at the same time, they look viscerally wrong - it's alert but it's empty and almost completely unfocused, as though she's taking in information and she's processing it, but she's not actually seeing any of it.

It's unsettling, but she's still watching you, and she's holding something close to her chest as she does so; she's got the thick, blue sweater untied from around her waist, and she's holding it bundled in her arms like she's trying to protect it.

Her eyes don't come into focus, even as she addresses you.

"I told you that you aren't welcome here.
You need to leave. Now."

Her gaze darts as she speaks, like she's trying to take in as much as she can, even if she doesn't seem to be registering any of it properly; her expression is hard. Cold.

What happens now is up to you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Because you're not letting us!

There's nothing you can do.

You don't know that.

[Just hearing those kinds of words...it makes him go cold. There's nothing you can do. How many times has he proved somebody wrong when they say that?]

You don't know that at all.

Yes, I do.

How do you know that for sure, if you don't let us try?

Do you think you're the first ones to try?

[Don't those "statues" outside answer that question?]

What, and you think just because others have failed before, that we'd fail now? Failure alone isn't enough to stop us. It can't...be the only reason...

[He shakes his head, trying to shake off older, fonder memories, of a team once called trash.]

If...failure was enough to stop anything, we wouldn't be here...I'm sure of it.

[...okay look team galactic isn't exactly anyone's idea of "helping"

...

they're saturn's idea of "helping" and that says everything you need to know]

I'll ask you what I've been asking the others - what do you plan on doing?

Courage and ambition isn't enough.

[You know what? Fair enough.]

It's not enough, but...

[What happened after? What happened after he took that first step?]

It...it's what lets us move forward. Because of courage, we can grasp what we need. And in this case, that's...

[What is it? What is it, exactly? When he actually had the drive to pursue football, what was it he did? He trained. He practiced. He learned more about the sport, learned pass routes, learned strategies, positions, receiving, throwing...he had to accumulate the skills he needed.]

I think...we need to learn more about this place. Right now, we're just...stumbling around. We're learning about our Pokemon, but there's still things we don't know, like how they evolve, or their abilities, or...

[He laughs nervously. Wow, there's actually a lot, right?]

I...If this was a football game, I'd be practicing. I'd be...learning strategies, and learning new skills to use in the game, and...working together with my team. I think...I think that kinda thing can apply here, too.

[He puts his hands up, waving them nervously.]

P-probably...

...You can make all the analogies you want, but the fact remains that this isn't a game. You can't simply rush in all courage and bravado and assume that it's going to get you through; you can't rely on luck, and you can't rely on attempting again if you fail, because you won't have the chance.

Comparing it to one of your games is a mistake.

[...]

...If you can forgive the morbid terminology for a moment, perhaps we should consider this more akin to a war, than a game.

That would seem to be more appropriate a term.

Oh, leave him be, he can't not compare everything to football even when he isn't concussed.

...

[is he really that bad]

[that was Michael being protective of you, okay]

[with guardians like this, who needs enemies]

You're right in that courage and bravado aren't going to be enough to get us through this, and that we won't get repeats if we screw up. Trust me, I know.

But we were all pulled from different circumstances, and part of what Sena's saying isn't wrong. Practicing, learning strategies, and working as a unit will only bring us further. Comparing this to a game is a bad analogy, but allies are important, and we want you to be one of them.

U-um, right...!

[Thanks, more experienced adults in terrible things like war and destruction!]

Well no, because Cynthia is also trying to do something and she's from here, so...

[Just saying.]

But even if something doesn't work out the first time, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try again.

...It depends on how poorly the first attempt ended.

[Like, there's the riding a bike principle, and then there's the notion that if at first you don't succeed, you probably shouldn't skydive.]

Test 4.

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