Arrival.

[azumods]

GREETINGS. Several days through the woods seems to have at least been preferable than several days through snow; it's seen several evolutions, as well as new friends joining you along the way. It's been a long trip, but not an altogether unpleasant one, and when the route through the forest finally opens up back onto open road, it's a relatively short walk to Floaroma Town. This place is much smaller than any of the cities you've been to so for; it's a tiny town in the relative middle of nowhere, surrounded by vast fields of flowers and large, open meadows. It's peaceful, for lack of a better word, and likely far more welcoming than it could have been given the recent improvements in the people lately. You'll be getting in sometime late afternoon; given that the town is so small, it seems that the people here are definitely noticing you - there are a fairly large number of you in your group, after all, especially to all be traveling together. Not like that's a bad thing; they certainly don't seem to think it is. But it is noticeable, and as such you're going to have a few people that seem...dully interested in your sudden appearance. Although it's worth noticing that not all of the people noticing your arrival are locals - there's someone here that you might want to meet eventually... [OOC: Welcome to the end of Week 9! As of this log, you'll be gaining a new party member; feel free to come say hello! No NPC response will be given to this post, though you can thread here amongst yourselves if you wish; we'll see you tomorrow at noon with a new log for your further adventures!]

Comments

[bloodspent]

We're trying to help them. First of all because Team Galactic messed with them and they're all injured as hell, second because we were told they might be able to help us get back where we came from, and probably most pressingly because we don't like the shit that's going on here and we've decided we're gonna save everyone, and the gods are our best bet for doing that.

[gekkaju]

[And when you're in a situation with no other solution...of course you're going to go after the one thing that might be your ticket back home. It makes sense when Jake puts it that way.]

It sounds like a pretty tall order, helping and getting help from gods. But...it's not one of the strangest things I've ever heard. From what Aya-chan was saying, if Uxie and Azelf are like the gods you're talking about, you've been doing an okay job with them so far.

[bloodspent]

...Uxie was the one that tried to kill us and fucked up a local, but we got it to work out.

[AYA WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY THAT MADE IT SOUND LIKE UXIE WENT AT ALL WELL]

The Lake Guardians are gods, though. That Cyrus guy that I'm sure you've heard about has a few of the other gods around here under his control, that's how he did all of this in the first place.

I'm not telling you this shit to scare you or make you decide not to come with us, I'm telling you because it's only fair that you know what the stakes are.

[gekkaju]

Geeze...

[IT'S PROBABLY MORE LIKE WHAT SHE DIDN'T SAY...ommission is a hell of a thing, and from Atsushi's perspective it was just really fucking cold for the most part.]

No, I...I appreciate knowing. I'd rather know what's going on than be how I have been the last few weeks with no real plan or idea of what to do. The only change I've seen from here is that these townsfolk have been talking to me a little more than they used to...reacting to stuff a little more like I'd have expected them to, maybe.

[bloodspent]

Yeah, they've been doing better. When we first woke up here, they weren't really reacting to anything. I think Team Galactic calls what they knocked out of 'em "spirit"? I hate using their words for it, but it's close enough - it's willpower, the desire to make their lives better, and emotions that they took out, I'm pretty sure. Just blank-slated the shit out of everyone, humans and pokemon both. Shit was real weird for a while.

[gekkaju]

That's...taking away everything that makes you conscious, at that point.

[Well, perhaps not everything. They're all still alive, but...that's about it. Why would someone seek to do such a thing? What purpose would it serve?]

Guess they weren't expecting any opposition, in that case.

[If you've wiped all the people and Pokemon of their spirit...there's no one left to oppose you.]

[bloodspent]

Yeah, exactly. So we're trying to do it ourselves.

We haven't met Cyrus yet, we don't actually know shit about him. But we've met two of his commanders - one of them seemed to be the tech guy and the closest thing they have to a diplomat, he goes by Saturn. He's not really on board with Cyrus' vision anymore; unfortunately, he's also brainwashed and fucking insane, so he's going to keep opposing us until he dies, I'm pretty sure.

The woman we've dealt with, Jupiter, is less brainwashed but she's also on a power trip. Less civil than Saturn, but more predictable. Give her a box cutter, it'll end up in your kidneys. Straightforward.

We haven't met Mars yet, but apparently she's running around the region somewhere. No idea what that one's deal is.

[gekkaju]

[GREAT, GOOD, we have information despite it not being very optimistic, that's at least better than nothing.]

So Cyrus is the leader, and Saturn, Jupiter, and...Mars...

[There's. A theme, he's realizing.]

His commanders. Brainwashed and powerful, but outnumbered. Do you know yet if there are any others besides these four? Because it sounds a lot like we were supposed to be used for something. Camilla-san said that you all woke up in a place similar to where I did, two months ago.

[bloodspent]

[He likes this kid. There's a reason he's telling him all this shit and the kid seems to get it; being informed is better than getting the nice version and going in blind.]

There used to be another commander, but Saturn said he was removed from his position. No idea what he did, but apparently his behavior was "undesirable."

Other than that, they've got a fucklot of people. Underlings, sort of an army. They're all mindwiped really bad, though, so they don't act without being ordered around. Saturn protects his, Jupiter doesn't care if they die.

You probably woke up in a bad wig and a stupid as fuck outfit. That's the uniform for the underlings.

[...Yeah.]

[gekkaju]

That's...exactly what happened, actually.

[Wtf is up with the wig, the uniform he gets, but the wig...]

I think I'm starting to understand why we were brought here, now. However they managed to get us in the first place, anyway.

[He doesn't remember it, but it would make sense to want to bolster your army by pulling in more and more people, mindwiping them in a similar fashion so they had no free will to fight back.

The mention of another commander gives him pause, though.]

You think...this other commander might have tried to stop them, somehow? Maybe that's why he was removed?

[And if there's a possibility he's still out there...]

[bloodspent]

I dunno - Saturn didn't really go into specifics.

[...We are just gonna be assuming Charon is the hero of the goddamn people because goddamn, I guess.]

[gekkaju]

[That's ominous, but...Atsushi is going to choose to assume that he was good, yeah. That's far better than the alternative.]

I'm not gonna lie- that's a lot to take in.

[He knew something was bad wrong, but between kidnap happy cults and enraged gods from other worlds...it's more than he bargained for.]

But I'd rather not face all of that alone if given the choice.

[bloodspent]

Yeah, that's pretty much our thoughts, too. We don't split off alone and do anything stupid; do what you want when we're stopped in a city for a few days, but generally we stick together.

You got a name, if you're going to be coming with?

[gekkaju]

Nakajima Atsushi. But...Atsushi is fine.

I'll do everything I can to help out.