Since finishing the tutorial quests and in theory getting to grips with the basics of the game, Nero had taken to doing a lot of wandering. If anyone asked, he'd call it 'exploring' of course, but that implied that he was actively seeking out adventure and intrigue, rather than just... well, wandering around. Quest markers would pop up on his interface, battle requests, NPC conversations, all sorts of things that he could choose to interact with if he wanted to, and yet he continually walked on without doing so. And he couldn't entirely put his finger on why.

It was a nervousness that he couldn't quite shake, a hesitance to engage in something that he might not be able to do. A desire to gather more information, more passive experience to ensure that any attempt that he did make at the actual gameplay couldn't possibly go wrong. But... what more was he waiting for? What sign was he looking for that would tell him that he was finally ready? He knew all the basics well enough by now, and if he was worried about quests having new mechanics that he wasn't aware of, well how was he going to learn about them without actually trying one out? If he didn't ignore the lingering fear and actually dive into something, he'd be wasting his days away on a glorified walking simulator, which...

Actually, that still sounded rather good, didn't it? Maybe that's why he'd let it go on for so long already.

Leaning back against what appeared to be an old well of some sorts, Nero had been on the brink of deciding to scan through the quest notifications he'd collected recently when a new one popped up at the top of the list. There wasn't a whole lot of information available to read through about it, just an objective telling him to board something called 'The Wishmaker', but the starting point was right here beside him. Standing up straight again, he turned to look into the well, catching sight of a rope ladder leading down inside of it, though as he leaned over the hole itself, he couldn't yet see anything at the bottom.

This almost seemed like fate, and it would be rude to ignore something so poignant, wouldn't it? It was probably the game just picking up on what he was doing, like how the adverts on social media changed to whatever you'd been talking about, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth here. Wasting only a few beats more in thought, he soon found himself clambering over the brickwork and down the ladder itself, the usual grin fixing itself onto his lips at how realistic the climbing felt despite his real world legs remaining as stationary as always. That had been the main draw of wandering - the ability to climb and jump and run and all sorts, uninterrupted and with no necessary goal in mind. Stepping away from that freedom and into a more goal-oriented task sent another shimmer of butterflies through his stomach, twirling the thoughts in his mind in circles as he began to descend into the well. Didn't people usually make wishes in these things?

Wish me luck. Perhaps not the most specific of wishes, but the buzzing in his head could fill in the rest. He wished to succeed in the quest, to look like a natural while doing it, to not embarrass himself, to be useful if this ended up being a team activity of some sort, to leave a positive impression on the people around him. And he'd need a healthy dose of luck for all of that.

He had been too focused on the position of his hands and feet to really notice his surroundings as he finally stepped off the ladder onto what appeared to be a wooden floor. A floor that was moving. A moment later, his gaze had taken in the rest of the ship, and Nero was left blinking in surprise at an environment he had absolutely not expected to himself in. Board the Wishmaker. That must be the name of the ship. And the voice now greeting him must belong to the captain of the ship then. A captain... with a dog's tail?

Nero only stared in silence for a while, leaving an awkward gap in the limited conversation, before eventually taking a step away from the ladder and looking over the ship once more. "Cool..." What more was there to say?

“Over here!”

Despite the dreary atmosphere of the church, Saint was beaming, practically hopping on his heels. He was keenly aware of The Captain’s adventures, and this time, he was excited. For once, he wasn't the sole reluctant crew taken into the jaws of danger. And the boat—

“Here, Silvermoon! In the well!” The expected objective prompt popped into his list of quests.

His hands met the mossy brick of the old well, moving onto the rope ladder. “Ah, be careful coming down the ladder. It’s a bit slippery, but it should hold. Let me go first.” The idea that he’d catch them went without saying. He swung his legs over the brick and onto the ladder, descending carefully into the darkness, surrounded by the scent of moss and damp stone.

And like a beacon through the storm, the glimmering ship deck came into view. Saint jumped off the last few rungs, smiling with eyes alight as a familiar voice welcomed him aboard.

“Hi C— I mean, ahoy Captain!” he chuckled, giving the man a little salute. It felt right, especially here. “Hey, you got your tricorn back.” His eyes flicked up and down, from the familiar tricorn to the golden seashells on his coat. And of course, that wagging feather duster. “Your whole outfit… very seaworthy.” He tilted his head. "A sea dog?"

And it was no exaggeration to say the ship was a work of art. Its sails gleamed with ethereal threads—perhaps solar-powered? But there wasn’t a hint of a sun in this strange, contained space.

Yet it hummed with potential. The call of adventure.

There were already a few others around. He could see a player called Nero taking in the sights as well, and orioncayge he recognized from the raid in pirate gear, busy chatting. Saint turned back to the Captain. “I brought my friend! If there’s anyone who’d want to help us get our wishes back, it’s Silvermoon.” The objective was admittedly a bit curious; he wondered if old wishes were considered. He only ever made one, when he visited the church a long time ago, tailing after his starter into a terrifying cult—

"I wish we'll be safe."

It was a wish he hoped would stick.

Saint looked around. “Could we see the bridge? I’m curious how you steer this ship. It’s incredible.”

Ruby had only ever walked past this well before and had never thought anything of it before. It wasn't until one of her daily walks took her close to the well that a Quest suddenly appeared. She blinked, and blinked again, still unused to all the UI, always trying to minimize most of it as possible.

She just stared at the Well for a long time, debating on what to do. Should she just go home and ignore it? She was feeling kind of tired, but then again, what kind of adventure awaited her? Maybe it wasn't going to be that dangerous? What if it was just something innocent and fun, and she walked away from it fearing the worst?

Pulling her backpack off her shoulders, she'd examine the soft blue egg sitting in her bag. She's had it for so long, and she doesn't even know what might be inside it. But, maybe it just wanted adventure? Could a Pokémon see beyond its shell and choose when it hatched? Did it need something specific? She didn't know, but it hasn't hatched yet doing her normal daily tasks, she might just have to step outside her comfort zone to find out.

Ruby had just let out a long sigh, finally making up her mind. "This is stupid, I'm going to feel so silly in a few hours. I bet the egg still won't even hatch," she mumbled to herself, climbing down the ladder into the well.

I hope, I wish, whatever this silly quest is, it's at least fun.

At the bottom, aboard a boat within a well, her eyes would widen dramatically looking all around. This felt straight out of the Goonies. Only, it wasn't a pirate ship, and it wasn't filled with skeletons. Probably.

And it seemed she wasn't the only person to have descended down the well, finding quite a few other people and a familiar face in orioncayge. But, what was this about a Wish Beast?

"... Uh," was all Ruby said at first, her eyes blinking slowly in confusion. "Is it like, a Pokemon? How did anyone even build a ship down here?" She looked back up the well, curiously wondering how long it would take to drop all the lumber down from above.

It wasn't long before more players had climbed down the well to presumably join the quest that they'd seen advertised too. While it had been something of a surprise to Nero that his tutorials had needed to involve other players, in this setting it made a lot more sense. While he'd already mostly forgotten the wording that had drawn him towards this particular adventure, the man in front of him had said something about a beast, right? And this was an entire ship, not just some little row boat. It made perfect sense that this was going to be a group activity - and good, because Nero still had very little idea of what he was actually doing in this game.

As the first player landed heavily down on the deck besides the ladder though, Nero was surprised to see the new person stride straight past him towards the figure with the quest marker. Okay, that was fair, that was probably first priority here, but even after their introduction to the quest-giver was done, they didn't even look towards Nero. They instead seemed to be distracted by something on their screen - the customisation screen presumably judging by the change of clothes. Nero found himself hovering awkwardly a few steps behind them, wondering whether it was now too late to try to introduce himself. In his tutorial quests, the people he'd been working with had been quick and eager to talk to him (to the point that it had been quite annoying actually), so he'd just assumed all quests would be like that. Apparently not, and as much as he had criticised the overly friendly hand-holding style of those first interactions, he was quickly missing the ease of them now.

No matter - there would be more people shortly, and he'd just have to act faster to speak to them. A few moments later, another player came down to the ship and started off by greeting the... NPC? They didn't have the 'NPC' tag though, but maybe that was only a thing in the tutorial areas? Whatever the case, this person, 'Saint' judging by their name tag', actually turned around to make eye contact with him rather than disappearing into their screens without acknowledgement, and so Nero leapt on the opportunity before it could pass him by with a "... hi."

Well, that was pathetic. Silence was probably better than that actually.

When the next person came down then shortly after, Nero took a step back and dipped his head a little, happy to be ignored this time and already wondering if he could just climb straight back up the ladder without anyone noticing. Maybe when he'd played the game a little more and got a little more confidence, or maybe when he could bring some friends along Saint seemed to have done, he'd be better equipped for something like this. But no, there was someone else on the ladder already, so no hope of sneaking away now.

As they landed on the deck too and looked towards them, Nero only gave an awkward nod in greeting, not trusting his silly little baby-sounding voice (even if it had probably sounded perfectly normal to everyone but himself) enough to attempt another hello. Maybe five had been the maximum number of players, because on Ruby's question, the possibly NPC captain character began to launch into an explanation of their quest. Nero's gaze had followed his towards the odd little star creatures floating above them that he hadn't noticed until that very moment. They were surprisingly cute actually - were they Pokemon? Not one that Nero recognised, certainly, but then he'd already come across many of those already.

Unfortunately, he was not given much time to dwell on this intriguing little sighting before the atmosphere on the ship suddenly shifted sharply. Shouts and cries suddenly had him jumping in surprise, and the sudden violent rocking of the ship had him stumbling to the ground, grabbing hold of a crate just before he hit the deck in order to lower himself down slightly more gracefully. Orders were being shouted but Nero missed all of them as he tried and failed to clamber back to his feet, eventually looking around when he was upright once more to see everybody already scattered to the winds, all looking as though they had a mission to complete...

Frozen in indecision, Nero stared around at the other player characters, searching for guidance from someone with a little more experience than he had. They'd all seemed to know each other after all, so they mist have been around much longer than him. Taking a moment to try and steady his rather confused nerves, he took a few wobbly steps forwards towards a net that had been pointed to by one of the crew, holding it loosely in his hand without really knowing what to do with it. He could lay it out flat, would that help? Crouching and attempting to unfold the mess of rope, he kept glancing up to those around him in search of a more helpful task he could be doing, or even just acknowledgement that he wasn't just in the way.

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It was subtle, wasn't it?  

Some dream gobbling beast had eaten his wish that his best friends would join him, and then the one time his friends turned his adventure down happened?  Had Laguna not replied he would have been certain the game had intercepted his message and actively worked against his wish, just to rile him up to punch whatever this weird not whale thing was in the face till it coughed his wish up amidst a myriad of mercy's.  

It was so fucking on.

The ship rocked and rolled and Orion turned to face the rest of the team that had assembled.  He was certain he'd seen some of these players before in other events, though he could probably count on his fingers and toes the amount of words he'd said to them collectively.  That would change rather quickly as he would call out to the team.  

"It'll be back faster than you can say Ishmael!  Let's get the rubber out of our knees and ready our canons to fuck it's wish eatin day up!"  With a flick of his wrist he would release Achilles the incineroar and turn to it.  "Get as many of those harpoon guns loaded as possible bud, we might have to sacrifice accuracy for quantity on this one!"

The cat would salute him and reply "On it boss!" before dashing for the side of the ship to begin his work, leaving Orion to scan the crowd.  Silvermoon  had already called out a mon and was busy to work, but one of the new faces seemed like he was having a hard time with the net they were working on, and were probably scared witless by what was going on.  He would dash forward and join Nero in untangling the net, clapping him on the shoulder.

"You're doin great bud, keep it up!"  

He could remember his first big event, watching a horde of Codies eating the caldera byte by byte, standing knee deep in a digital Armageddon and how overwhelmed he felt.  This game was so real and lifelike that it made even the most minor of things seem major. 

"If we work together this'll go off without a hitch!"

Ruby didn't quite understand, but she didn't need to fully process it all. Literal manifestations of Wishes were being formed by the wishes they made as they climbed down. They just happened to be incredibly cute and adorable. The teen-appearing trainer quickly leaned over the side of the ship, looking out at all the wishes.

"Oh my god," She began, admittedly distracted from the briefing Captain was giving. "They're stars." Ruby would turn back in awe, a grin wide across her face. "You say, they used to be everywhere? Filling the sky?" She grew lost in her thoughts. To travel by the lights of the hopes and dreams of hundreds, if not thousands of people, was such a romantic dream.

She rarely ever got involved in these events. Anything more involved than the two parties she went to tended to not really be her scene. First had turned into a murder scene real quick filled with evil corruption monsters, and the second one played nightmares with her brain and tried to control her dreams. So not really a great track record for her casual parties there either.

But this, this had her attention.

Something was literally eating, devouring wishes. Destroying dreams in a most literal manner and she felt almost obligated to act. As Queen of the Dream World, her duties didn't fade as soon as she woke.

Hopes, Wishes, Dreams, they weren't always that different, she imagined.

As soon as the beast came into view, Ruby's fist clenched. Without even thinking, she activated her UI intentionally and began purchasing move upgrades for her Pokemon. It was like nothing she had seen before, but for perhaps the first time, she was allowing herself to actually Play the Game.

It dawned on her that her wish for fun was out there floating amidst the others, she refused to allow it to come to harm. Ruby quickly tossed out her Pokémon, Mr. Crime the Mr. Mime. Upon seeing himself on a boat, he seemed to dawn an invisible Captain's Hat, standing straight up, leaning back and forth with the rocking of the vessel.

"Come on, we got a job to do!" Ruby called out, running past her friends towards the back of the ship as her Pokémon swiftly followed along. As she passed by orioncayge and Nero, Ruby called out quickly to the two of then. "If I fall overboard, tell Mom I'll be home by dinner time!"

Once at the very back of the ship, her Mr. Mime had that signature evil grin on his face, but at the moment Ruby couldn't care less. His talents would be far more useful than how much he unnerved her. "Alright, those Wishes are sitting ducks. So... We're gonna give him another target. Make him think we have a Wish."

She gulped nervously, steeling her nerves. "Dazzling Gleam! Now!"

Mr. Crime, gave the most smug grin he has ever had. Twirling on his feet, hands held up and outstretched. Suddenly, a bright ball of shining, glimmering light would form between his hands before being launched upwards into the air. An intensely bright beacon, hopefully drawing the aggression of the hungry Wish-Eating Beast.

"... Hope this isn't a mistake. But we're committed now."

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Orion watched with a mix of wonder, awe, and anxiety as their plans snapped together like the various pieces of Mouse Trap.  Attacks, harpoons and nets fell together like a rude goldberg machine to catch Willy for his whaley crimes against wishes in this well.  When the net was cast and the beast brought to bear, Orion couldn't help but let out a triumphant roar.

"FUCK YEAH LET'S GET EM GANG!" 

Orion would slap Nero on the shoulder and shoot him a beaming grin before doing a lap and giving the rest of the team a series of high fives.  Then the captain spoke and Orion was back to buisnes.  Sure, they'd caught the wishtaker, but now they needed to take the wishes back from the beast.  It wasn't like he was just gonna puke it up himself right?

"I'm on it!  Last one in the whale is a rotten egg!"

Achilles looked at his master with a bit of exasperation and excitement as his master flung himself overboard, diving headfirst into the beasts mighty maw and into the darkness below.  The cat shook his head for a moment before hopping up onto the railing, slapping his elbow twice, and dropping an elbow bomb into the darkness after him.

...

Man this was a long drop, like, beyond the type of shit you usually see in this sort of game.  He wasn't sure what he was expecting honestly, after all this big fuckin thing ate stars n stuff for breakfast, clearly he needed to have like a galactic gut to keep himself from getting a tummy ache right?  Yet as Orion's eyes adjusted to the darkness he found the subtle glimmer of fading flashes of light filling his expanding irises.  How many countless wishes had this cruel thing gobbled up?  How many coins had been cast for naught?  How much hope had been shattered by this monster?  Orion's jaw clenched in rage, thinking about all of the errant wishes he'd made in his life. 

I wish that were me, I wish I could get an A in algebra, I wish Erin would look my way.  Juvenile and petty words cast without a second thought, yet smashed all the same.  I wish I could afford to take a vacation, I wish my family didn't have to work so hard, I wish Grandpa smiled more.  Heavier words ignored all the same, unanswered prayers lost into this darkness. 

I wish Alexander were still around- Shattered like the dreams of a would be playwright gunned down in an instant.

I wish Dad would snap out of it- lost like the click of an angry remote pointed at the tv with impunity.

I wish Mom would come home- no.  A few tears streamed down his face.  I wish Mom was still alive.

Gritting his teeth, Orion would press his hands to his side and force himself to become as aerodynamic as possible, willing himself further and further down as fast as he possibly could before his target was in sight.  The whale's uvula.  He slammed into it with full force, using his body as a projectile.  His UI flashed red as his health bar kamikazed into the negatives, but they were in Asper and his coffin was about, so he didn't fucking care.  With a roar he began to pummel the creature's fleshy appendage with all the might he could muster.  If it worked for his cousin who used to have an eating disorder, it would work for this beast.  He would make it puke up every wish it had in it's belly and grant all of those wishes to the players of this game.